The Silver Eyed Prince (Highest Royal Coven of Europe) (19 page)

“Your Highness!” Ben stopped abruptly when he caught a glimpse of him. “I apologize! I didn’t see you right away.” He curtsied.

Lela and Carlos also curtsied and bowed, then the three of them stood dumbfounded, darting curious eyes from Chad, to the Prince, then to her. Elizabeth waited in dread for them to shoot their questions in rapid fire. A
fter all, she and the prince were still engaged in an embrace.

“We're so late!” Carlos blurted out instead, to her immense relief.

“Your Highness, we really have to go.” Ben glanced quickly at his watch, obviously trying to act normal.

“Ah, yes.” Prince William nodded, back to being the arrogant, annoying
Mr. Mockery
. All traces of the wonderful guy, who had just kissed her so tenderly, had completely disappeared. Then, just when she thought he was going to release her, he bent his head and pressed his lips to the racing pulse on her wrists.

“Off you go,
S
weetheart,
” he declared with infuriating conceit for all to hear before he loosened his hold and strolled casually away as if nothing had happened.

“Oh, my . . .” Lela exchanged a bewildered look with Carlos, who a
rticulated a silent
yoodeleheehooo
with his mouth
.

How dare he?
Elizabeth fumed, glaring at the Prince's back.

“Don't let him upset you too much.” Chad squeezed her shoulder.

She hauled in a deep breath and hung her head for a minute, then slowly exhaled and nodded.

“Good girl.” Chad gave her a quick friendly hug. “Come on.” He led her to the path towards the entrance.

“You, my dear—,” Ben caught up with her, hanging on to her right arm while Lela latched on to the left, “have a lot of explaining to do to Mama Ben and Auntie Lela.”

“Hey, what about me?” Carlos protested next to him as they approached the main foyer.

“Oh, yes,” Ben added, “and to Carlos, our talking pet iguana.”

“At least my armpits don't smell like garlic.” Carlos poked his nose near Ben's shoulder and grimaced.

“Excuse me?” Ben glared at him and sniffed his armpits noisily. “It's not me, you moron!” 

Elizabeth wordlessly hoisted the garlic rope from her bag between them.

Ben, Carlos, and Lela scattered screaming in different directions.

“Yuck!” Lela yelled from a di
stance. “Get rid of it!”

“Why?” Elizabeth asked.

“It's a skunk trapped in a vegetable's body!” Ben shrieked from a few yards away.

“Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!” Carlos chanted on the opp
osite side.

“I knew you were the culprit.” Chad laughed. “You almost exterminated me with that smell confined inside my SUV!” He took the garlic and threw it in a trash can.

“Oh, no!” Elizabeth covered her mouth. “Sorry about that!”

“It's all right.” He peered sideways at her. “But I hope you trust me by now not to bring any more tomo
rrow. Garlic really doesn't work, you know.”

Elizabeth colored. “I do trust you.”

“Good.” He dimpled handsomely. “I would hate to die by toxic garlic-vapor inhalation.”

Elizabeth chuckled and boxed him on the arm.
If only Mr. Mockery was as nice and sweet as Chad,
Elizabeth mused, quivering inwardly at the memory of his kiss.
Luckily, her friends didn't walk in on them while they were kissing! Now what would be her explanation for
that?

Family Intervention

       Prince William pasted on an unperturbed expression even though he felt like the worst scoundrel in existence as he strolled towards Darian Hall's spacious lobby.

What in the devil's name had go
tten into him? Why couldn't he control himself around her? And how the hell did Gunter befriend her so quickly? And as for Elizabeth, why—she actually defied his orders and favored the Colonel over him!
Bloody marvelous indeed!

This whole courtship idea was more tedious than he'd expected. At this rate, it would take them forever to get back to England. Meanwhile, they were like sitting ducks if anyone had the clever notion of unearthing e
xactly what they were doing in Darian Hall
.
Damn it all!
He had neither the time, nor the patience for this!

He spotted Prince David and Prince Philippe cha
tting near the entrance and he walked towards them.

“Ah, there you are.” Prince David noted his dark mood. “You look radiant as ever. Did you find your keys?”

Prince William gave him a probing look and caught Prince Philippe's voice in his mind.
Catherine is here.

“Er, yes.” He fished his keys from his jacket pocket. “I guess I dropped them when I took off my jacket.” He flitted his eyes at Sophia, Silvia, and Catherine, who were standing wit
hin earshot with other Royals.

That wasn't very smart, you know.
Prince David's voice rang in his head.
I thought the plan was— that you were going to woo her?

I was!
Prince William scowled.
Until Alexus, Gunter showed up!
What the hell was General Bradford thinking, sending him here?

Now, now. We're not jealous, are we?
Prince Philippe joined in their telepathic conversation.

Or scared of the competition?
Prince David exchanged a glance with Prince Philippe.

Hell no!
Prince William glared at them.
Why should I be?

Then why are you acting like a tyrant?
Prince David admonished with a tsk.
You're supposed to be courting her—, not governing her like a damned continent!

Ah, I knew you were spying on me!
Prince William snorted and flung him a derisive look.
I suppose you know better what to do?

No, not at this stage of ruin, I do not.
Prince David ignored his petulance.
But Sophia might.

Female intervention.
What a splendid idea!
Prince Philippe glanced past him at their younger cousin who excused herself from the other Royals and strode towards them.

