Elias arrived at Somero Palace just as the sun sank below the horizon. The sprawling structure made an imposing silhouette against the fading sky, with numerous arches, parapets, windows, and a surrounding wall that had protected the Ascher family seat for centuries.

The limousine drove across a traditional drawbridge and passed into a large inner courtyard before slowing to a stop before a set of shallow stairs.

Elias disembarked, fingers quickly fastening the buttons on his navy pin-striped suit. He’d chosen to dress formally for the occasion since it had been a state invitation.

He followed two guards through the front doors and into the tall foyer. An enormous chandelier hung down over a statue that sat atop a stone pedestal. The caped man riding a rearing horse was exquisitely carved, an Ascher ancestor of centuries past. Hallways snaked off to other parts of the palace from this entry point.

“Your Highness, thank you for accepting my invitation.”

Elias glanced to the right. Inari approached from one of the hallways, resplendent in a figure-flattering pencil skirt and matching short coat of baby blue. Her taupe heels clicked on the floor as she drew near and extended a white-gloved hand.

“Of course.” Elias went through the genteel motions of a handshake, then flanked Inari as she turned and began making her way into a different hallway than the one she’d come out of. “I take it this has to do with the attempt on your life?”

Elias maintained eye contact when Inari glanced his way. The connection only lasted a few seconds before she faced the hallway again.

“Something like that. It’s not an inquisition or anything. There’s something I wanted to ask you. Privately.”

“Why didn’t you call?”

She paused before a closed door then stepped through when her guard opened it. Elias followed, not surprised to find himself in a formal parlor. This one was quite feminine, however, with a floor-to-ceiling white fireplace, pink and cream furniture, and gilt accents throughout.

“I didn’t call, Elias, because I was afraid our conversation might get intercepted.” She gestured to a lush white wingback and perched carefully on a pink and cream striped chair positioned opposite.

He sat, hands folding into his lap. He couldn’t decide if he was surprised or impressed at the steps Inari appeared to be taking to control the situation. “What can I do for you?”

“I know you’re attending the conference in Berlin next week. You and Caspian are both on the invite list.”

Elias didn’t bother to ask how she’d gotten hold of the invite list. She was the future queen of Somero, and information like that could be easily had—with the right connections and a bribe or two. “I am attending, yes. As is Caspian.”

“Will your friend Jeremiah accompany you?”

Now that was a question he hadn’t expected. Did Inari have a thing for Jeremiah? “Actually, yes. He is. He often accompanies me and my siblings to these events. He may not be of royal blood, but that’s of little consequence to us.”

“Good, good. I had a conversation with my father yesterday about everything that’s happened. An idea sprouted from our discussion, and I wondered if you and your friends would be interested in helping me out.”

“I’m all ears.” Elias didn’t bother to tell Inari that he and his friends had planned to discreetly keep an eye on her. It was what they did, a habit picked up from King Sander, Jeremiah’s father, Leander, and several others who embarked on secretive missions to aid their fellow man. Elias loved the thrill and intrigue.

“Some have expressed concerns about my attending functions, even with my guard. I thought perhaps if we all traveled together, roomed near each other, that it would give my own security an extra boost. I’d like to attend the conference with a group, in hopes of dissuading any . . . situations.”

King Thane was the culprit here, Elias guessed. He was the one who had expressed his concerns, not that Elias could blame him. Inari might be dead right now had things worked out differently. Inari’s idea worked well into the current plans he and Caspian and Jeremiah had, which would make their task easier.

“Absolutely. I think it’s an excellent idea. We can take my father’s plane. You should arrive at Latvala the day before the conference. I’ll have Caspian do the same. Then we can all fly to Berlin together and travel home the same.”

“Excellent. I’ve never been to Kallaster Castle—that is where you’re staying, correct?”

“Yes. I’ll take a few extra security precautions to make sure you’re safe.” Elias knew his father wouldn’t mind stepping up the number of guards at the gate and doors of the castle, as well as the docks where the boats from the mainland came in.

“I have no doubt of my safety at your holding. But thank you.”

