Chapter 132: The Tower

ARIEL

~THUD~

The knife lands just a couple inches above Isabella’s head.

~Right where I wanted it to.~

The crowd erupts into cheers, and Mateo relaxes beside me.

Esmeralda turns to me with a look of complete shock on her face. That wasn’t the way her little game was supposed to end.

But quickly she regains her composure, and that usual nasty smirk creeps back onto her sharp face.

“My, my,” she says, “isn’t this one full of surprises?”

“Just getting a little bored with this part of the show,” I shoot back, not even bothering to hide the venom in my voice.

I know in order to make this plan work, I’m supposed to act like an innocent, helpless queen and all…

But after seeing her torture Isabella like that, I had to do something.

She looks at me with suspicion, then turns back to Isabella on the stage.

“I’m getting tired of looking at this whore,” she yells out. “Take her back to her tower!”

Suddenly, my eyes widen. She just told us where Isabella is being kept.

~The tower.~

There are only two in the whole castle, so she must be referring to the one that we’re not staying in.

Alex looks over and gives me a silent nod, which means it’s time for the next part of our plan.

~My~ part.

~Thank the Goddess.~

Because if I have to spend one more second watching Esmeralda put her dirty paws on my mate right in front of me...

~I might have to see how she feels about a couple of knives getting thrown at her face~.

“You know, I hate to be rude, but I’m getting kind of tired…,” I say innocently. “I think I’ll go to bed early tonight. But you can stay up and keep the queen company, can’t you, Alex?”

He smiles at me, playing along. “Of course, my dear.”

I kiss him deeply, making sure to drag it out and use as much tongue as possible because I know Esmeralda’s right there watching.

Just in case she’s forgotten that he’s ~mine~.

When I pull away, Alex looks breathless from my kiss.

“Good night, my love,” I say as I motion for Jo and Mateo to follow me. “And ~be good~.”

I smirk, because I can feel Esmeralda’s eyes burning holes into me as I turn and leave the room.

Once we exit, we walk across the lobby, turning a corner and getting away from any other lingering guests.

“This way,” I whisper to Jo and Mateo as I scan the hall for anyone else. “The other tower is in the west wing.”

Once I feel sure the coast is clear, I unzip the side of my golden gown and seamlessly slip out of it, revealing my black jumpsuit underneath. I stuff it into Jo’s bag.

I’m done playing royal for tonight.

It’s time to do what I do best.

Be a warrior.

I motion for Jo and Mateo to follow as we stealthily slip deeper into the castle.

ALEX

Now that Ariel’s gone, Esmeralda scoots herself uncomfortably close.

~Too close.~

I mean, she’s practically sitting on my lap now.

All it takes is one look in her eyes to know exactly what she wants from me. She bats her eyelashes seductively as her hand moves onto my thigh.

“So…now it’s just us,” she purrs. “How about we get a drink somewhere more ~private~?”

I don’t like where this is going one bit, but I need to buy Ariel some time.

The idea of being alone with this woman sickens me, but if I’m going to keep her distracted, I’m going to have to keep playing along.

“You know, that’s a great idea!” I say, quickly standing up right as her hand slides ~too~ high up my leg.

She smirks and takes my hand. We step down from the raised platform and Esmeralda guides me out of the ballroom.

We move away from the loud music and all the people, deeper into the castle, and through a large wooden door into what looks like her private chambers.

She shuts the door behind her, and just like that, it’s only ~us~.

~Alone.~

I glance around the room for anything I could use as a distraction.

A large glass door is opened up to the balcony overlooking the gardens and the sea, sending the curtains blowing in the wind.

Countless flickering candles are everywhere, illuminating the only real piece of furniture in this room:

The largest bed I’ve ever seen, with golden and black silk sheets covering it.

~Shit.~

~This doesn’t look good.~

Esmeralda turns to face me, drunk with desire. She puckers her lips, closes her eyes and leans in.

And then, I spot something in the corner. A small bar!

“Maybe…we could have a drink first?” I say, pushing her gently away and walking quickly across the room to get myself some glasses.

Her eyes flash a hint of frustration, but then she smiles slyly.

“Of course. One drink,” she says. “But you should know…I am not famous for my patience.”

I do everything in my power to force a convincing smile as I slowly pour us two whiskeys.

~C’mon, Ariel…~

~Hurry the hell up….~

ARIEL

~Okay.~

~So far, so good.~

We’ve managed to sneak through the castle without a problem. Most of the guards we’ve slipped past have either been distracted or blind drunk from the party.

