“As in, have I slept with him again?”
“Yeah.”
“No.”
“That’s good. You still have the power. Enjoy it—but not for too long. You might as well enjoy the rest of him too.”
“That’s one way to view it.”
“Come on, Allie. You are obviously crazy in love with him.” She picked up a throw pillow.
“Obviously?”
“Yeah. The way you look at him; the way you move around him, it’s hard to miss.”
“Oh.”
“So, how does Hailey fit in?”
“She’s Owen’s sister.”
“Which means…” Anne tied her hair up in a messy bun.
“Owen’s one of Levi’s best friends.”
“So they’re not royal?”
“No. But really, I don’t get the hierarchy yet.”
“You better learn it. You are the princess, after all.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. It was always so cold down there, and my dress wasn’t cutting it. “You’re not going to let that go, are you?”
“Probably not.” Anne got serious all of a sudden. “Tiffany’s going to be okay, isn’t she?”
“I think so…that was crazy.”
“No one’s told me anything, and by the sound of it, they haven’t told you either. What do you think happened?”
“They think another Pteron did it. Maybe to get to me…”
“Oh, that explains why they want us here.”
“I hope we get to go home tonight, but we can always stay in my room upstairs if we need to.”
“I’d rather not get burned to death, so I’ll do what they say. Besides, I wouldn’t mind spending some more time with Owen…don’t tell Hailey, but he’s pretty hot.” Anne smiled.
“I definitely won’t tell Hailey.”
The door opened, and Owen walked in. His ears must have been ringing. “Levi wants me to take you to your room, Allie.”
“Then why did he make me come down here to begin with?”
“Not that room. You have a room downstairs. It’s a safe room.”
“A safe room? Are you crazy? We can go upstairs.”
“Anne can, but there are some extra beds down here if she’d prefer.” He paused and looked at her.
“I’ll take a guest bed downstairs. It seems safer.”
“Okay, let’s set Anne up and then we can continue discussing this, Allie.”
“Fine.” I understood why Anne wanted the room. The truth was, I was terrified too. “Can’t I stay with Anne?”
“I don’t think so. The king agreed you needed to be in your safe room.”
“My safe room? What makes it mine?”
“It’s Levi’s…”
“Oh…”
“Yeah. The king has one, and the prince. It’s always been that way.”
We followed Owen down the hall, turned a few times and stopped in front of a door. He pushed it open, revealing two twin beds.
Anne eyed it approvingly. “Wow, nice guest digs.”
Owen stepped back to let Anne move into the room. “Glad you like it. I bet Hailey will crash with you.”
“Cool. Thanks.” Anne smiled. She was taking things so well. I wondered when reality was going to set in. “Night, Allie. And by the way, you officially have my permission to enjoy all of him tonight if you’re feeling up to it.”
“Your permission? I don’t think so. Goodnight, Anne.”
“Night.” She closed the door.
Owen raised an eyebrow. “Enjoy all of him?”
“Don’t start.”
He laughed. “I won’t.”
I followed him as he led me through two sets of double doors, each guarded by large guys I didn’t recognize. I didn’t need to ask to know they were Pterons.
Owen opened a metal door, and I entered Levi’s safe room. “My bet is that this is fancier than the President’s bunker.”
Owen chuckled. “Yeah, I’d think so too.”
The place was decorated to the nines with red tapestries. Marble floors matched the hallway, but the large bed in the center of the room was perched on a plush red rug. A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling above the bed. A full dining set was positioned on the other side of the room, with a kitchen located off it.
“Is the bathroom just as nice?”
“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Great, I hope I can find something of Levi’s to wear.” I needed to get out of my ripped and dirty dress. I opened one of the large armoires stocked full of men’s clothes.
I opened the armoire next to it, expecting to find more of the same, but it was full of women’s clothing—all in my size.
“Please tell me Levi didn’t buy all of this…” I closed a drawer after realizing it was full of lingerie.
“I would guess Helen did. This might be a safe room, but the Laurent’s have been known to use their room for other reasons.”
“Other reasons?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Can you get more privacy?”
“Ugh. We don’t need to use ours for that reason.”
He laughed again. “Weren’t you supposed to be enjoying all of him tonight?”
I hit him on the arm. “Shut up.”
“I’ll get out of your hair then.”
“Do that, and do me a favor and tell Levi I expect a full report.”
“Aye, aye,” he said in mock salute.
Owen left, and I jumped when I heard the door slam closed behind him. The room was completely silent once the door closed, and I couldn’t help but feel trapped. As I looked around, I realized there could be much worse places to be confined.
I walked into the bathroom, and I’d been right—the place was gorgeous. There was a dual vanity with marble counters, a large soaking tub, and a shower big enough for two. I could have moved in.
I turned on the water in the shower, letting the whole bathroom get steamy before stripping off my dirty dress and stepping in. I hadn’t thought to search for shampoo or soap or anything, but someone already had the shower stocked—with my favorites.
Under the hot water, the reality of how close I’d come to dying hit me. I started to shake, and I leaned against the shower wall to steady myself.
“Al? You okay?”
My heart jumped out of my chest even though I knew it was Levi.