She spun from her desk at the sound of the voice, relaxing only when she saw the familiar face at the door, the piercing dark eyes and aquiline nose.
“You scared me,” she said, irritated. She closed her journal, pushed back the chair, and went to stand at the tall, dormered window. The oppressive heat of the day had given way to an evening thunderstorm; rain peppered the glass, running down the panes in long, silvery tears.
“I’m sorry, my Queen.”
He’d taken to calling her that of late. It got on her nerves.
She spoke to the window, not bothering to turn around. “What is it?”
“I’ve received word from your father’s lab in Milan. The reports you requested.”
Now she did turn, so quickly she lost her balance and had to set a hand against the sill to steady herself. “You have them? Where are they?”
A large manila envelope was produced from behind his back. He held it out, smiling. “Here.
Shall we review them together?”
Eliana took several small, hesitant steps forward, her heart like a hummingbird trapped in her chest. Her father’s reports. This would tell her what he had discovered, what he had spoken of so rapturously—and vaguely —the night he was killed.
Killed by the man she’d nearly convinced herself she was in love with. The man who had used her so badly, who’d plotted to take her father’s kingdom for himself.
She knew that courtesy of the loyal servant who now stood in front of her. He’d discovered the plot himself, had been on his way to warn her father just before he was killed. At least, that’s what he’d said when he’d found her that night, hysterical and incoherent. He’d served her family for so long —unfailingly, with no expectation of reward—she knew it was right to listen to him when he said they had to flee Rome and start fresh somewhere else.
She knew he was the only one she could trust.
Filled with a swell of gratitude for him, she said, “Yes. We’ll review them together.
And...thank you. Thank you, Silas. You’ve done so much for me. I couldn’t have done any of this without you.”
Silas smiled, a slow, spreading grin that overtook his entire face but didn’t touch the frozen depths of his black, black eyes.
“Oh, no, my Queen,” he murmured, moving closer. “It is
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I want to give special thanks to Eleni Caminis, my amazing editor at Montlake.
Your enthusiasm, professionalism, sense of humor, and tireless cheerleading kept me sane whenever I was about to go off the rails. Working with you is a dream, and I couldn’t be more grateful for your support. Plus, you have great hair. (How can one person be so cool?)
To the rest of the team at Montlake Romance: YOU GUYS ROCK! It’s like
Also big hugs to the incredible Brooke Gilbert and a deep bow to the sheer fabulosity that is Ms. Daphne Durham. I’m so grateful to all the special people I’ve met at Montlake and Amazon, and I’d like to go on record as saying Jeff Bezos is a genius not only because he’s built one of the best companies in the world, but also because he knows the importance of hiring the right people and giving them the tools to be
I owe a debt of gratitude to Marlene Stringer, agent extraordinaire. Without you I’d probably still be in query hell. Thank you for your dogged determination and business acumen; I’ve learned a lot from you.
To Melody Guy, who caught all my goofs and gaffes, I would like to bestow the Nobel Prize for developmental editing. (Unfortunately I’m not on the selection committee, but I’m totally going to send them a strongly worded letter.) And to Renee Johnson, thank you for dealing with the serial comma issue, among other things!
I also owe a special shout out to Lily Yao, aka Eagle Eye, who caught a glaring mistake before it was too late. Xander and I thank you.
And finally to Jay...you had me at “It’ll never last.” You saved me from disaster once, and you keep on saving me, every single day. I love you.
About the author
