Claimed: Gowns & Crowns, Book 3 (29 page)

Cyril blinked, and Stefan fought a smile as Jasen sighed and shook his head. “Agreed, then,” the king said. “Stefan, tell us about the conditions of this work camp. Is it something we need to respond to officially, in some way?”

“No, your highness,” Stefan said. “The work detail to which the camp was assigned was very specific, the building where the holding cells were located slated for demolition within the next several weeks. The night that Ari was recovered, the remaining detainees were also released.”

Jasen’s brows went up, and his expression lightened. Then his gaze shifted to Nicki.

“You helped Stefan on this mission?”

Nicki was clearly startled by the sudden change in his focus. “I—well, yes, I did. Of course,” she said, but Stefan could hear the note of caution in her voice. So could the rest of them, and their attention on her only intensified. “I uploaded videos of a diving experience off the coast of Turkey, and more videos of the expo. I participated in a windsurfing demonstration to solidify my cover while I was there. That’s pretty much it.”

Jasen must have sensed her prevarication because he clasped his hands at waist almost casually, rocking up on his toes.

Kristos and Dimitri went still, and even the queen blinked, staring more curiously at Nicki. “I believe you did a bit more as well,” the king said. “The queen has not been fully informed, and I think she would be grateful for the update.”

“Oh, I—” Nicki paused as Stefan turned toward her, a blush steadily climbing her cheeks. For all that she was used to being in the spotlight, she didn’t know how to trumpet her own horn, he realized again. She always let her actions do the talking. She gave and gave and gave until her body—literally—gave out. “I didn’t really do anything else special. Truly. I simply helped where I could.” The glance she threw Stefan was panicked. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

He nodded, grateful that she’d given him the opportunity to share what she wouldn’t. Then he turned back to the royal family.

“I’ve given you a partial accounting of Nicki’s actions to help free Ari, but I wanted to be fully clear. Her life was placed in danger on the barrier island when a miscommunication threatened the negotiations with the scavenger dealer, but she reacted with commendable calm, placing her trust in the team and following their lead. With her resourcefulness and past connections, she helped facilitate our conversation with the Turkish official, and convinced him to give us a guided tour solely in the hopes that it would gain us visual access to the site where we suspected Ari was being held. When that suspicion was confirmed, she helped identify likely methods of access to the building, which involved using free climbing abilities.”

The queen gasped, and Nicki audibly groaned. “Stefan…” she said.

“That’s not all,” he continued, inexorably. “Once we achieved access to the building, she willingly put herself in harm’s way to distract the guard at a crucial moment. Then, when I mistakenly released all the locks in the main holding cell area, she found herself in a footrace, being chased by several detainees.”

“They weren’t chasing me.” Nicki protested. “They were trying to get out of there, that’s all.”

“Most were,” he said. “Ari was not. He reached Nicki first and turned to protect her.” He paused as the queen clasped her hands to her mouth. “He succeeded in doing so until I could reach her. By then, Nicki had overtaxed herself and had collapsed.”

“Stefan!” Nicki’s voice was like a whip crack, but overrode only by the queen’s cry of Nicki’s name. “You do not—”

“She recovered quickly enough, but there’s no denying that the state of Garronia—and I personally—put Nicki at mortal risk—risk she willingly took on to rescue Ari. Even after it was clear that her body had failed her, she wouldn’t give up, until we were able to get her to safety.”

“That’s more than enough—” Nicki started.

Stefan turned to her. “I don’t think it’s anywhere close, in fact.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Nicki’s flare of anger shorted out at the intensity in Stefan’s face. But the infernal man kept talking. “I’ve arranged to have a medical evaluation tomorrow that both Nicki and myself will undergo, and if there is any reason to be concerned she will be transferred to a cardiac facility in Zurich at the same time we transfer the prince.”

“Cardiac!” the queen nearly shouted, aghast. Nicki turned and saw the woman go pale.

“Really—it’s nothing.”

