Fear and anxiety gnawed at Chey’s soul, tempting her to doubt the plan and the wisdom of separating from her children. Sander would never forgive her if something happened to the kids. She would never forgive herself either. Pressing her palms against her cheeks, she paced a few feet one way, then the other.

Fifteen minutes later, with no sign of Elias or Raune or the other two children, Chey thought she might faint from stress. It was taking too long. Something had gone wrong. Helina’s guards probably had her children in custody, questioning them over her whereabouts.

Just as she put her hand to the hidden door, it opened slowly from the inside. The guard had gotten her position from Elias and now they were coming for her.

Using the element of surprise, she pushed with both hands, swinging the door wider, harder, gathering momentum. If she could knock the man off balance, she might have a chance to grab the lamp off the desk and hit him over the head with it.

A masculine grunt proved she’d caught the man off guard. Two steps inside, a strong hand landed unerringly on Chey’s arm. Before she could swing a fist toward his face, a familiar voice paused the action.

“Your Highness, it’s me,” Raune said.

“Mom, I did it!” Elias whispered somewhere behind Raune. A flashlight beam snapped on, providing enough illumination for Chey to clearly make out the faces of her three children, Raune, and two more of Chey’s personal guards.

The fight went out of her immediately.

Raune’s gentle touch turned into a light squeeze before he removed his hand.

“The ruse worked,” Raune said. “I was able to find and free two of my men while Elias went back for Emily and Erick. We’ve secured this floor and taken the guard outside my room into custody. I know where they’re keeping the rest of my men, and where Helina is.”

“Good. Because we have work to do. I want the castle back under my command as soon as possible. Everyone loyal to Helina is to be locked up until Sander gets home.” Chey touched Raune’s arm in gratitude, then stepped around him to gather her kids close. Elias was too full of adrenaline to accept more than a brief embrace.

“You should have seen it, Mom! Raune got the door open in a second and hunted down the guard. It was awesome,” Elias said. He was still whispering.

After pressing several kisses to Emily and Erick’s cheeks, noting that both children had a packet of trail mix in their hands, Chey glanced aside to Elias. “You did excellent, Elias. Your dad will be so proud.”

Elias grinned from ear to ear, clearly pleased with himself.

Pushing to her feet, Chey turned to Raune and the two guards. “What’s your plan to overtake the rest of the guards and subdue the advisors working against me?”

“We’ll go hall by hall, overpowering anyone we come across. Once we have the guards secure, we’ll go after the advisors, and then Helina,” Raune said. “You should stay here with the children, just in case.” He glanced meaningfully toward the hidden door, suggesting she should escape that way again if things went south.

“How long do you think it will take?” Chey asked.

“No more than two hours. If we’re not back by then, take to the hidden passageways,” Raune said.

“All right.” Chey could only leave the castle’s fate in Raune’s hands now.

“I’m going, too,” Elias said, stepping over to Raune and the guards.

“That’s not an option this time, Elias. No argument.” Chey wouldn’t allow the boy to actually engage in battle with men three times his size and weight. Sneaking around was one thing. Fighting trained guards was another.

“But Mom!” Elias said.

“No buts. You’re staying here. Besides,” Chey said, changing tactics, “we need someone here to protect us.”

Elias appeared to consider that, and although he clearly still longed to be a part of Raune’s mission, he accepted his new duty with aplomb. “Okay.”

Raune summoned his men and exited the library.

“All right. Let’s get settled for a little while.” Chey led the children to a chaise lounge situated close to an overstuffed chair. Once she had them down and quietly nibbling on the trail mix, she eased into the chair and rested her feet on an ottoman.

“You okay, Mom?” Elias asked. He fidgeted, obviously uninterested in the food.

“I’m fine. Why don’t you patrol the library and listen for company outside the door? That way, if we have another emergency, we’ll have time to get into the hidden passageway,” Chey said. She thought that would help smooth over Elias’s disappointment at not being able to go with Raune and help him burn off more energy. The kid was all but glowing with leftover adrenaline.

His eyes lit up at the new task. He turned off the flashlight, put it in his pocket, and began to patrol the room.

Relieved to have a break from the tension, Chey massaged her belly and tipped her head back against the chair. She wouldn’t be able to sleep, not really, but she desperately needed rest.

Her thoughts, however, were with Raune and the guards.

Please let them return the victors.

She wasn’t sure what would happen if they didn’t.