Elias regarded Inari thoughtfully. Surprised when she suddenly stood, he unfolded his leg and did as well. The meeting, he suspected, was already over.

“You’re more than welcome. Is there anything else?” he asked, puzzled when Inari came to stand directly before him. The pale green of her eyes sparkled with some as yet unnamed emotion. He could see it churning there just beneath the surface.

“Yes, there is something else. I wanted to say thank you, Elias. We both know I wouldn’t be standing here right now if you hadn’t happened to catch the assassin in the act. It’s been . . .” She paused, frowned, then met his gaze again. “Difficult to adjust to.”

“I’m sure it has. Thanks aren’t needed, of course, but you’re welcome anyway.” He set a hand lightly on her arm. Elias couldn’t be sure what made him do so, other than a hint of vulnerability he detected beneath Inari’s austere exterior. Someone had tried to kill her. Of course she would be a little vulnerable in the aftermath.

She further surprised him when she stepped in and wrapped her arms around his neck. A fierce, tight hug that pressed her body against his.

Elias returned the embrace, deciding Inari must be flooded with gratitude and that was what had prompted the action. Behind closed doors, away from prying eyes, she was free to express herself and not be judged.

He used a light hold on her hips to steady her when she leaned back and smiled. “I’m glad you’re all right,” he admitted. “Either way. No matter how it happened, I’m relieved the assassin didn’t succeed.”

Inari’s hands slid off his shoulders. He let his fall away from the narrow indent of her waist and tucked them into the pockets of his slacks.

“Do you think he’ll try again?” she asked in a quiet voice.

“I don’t know, Inari. It depends what the agenda is behind the attempt.”

“Well, to get rid of me, obviously.”

“It’s more than that, though. There’s deeper motivation here. Is it political? Personal? No one knows yet.” Elias ran down the faces of Inari’s siblings in his mind’s eye. “Your sister Lisbet is next in line, correct?”

“Yes. Lisbet, then my brother Carsten.”

“There haven’t been any issues in your country—with the people—over you taking the throne eventually, have there?”

“Not to my knowledge. I mean, there are always unhappy citizens. You know how that is. But no one has threatened me or made an issue of me being next in line. I’ve worked hard to earn the people’s trust and gain their loyalty.”

Elias had personal experience with dissatisfied citizenry and threats to the reigning monarchy. His own uncle had, once upon a time, nearly brought Latvala to its knees with civil war and attempted murder of the king.

“Just be careful. That photographer, if that’s who is behind all this, may be acting in someone else’s stead. The person responsible for the attack could be someone in another country entirely, or right here beneath your roof.” That’s what hard experience and history had taught him. Sometimes the danger was not where one expected to find it.

“You don’t think Lisbet or Carsten had anything to do with it, surely,” she said, body stiffening with offense.

“I’m not sure how you came to that conclusion, but I highly doubt it. I meant more like recent visitors or household staff. Someone may be compromised or has been blackmailed and hired out the hit.”

“You asked after the lineage then said I should be careful under my own roof. That’s how. But I take your meaning.” Her shoulders settled and the tight line of her mouth softened.

The situation didn’t call for humor, but Elias felt amusement slither through his system anyway. How easily things could get twisted around. In truth, he hadn’t been able to remember if Lisbet was older than Carsten, which prompted his query. It was a fact he should have known, considering Somero bordered Latvala on one side.

“It’s really a matter of my poor memory,” he said, and winked.

That drew a quiet laugh from Inari. “Poor memory. Perhaps over the birthdates of my siblings, but not over everything. You’re too sharp for that.”

“Compliments from a future queen. I’m flattered.” He flashed Inari a smile and spun on a heel for the door.

“Wait, Elias. Where are you going?”

He paused and turned. “Home? I thought our ‘state visit’ was finished.”

“Stay for dinner. Not a formal gathering,” she said, waving a hand as if to dismiss the idea. “Just you and I.”

Elias considered the offer. He had nowhere to be this evening, other than the library at Kallaster to sort through more books, seeking clues to the mystery of the dagger. The lure to resume his passion was strong, but Inari’s hopeful look and burgeoning smile was persuasive in the extreme.