“It is potentially nothing to be concerned about,” Stefan agreed. “However, Nicki’s family has a history of cardiomyopathy, and Nicki has not undergone the required screening for several years, so her condition remains in question.” His gaze was like granite. “It will no longer be in question shortly.”

“You knew—” the queen seemed to have trouble breathing. “You knew that your heart was not stable, and you insisted on going on this mission? Why?”

“I—” Nicki tried to speak, she did. But her heart really did feel too full all of the sudden, and she would have given a lot to fake a dizzy spell at that moment. When the words wouldn’t come, however, Stefan was there once again, ready to step into the gap.

“Because she knew she was the best equipped to help the prince,” he said. “She had the contacts, the training. She knew the city. She had the best reason to be there, and therefore provided the best cover.”

“But you could have been killed.” The queen’s soft words drew Nicki’s attention back to her, and when Catherine walked forward, it was all Nicki could do not to run away.

“You sacrificed yourself willingly, for a family you didn’t know existed until a few short weeks ago,” the queen said. “You…” She swallowed. “You helped bring my son home to me. I can never repay that—ever.”

“You don’t have to repay me,” Nicki said, lifting her hands to slow the tide of emotion flowing out from the queen.

“Yes I do,” Catherine said, shaking her head. “You will receive the Rite of Garronia, with my blessing. And my eternal, desperate thanks.” She closed the final feet to Nicki, and then her tears did give way. This beautiful, serene woman, so strong in all her actions and words since the moment Nicki had met her, crumpled in front of Nicki like the relieved mother she could finally allow herself to be. Nicki automatically put out her arms and the queen stepped into them, though Nicki was unsure as to who was giving and who was receiving the greater grace in that moment.

“Thank you,” the queen whispered. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Around them, there was movement—talking, walking, industry. But Nicki paid no attention to anyone but the queen for a few more moments, giving her back all the strength she had left in her body, giving her every beat of her heart, broken or not.

“Of course,” Nicki said. “He’ll be okay—he’s going to be okay.”

“I know.” The queen leaned back, and her expression had totally changed in those bare moments. Despite being streaked with tears, her face was stronger, almost ebullient. “He is surrounded by those he loves, and that love will sustain him, even if his mind has forgotten why.”

She squeezed Nicki’s shoulders. “And now we have to make sure you are healthy too.”

Nicki nearly groaned. “I’m good—really I’m good.”

“You are sick though?” the queen asked, and the question was so gentle, so unexpected, that Nicki blinked at her.

“I’m…I’m maybe sick,” she said, the admission almost a relief. “I definitely have a disconnect going on. I get too dizzy, I black out. I—my family has a history of heart problems, as Stefan said. I guess…” She shrugged. “I guess I didn’t want to find out I did too. I wanted to live my life going full out.”

“Being smart doesn’t mean being an invalid, you know,” Catherine said, and though her voice was stern, her eyes were soft. “And I’m not only pressing on this for your benefit, although of course that is important.”

She turned, still not quite letting Nicki go, until they both could see the cluster of men at the far end of the room. Dimitri and Kristos were practically coming out of their skin with electric energy, Stefan was arguing with Cyril—and Jasen, now that no one was watching him, had allowed his expression to soften. He gazed across the room at his wife, vibrant with joy, and a hope that Nicki hadn’t ever realized she’d missed firmly reflected in his face. Queen Catherine gave Nicki’s arm a squeeze, her smile radiant as she beamed back at her husband.

“Love is too important to squander, too precious to miss out on,” the queen said. Nicki turned to her in surprise, and she nodded to the men again. Specifically, to Stefan.

“Oh—you have the wrong idea.” Nicki shook her head brusquely. “Stefan and I—I mean—we barely know each other. We couldn’t fall in love, not that quickly. We’re just…friends.”

