Inari blinked against a burning, gritty sensation along the edge of her eyelids. She reached a hand up to rub away the sting, which only afforded her a few seconds of relief.

But she couldn’t stop now.

Not when she’d just unearthed another letter from a book lying open on the desk. She’d been at it for hours, flipping pages, picking up where Caspian had left off. She knew this was the book he’d been looking through because she’d seen him in this chair when she’d arrived much earlier in the evening. Now it was three, or perhaps even four in the morning. Two guards stood outside the doors to the subterranean chamber—which she’d been given express permission to visit—adding an extra layer of protection.

She opened the document with gloved fingers and gently flattened it out.

---

My loathing for the Latvalan king knows no bounds. He left us to die. The Viking raids lasted for weeks and I have lost many men. Seasoned warriors who will not be easily replaced. Sandersson could have helped us avoid the slaughter, but he did nothing. Perhaps he even hoped for this outcome, to erase the Rehn name from history.

He failed.

A second wave of warriors arrived from the hinterlands overnight and beat back the Vikings. Those they did not kill in the midnight ambush fled on their boats back across the sea from whence they came.

It is rare that Vikings retreat from a fight. I can only think luck was on our side.

We have prevailed. Barely.

And I wonder if the retreating Vikings only left to gather reinforcements, so they could return with a larger flotilla and make a second strike.

I have called in every able man.

We will fight to the death, until there is not one warrior left on Imatran soil.

Including me.

---

Signed,

Amschel Rehn

---

Inari read it again, fascinated by the angst she could all but feel jumping off the page. Somero’s own history had been bloody in the beginning as well, though reading firsthand accounts of a king put an entirely new spin on everything. Were there similar documents in her library? Journals of her ancestors? Inari knew Somero’s past intimately, could recite the battles that led to the birth of her country and the kings who fought alongside their armies. She knew dates, skirmishes both won and lost.

But she had never read from an ancestor’s personal journal.

Not a king of old, this far in the past, in the midst of war.

“Find anything interesting?” Elias asked from the doorway.

Inari spun around in her chair, startled at his silent entrance. She took in the new pair of navy slacks he’d changed into, as well as the crisp white shirt with the sleeves flipped back to his elbows. “I did. I found another letter. It appears to be written after the last one you found.” After a moment, she added, “You’re up awfully early.”

“It’s five fifteen in the morning. I’m usually up around this time.”

He approached the desk with interest sparking in his vivid blue eyes. Inari twitched when he mentioned the time, which she’d clearly lost track of. Instead of explaining the reasons why she was still awake—he wasn’t stupid, he knew why—she gently pushed the page over so he could read the contents.

“I see now why you’re so taken with the past. This is fascinating,” she said as he began to read.

His brow furrowed, expression intent.

“I didn’t realize there was so much tension in Latvala and Imatra’s past,” she added.

“I didn’t know things were like this either, until recently. These pages shed new light on the whole discord between kings,” he replied.

“I read the other entry, too. I’m thinking there must be an entire journal somewhere.”

“Probably.” He straightened and pushed his hands into his pockets.

“It doesn’t solve anything with the crest, but it does give you answers, at least.” She met and held his gaze when he looked her way. Inari had a strong desire to rise and step into him, sink into his warmth and strength.

She didn’t.

“You haven’t slept at all,” he said.

“That nap threw me off, I guess. I wasn’t tired after I talked to my father and got an update on Lisbet.”

“What did he have to say?” Elias tilted his body so that he could perch on the edge of the desk.

Inari didn’t have to look upward quite so far now. “That the doctors said Lisbet’s stats are looking better. She wasn’t on the ventilator for too long, which is a good sign. They’re able to say now that she should recover with time.”

“I’m glad. That’s good news.”

“It’s very good news. I still wish I could go see her. Hopefully she’ll be home soon.” Just as she started to say something else, Elias hit her broadside with an unexpected question.

“Tell me about your relationship with Wolfe Novak.”

