By the time Drake got up the next morning, Liam had gone back to Cordonia for some diplomatic event, thankfully taking Tariq – always eager to suck up to nobles – with him. Maxwell had already gone for a run, showered and had breakfast.
“Finally! Ten more minutes and I would’ve had to wake you up!” said Maxwell, handing him a croissant from the fancy bakery down the street.
“And then I would’ve had to kick your ass,” Drake’s sharp tone was undercut by the grateful look he gave Maxwell. He hungrily tore into his croissant.
“So, listen, I had an idea…”
“Maxwell, is this about your stupid underwater club again?! Because I swear to God–”
“Hey! I stand by Club Sub! It’s a great idea and you’ll regret not getting in on the ground fl…” he feels Drake glaring and him and chooses to let it go. “Anyway, no, this is not about that. It’s about Riley.”
“Riley who?” Drake asked absentmindedly, wiping crumbs off his mouth.
“Are you serious? The waitress from yesterday?”
Drake has the decency to feel ashamed of himself. “Right, that Riley, sure. So, what’s your idea?”
“We should bring her to Cordonia! You know, to surprise Liam! House Beaumont could sponsor her!”
“What! How is this worse than Club Sub?!”
“For the last time, Club Sub is going to be a WILD success, and this is also a great idea. Think about it, Liam practically fell for her in one night; it would be the best surprise! Not to mention, this could be my chance to help House Beaumont. Bertrand would be so happy!”
Drake shook his head. “I should have known; this isn’t about Liam at all, is it? This is just about restoring your House to its ‘former glory’ or whatever. And you’re gonna be using some random girl who might end up destroyed.” He scoffed in disgust, “You people.”
“Whoa whoa whoa, that’s not true! Of course it’s about Liam. And I promise, there will be full disclosure: Riley will know what to expect and what we get out of sponsoring her. She will only come if she really wants to, you have my word.”
“Fine, but for the record, this is a terrible idea. She won’t last 2 days.”
“Noted.” Maxwell grinned.
Drake waited in the cab to the airport while Maxwell asked Riley to come with them. This is so stupid. He sighed. How was some clueless girl from New York going to survive the court? Hell, Savannah hadn’t and she’d been a part of it her whole life…
This train of thought was welcomely interrupted by the arrival of Maxwell and – he groaned – Riley.
“So, you’re coming with us, huh?” he asked tonelessly.
“Looks like it!” She looked absolutely ecstatic. She’s not half as nervous as she should be. He shrugged and turned to look out the window.
Drake hadn’t said much on the way back to Cordonia; he figured between Maxwell and Riley they had the conversation side of things more than covered. He wasn’t wrong. Other than sleeping, they had done little else than talk about Cordonia: how beautiful it was, how wealthy, how nice the people were.
This was definitely all true – with the exception of some people – but Drake felt a sense of urgency. Why tell her about all the good stuff, instead of warning her about the bad stuff? He’d hate for her to go into this blindly.
“Say ‘goodbye’ to New York and ‘hello’ to Cordonia!” Maxwell was almost as excited as Riley was, looking out the window impatiently.
“I can’t believe this is actually happening…”
He couldn’t keep it in any longer. She had to know. “Believe it. We’ll be landing soon, ready or not. And if you’re not ready, those ladies at court are going to eat you alive.”
Maxwell looked at him reproachfully. “Yeesh, don’t scare her, Drake. You okay, Riley?”
Riley turned to look directly at Drake, defiant. “Honestly… I’m not afraid of anything.”
Cocky. At least she had a good attitude. “Heh. We’ll see once we land.”
“I don’t get why you’re being so grim about this…” she phrased it like a question.
It irritated him. It’s not like he had no reason to be grim; he’d seen this happen before. He told her as much, “Look, no offense, but I’ve seen girls like you come and go. It never ends well. Not for you, not for Liam, not for the royal family.”
That last part was not strictly true, Liam had never seriously fallen for a foreigner before, but he figured his main purpose should be to dissuade her from this whole idiocy before it was too late.
Maxwell retorted with indignation, “Riley’s not some crown-chaser.”
“Drake… to be fair, YOU’RE more my type,” she smirked.
Drake thought he misheard. He ran through the sentence in his head and once he was sure she’d actually said that, decided it must have been a joke, “Hah.”
“I’m serious. I don’t usually go for rich boys, much less royalty.”
Is she for real? Not that it even matters. Still, Drake felt a ridiculous blush creep up his neck. Fortunately, at that moment, Maxwell let out an excited exclamation, so no one noticed.
