“Yes, Your Majesty.” Darius took a step back as his cell phone rang.

Alejandro waved his hand to give permission for Darius to answer.

“Yes?” Darius paused, a new level of concern entering his voice when he asked, “Where?”

Another pause. “Find Princess Cassandra. Tell her she is needed in the residence immediately.”

Darius hung up the phone. “A sensor alarm triggered along the east wall.”

“Near the stables?” Alejandro asked.

“Yes, sire.” Darius took a step back. “I will inform you as soon as your daughter returns.”

Alejandro swallowed the lump in his throat but couldn’t form words. Instead, he nodded his approval and watched Darius leave. Was Levi the cause of the alarm, or had he bypassed the security he had helped create in order to protect his daughter?

The alarm on his phone went off to signal it was time for his next pain pill. Somehow, he doubted the medicine was going to have the desired effect until his daughter was once again safely at his side.

CHAPTER 39

Julien stood at the base of the mountain, the trees shielding him from view. From his position above the palace, the royal grounds spread out before him. The white towers of the palace contrasted against the cloudless sky, the grassy expanse creating a natural defense to allow the guards to see anyone who dared approach. Waves rolled up on the beach, the royal yacht docked at the edge of his view. It was a fairy tale in the making, a fairy tale Julien was determined to claim as his own.

Pratt crouched beside him and studied the lay of the land. “Are you sure about this? If you get caught—”

“I’m not taking the chance that this doesn’t get done right. If my brother really is here, he could ruin everything we’ve worked for.”

“Yes, but if anyone learns you’re involved, you could lose your claim to the throne.”

Julien rubbed a gloved hand over his shaved head. “No one will ever know I was here. Besides, you’re going to kill the princess. I’m here to tie up my own loose ends.”

“You’re the boss.” Pratt slipped a set of earphones over his head that would allow him to hear the communication among the royal guards.

“Anything?” Julien asked.

“Not yet. If the princess follows her normal routine, she should head to the stables within the next hour.”

Julien picked up his binoculars and trained them on the work crew along the east gate. That was their entry point, the one vulnerability that still existed on the palace grounds. It wouldn’t be long now. The workers would take their lunch soon, and when they did, Julien would be able to walk right through the gap in their defenses. If he and Pratt had to eliminate a guard or two on their way onto the palace grounds, so much the better.

Julien twisted a silencer onto his pistol. He was ready, and this time, he would succeed.

* * *