Wolfe. She hadn’t thought about that name, or the person attached to it, for months. Regardless, her cheeks flushed and she fluttered a hand up to fiddle with a stray lock of hair. Why was Elias asking her about Wolfe? Moreover, how had he found out about the relationship?

“Yes, we dated. For about a year. We kept it—I kept it—under the radar for personal reasons. Then I found out he cheated on me, an accusation he hotly denied, and ended the relationship shortly thereafter.”

“Were you in love with him?” Elias asked.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business.” Inari surged to her feet, suddenly annoyed and defensive. “We dated. He cheated. It’s over.”

“We’re investigating every angle on this stalker issue of yours. It seemed prudent to make sure, to be positive, that there wasn’t bad blood between you and him when it ended. It appears, at least to me, that you left angry, not him. That helps us narrow things down. You see?” Elias said in a calm, neutral voice.

Inari paced around the desk, resisting the urge to rub her stinging eyelids again. “I don’t know. Yes. I mean, I guess so.” She paused to collect her thoughts and get control of her temper. “Wolfe just isn’t the type to try and kill someone. He’s a player, yes. He’s wild and has a reputation for debauchery on the highest levels. But Wolfe is no murderer.”

“All right.” Elias nodded his head, as if accepting her opinion at face value.

“I didn’t mean to get so defensive,” she said a moment later. She felt guilty snapping at Elias when he had nothing to do with that whole situation. “I’m sorry I was so abrupt.”

“Don’t be. Clearly something about that whole ordeal still affects you.” Elias smiled and eased off the desk.

Inari had the strangest sensation of distance. As if he’d suddenly erected an invisible wall between them. His smile wasn’t the warm one she knew it could be, but polite. Cordial. As if they were strangers meeting at a state dinner party.

“Yes. It still affects me,” she confessed, deciding to confide in him. She wanted the other Elias back, the one who comforted her with a touch to her arm, who drew her into his embrace when he knew she was hurting. “He’s in love with me. Has been since early on in our relationship. He spent the first four months after our breakup trying to get me back, promising me everything. His devotion, his soul. But I’m that kind of personality. Once bitten and all that. I couldn’t go back, even though he’d denied ever cheating on me in the first place.”

“How did you find out he’d done so?” Elias asked, sliding his hands into his pockets.

“One of my closer female acquaintances heard it while she was at a gala on Weithan Isle. The woman Wolfe cheated with was one of the hired help in the castle. Not a titled princess or even the daughter of a wealthy figure. Just a member of the cleaning staff. Word got around, as it always does, until it reached my ears.” Inari didn’t understand why Elias frowned the way he did, sharp and immediate. “Why do you have that look on your face?”

“Just a curious state of affairs,” Elias said.

Inari suspected he was being evasive, and that there was more to his thoughtful expression than he let on. “I’m not sure what’s curious about it. Wolfe’s reputation is known far and wide.”

“It’s not his reputation I find curious,” Elias said. He pivoted toward the door, changing the subject along the way. “You don’t seem to be having any issues being down here, like you did at Kallaster.”

Inari fell into step behind him, ready to be above ground again. “I think it’s because the confines aren’t so suffocating. Your tunnels were much darker, much closer to the skin. It felt like being buried. Here, at least, the cavern is spacious enough to walk around and has plenty of lighting.”

“You’re right about that.” He smiled over his shoulder and gestured for her to take the lead. “Ladies first.”

“Well, isn’t that chivalrous? You must not want me staring at your ass.” The words popped out unbidden. She sucked in a surprised breath then threw back her head—at the same time Elias did—and laughed.

He set a broad, warm palm on the back of her shoulder and guided her in front of him. “Now that’s the Inari I remember from years ago. She’s still in there somewhere after all.”

“You almost sound like you prefer that me over this me.” Inari took the lead, but threw a look behind her. Elias wore a downright smug, wolfish expression that was a stark deviation from his controlled neutrality. She decided she liked it.

He leaned his head forward, shoulders bent, and whispered in her ear. “I like both equally well.”

