Hidden Game, Book 1 of the Ancient Court Trilogy Read online

  I scanned the room, taking note of the things Nicolo surrounded himself with. Family photos were grouped on a nearby tabletop. Framed black and white art prints of famous buildings in Paris and Rome decorated the walls. Beautifully detailed architectural miniatures stood atop the fireplace mantle and were displayed on several shelves. Some of them were familiar—I recognized a cathedral I’d visited in London. Another was a well-known modern design structure. Walking over to it, I took a closer look then glanced back at Nicolo.

  “Is that a Frank Lloyd Wright?”

  He gave me an arrested stare. Finally, he blinked and answered. “Um… yes. You know his work?”

  “Not well. I had a computer-aided design class in high school, and we learned about some of his designs. We even took a field trip to one of his houses in Kansas City. And of course, everyone knows the Guggenheim Museum and Fallingwater.”

  Nicolo shook his head, looking almost dazed. “He is my favorite American architect. His vision… his commitment to community planning.”

  This guy was not a soulless monster. He loved art and accomplishment and beauty. And community planning. And he seemed to like me for some reason. He’d intervened to keep me from going with the doctor. He seemed worried about my bruises.

  A new plan formed in my mind. No, I didn’t really know him and certainly didn’t trust him, but at the moment he seemed to be my best bet for getting myself and Olly out of this place. I did need a new passport. I needed money. Which meant I needed to stay in his good graces. What that would require I wasn’t quite sure of yet. I’d start with being nice. My mom always said you could “catch more bees with honey than vinegar.” It was worth a try.

  Working up my most alluring smile, and for the first time in my life attempting an eyelash bat, I directed my gaze at my captor/host.

  “These are all amazing. Did you buy these online… or build them yourself?”

  Nicolo stood and cleared his throat, raking his hair back with one hand. He frowned. “Don’t try to change the subject. Do you have any other injuries? Did Dominique hit you when you got back inside?”

  “You don’t need to worry yourself. It’s not your problem. I don’t blame you.”

  He walked over to join me in front of the hearth. “I blame me. This is my home, and you are a guest, and one of my staff hurting a guest is unacceptable. That’s on me. Now let me take a look at the back of your neck—you can’t see it for yourself. I insist.” Obviously reading the instant resistance on my face, he added. “I can’t let you leave here until I’m sure you’re okay.”

  Be nice, Macy. Honey, remember? I let out a long breath and turned my back to him, lifting my hair with one hand.

  For an extended moment, nothing happened. Then Nicolo moved closer, close enough that I could feel the heat of his body all along the back of my mine and his warm breath on my neck. The small baby hairs there rose in exquisite sensitivity as he ran a finger lightly over the skin of my nape. For a big man he had an incredibly soft touch.

  “I am so sorry,” he whispered. “She will face severe consequences, I promise you. Are you in pain? I can get you something.”

  “No. That’s not necesse—” My words froze in my throat as I felt the gentle press of his lips to the back of my neck. My entire body was covered in gooseflesh in an instant. No sensation in my entire life had ever felt so pleasurable.

  I whirled around, ready to… what? Slap him? Kiss him? My thoughts where in such a scramble I wasn’t sure. We were too close together, but I couldn’t seem to step back. His eyes were locked on mine so tightly I couldn’t look away either.

  “Why did you do that?” I gasped. Had the “honey” worked that well?

  “I…” He shook his head, his eyes appearing dazed. “I don’t know. I’m sorry. I know that was very inappropriate. I’m not sure… I think I…”

  The huge wooden door to Nic’s suite swung open behind him, causing us both to startle. He spun to face it, drawing me behind his back, but not before I spotted his surprise guest. It was a woman—well, a girl our age, but very mature-looking and spectacularly dressed. With her height and looks, I’d have said she was a model or maybe an actress.

  “Alessia! What are you doing here?”

