Chapter 13

The drive to the safe house took almost an hour and a half. Chloe watched through the window as clumps of trees and yellowing fields passed. They'd gotten off the highway relatively early, but she'd recognized some of these back roads. If they kept this course, they'd soon pass the East River.

"The safe house is on Daria lake?" She asked upon seeing the big wooden welcome sign. "That seems a little too...normal."

Darius, Ethan's personal bodyguard, maneuvered the car towards a long stretch of road that traced the edge of the water.

Daria Lake was a hotspot for vacationers. It was a manmade lake, one that spanned around 1400 acres, and always had people around it. By now the sun had begun to set. It lined the horizon, casting oranges and yellows along the sky. The lake water glittered with the light, making it appear as if the stars had fallen from the sky to float along the surface.

Chloe rested her temple against the window. She loved the way the trees grew along the lake. Amid those trees, big, sprawling houses peeked out.

She'd never really gone on a legit vacation before. Frank never wanted her in the public light, instead choosing to lock her away in the house. When Danika started getting bigger and bigger—when her career really took off—trying to get out of the house that was her prison only got harder.

Living at the palace with all its freedoms was the closest she'd ever gotten to a real vacation.

But now, being at Daria Lake gave her the smallest sense of a retreat. After all, weren't beaches and sun and swimming everything that came with a vacation?

She had to fight to keep the excitement from taking over. She was still scared—of course she was scared—but at least for this moment, she'd appreciate what she had.

Ethan reached over and wrapped a warm hand around hers.

Ethan. She had Ethan. He was okay. He was safe. And for now, that was all she could ask for.

They drove for what felt like hours. Eventually, the car stopped. Darkness had swept in and the smooth chill of night hit the air. Chloe got out after Ethan, following his lead as he went back to the trunk to help Darius with their bags.

Two other black cars—small, sporty cars like the one they'd arrived in—pulled up behind them. Doors slammed shut and the bodyguards assigned by Jackson stepped out.

Altogether Jackson had stuck them with four other bodyguards besides Darius. Five bodyguards seemed a bit much, but Jackson didn't want to take any chances. Chloe didn't either when it came to Ethan's life.

He meant too much to her.

The house Darius led them to peeked out from deep in the trees. It was a quaint house right on the lake. What she noticed right away was the lack of neighbors. Beside the bright lights on the porch of the cabin-style home, the only other lights were the ones across the lake.

"The safe house is very...normal." She said into the dim hiss of the crickets.

Darius was the first to address her comment. "Sometimes the best way to hide is in plain sight."

Ethan, who never let go of her hand, squeezed.

And with that, they stepped into their temporary home.

Darius had the key to open the door, but even before that he'd had to type a code into a hidden panel in the wood next to the knob.

The first thing she noticed about the inside of the house was the mustiness. It was actually so bad that she coughed.

"When was the last time anyone was here?" Ethan moved to open a window after Darius did a quick ground check of the home.

Darius flipped on the lights—in response, the large chandelier hanging from the tall ceilings turned on. "Probably a month."

"That's it?"

"There are supplies brought in once a month, but besides that, no one really uses this place. We've never had to."

"No one does the cleaning," Chloe said and laughed at the expression on Ethan's face. "Don't worry. In that area, I'm an expert."

A darkness passed over her mate's face. "I'm not using you for your cleaning skills."

Chloe rolled her eyes but said nothing. She didn't mind cleaning. It wasn't hard, and it would give her something to do while they stayed here indefinitely. And if he thought for one second that she'd sit around while he did it—or worse, if neither of them did it—then he was going to be sadly mistaken.

Ethan sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Look, why don't we just settle in tonight and we can worry about it tomorrow?"

Chloe's bones felt like they weighed a million pounds. That was a great idea.

Her eyes scanned the open floor plan of the cabin. The only bedroom was a loft hidden above the surprisingly updated kitchen. "Where are the guards going to sleep?"

Darius, who'd made himself quiet and still like a statue near the door, spoke, "There's another smaller cabin half a block west of here."

Given the size of the larger cabin, she wasn't quite sure how the other four guards would manage. "Won't that be tight?"

"Two guards will always patrol the outside of the home and the surrounding area. One will be inside at all times." Darius said. "We will be switching shifts."

"Jackson is having fresh food delivered at first light. Until then, the pantry is filled with nonperishables." He continued.

Chloe nodded and then bit her lip, concern spreading through her. "Darius, please let the guards know if they need anything, anything at all, that they are welcome to bother us."

If she hadn't been looking right at him she would have missed the very brief curl of one side of his mouth. "Of course, Lady Elizabeth."

"And tell them I said, 'Thank you'."

