Two days later, the lights went out.

I’d known it was going to happen at some point. There’d been another bombing: like the others, it hadn’t killed anyone but it had been carefully calculated to spread panic and disruption by taking out the high-voltage lines that led from one of our power stations. Half the city was without power, including the main hospital. I’d ordered that the palace’s supply be diverted: the patients were more important than we were. But it was still a shock when the room suddenly went dark, enough to make me cry out.

Garrett burst in, then slid to a stop when he saw I was okay. By then, though, he was almost touching me. I felt the tiny hairs on the back of my arms stand to attention and I caught my breath. God, I ached for him.

With shaking hands, I lit a candle. The flickering light threw his shadow onto the wall, making his huge form seem even bigger. We stood there gazing at each other. He looked amazing in the guard’s uniform, even better than he had in his plaid shirts and jeans. Something about all that expensive dark blue and gold stretched over his tan skin. Formal on the surface, rough underneath. He looked... right in a uniform.

His wounds were healing up well and he was adjusting to palace life. I’d heard him taking lessons from Emerik on etiquette: he was learning all the proper terms of address, when and who to bow to, even some of our traditions. He was completely out of his element: he’d been thrown into this just as I’d been thrown into ruling, but he was determined to be the best royal guard he could. I loved that about him.

“If everything’s alright, Your Majesty,” he said in that honeyed rumble, “I should be outside.”

Technically, he wasn’t supposed to be in my chambers unless there was an emergency. And I knew we should stick to that, to avoid temptation. Just walking around the palace with him was hard enough. Every brush of his hip on mine, every touch of his hand as he steadied me when I tripped... we’d look at each other and I’d feel it flooding through me: we were a hair’s breadth from diving at each other and we both knew it. Being alone like this was foolish. Downright dangerous.

But….

But I’d been in meetings with General Novak all day, my stomach twisting as he talked about casualty projections measured in the millions. Now it was dark and in another few hours I’d have to go to bed. And then the nightmare would come. I’d be back in that stone cell, all on my own, the water rising. I’d wake up, soaked with sweat, stifling a scream, and have to dig my fingernails into my hand and bite my lip to resist calling Garrett, knowing that all it would take to banish the nightmare forever would be to give in and be with him again. I couldn’t. I knew that. Seeing Lakovia and my mother again, taking the throne... it had reminded me of my responsibilities. Princesses don’t get to choose who they love.

I missed America, too. I missed the scenery and the horses and especially the food. The day before, I’d asked the palace chef to make ribs for dinner and looked forward to them all day. But when they’d arrived, it was a plate of four tiny bones, artfully arranged in a square, with a small pot of barbecue sauce on the side for dipping. With silver cutlery, so that I didn’t dirty my hands. I’d thanked him politely but it wasn’t the same.

Mainly, though, I missed him. I needed him there. Just for a little while. Even with the candle, my bedroom was too dark, too like the cell. If I had to be there on my own, I’d go insane. And I couldn’t ask Caroline: she was still broken-hearted over Sebastian. We’d barely talked, since we got back to Lakovia. Does she blame me for what happened?

Something glinted in the candlelight and I saw the excuse I needed. I set the candle down on the table next to the chessboard. “Do you play?” I asked.

He ran one big hand through his hair, embarrassed. “Ah... I’ve played a little. Felton, in my squad in Iraq, he had it on his phone. He taught me how, but I ain’t much for strategy.” He looked closer. “Are they solid silver?”

I nodded. “The pieces and the board. From our silver mines. I always thought it was a bit over the top. But I keep it set up because my father likes to play with me.” I caught myself and bit my lip. “I mean... he did.”

He gazed at me across the board... and slowly nodded. He pulled out a stool and sat, and we began.

“Any word on your father?” I asked after a few moves.

He shook his head. “Still critical. No better, no worse.”

God, if he dies…. I bit my lip. “Garrett, he needs you—”

“You need me more.” Our eyes met and a big, hot bomb went off in my chest. There was no argument to be had, here. He would protect me, no matter what the personal cost. I can’t be worth all that, I thought helplessly. But God, he made me feel safe like no one else.

“Heard you’ve been getting up early,”  I said, dropping my eyes to the board. “Caroline keeps seeing you walking the halls, before anyone else is about.”

He grunted. “Been trying to learn my way around. All the damn doors look the same, Your Majesty. And nothing leads where you’d expect.”

I nodded and grinned: the first time I’d smiled in days. Just being in his presence was relaxing. “You haven’t even seen all of it yet,” I told him. “There are secret passages, too.”

He moved his knight and then gave me a sideways look, unsure if I was joking.

“There are! Three of them.” God, it was so good just to talk to him. “One of them leads from the dungeon out to the gardens: there's a door hidden behind some white camellia. That was for if the royal family were ever captured and locked up in their own dungeon and needed to escape. The other two lead from different places direct to bedrooms. They were for smuggling in lovers."