  She answered in rapid Italian. I was only able to pick up every other word or so. Something about “hotel” and “Paris” and “full” and “your apartment.” No, the word was “penthouse,” I thought. The tone was much easier to decipher. It was decidedly snippy. Who was this woman who felt entitled to walk right into Nicolo’s room and start railing at him? Oh—it must have been the supermodel sister.

  Nic’s answering tone equaled hers in annoyance. “Of course. Stay there as long as you like. As I said, I’ll be here tending to business. And Alessia, we are not married—yet. You cannot barge in here whenever you feel like it. Next time, try knocking.”

  The gorgeous woman switched to English, her voice carrying a tease, but not a humorous one. This sound had a cruel edge to it.

  “Why? Were you busy? Maybe this is your business that keeps you so constantly occupied. Acting out your sordid fantasies with your ‘pets.’” She spit out the word as if it were a bite of spoiled meat. “You are like your father, refusing to live in the real world and always seeking an escape.”

  “Don’t speak about my father. Living here for a few weeks doesn’t make you an expert on my family.”

  “Ah, but I am an expert on males and their pathetic lower natures.”

  She marched over and attempted to push him aside, but Nic stood firm. Alessia, as he’d called her, peered around his shoulder to slice me with a flinty blue glare.

  “Ah—I can see why you hide her. She is not even a real woman—just a half-grown runt of a girl. Is that what you prefer, my love? If so, you will not be able to handle all of this.” She ran her hands over her own significant breasts and the curves of her hips, narrowing her eyes at him. “It’s a good thing you won’t have much opportunity to experience it. The doctor says he knows ways to enable procreation that will not even require bonding.”

  Nicolo stiffened, his body beginning to quake. His words came out in a low rumble. “Get out of here, Alessia. We’ll talk when you return from Paris. And I hope by then you’ll have gained some control over your vicious tongue.”

  “As soon as you gain control over your…” She raised a haughty brow and combed her eyes down his body. “Goodbye mi amore.”

  Taking a step to the side so she could see my face more clearly, Alessia lifted a hand up close to her cheek and gave me a little twinkly finger-wave. “And goodbye little pet. Do you know what the farmers who work my father’s land do with the runts of the litter?”

  “Alessia!” Nicolo roared.

  She laughed loudly again as her high heels clacked across the floor to the door and down the hall.

  Nicolo turned back to face me. “I’m sorry about that.” Suddenly, he seemed exhausted.

  “That is your fiancée? That girl makes Dominique look like the tooth fairy. What’s wrong? Some kind of emergency?”

  “Yes.” He rolled his eyes. “The Eiffel suite at the Hôtel Fouquet’s Barrière is already booked, and she wants to stay in my apartment tonight instead.”

  “Oh. Is she always so charming?”

  He let out a weary breath. “She has… a temper. I’m learning it. Our betrothal is a relatively new development. And it was rather sudden.”

  “Love at first sight, huh? Well, I hope you’re planning a long engagement. You might want to take some time to get to know that one better before taking the plunge.”

  He barked out a laugh. “Yes. Well. Alessia is not all bad. She has… reasons for the way she is. People like you… scare her.”

  “She’s scared of me?” I said. “I thought I was going to pee my pants when she came storming in here. And I might be strong, but I think that girl could kick my butt. She’s got to be six feet tall. Plus, she’s mean.”

  “Yes.” He stared at me for several
long, silent moments, gazing into my eyes but also seeming to look through them, as if doing some sort of calculations in his head. It was unsettling. A nervous quiver started inside, somewhere near my stomach, working its way outward until finally I flickered my eyes away.

  Nicolo turned abruptly and called in one of the guards. Leading me toward the man, he used an authoritative voice. “Escort this one back to the fan pod. See that she packs a few days’ worth of clothes. I need to make a short trip to the mainland. This girl will accompany me for my convenience and pleasure.”

  My eyes flew open, and my jaw dropped. “What?” How dare he give his servant orders regarding me. In spite of his kindness a few moments ago, it was obvious I was less than a servant in his eyes. I was property.

  “I’m not going anywhere with—”

  “And don’t forget to pack several changes of underwear,” he interrupted with a wink. “I prefer the ones with cheeky references to farm animals.”