Ethan pulled her hand. "Come on, let's get some sleep. I think you've had enough excitement for one day."

~~~

Ethan

Light filtered in through a crack in the curtained window. Ethan, used to getting up early due to the life he lived, had been awake for half an hour. When sunlight poked and prodded at his closed eyelids he woke up, his body telling him it was about time to get this show on the road.

This morning he didn't mind waking up early—the picture next to him too beautiful to be asleep for.

Elizabeth curled up on her side, facing him. One delicate hand rested just under her pillow, supporting her head, while the other lay on her side above the covers. Her face remained relaxed in sleep.

He wanted to trace the ball of her nose and curl a stray strand of her auburn hair behind her ear, but he feared waking her up.

The natural light pouring in emphasized the red in her hair. He loved that the redness of her locks came out in the sun. When they were little, her hair had been more of a deep red, and every time the sun touched her, it reminded him of it.

The side of Elizabeth's mouth curved and she began to stir. With an elongated stretch, her eyes opened.

The fact that the first thing she did upon seeing him was smile made his breath catch.

He tried to get his heart under control. "Hey there, bed head."

A laugh burst out of her. "That's not the right phrase. You're supposed to say "Good morning, sleepyhead"."

He pretended to frown, though his own lips had long since curved upward. "But your head isn't sleepy. And you do have a bed head."

She reached up and ruffled his hair. Her fingers worked easily through his locks and he barely resisted curling closer to her touch. "So do you, Mr. Literal."

Ethan turned over onto his stomach, keeping her in his sights. He didn't want to miss a second of this moment.

"How long do you think it'll take Jackson to catch this guy?" She sat up and gathered all her hair to drape over her shoulder.

"Honestly? I'm not sure. But he knows what he's doing...we'll just have to wait here until then."

The two made their way down the wooden loft stairs and through the living room, into the kitchen.

Ethan liked the setup of the safe house. The ceilings were vaulted, which gave everything a more open feel. The living room and kitchen had both been designed in a unique design he would deem "upper-class rustic." A stone fireplace separated the kitchen from the living room. It was a nice piece to bring the rooms together. Combined with the brown leather couches and wooden chairs, he could see himself liking this place if he'd come for an actual vacation.

"Do you want breakfast?" She asked him, making her way to the tall cabinet-looking double-doored fridge. Her eyes scanned the contents before she pulled out a carton of eggs, some bread, and the orange juice.

"Sure." He couldn't resist. The idea of her cooking for him gave him a warmth inside his chest. "But you'll have to give me something to do because I'm helping."

She gave him a look as if she were ready to argue, then dropped it. "Okay. You've got the toast then."

Sticking toast into the toaster took relatively no time at all so he kept himself busy by pouring each of them a glass of orange juice.

"It looks nice outside. We can go out for a bit after this, right?" Elizabeth glanced back behind her shoulder at the bodyguard standing near the doorway of the kitchen.

The bodyguard—a rather skinny fellow named Raul—cleared his throat and stepped forward. "I'm sorry, Lady Elizabeth, but I've been given executive orders not to let either of you outside the premises until the Commander confirms it is safe enough."

A sad but accepting smile worked over her face. "I can understand that."

Ethan didn't want to crush her hopes, but the reality of the situation was very important. "It's for safety." He said. "Laying low isn't the most fun, but it often provides the best results."

She flipped one of the omelets on the stove, staring at the pan.

He cleared his throat. "We'll just have to make the best of things."

She snorted. "I guess there are a lot of movies in our near future."

***

Chloe

There were, in fact, a lot of movies in their future.

Days passed and Chloe and Ethan had begun to settle into a rhythm. Despite the fact that they were cooped up in a small one bedroom cabin, Chloe got a strange happiness from the experience. With Ethan being the crown prince, there would rarely be a time where the two of them would be able to be alone and relaxed. Not that the situation was anything relaxing.

Still, there would come a day when Ethan would run the kingdom and she would learn to be queen and have queenly duties that would take up most of her time.

Eventually, the two wouldn't have time for such simple things, and they sure as hell wouldn't be alone...not that they were alone now.

At the sink, Ethan rinsed a head of romaine lettuce. They'd just finished watching a romantic comedy (it was Chloe's turn to pick the movie), having spent their morning in a lazy fashion.

Ethan had taken to making lunch while Chloe usually did breakfast and dinner. At first, he'd been pretty rough around the edges when it came to cooking, but slowly she'd been able to teach him the basics by having him watch her while she cooked.

Of course, that still put him at a smaller level. They'd had a lot of salads and noodles so far. He deserved credit though—he'd been good about pulling his own weight.

After he'd washed it, he peeled back a few layers of lettuce to throw away and then began chopping. Meanwhile, Chloe set the table and got them each something to drink.

Their bodyguard for mid-day switched between Jim and Raul, but today it seemed Jim got stuck with the boring job of watching them go about their lives, which meant if she strolled outside right now it would be Raul who served as one of the far guards until the team switched again in their rounds.

"Jim, would you like some salad?" Chloe still liked to offer whoever was on guard a meal if they were cooking.

Jim shook his head, never moving from his spot near the wall.

Ethan sucked in a breath, the knife clattering on the counter. "Shit."

Chloe's heart jumped once in her chest and she shot over to him so fast, it was almost without thinking. "What happened?"

He sucked on the tip of his pointer finger and glanced down at her. "Don't worry, it's nothing."

"It's obviously not nothing. Let me see."

Ethan slowly showed her the tip of his finger. Right where his top knuckle bent, a small cut welled blood. "It's fine. I'm fine."

"You're bleeding." She said, snatching up his hand and flicking on the faucet. "I told you to curl your fingers when you cut so this doesn't happen!"

"I did. Lizzie, it's really--"

She washed the blood under the water, watching as it disappeared in little wisps. But then it came right back. "This is kind of deep. How hard were you cutting?"

Instead of getting angry at her tone, Ethan chuckled. "Well, I wasn't going to cut the lettuce by brushing the knife against it."

"Where's the first aid kit? Under the bathroom sink?" She frowned down at the cut, putting pressure on it. She'd have to put a band-aid on it.

Thank God he didn't do too much damage. If he'd gotten hurt, she'd have panicked. She should've cut the lettuce herself. That way he wouldn't be--

Her Acemark flared up, a warm heat curling from deep in her stomach and down her arm all the way to the tips of her fingers. Chloe blinked, suddenly lightheaded. What the hell?

Ethan's breath caught. "Lizzie." He whispered in awe.

She glanced up at him. Was he okay? What just happened? Did he feel it too?

"Look." Ethan pushed his injured finger closer to her.

The cut had disappeared.