Chapter 14

Callum

The princess is literally hanging by a thread, and I’m helpless.

The crush of people around me are screaming and pointing up at the balcony.

And I can’t get to her.

It’s my fault for taking my eyes off her.

I’ve been trying to keep my distance.

Sigurd would kill me if he knew what Flora and I did last night.

And so here I stand in the plaza, watching the love of my life about to fall to her death.

“Out of the way!” I bellow, though no one can hear me over the screaming.

Most people around me are taller, but I manage to use my elbows and shoulders to push, sneak, and politely slip between people until I reach the front of the crowd.

When I’m at the front, I realize I’m too late. In horror, I realize she’s no longer hanging from the balcony box, but neither is she safely inside it. The look on the queen’s face is utter shock.

Everyone around me, however, is clapping and shouting. It’s complete chaos, and then I see her. Princess Flora is shaking and pale as a ghost as a man with a bushy beard and mussed hair sets her down carefully on the cobblestone plaza. I rush forward and he briefly checks her over. He asks a question, and she nods, looking like a terrified little rabbit. The man disappears into the crowd.

The moment I’m able to reach for Flora, Uther and about seven other security officers surround her.

“Your Highness!” I shout over the din.

Flora’s eyes meet mine in the second before she is swept away in a cloud of imposing men in dark jackets.

Her eyes are blank and frightened as she looks back and me, and then she’s gone.