“Holy mother of fuck!” I yell as I claw the side of the door.
“What?” Keller asks, startled.
“It’s fucking freezing! What the hell, it’s summer!”
“Yes, but you’re in a subarctic country. Eighty percent of the terrain is glaciers.”
I curl around my bag and say, “That would have been nice to know when packing.”
There’s a waiting car with the door open that I’m assuming is for us. My eyes make contact with where my body needs to be, and before I take another breath, I fly down the stairs, past Keller, and I sprint across the tarmac like I’m tiptoeing across fiery coals, and fling myself into the waiting car, head first.
“Blast the heat,” I say as I shiver in the corner.
Keller joins me, takes a seat, and then turns toward me while I feel around the shared bench seat.
“What are you doing?” he asks, irritated.
“My nipples. I think they fell off. Do you see them?”
“Jesus . . . Christ,” he mumbles before strapping his seatbelt on.
Jesus Christ is right. We’re going to need some help from the Almighty above if this is what summer is like.
“Wait, is Torskethorpe like Alaska? Where the sun is up all the time during the summer?”
“Yes,” he answers as I plaster myself against the window.
“Can you see the northern lights?”
“Yes.”
“Are there volcanoes?”
“Yes.”
“Have you seen active lava?”
“Yes.”
“Holy shit, active lava and glaciers? Talk about not being able to make up its mind. And it’s so green, but then there’s black everywhere, and, look, a waterfall. The beach is nice and all, but this is . . . this is unreal. Is the whole country like this?”
“Yes,” he answers again.
“Well, I can see what you’re talking about, wanting to be outside all the time.” I prop my chin on my hand. “It’s gorgeous. Are all the houses always like this? Brightly colored?”
“Yes.”
“Do you say more than just yes?”
“Yes,” he answers again.
“You know, I’m not going to let your piss-poor attitude ruin this for me. My nipples might have fallen off, and I can’t feel my toes at the moment from how freaking cold it is, but ohhhh no, I refuse to let you bring me down.”
“Whatever you wish, Miss Campbell.”
“Huh-ha,” I say in triumph. “Got you to say something other than yes. God, rookie play. And don’t call me Miss Campbell.”
“As you wish . . .”
I eye him suspiciously. “You wanted to say Miss Campbell again, didn’t you?”
But he doesn’t answer me, and that’s all I need to know—he did.
Chapter Four
KELLER
I know what you must be thinking—this Keller guy is an asshole.
Well, you’re right, but I’m usually not this irritated.
Let’s rewind back to last night. I reported to Theo, letting him know I made contact with Lilly, and told him we would be on a plane the next morning. I wasn’t sure she would be on the plane per se, I just counted on it. Thankfully, she showed up. But it was the text I received in the middle of the night that has set me into a tailspin of irritation.
There was a leak in the palace and a gossip magazine has speculated about a long-lost granddaughter coming into town. You can imagine the security breach that is. The plan was simple—find Lilly, get her on a plane, and get her to the palace to meet Theo and Katla.
Those plans have changed.
Here’s the thing. We don’t know if Lilly is going to want to live the royal life, and until she’s made up her mind, we don’t want her exposed to the public. Now that rumors are circulating because of the leak, we can’t take her to the palace.
Therefore, we’re headed to the opposite end of the country, to the abandoned summer castle on the southern peninsula. No one will find us there, since the castle hasn’t been inhabited for years, and according to Theo, it’s where we’ll conduct our training until he believes the time is right for the country to be introduced to Lilly. I’ve been assured that the necessities are at the castle, but there’s no staff to serve us, not that I need serving, so that means it’ll just be me and Lilly, with two guards, Brimar, and his girlfriend, Lara.
My irritation is justified.
“Are we headed to the palace?” she asks as she stares out the window, looking perfectly content now that the heat is blasting in the car. I, on the other hand, have had to strip out of my jacket and roll up my sleeves for fear of heat stroke.