Inari walked into the wall. Her shoulder bounced off the stone at the corner that led to the stairs, bumping her back into the solid mass of Elias’s chest. She laughed, a quieter peal of amusement, and didn’t balk when Elias used two hands on her hips to steady her balance.

“A real gentleman wouldn’t have let me walk into things.” She feigned indignation and rounded the corner. Quick steps took her from the bottom of the stairwell to the top.

“I was a little distracted by the tiny spider crawling across your nose,” he said, ever so casually.

Inari gasped and brushed at her face. Nose, cheeks, forehead. Even under her chin. Her skin crawled at the very idea that a spider had traipsed across it.

His baritone laughter assured her that there’d been no spider at all. On the landing, she spun to swat at his chest, grinning up into his face. He caught her wrist before the swat ever landed and pulled her close. It reminded Inari of a dance, how their bodies turned slowly away from the danger of the stairwell, meshing together while they stared into each other’s eyes. She did not pull her hand away, and did not resist when he suddenly swooped down to kiss her. There on the wide landing, the door to the main level of the castle standing open, she engaged in what started out to be a series of small, feathery kisses. Elias’s lips were warm and supple, his tongue darting against her mouth as if seeking entrance.

She gave it. Accepted him inside while he slid a strong arm around her waist. She made a fist in his fine shirt, crumpling the material while their tongues touched and glided against one another’s. He searched the deepest, most secret crevices of her mouth with connoisseur-like skill, effortlessly fanning the flames of passion.

When their lips parted, she stared up into Elias’s eyes, recognizing a gleam of desire that she knew was reflected in her own gaze. The moment stretched into several long seconds of silent questions and communication.

Should she ask him back to her room? Was that too forward? Would he accept? At least they could share another kiss there without fear of being discovered by the guards. In the end, it wasn’t the guards that found them.

“There you are. I was just—whoa.” Erick came to a sudden stop in the doorway.

Inari blushed and stepped back from Elias, using her palms to brush at her own clothing. Elias’s shirt still sported a crumpled spot from her fist.

Talk about a telling detail, even if they hadn’t been actively kissing when Erick arrived.

“I’ll see you later. Get some rest if you can,” Elias said, stepping past the threshold with one hand guiding Erick deeper into the castle.

Away from the landing, from her, which was both a blessing and a curse.

She waited until the men had disappeared into another hallway before she made her way into the castle proper.

The unexpected kiss left her reeling and reconsidering her feelings for Elias Ahtissari.

A spark had been lit, one she wasn’t sure she wanted to put out.

---

“Brother, was that what I thought it was?” Erick asked.

“Yes.” Elias paced next to Erick along the hallway, thoughts back on the princess he’d just unexpectedly kissed. The moment still felt right; he had no regrets. He wasn’t typically prone to impulsiveness in his latter years, but he couldn’t deny that had been an act borne of pure instinct and want.

Elias glanced at Erick when he felt his brother’s blatant stare. “What?”

Erick stared harder, eyes widening, as if to say, don’t ‘what’ me. What the hell is going on?!

“Tell me what you’ve found. You came looking for me for a reason,” Elias said.

Erick grunted his unhappiness. “Nice sidestep.”

“Something familiar in more of the photos?” Elias asked, stifling his mild amusement. He knew this wasn’t the end of Erick’s attempts to get some answers out of him.

“Yes. I found the same man in two more photos.” Erick gestured to one of the generic parlors off the main hall.

Elias followed his brother through the open doors. They headed straight to a desk with pictures fanned out over the surface and a laptop set up, screen in sleep mode. Erick tapped a few keys and brought up an image of what looked to be a charity event. Elias recognized a logo in the background as he scanned the faces of guests who stood near a podium with glasses of wine in their hands. It did not take him long to spot the dark-haired man. He pointed to him just as Erick did.

“Yes, that’s the same guy. So he’s been to quite a few of these events. Maybe scouting Inari’s security team, getting an idea for their schedules and how they operate,” Erick said, bringing up another photo. This one was of a street parade in Somero—Elias recognized the palace in the distance—with fans lined up behind metal barriers.

