Page 56 of Royal Guard

Aleksander took me upstairs to my bedroom—as my chief advisor, he’s one of the very few staff who is allowed in my private chambers—and waited outside my room while Caroline helped me in a dress. It was a relief to be back in more traditional clothes, but—I looked sadly at the American clothes I’d just taken off—sort of a shame, too.

“If you’re ready, Your Majesty,” Aleksander called from outside, “we should go. They’re waiting for you.”

I rushed outside. “What?Waitingfor me? Who’s waiting for me?”

“Your other advisors. The commanders of your armed forces. Representatives of the treasury, the courts, the intelligence services and the police—”

“You just said there were some things to attend to!” I said, hurrying down the stairs. “Why didn’t you tell me there were people waiting?!”

“Well... because you’re the Queen, Your Majesty. They’ll wait all night, if necessary.”

I stopped dead on the stairs and stared at him. That’s when it really sank in.I was the Queen.And this was the moment I had to start ruling.

Downstairs, Garrett rejoined us and fell into step beside me. Aleksander led us to what we call the Great Room, where my father has all his meetings. The doors are twenty feet high and Aleksander walked ahead of me, nodding to the guards to open them.

I stopped.I’m not ready!I didn’t know tactics or political maneuvering like my father. I couldn’t give inspiring speeches, and I couldn’t do that voice my mother did that made people obey: my version was just a pale imitation. “I can’t do this!” I whispered to Garrett.

“Yes you can, Your Majesty,” he told me in that honeyed rumble. He grabbed my hand and gave it a secret squeeze behind Aleksander’s back. “I believe in you.”

I took a deep breath and moved forward into the room.

There were at least a hundred people there, rows and rows of them arranged around a circular table that held the most senior ones. As one, they all stood and bowed.

I tried not to let my legs shake.

My father’s huge, ornate chair was waiting for me. I slowly sat down. My feetalmosttouched the ground.

Everyone waited.

I swallowed. “The bombs,” I said. “Tell me about the bombs.”

“No deaths yet, Your Majesty,” said the head of the security services. “But a lot of destruction: famous storefronts, monuments, some public squares. All well-known places. They’re trying to spread panic and it’s working: people are terrified. No group has claimed responsibility. We’re analyzing the explosives they used. We’re guessing they’ll turn out to beGarmanian.”

“It’s a classic tactic.” Everyone turned to look at General Novak. He was a big, round man with thick white hair and mustache. “Eliminate the leadership, then spread panic among the population. When you have absolute chaos: invade.”

Novak had been in charge of our armed forces for twenty years and had guided my father through the war. He hadn’t wanted the peace deal: he’d thought we should have pressed our victory and wiped out Garmania completely. My father always described him as a big, loyal attack dog who had to be kept on a tight leash. They’d argued, especially over cuts to the military, but my father had always trusted him. And now it looked like Novak had been right all along. Garmania was going to invade us again.Oh God, please no.

“The Garmanian Prime Minister continues to deny any involvement,” said Aleksander.

“Is it possible he’s telling the truth?” I asked. “Could Silvas Lukin be doing all this on his own?”

“I don’t see how,” said the head of intelligence. “He has access to military-grade weapons, like the mortars he used in Texas.”

Garrett ambled forward out of the darkness. A few people eyed him suspiciously, but his imposing size made them listen. “There’s something else. Someone high up, someone who has access to all the information coming out of the FBI, is helping them out. If Lukin’s just some lone nutjob on a cause, I can’t see how he’d get that kind of help. But if a government’s behind it, that makes a whole lot more sense.”

Novak nodded gratefully. Then he turned to me. “Since the war, your father’s been scaling back our military. The Garmanian forces outnumber ours. If we wait until they attack, we’ll lose.”

My stomach sank through the floor. “You want me to attackfirst?!”

Novak slammed his fist on the table. “They attackedus!They shot your father! They tried three times to kill you! They’ve put bombs in our capital city! If that isn’t an act of war, I don’t know what is!”

The room seemed to spin around me, a carousel going way too fast.This can’t be real. I can’t have millions of lives in my hands.“I won’t go to war without more evidence,” I managed. I looked at Aleksander. “And make sure nothing leaks to the media about these attacks maybe being connected to Garmania.Nothing.Not until we’re sure.”

“At least let the Air Marshal ready our bombers,” said Novak. “Then we can launch immediately if things change.”

I hesitated... then weakly nodded. All of ten minutes in power and I was discussing going to war. All the horrors I thought we’d left behind us... they were all going to come back. I was scared and ifIwas scared…”The people must be terrified,” I said aloud.

“Yes, Your Majesty,” said Aleksander. “You should address the nation and tell them to be brave. I’ll arrange a broadcast—”