“Hey, look! You can see Cordonia out the window! Riley, you won’t want to miss this!”
Riley hurried to Maxwell’s side, while Drake looked out the next window. It really was breathtaking. The crystalline ocean surrounded a mountainous island, which was all but covered in homogenous red-tiled roofs. On a tall, forested hill stood a magnificent palace.
“That’s Cordonia? It’s like something out of a fairy tale! The sparkling ocean, the swaying trees–”
“If you burst into song, I’m jumping out of the plane.” Drake quipped.
Riley chuckled, “I’m just saying it’s beautiful.”
Maxwell seemed relieved she’d liked it. “It is, isn’t it? Are you ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
The journey from the royal family’s private hangar to the palace was a short one. When Riley caught the first glimpse of the imposing building, her mouth fell open.
“…the Royal Palace. Welcome to you home for the next few months, Riley.”
“This is where I’m staying? I didn’t realize I’d be living in the palace!” she was practically vibrating with excitement.
“Most of the nobility live here while the social season is underway… Including all the ladies vying for Liam’s hand.”
“Yeah, living under one roof just makes it easier to attend the rose ceremony later…” Drake smirked.
Maxwell rolled his eyes, “Drake’s just kidding… at least about the roses. Anyway, I’ll show you to your room, Riley…”
“This is my cue to take off. See you around… if you’re lucky.” He waved at her and turned his back, not waiting for her to respond.
He headed towards the grounds, where he’d be meeting Bastien for training. His mentor was already waiting for him.
“Hey, Drake, you’re a bit late.” It wasn’t a reproach, more like a question.
“Yeah, we took off 20 minutes later than we’d planned.”
“Why? You seem annoyed.”
“Maxwell insisted we bring this girl…”
“A girl? What are you talking about?”
Drake filled Bastien in on the Riley situation. To his surprise, he didn’t seem upset.
“Bastien, we don’t know this girl, we don’t know anything about her! That has to bother you!”
“Obviously I’ll run a background check, but if she’s just a regular girl, like I suspect, then what’s the harm? I think you should reflect on why you’re so bothered by her.”
“Wh– I-I’m not that bothered,” Drake spluttered, “I just… you know what it’s like here… Savannah…”
Bastien put an arm on his shoulder, “You’re jumping to conclusions. We still don’t know the circumstances under which your sister chose to leave,” he saw Drake was about to protest and he put his hand up, “however, even if a member of the court is to blame, that doesn’t mean this lady will suffer the same fate. She is not Savannah.”
Drake rubbed his face, “You’re right, I know. But still, she should know what she’s in for.”
“And I have no doubt you’ll warn her pleasantly,” Bastien teased. “Now, let’s train.”
After a grueling half hour of self-defense practice, Drake went to his room and showered. Once he got dressed, he finally checked his voicemail.
He’d followed Savannah’s faint trace, through the internet, phone calls and long shots, up to a hotel in the northern coast of Spain. He’d called to inquire about her before their trip to New York. The receptionist he talked to was new and hadn’t seen her, but she offered to ask her colleague. Time to see if his search had led anywhere.
He had one new voice message and it was from the hotel. His heart soared when the other receptionist confirmed that he had seen someone fitting Savannah’s description, only to drop down to his feet when he followed this up by saying she’d left two days ago and left no contact information.
Another dead-end. Whatever had happened to her, she really didn’t want to be found.
“Riley Addams of New York.”
Drake looked up from his champagne at this announcement to see Riley confidently entering the room. He’d been wrong about her the first day; she was definitely above average. Tonight, wearing a bold red dress complete with a black mask and devil horns, she looked striking. To his surprise, she spotted him and walked towards him.
“So, you showed up after all.”
“Well, you’re as charming as ever,” she replied, though not unpleasantly.
“Hah. Compared to most of the nobles here, I’m your best friend.”
“Drake… I believe you.”
For some reason, this exasperated him. She doesn’t know the half of it, or she would have left. I guess it’s better than nothing. “That’s the first smart thing you’ve said.”
She finally looked mad at him. “Thanks.” She turned to leave.
Drake reached for her arm, “Look, I’m not trying to be a jerk. I’m just trying to help.”
“You have a very peculiar way of helping.”
Drake looked down at his feet, feeling self-conscious. He never knew how to handle these things. He didn’t mean to come off that harsh, but better that than whatever happened to… Nope, we’re not thinking about that right now.
“I’m just saying the things that I wish someone would’ve told me a long time ago. Anyway, if you’ll excuse me, I could use another glass of champagne… Good luck, Riley.”
For the first time, he meant it.