“But I refuse to eat the cow’s hooves and pig’s tails I hear are a delicacy in your country. I demand real food,” he joked, then laughed outright at her startled expression. He laughed harder when, upon realizing he was putting her on, she picked up a small pillow and threw it at his head.

---

Dinner turned out to be an easygoing, light affair served in a private dining room. Instead of cow’s hooves and pig’s tails, Elias supped on fresh fish, steamed vegetables, and a side salad topped with apples, cranberries, and walnuts. Inari came alive during the meal, speaking animatedly about recent world conferences and balls. Elias had more experience with the conferences than the balls and engaged her willingly in the former, less so in the latter.

He was pleased to find that her interest lay more in international events than gossip, though he also suspected that she could do justice to gossip in the right crowd, such as her female peers, rather than a prince of a neighboring country. He discovered they were both part of a private organization to save the elephants of Africa—what few were left—and that she’d petitioned the council five years back to use several hundred acres of Somero land to create a reserve for the nearly extinct creatures—and won. Somero now housed a herd of twelve elephants, she proudly announced, which impressed him no end. She agreed to fly him out to the reserve in the near future to see the work that she’d done.

Her perseverance and the light in her eyes suggested to him that there was a lot more to Inari than he first realized. The careful construction of a queenly veneer wasn’t the only accessible layer. One just had to know how to dig deeper.

“So tell me what else I’ve missed since I’ve seen you. What keeps Elias Ahtissari occupied these days? Besides driving half the female population wild?” she asked, eyes sparking with mirth.

He laughed and picked up a nearly drained glass of water. After a quick drink, he said, “I’ve been mapping out the secret tunnels and dungeons beneath Kallaster and Ahtissari Castle, as well as several other properties in Latvala.”

“Whyever would you do such a thing?” she asked with a curious tilt of her head.

“Because I’m fascinated by the lengths my ancestors went to in an effort to provide escape routes. Or to hide things,” he said.

“What things?”

“I’ve discovered a few very old maps and weapons. A bit of cloth here or there, or a stray piece of iron.” He watched interest take hold in Inari’s gaze.

“What do you do with it all? Put it on display?”

“None of it is on display at the moment. I keep it in my office for now, under glass, until I need it again. Most recently, I came across an unusual dagger with a crest that does not exactly match the Ahtissari crest of today, but which was clearly used at some point in time. I’m chasing leads to see why or when the crest changed.”

“What was the old crest, then?”

Elias dug out his phone and pulled up two relevant pictures: that of the crest on the dagger’s hilt and the current Ahtissari crest. He turned the screen for her to view. “Two lions facing toward each other around a letter A. Now they’re facing away and the A is missing. I want to know why and if there is documentation over which king made the decision to switch.”

“That information should be easy to find in your history books,” she said.

Elias glanced down when her fingers laid over his to tilt the screen to a better angle. Her warm skin and light touch sent a small jolt through his hand.

“Right?” she asked, looking up from the phone.

“So far, I’ve found nothing. But there are a lot of books to go through.” He slipped the phone away and relaxed in his chair, dismissing his reaction as nothing more than surprise that she’d touched him at all.

“I’ll come to Kallaster and help, if you’d like. How about this? I’ll arrive two days before the conference next week and spend some time in your library.”

He was honestly surprised at the offer. “All right. You’re on. Don’t blame me if you get a permanent crick in your neck and walk around as if you’re staring at the sky all the time.”

Laughing, he pushed to his feet.

Inari scoffed and laughed, and rose from her seat. “I’ll just bill you every month for the inconvenience.”

Amused, Elias watched Inari circle the table to stand at his side. She clasped her hands in front of her and looked quite smug, which amused him even more.

“Thank you for dinner,” he said with a courteous bow of his head. “I’ll see you next week.”

“Thank you, Elias. Have a safe trip home.”

He spun on the heel of his boot and stalked to the door, where he paused to glance back across the room.

“Be careful, Inari.”

With that, he stepped into the hall and was gone.