I grunted as I threw the newspaper down on the table.

It was typical tabloid crap, and I shouldn’t have been surprised by it. Frankly, I was expecting them to have something to say about Bryce, and I was a little surprised they had waited so long.

The headline read, “With Unrest in Stehen, King Flirts with American Harlot.”

It was a little more elegant in Starklandian, but that was the gist of it.

I didn’t know who had leaked the details of our time together, but I had a media whore in my retinue. It was probably a servant desperate to make some extra money; I was going to have to find out who, fire him or her, and give everyone else a raise.

Part of me wished I still had control of the media. In other countries, the dictator or the ruler had total control over the media, and the media reported only the approved messages. Starkland was like that a long time ago, but the monarchy decided to create a free press around the turn of the century. We weren’t really savages after all. My people had freedom.

This was going to be a PR nightmare. I could already see Lynette’s head spinning around and around, fire shooting from her eyes. The thought made me smile.

Sighing, I got up and opened my door. The servant stationed outside my door perked up instantly. “Get Maximillian,” I told him.

He bowed and disappeared. The servant system was pretty good, but not nearly as reliable as the intercoms in the castle. I was going to have to upgrade the estate house, and soon. This just wouldn’t fucking do.

I sipped my coffee, letting my mind wander back to Bryce. I wished I could see her more, but after we rode back when the picnic was finished, I was forced back into another useless string of meetings that kept me tied up all night.

At least I was told that she spent some quality time with her father. I wanted to go see her, but I knew I had other priorities, as much as I wanted to blow them off for Bryce.

Soon, there was a knock at the door. “Come,” I called, and Max entered.

“Sir,” he said, bowing slightly.

“Did you see this?” I held up the paper.

“Yes,” he said. “We’re already investigating.”

“Good. Find who leaked this, fire him or her, and then give everyone else a raise.”

“Is that wise? Funds are tight in war time, Your Highness.”

“Trip,” I said, annoyed. “And yes. Do it.”

“Very well. Anything else?”

“Yes.” I paused, glancing down. “What are people saying?” I asked him.

“Why bother asking me? You’ll just go to Lynette next and trust her opinion more.”

I was surprised. “Max, are you angry about that?”

“No,” he said simply. “I want to merely remind you that I’ve been a loyal servant to Your Highness for your whole life.”

I laughed. “Okay, Max. You’re right. Please, tell me what you think.”

“They don’t like her,” he said. “People think she’s a foreigner corrupting you. They believe the democrats are winning because you’re too busy spending time with the American girl.”

I sighed. “That’s what I feared.”

“Is it true?” he asked me.

That took me aback. “What?”

“Are you distracted, Trip? I’m not asking as your advisor. I’m asking as your friend.”

I frowned. It was very, very rare for Maximillian to break protocol like this, incredibly rare. In fact, I think he’d only done it once or twice before in my entire life. He was normally so stuffy and serious, but he looked genuinely concerned.

“Maybe,” I admitted. “I enjoy her, Max.”

“I know you do, but you must be careful. This country hasn’t seen a crisis like this in a very long time.”

“I understand,” I said. “I know what my duties are.”

“I know you do, but I only wish to counsel caution. Do not get overly involved with this girl, at least until the current crisis is over.”

“You want me to send her away?”

“Not necessarily,” he said. “That would look bad in the press, truth be told. But I do think you need to spend less time with her. Distance yourself.”

“I hardly spend time with her as it is.”

“True,” he agreed. “But unfortunately, every second of your time is worth thousands of everyone else’s, at least in this country. You’re the king, Trip, and that means your time is not entirely your own anymore.”

I looked away, out the window. I knew that deep down in my bones, but I hated to admit it. No part of me wanted to be indebted to anyone, not even my own country, but I did owe them.

The rule of the country had fallen on me. It was my responsibility. They were my people, nobody else, and I was the only one who could get this country through the war.

“Damn,” I said softly. “Fucking damn.”

“Yes, I agree.” Max stepped toward me. “The only thing I’ve ever wanted for you is happiness, Trip. When you were still just the prince, when your father and Leo were alive, I wanted you to find a woman like Bryce. It’s a shame you found her now.”

