Chapter Six

"CHARLES?"

Hearing Sano"s voice yanked Charlotte out of her memories, and when she looked around, she realized that Sano had taken her into what seemed like the lounge"s powder room. Was this where they were supposed to talk in private then? And was this really going to be about Lukas?

Charlotte cleared her throat. "About Luk—-"

Oh.

Sano had dropped his phone into her hands without warning, and she stared down at it blankly. Someone was calling him, and Charlotte almost had a heart attack upon seeing the name that showed up on his screen.

Cass.

There was only one woman named Cass that she could think of, and all thoughts of Lukas and company fled her mind as anxiety started pooling in her stomach.

"Julian texted me last night," Sano said under his breath. "I"ve never met or spoken to him as Sano, but Cass got him to call me because of her vision."

Charlotte"s unease mounted. Before marrying Prince Julian of Ethereal, Cass used to be an island girl who read fortunes as Mademoiselle C, and her visions of the future always came true.

Always.

The princess" ability to see the future was a closely-guarded secret, and the only reason Charlotte knew about it was because her husband had been assigned to tail the couple during their first visit in America. His then-superior had wanted Land to spy on the two, but instead Land, and later on Charlotte, ended up becoming fast friends with the royal couple.

"They know who I am. Who I was. But more importantly..."

The grim set of Sano"s jaw made Charlotte antsy.

"They called last night because they wanted me to know Cass had a vision about you."

That was exactly what Charlotte was afraid of, and fear skittered down her spine when the phone in her hand started vibrating again. It was the princess, calling her for the second time, and she couldn"t shake off the feeling that whatever Cass had to say wasn"t anything good.

"Cass was insistent that it should be my choice on whether to tell you or not about her vision, and if I did tell you, then it should also be your choice whether you wished to hear from her or not."

Charlotte was torn. The cowardly part of her didn"t want to know about the future, but wasn"t she only making it worse for herself if she insisted on keeping her head buried in the sand? If there was something that might prevent her and Sano from being together, wouldn"t it be better for her to know about it in advance?

She took a deep breath...and then she took another when one huge gulp of oxygen didn"t prove enough. There was just something about this whole vision thing that made her want to have temporary amnesia like Cha-Cha, but—-

You need to be brave, Charlotte Carmichaels!

If this was what it took to protect her future with Landon, who was now Sano, then—-

"Wait."

Sano reached for her hand just as she was about to answer the princess" call, and Charlotte stilled. Riiiight. Ethereal"s royal family had protocols every time Cass had a vision to speak of, and one of it was that all such conversations could only be between the princess and the subject of her vision.

"Will you be alright if I leave you alone?"

Charlotte nodded.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"No." And this wasn"t a lie. "I don"t want to," Charlotte heard herself say, "but I think I need to."

Sano studied her for a long while, and Charlotte made herself meet his gaze unflinchingly. She knew from experience that if she showed her husband the smallest sign of weakness, his overprotective instinct would rise to the fore, and she would never be able to convince him to leave her alone.

"I"ll be outside then," Sano said finally. "And remember—-if at any point what Cassie says troubles you, call for me. Alright?"

"I got it."

"Promise me, Charles."

"Yes, I promise."

Sano was still frowning. "I just don"t think—-"

Charlotte forgot her fears in her exasperation. "Cass is only going to speak to me, not curse me over the phone." She pointed to the door. "So if you don"t mind..."

Sano gave her a dark look one final time before leaving, but as soon as the door closed, she heard him pacing restlessly outside, and Charlotte realized this just wouldn"t do at all.

She flung the door open, and Sano stiffened. "What"s wrong?"

Charlotte crossed her arms over her chest. "You tell me." Back in the day, Landon had practically made it his mission to creep up on her as often as he could, and while she wished it was because her husband had wanted to surprise her with a kiss, it was actually all just training. He had wanted her senses heightened to keep anyone else from creeping up on her, in the times Landon wasn"t around to protect her.

"You used to be the master of stealth," she reminded him.

Sano"s jaw clenched. "That was then. I don"t have any reason to hide my discomfort now."

Her brows furrowed. "Do you not want me to talk to Cass?"

"I just have this feeling that this phone call will make things worse for us."

"Aren"t you the one who told me that facing my fears is how I"ll find a way to defeat them?"