  My whole body grew hot, starting with my face. No doubt I resembled an overripe tomato. Not that it mattered. The guard didn’t even glance at my face as he obeyed his master’s order, sweeping me out of the room and hurrying me down the hall.

  Where was Nicolo planning to take me? Was he going to get me out of the castle and release me? Maybe this whole bizarre episode of my life would end tonight.

  More likely he really was bringing me along for his “convenience and pleasure.” Yeah right. Good luck with that, buddy. He was in for a swift and painful groin injury if he tried anything on me.

  The farther I got from his room, the more my temper cooled, and the clearer I could think. This was a good thing. No matter what his intentions were, being outside of the castle walls would give me a much better chance of escape than staying here under lock and key and the eagle eyes of Dominique.

  The guard stood outside my room as I re-packed my backpack. He followed me and stood at the door when I went to search for Olly in the fan pod’s common area. I couldn’t leave without speaking to her first. I couldn’t let her believe I’d simply abandoned her.

  I found her curled up on the sectional with a group of other girls, who were watching a recorded TV interview with Nicolo from some French talk show. He wore a perfectly fitted dark suit with a light blue dress shirt open at the neck to expose his sun-browned skin. Looking ultra-relaxed, he sat with his arms stretched across the sofa back on either side, one ankle resting on the opposite knee in that wide open leg-cross favored by supremely confident men.

  Naturally, the girls’ eyes were all glued to the screen, but hearing me approach, Olly lifted hers and spotted me. The other girls didn’t even seem to notice another human being around.

  “Come here,” I whispered, gesturing to her.

  I surveyed the room, making sure Dominique had not entered. It wouldn’t do to let her see me having a private conversation with Olly.

  She slid from the oversized leather furniture and made her way to the side of the room, where we sat on opposite sides of a chess board that never got any play. If someone did come in, we’d have an alibi for being together. I picked up a piece and moved it.

  “I’m leaving. Today,” I said under my breath.

  Her eyelids flew open. “Are you going to try to escape again?”

  “No. Uh… I’m going on a trip… with Nicolo.”

  “What? Where?”

  “Shh—keep it down. I’m not sure. He just ordered me to pack and sent me off with a guard. We’re leaving within the hour. But I will be back for you. Or send someone back. I’m going to find an opportunity to get away from him when we get to the mainland. Then I can use a phone or find a police officer or something. Now what is your last name? And your hometown so I can reach out to your parents.”

  “It’s Rowan. Olivia Rowan. My parents live on Dean Street in Bristol. What about the other girls?” she asked. Her round blue eyes were so full of hope. Of faith.

  It was unfounded. “I… don’t know.”

  “We can’t just leave them here. You know something bad is going on.”

  “I don’t know that.” My tone came out sounding angrier than I intended. I tried to modulate it. “All I know is I don’t want to be here, and you don’t want to be here. I can’t make decisions for the others. I can’t take care of everyone.”

  The disappointment in Olly’s eyes shamed me, but she didn’t argue it further. “Okay,” she whispered. “Be careful. And I will see you soon—right?”

  “Right.” I stood and gave her head a pat as I saw the guard approaching to take me to Nicolo. “Bye Olly.”

  She grabbed my hand and squeezed it tightly. “Please come back, okay? Please? You won’t forget.”

  The forlorn expression she wore tugged at my heart. A lump formed in my throat, making it hard to respond. “I won’t forget. And I will see you soon.”

  As I left the common room with my escort, I looked back over my shoulder at Olly, who was sitting alone now in front of the chess board. I had to help this kid get back home to her family. It was the right thing to do. And maybe if I could help her, it would make up for the mistakes I’d made, in some small way.

  My sister would never walk again, but maybe if I got this girl out of here and safely back home, I could sleep at night.

  7

  Nic

  I pulled my Bugatti Chiron—my favorite car—to the front door of the castle, waiting for Macy to come out.