“Friends,” the queen said soberly. “And do you regard all your friends with your entire soul in your eyes, ready to give and give and give until there is nothing left? Do you stand as if your hands are reaching out to connect with the other, ready to offer your whole life up in that one touch, when you haven’t even moved?”

“I…” Nicki winced. “I didn’t realize I looked like that.”

“You don’t,” the queen said. “Stefan does.”

She hugged her more tightly as Nicki froze. “I have known that boy since he came to our halls as an orphaned teenager, ravaged with grief and rage. I have seen him grow up and into his own person under our roof, filled with the fire to serve. He was so icy, so sure of himself at every step, it nearly drove me mad. I have seen him look at women, too—beautiful women from all over the world. And none of them can compare with how he looks at you.”

She turned to Nicki, and her eyes were filled with tears again. “Ari wasn’t the only man you’ve helped find his way home again, Nicki. Stefan has too. Please don’t ever let him go.”

Stefan glanced up as the queen finally stepped away from Nicki, his stomach churning over what the queen might have said to her. Clearly she hadn’t explained the Rite of Garronia, since Nicki hadn’t fainted.

He excused himself from the knot of strategizing that he suspected would go on far into the night between Kristos, Cyril, Dimitri and Jasen, and strode across the room. The queen smoothed her hands over her eyes, whisking away tears, and took her leave of Nicki, stepping toward Stefan with purpose.

He knew Catherine’s ultimate goal was the men behind him, but her focus was fully on him, her stare intent as he met her in the center of the sitting room. She paused briefly, then speared him with a glare.

“If you don’t tell that woman you love her, I will personally make your life miserable for the next five years,” she said. “She’s a national treasure, and I have every expectation that you will make her
our
national treasure.”

Then she was gone.

Stefan didn’t break stride, sparing only a moment to blink a few times as he assimilated the queen’s words. He’d known from the start the queen had an incurable penchant for matchmaking, but he hadn’t expected it to manifest so…clearly. He waited for the flash of resistance to come in the wake of the queen’s high-handed command, as it always did when she made completely unreasonable requests with the full confidence that her dictates would be followed.

But no resistance came. If anything, his mind instantly set to work, going through the possibilities, considering the angles.

Nicki, for her part, was smiling gamely at him as he reached her.

“So it’s going to be okay, right?” she asked, and he quirked her a glance.

“They’re—happy,” she said, waving at the knot of people across the room. “Glad that you found the prince, that he’s here safely, despite that he’s not quite right yet. He will be normal again one day, or whatever will become the new normal for him. And he’s safe.”

Stefan nodded. “They’re happy. They’re beyond happy. Their son is safe, he is returned. I suspect that even if he’s unable to remember who he is—who they are—that disappointment will pale in comparison to the reality that there remains a lifetime of new memories to forge.” He glanced back to where the royal family stood, arguing exuberantly over the best course of treatment for Ari’s recovery. “The queen will win her battle to ensure Fran becomes party of the therapy team. Do you know if she’ll be prepared for that?”

To his surprise, Nicki didn’t answer right away. Instead she frowned thoughtfully.

“I think she will,” she said at last. Her natural tendency will be to say yes, of course—especially if she’s not acting in an official capacity. But Fran has always been the quietest of all of us. She studied a lot, and she didn’t really go out much, and then she was gone with her training and thesis work overseas. I don’t know as much about her as I do Lauren and Emmaline, that’s for sure.”

Stefan frowned, and Nicki rushed in with reassurance. “But she’ll be great in whatever the family and doctors decides should be her role, seriously. She’s dependable, really she is.”

“There seems to be a fair amount of that going around.”

Nicki’s smile was genuine. “What can I say—I’ve got good friends.”

“And they’re lucky to have you,” Stefan said. They’d moved to the far end of the room, where the windows overlooked the sea—a dim patch in the darkness as the night fell swiftly over the island. There were several more beautiful locations in the villa, but few that were so private. And privacy had been critical for this conversation. The entire family would retire to the other houses soon, keeping out of sight of Ari.