Elias pointed to the person of interest, picking him out of the crowd now that he knew what to look for. The man’s dark hair and distinct blue-tinted sunglasses gave him away.

“Here’s an interesting tidbit,” Elias said, looking from the monitor to his brother. “I asked Inari about her alleged relationship with Wolfe Novak. She was definitely involved with him. She broke it off when she heard he’d been cheating on her . . . with a maid.”

Erick’s brows shot upward. “A maid? Is this the same Wolfe Novak who flits between supermodels like a bee pollinating flowers? That Wolfe?”

Elias nodded. He thought Erick was onto the same train of thought he’d been on since Inari mentioned it.

Erick’s expression grew dubious. “There’s no way. This supposed maid would have to be the most beautiful woman on earth for Wolfe to so much as notice her with the company he keeps. Something about that sounds way off.”

“Exactly. Inari also said that Wolfe denied the accusations, but the damage had been done for her. She couldn’t go back. He pursued her for four months after they ended their secret relationship, advances she rejected,” Elias said.

Erick glanced at the computer screen.

Elias watched Erick’s expression as it shifted from thoughtful consideration to a dawning realization.

“This guy is a hitman sent by someone who doesn’t want Wolfe getting together with Inari,” Erick said.

“Yes.”

“And I’d bet my next paycheck that Wolfe is not the perpetrator here.” Erick seemed positive.

Elias liked that Erick’s thought processes mirrored his. “But it’s someone with inside knowledge of Somero’s royal schedule, someone with power and money to send this guy all over the world. Someone who managed to get this guy inside Somero palace the night Inari was nearly drugged. The question now is who has a vested interest in who Wolfe dates and why do they want Inari out of the picture.”

Erick rubbed a hand along the back of his neck. A sudden, shrewd look entered his eyes. “A scorned one-night stand doesn’t hold up against the smell test. Though the supermodels could afford to hire a hitman, it wouldn’t be worth the risk to their careers if they were found out, and it doesn’t answer how a supermodel would get her hands on Inari’s schedule. I think the jealous girlfriend idea is out.”

Elias actually smiled. Erick was taking the same thought process Elias had down in the Crypt and coming to the exact same conclusions. He said nothing, waiting to see if his brother reached the next obvious answer.

A troubled frown creased Erick’s brow. That was the moment Elias knew Erick had tripped upon the same culprit he had.

Elias met and held his brother’s bemused, disturbed gaze. He said, “We could be wrong. There could be someone else. But with her history . . .”

“And Wolfe doesn’t even know, does he, that his own mother is probably trying to kill the woman he once loved,” Erick said.

“Once loved? Maybe still does. Maybe that’s why Princess Valentina Novak has hired a hitman. Perhaps Inari pissed Valentina off—it’s hard to say. She seems to be the likeliest perpetrator out of everyone I can think of,” Elias said.

“So what do we do? It’s not like we can accuse her without proof. Father would kill us both if we went public with it,” Erick said.

“No, we don’t do that. We find the hitman, I think, and put the screws to him. I also think, because we’re involved and because of Father’s history with Valentina, that we tell him our suspicions.” Elias rubbed the center of his palm with his opposite thumb, thinking through the game plan. It was fluid and ever changing with each new revelation.

“I can’t think of anyone else that makes sense,” Erick admitted. He seemed to be racking his brain for another culprit to the crimes. “But you’re right. We should tell Father immediately. Not over the phone, either.”

“Why don’t you head back to Latvala and have a talk with him? He should be home from his trip by now. I’m going to stay here for another day or two, then I’ll join you. If Lisbet continues to make good progress and leaves the hospital soon, the public will expect the Aschers to begin attending events. Maybe as soon as next week.” Elias planned to be at every one until they caught the hitman.

“All right. We should keep considering other possibilities, just in case. I feel like this could explode into something major if we’re not careful.” Erick began scooping up the photographs.

Elias said, “It already is something major.”