“We should be close now…,” Jo whispers. “The tower should be right above us.”

She stands at a corner and carefully peeks around it. Her eyes widen and she makes the motion for us to stop.

We freeze, and my heart thunders as I listen for any sounds.

And then, I hear something.

Two guards talking. They sound bored, but I don’t understand anything because everything they’re saying is in Spanish.

“What are they saying?” I whisper to Mateo.

He stops and listens. “Something about…losing a bet…and now he is stuck with a night shift guarding the princess while everyone else is out having fun.”

“Well, let’s put him out of his misery, then.”

Both Mateo and Jo nod.

I motion for Jo to take the left one, and I’ll finish off the right one.

I put up my fingers for the countdown.

~3…~

~2…~

~1…~

In a lightning flash, I dart around the corner and roll across the floor, knocking one of them to the ground and putting him in a stranglehold.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Jo pull the other one down while Mateo quickly knocks him unconscious with the end of his sword.

Besides the bodies dropping to the floor with a ~thud~, everything happens as silently as a paw pressing into the snow.

~Just how I like it.~

Jo grabs a set of jangling keys out of the pocket of one of the guards and tosses it to me. I unlock the gate door, slip through, and we start to climb the steps up the tower.

Mateo can barely contain the excitement on his face. I can feel it too. My wolf is barking happily inside me.

We’re so close to being free from this bond.

We’re so close to everything going back to normal between me and Alex.

At the top of the tower, there’s a simple wooden door. I put my hand on Mateo’s, ignoring the shocks it creates when I touch his skin.

“Go in,” I say, flashing him a smile. “We’ll give you your privacy.”

He nods and slides the key into the lock, slowly opening the door.

MATEO

I quietly push open the door and step into a bare room sparsely furnished with simple wooden furniture.

And then I see her.

~Isabella.~

My wolf becomes so excited it feels like he is going to leap out of my chest and across the room toward ~mi amor~.

Her back is to me, and she sits on the ground near the open window, gazing out into the twilight over the endless ocean.

A cold breeze sweeps through the window into the room, sending her blonde hair fluttering so that I can see the profile of her delicate, pale face.

That beautiful face used to be so happy, so carefree. Isabella was always smiling.

But now, she looks so sad, like a flower that has been kept hidden away from the sun too long and is beginning to wilt.

“Isabella…,” I whisper, so quietly I am afraid she will not hear me.

She perks up, as if she is hearing my voice come in on the wind.

“Mateo?” she whispers, out the window, toward the sea.

“I am here, ~mi amor~,” I say, louder this time.

She turns to face me and stares at me in disbelief, her expression filled with fear.

For a moment I get lost in her mesmerizing eyes. Those irises, blue like the ocean, with specks of gold like the sun glinting on its waves.

“Mateo…,” she gasps. “They told me you were dead.”

I take a step toward her. “Here I am, my love.”

“A–are you a ghost?” she asks.

“A ghost…,” I say, kneeling beside her and pushing a lock of blonde hair out of her face. “Cannot do ~this~.”

I lean in and claim her soft lips, kissing her deeply.

Every day for months I have dreamt of this moment.

The moment I would touch my mate again.

To feel her lips on mine.

When she was taken away from me, my whole world was shattered. But now, with a single kiss, she has put it all back together.

I feel ~complete~.

Our lips crash together over and over, deeper each time, as my body surges with desire, and my hands grip her waist as if I am afraid that at any moment she will disappear.

But she is here.

She is real.

She moans and runs her fingers through my hair. “Mateo,” she sighs, “should we not go?”

“Yes, ~mi amor~…,” I say in between kisses. “We should.”

But we both do not pull away, and the kisses do not stop.

Far from it. They only get more and more passionate, and soon my body takes over and I pick her up, laying her down softly on the bed.

I lean over her, kissing down her neck, her moans like music to my ears.

“Mateo…,” she says, lightly placing a hand on my chest. I stop and look into her worried eyes.

“I am sorry,” I say quickly. “Now is not the right time.”

Her finger softly traces the outline of my scar.

“No,” she whispers. “Perhaps…it is the ~only~ time we have. If we do not manage to escape, we may never get the chance to be together again.”

“That will not happen,” I say to her. “I promise.”

She delicately pulls the straps of her dress down and I help her slip out of it.

I look down at her perfect naked body, every bit as beautiful as I remembered.

“You cannot promise that,” she says as her hand strokes my cheek. “And since we do not know what will happen…”

She leans in for a kiss, her soft bare skin against mine, leaving me breathless.

“Let us make love as if it could be our last time, Mateo.”