Page 42 of Royal Cocktail

“Leo—I’m so sorry.” She meant about his father, but the words held so much more meaning than that.

He squeezed her hand. “I have to go.”

She heard the pain in his voice and nodded, then bit her lip as tears started to fall. She felt the professor’s hand close over her shoulder as they watched Jürgen’s security team surround Leo and lead him to a waiting Town Car. Then he was gone, the limo left behind to take her and the professor on to the ceremony.

“I’m so sorry, my dear,” Professor Malkin said, after he’d gently closed the door.

She managed a watery smile, then worked on her breathing until she was confident she could form words. “The multiverse,” she said. “That’s a … physics thing … isn’t it?”

His brow furrowed, but he nodded.

“So maybe there’s … another Leo and Skye … together in a universe … where I chose to go … with him.”

The professor’s eyes seemed as sad as her own. “Perhaps there is, my dear. But the only universe you’ll know is the one you make.”

Chapter Nineteen

Leo spent the fifteen hours on the jet from Austin to Avelle-am-see trying to sleep so that he would be awake when he saw his father. It was a fitful sleep, though, as his fear that his father would pass away before he made it home tormented Leo.

“He’s not looking good,” Gisele told him when they spoke on the sat phone. “I miss you, little brother.”

“He can’t die,” Leo said. “I’m not ready to have both our parents gone.”

“No one ever is,” Gisele said, understanding that he meant more than just the loss of their parents. He also wasn’t ready to be the king. “But we must all rise to the challenge. You, my brother, will be fine.”

“Only because you’ll be at my side.” He closed his eyes, forcing himself not to say that it should be her who would ascend. They both knew he felt that way, just as they both knew that there was no time to push through any changes. Not unless a miracle befell their father.

“I will be wherever you need me,” Gisele said. “I’ll always have your back.”

“I love you,” he said, speaking the words in English instead of the native tongue they’d been talking in. He didn’t know what possessed him, but the words made him think of Skye. Not that he’d stopped thinking of Skye. He wished she were with him, but he hadn’t been surprised when she’d declined.

“I’m sorry Skye declined to come,” Gisele said, making Leo smile.

“Reading my mind will be an asset since you’ll be my closest advisor.”

“Perhaps you are too easy to read, Your Highness.”

He snorted.

“Truly,” she said more gently. “I only know her through you, but I am sorry, Leo. Love isn’t easy to find, and it’s often harder to keep.”

“Thank you,” he said, wondering if his sister had ever found love. He didn’t think so, and that realization made him sad. Then again, she didn’t have to feel the loss he was now feeling, and he wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone. “She doesn’t understand the strength inside her,” he said. “But I also can’t blame her. She can’t be my wife, and she has no desire for a public life. It’s only in fairy tales that love conquers all. Usually, it’s much more difficult to tame.”

“You sound very wise. Just as a king should. Hurry home, brother. I’m afraid that the throne may be yours before you even arrive.”

They ended the call, and he spent the remainder of the flight praying that he’d see his father one last time. His mother had died in childbirth when he’d been ten, proving to him once and for all that being a royal wasn’t that special after all. How could it be when you could so easily lose the people you loved?

The airfield was twenty minutes from the palace and the royal motorcade rushed through the emptied streets, lights flashing, the nearby mountains seeming to loom in, trapping them in a nightmare. Citizens stood on sidewalks, already wearing mourning badges, and the gate around the palace was littered with flowers.

It was all too real. Too damn real.

Once they were inside the gates, he threw himself out of the car and raced up the steps and past the doormen. His footsteps echoed down the halls, then again as he pounded up the stairs. He sprinted to his father’s wing, then collapsed with relief into his sister’s arms.

“He’s weak, but he’s alive,” she whispered. “Leo, I think he’s waiting for you.”

She pulled out of his embrace, gathering herself. Her hair was a mess, her face streaked with tears, and deep shadows accented her eyes. But she smiled at him, and he smiled back. God, he was so glad to see her.

“I need to go in.”