Prince William muttered a curse.
If you geniuses think, I'm taking orders from our little cousin—

Princess Sophia kissed him with a loud smack on the cheek.
Who knows better what a girl wants than me?
She glanced around conspiratorially
. Silvia managed to convince Catherine to come with her. Let's talk, shall we?

The Duke’s Suspicions

        Perched atop a tall tree in the dark woods outside of Darian Hall, John Drake, Duke of Northern Peninsula, could not believe his own eyes. He took the binoculars from Major Reynolds who sat on the branch next to him to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

“Well, I'll be damned!” He threw his head back in sardonic laughter. “If it isn't The Unattainable Lady Catherine herself!” He peered into the eyepiece again, unable to stop admi
ring her.

The little minx is as beautiful as ever!
He suppressed the excitement that only Catherine could invoke. Only a man like him would be senseless enough to travel halfway around the world in the hopes of orchestrating a closure to their unfinished business.

“According to Intelligence, she arrived three days ago from Switze
rland,” Major Reynolds, the American Officer assigned to his private army in the east coast, said.

John kept his eyes glued to the lenses for a long while, watching and following her. Then, his brow wri
nkled considerably as his displeasure grew at the view.
It certainly was Prince William! And who could be the little chit with him?
He followed the duo, but the girl had her back to him and they disappeared behind the shrubbery.

“Why wasn't I informed that she wasn't alone?” he demanded.

“You Grace?” Major Reynolds cocked his head in surprise. “Lady Catherine flew in unaccompanied, Sir.”

“Is that a fact?” John bit out a curse. “Then our a
rmy intelligence suffers from a lack of intellect, because I don't like what I'm seeing.” He handed the binoculars to the Major.

“What in the world—?” the Major exclaimed in disbelief and adjusted the focus. “Prince William and his cousins! How—? They must've flown in a private jet before her!” He glanced at the Duke. “Your Grace, Catherine flew in via the public airlines.”

John hissed a frustrated breath.
With the Prince here, he would have no chance of approaching her.
He flagellated himself for being such a romantic muttonhead, rushing like an imbecile to America, dreaming of rekindling their affair.

Did he think that Catherine would welcome him with open arms? Had he forgotten how she and her mother had belittled him?

He narrowed his eyes.
But
w
hy did the Prince let her travel alone? And what are they all doing here? None of their records were in the student files, except for Catherine's. The Prince and his cousins certainly weren't here to study. They were exceptionally well educated and far advanced for this school! Thus, if they weren't here to learn, then ... what exactly prompted them to come to Darian Hall?

“Something is not right.” He dar
ted his eyes at the Major. “Find out what's going on.” He slid from his perch, jumped a few branches down, and somersaulted in the air, landing on his feet on the ground.

The Major alighted next to him. “I'll have Lady Catherine, the Prince, and his cousins on surveillance.”

“Tell the men to be very cautious.” John strolled with the Major towards their waiting vehicle. “The European Royals are extremely perceptive, dangerous, and ferocious. One mistake and you're all dead.”

Lady Catherine’s Obsession

       In the library, Catherine sat next to Silvia, thumbing absentmindedly at the book in front of her. She couldn't stop thinking about what had happened earlier as she and the twins crossed the driveway from the parking lot.

Who was the girl William had practically snatched and dragged up the stairs?

She would have gone to investigate, except Silvia and Sophia had distracted her with some inane que
stions about her shoes, of all things! And then, when William had rejoined David and Philippe several minutes later, he had apparently recovered his keys—, which did not make any sense!

If that Tainted girl had taken his keys, why would he haul her away? He certainly took his time confron
ting her behind the bushes! And why was he conversing telepathically with his cousins?
What were they discussing?
She wished she had the same ability, but the gift only extended to the covens with the purest blood.

Catherine suddenly realized how out of place she was among them. She may be a European Royal, but her family was not a direct lineage of a
Pure One.
If she wanted to improve the quality their breed, she must marry a Royal whose family descended from a
Pure One
at least to the second generation.

Like Prince William and his cousins,
her mother had said,
but then, while you're at it, why not pick the heir?

She halfheartedly agreed just to stop her mother's relentless lambas
ting of her former lover, John Drake, the Duke of Northern Peninsula. The Duchess forbade her to marry him because she wanted to elevate their social status by matching her with a high-ranking European Royal.

At first, she was distraught and resisted, but when her mother intr
oduced her to Prince William the XIV, his devastating good looks bedazzled and captivated her.

The only problem was ... she wasn't sure if he felt the same way.

Catherine closed the book with a loud clap, making Princess Silvia who was reading next to her, jerk her head up. “I think I'll go find William,” she said.

“Oh, I was hoping you could help me do some r
esearch,” the Princess said. When she hesitated, Princess Silvia reached over and clasped her hand. “Please?” She blinked beseeching yellow-green eyes at her.

Catherine sighed. “All right.” She wondered why she let Silvia talk her into coming in the first place. Wi
lliam's cousins had been seeking her constant company lately. Not that she minded. She really liked them, in fact. But their persistent diversions had taken her time away from William.

Catherine planted an elbow on the table and rested her chin on her palm, staring at the stack of reference m
aterials that Silvia had piled high next to her.

Surely, this was not some ploy to distract her?