“I found plenty of women back then,” I said, grinning.

“You did,” he agreed. “But did that fulfill you?”

“No. Not like she does.”

“Therein lies your dilemma. Your country on the one hand, and your woman on the other.”

“Yes,” I said.

“I wish it didn’t have to be so.”

“Don’t we all.”

As I glanced out the window again, my mind getting tugged toward Bryce once again, there was a knock at the door, insistent and loud. I nodded at Max, and he opened up.

General Hardcourt was standing there, looking flustered. “Your Highness, Maximillian.”

“What is it, Hardcourt?” I asked.

“Sir, a small rebel army was spotted in this region.”

That surprised me. We were all the way out in the easternmost province of Starkland. It was mainly poor farmlands and the estates of the lords. There were no real strategic targets in the east that the democrats could possibly want.

Except for my estate and me.

“How large?” I asked.

“Hard to say. Hundreds, possibly thousands.”

“Where are they going?”

“Our scouts are unsure. We’re tracking them with satellites. They seem to be moving in our general direction.”

“Fuck,” I said, standing. “They’re coming here.”

“My thoughts exactly, Your Highness.” Hardcourt looked very serious.

“What’s the closest detachment?” I asked him.

“Three days away. The rebels are two days out at best.”

“How did they escape our attention?”

“They likely traveled separately and only came together overnight. We spotted them as soon as they moved.”

“Bastards,” I said.

“Your Highness, we can leave,” Max said.

“Run?” Hardcourt asked.

“Yes,” Max said. “Run and live another day.”

“No,” I said. “We don’t run. We fight.” I looked at Hardcourt. “How many men do we have here?”

A smile toyed at his lips. The old general could see where I was going, and he liked it, the violent old dog.

“Around four hundred or so. We’d need to leave at least one hundred behind in case this fails.”

“Very well. Get them ready.”

“Your Highness, you can’t be serious. You’re outnumbered.”

“And they’re out classed. We have superior firepower. We have drones and high-powered rifles. They’re a bunch of untrained assholes who want to kill us all. We’re going.”

“I’ll start preparations,” Hardcourt said, and then he bowed and left.

“I’m going too,” I said to Max.

“No,” he said. “You can’t.”

“I’m sick of sitting on the sidelines. Leo rode into war as the king, and so will I.”

“Look at what happened to Leo. He got himself killed, and that only made the country less stable. Your Highness, we can’t survive your death.”

“Starkland can survive anything. We’ve survived worse.”

“No. This is different. There’s no direct heir. This hasn’t happened in hundreds of years. Listen to me, Trip. You cannot go.”

I furrowed my brow. I wanted the feeling of rolling down a rutted road, gutted with bombs, crackling gunshots in the distance. I wanted the rush as I tried to kill my enemy before they tried to kill me. I wanted to be in the trenches again, so to speak.

But Max was right. If I died, there was nobody to take control of the country. There would be total chaos, and the ministers would fight amongst themselves. The democrats would win, without a doubt.

That was what they’d wanted when they sent the assassin. And maybe it was what they wanted in this situation. Maybe they wanted to get me into the open and give killing me another try.

“Very well,” I said to him. “I won’t go.”

“Good,” he said, visibly relieved. “I’ll go assist Hardcourt, make sure he doesn’t completely strip the estate of defenses.”

“Give him what he needs,” I said.

“As you wish,” he said. “One last thing before I go. We followed up the leads on Nicolai Corvin but found nothing. He petitioned to be allowed into the estate.”

“Grant his petition,” I said. “As much as I dislike the man, he’s still a minister. If he was cleared, he can join us.”

“Very good.” Max bowed and left.

I looked out the window, annoyed and frustrated. I wanted to get out there, but I knew my duty to the country was to stay here and to survive in order to lead them to victory.

My damn country was going to always come first, even if it was getting in the way of what I really wanted.

What I really wanted was Bryce. I’d give up war for her in a second.

But none of that mattered. I had a duty, and I was going to follow through with it. I finished my coffee, stood, and headed out to my morning briefings.