  Alessia had said she’d be back in three days. Knowing her and her suspicious nature, it would be more like two. I didn’t want to be here when she returned, and I certainly didn’t want Macy to still be here. The way Alessia had scrutinized her… I’d seen that look in her eyes before—when she’d spoken of her broken engagement. When she’d spoken of her feelings for the human race. She wasn’t a fan.

  From the few real conversations we’d had, I knew it wasn’t just that Alessia’s fiancé had jilted her for a human girl. She’d also been spending a lot of time lately with Dr. Schmitt, and his ideas were a bit radical in my opinion.

  I could take or leave the humans—they didn't bother me. But Dr. Schmitt absolutely hated them, believed they were a deadly threat to our race. During the times of the First Ones, before history was even recorded in books, humans served and worshipped members of the Dark Court. Many longed for those days to return, and among the Dark Court in America, there had been efforts recently to restore that rightful order of things.

  Dr. Schmitt believed the Americans hadn’t gone far enough in their quest for Elven domination. It was his belief that if the humans knew about us, they’d obliterate us entirely, which wouldn’t be difficult. Yes, we had exceptional strength, and the Sway, and each of us had our own glamours. But humans were much more successful at reproduction and outnumbered us by far. My parents were the exception among Elven couples—they had produced two children—my sister Estelle and myself. Most Elven unions produced only one child, and only after decades of trying.

  Whatever I ended up deciding about releasing Macy—and I had not decided yet—I’d have to make sure she and Alessia didn’t cross paths again. That was the only reason I was taking this impromptu trip and taking Macy with me. Any other reason would be unimaginably stupid. Said the stupid man.

  The human girl stepped through the front doors escorted by Bardo, the captain of my personal guard. Watching in the rearview mirror, my eyes tracked the stretch of her tanned legs as she descended the curved marble staircase. I had to shift in my seat to achieve a more comfortable—and less obvious—position before she got into the car with me.

  Bardo put her bag inside the trunk then opened the passenger side door. Macy got in, clicking her seatbelt on and crossing her arms over her chest. As I started the car and pulled out of the circular driveway onto the road, the most enchanting scent wafted past my nose, making me want to lean over to her side and inhale deeply instead of driving. Had she put on perfume for me?

  But no—when I dashed a glance at her, she sat staring straight
ahead out the windshield, a resistant pout decorating her pretty face. She had no interest in seducing me.

  “So. Where are we going? Or is it not your ‘convenience and pleasure’ to tell me?”

  I laughed out loud. There was no end to this girl’s spunk. “Are all American girls as sassy as you are?”

  “I’m not ‘sassy.’ I’m mad. And I’m not easy, either, if that’s what you think.” Her crossed arms tightened over her chest. “If you were hoping for some kind of a playmate for your road trip, you should have picked a different girl.”

  She was obviously annoyed with me but also impossibly cute. Like an irate Pomeranian barking at a Rottweiler.

  “Not to worry, piccola. We have chaperones.” I tossed my head to indicate the car behind us. “You are safe from my ‘disreputable advances’—for now.”

  Macy turned in her seat, craning her neck to see my guards following closely. “You travel with bodyguards? Are you really that famous?” She sounded so incredulous.

  “You honestly didn’t mean to join my fan pod, did you? Have you ever even seen me play football?”

  “Of course. I’ve been in Europe for two months. It’s just… I don’t know… I mean, you’re big enough to protect yourself from all the lovesick groupies, aren’t you?”

  I gave her a wink and a cheeky smile. “You tell me. Maybe they’re here to protect me from you.”

  Macy harrumphed and sat straight again, staring at the road in front of us, her cheeks coloring with embarrassment—or fury. I wasn’t sure which. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “Which one?”

  “Where are we going?”

  “I have some business in Florence. Have you been there?”

  “No. I was planning to tour Italy next. I landed in London, spent some time in Scotland, then I went to Belgium and Paris.”

  “Well, you’re going to love Florence—it’s magnificent.” I slid my eyes to the side and studied her. “How old are you?”