I caught his eye just as I said the last word and suddenly flushed. I tried to look away, but I couldn't: our eyes were locked. I could feel my cheeks and then my ears turning red. Lovers... like us. The Queen and her guard. Stop thinking like that! I had to forget New York ever happened. I fumbled for a piece and made my move.

“Checkmate,” he rumbled, placing down his knight.

I blinked at the board in amazement. His knight had my queen pinned in a corner. What?!

When I rewound the game in my mind, I saw it. I’d been playing tactically, like my father had taught me. Sacrificing pawns, faking out my opponent, always thinking three moves ahead. Like a queen in charge of an army. But he...he hadn’t sacrificed a damn thing. He’d protected his soldiers. He hadn’t tried to outwit me. He’d just powered through with sheer grit and determination... like a marine.

And that’s when it overwhelmed me. God, I loved this man. He was my exact opposite... and that was exactly what made us work so well together.

He stood to go, but I stood, too, without consciously willing it, that pull between us linking me to him. He drew in his breath. “Your Majesty….” he said warningly.

“I know.” But I took a step towards him. I couldn’t help it. I knew in my head that we couldn’t allow anything to happen, but my whole body was aching for him. My heart was slowly tearing with each millimeter he moved towards the door and I knew that all I needed to do to fix it was touch him. My skin was alive, prickling and sensitive, ready for the brush of his fingers, the press of his body. My ears hurt from the silence. I needed to hear that deep Texas growl.

I took another step towards him.

He glanced at the closed door behind him and drew in a shuddering breath. I could see the muscles of his chest standing out under his shirt: his whole body had gone hard with tension. “We can’t.”

“I know.” But I took another step.

“Stop, damn you!” he grated.

I finally stopped and we stood there staring at each other in the darkness, only a foot apart.

“You don’t know how close I am to grabbing hold of you right now,” he growled.

“Yes I do,” I whispered.

There was a loud knock at the door and we jerked apart like startled cats, hearts pounding. It took another knock before I got my breath back and told them to come in.

Aleksander was standing there, along with the head of the intelligence services. I showed them in and they sat at the table. Garrett loomed silently out of the darkness and both of the newcomers jumped in shock: like most people around the palace, they found Garrett’s size intimidating and they hadn’t expected him to be in my chambers. Aleksander glanced curiously between Garrett and me. But if he suspected something between us, he was polite enough not to say anything.

“Your Majesty,” said the intelligence chief, “I’m here because we’re not making any progress with Sebastian. He claims he wasn’t passing Caroline’s location onto anyone. He claims he’s genuinely in love with her.”

I nodded slowly. “Well... I’m sure you’re doing the best you can.”

He and Aleksander stared expectantly at me.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m not sure what else you want me to say.”

The intelligence chief leaned forward. “Your Majesty... conventional interrogation techniques aren’t working.”

And then I understood. I heard Garrett’s intake of breath from the darkness as he realized, too. “You want me to authorize torture,” I said slowly.

They nodded. Aleksander looked grim. God, Sebastian’s his assistant! They’ve worked together for years!

“No,” I said firmly. “Absolutely not.”

“It would be strictly off the record,” said the intelligence chief in a low voice. “Only a few people would ever know. ”

My jaw dropped. “You think I’m worried about getting caught? Reported to the UN? You think that’s my problem with this?!”

Garrett stepped closer and that low Texas growl filled the room. “Your Majesty... they may be right. It might be the only way to catch the assassins. They wouldn’t hesitate to do much worse to you.”

I held his gaze for a moment. Those clear blue eyes were full of concern: he just wanted me to be safe. But—

“No,” I said. “And that’s final. I won’t sink to their level.”

Aleksander bowed. “As you wish, Your Majesty.” And he and the intelligence chief left. Garrett gave me a careful bow, then stepped towards the door to leave as well.

“Garrett!”

He stopped.

“Do you think I made the right decision?”

He turned to face me and I could see the sympathy in his eyes, the way his big hand was crushing the door handle. He was fighting the urge to grab me and pull me into his arms.  “I’m just glad I’m not the one who has to make it,” he said at last.

“My father always said this was the loneliest job in the world,” I told him. “I’m just starting to understand what he meant.”

He looked down at the floor, breathing hard. I could sense the battle going on inside him because I felt the same way. “We can’t be together,” he said at last. “That doesn’t mean you’re on your own.”

My eyes went hot and I had to press my lips together hard. I nodded.

“Will there be anything else, Your Majesty?” he asked.

I shook my head, my voice cracking. “No, Garrett. There won’t be anything else.”

He backed out of the door and closed it. I slumped against the heavy oak, then slid down it to the floor as the tears started.