"I know what I said," Sano bit out.

"Was it a lie then?"

"Of course not—-"

"Then let me face my fears now."

Sano"s lips tightened. "If you have anything you"re afraid of, then let me—-"

"It"s you," Charlotte muttered. "My greatest fear is losing you again—-"

"Fuck, Charles."

Sano yanked her back into his arms.

"You"ll never lose me again," he growled against her hair. "I was a selfish bastard in my old life—-"

Charlotte started to protest, but Sano hushed her.

"We both know it"s true, even if you won"t admit it. I knew how much it killed you to let me go every time, but you never tried to stop me, and that"s why..." Sano"s arms finally loosened, but it was only so he could step back and cup her face. "This new life will be all for you, Charles."

The words were something she had secretly wanted to hear her entire life. Every time she had to watch Land leave for a job, there had always been the smallest and most selfish part of her that was hurt and resentful, a part that had wanted to ask why - why wasn"t she enough for her husband to stay?

He was finally saying it now, and while she badly wanted to believe that this was truly their second chance for a happy-ever-after ending—-

"Just let me do this—-"

Sano was visibly reluctant.

"So we can be sure we"ve covered all bases?" He was the one who had taught her the importance of that, and the way Sano"s lips twisted told her he knew his own words were being used against him.

"Go back to your friends this time," Charlotte urged. "I doubt this will take long. I"ll head back as soon as—-"

Sano"s head bent down to bite her lower lip, and Charlotte literally swayed on her feet when he pulled away.

"You look a lot less anxious now," Sano observed with unconcealed satisfaction, and Charlotte was torn between wanting to kick him and asking for more.

"But you could maybe do with another—-"

She went back into the powder room and slammed the door shut in his face. Jerk! But already she was lifting one hand up—-

"Are you about to touch your lips, Charles?" a sly voice asked from the other side of the door, and just like that the mood was completely ruined, and Charlotte kicked the door as hard as she could. Jerk, jerk, jerk!

She could hear Sano laughing as he walked away, and the sound had her teeth gnashing against each other. If she still harbored any doubts of Sano being Land, this unique ability of his to rile her temper was all she needed to know with absolute certainty that her husband was truly back...and he was the exact same jerk he used to be.

Charlotte reached for the phone she had left on the vanity table. Time to be serious, she reminded herself. Cass"s visions often came in the form of omens, but they were also often a chance for a person to change the future.

She pulled up Sano"s call history on his iPhone and pressed the Call button on the most recent number on the list.

"Charlotte, hello." The princess" voice was comfortingly familiar.

"Hello, Cass. I"m sorry it took me some time to call back."

"It"s always nice to hear from you again, but I do wish it wasn"t under these circumstances. I never thought you"d ever show up in any of my visions."

"I"m the opposite." Charlotte"s tone was rueful. "The first few months after Land...went away, I used to hope and pray that you"d have a vision for me."

"Better late than never as they say," Cass said softly, "but I"m not sure how you"ll take this."

"Is it that bad?"

There was a long moment of silence, and as soon as Cass spoke her first eight words—-

Charlotte hung up.

And then she threw up.

Oh God, why?

She remained on the floor, next to the toilet bowl, and stared sightlessly at the marble tiles before her.

Why?

Another minute passed before she was able to find the energy to reach for Sano"s phone, and her fingers shook uncontrollably as she sent the princess a text.

Charlotte: I"m sorry, Cass. I didn"t mean to hang up. I was just...I couldn"t...

Charlotte: Please just don"t tell Sano about this.

Cass: I"m so sorry this has upset you. But I also need you to know that you have yet to hear the rest of what I saw.

Charlotte: What you"ve said was enough.

Cass: I wish you"d reconsider, but I"ve learned the hard way that I can"t force anyone to listen to me, no matter the reason. If you ever change your mind, call me.

Charlotte: I will. Thank you, Cass.

Cass: Take care, Charlotte. I"m so happy that you have your husband back.

So am I, Charlotte thought. It had still bothered her a bit that Landon had returned to her in another man"s body, and a younger one at that, but now, after hearing what Cass had to say—-

You and Sano will just have one day...

She swallowed back a sob.

I know I asked You to give him back to me for even just a day, but does it really have to be just one day before I lose him again?