The Princess and the Guard (Book 1)

Twenty Five

Noah was awake well before six. He wasn't sure he'd be able to get any sleep, but somehow, he did. His shift started at eight, so he hit the gym, took a quick shower, and then changed into fresh clothes.

Checking that his door was locked, he sank down at the small desk and propped his tablet up. He'd never been through the gates of Demetria before two weeks ago. His trip to America was a literal Godsend, and gave him the chance to see how the gates were operated.

His thoughts had been so focused on getting the ship ready for flight that he hadn't given much thought to the process of actually leaving the country when the time came. To the best of his knowledge, people were allowed to leave Demetria without documentation or authorization. It was getting in that was trickier.

Juliette's affinity for computers and hacking would come in handy, should something change, but as of right now, he wasn't anticipating the gates being an issue.

He pulled up the data he'd collected while away and started to read over it. The gates were mechanized, both by computers and by registered personnel. There were only certain times cargo and passenger ships were allowed through and it was about a thirty-minute process for them to be opened.

So far it seemed like an easy ordeal, the problem he had was what to do after. He'd been working for a little over two years, so while he had a decent chunk of money saved, he knew it wouldn't be enough for two people to live on for very long. Which meant he needed to be looking for another job that he could jump right into as soon as they reached whatever country they ended up going to.

He didn't doubt Juliette would be willing to work as well, which would help. She could easily get a job working for a security company.

Seas, he couldn't believe they were another step closer to leaving the palace. Leaving the country. They only had one chance, so they needed to make it count.

Noah ran his hands down his legs and then leaned back, his eyes wandering to the side as his mind started to churn over this string of thoughts. It really wasn't so impossible, the idea of running away. It would only be dangerous if he were foolish in his preparations to leave. But if he were careful—more than careful—it should be easy.

Getting supplies stocked so far hadn't been an issue. He would continue to purchase things, gradually, that he could hide on board.

With a sigh, Noah stood up and started down to the communal kitchen for something to eat.

"Hey, have you been sleeping for a full day, or what?" Mason asked, walking up behind him and smacking his shoulder. "I haven't seen you since you got back."

The corner of Noah's mouth tilted in a smile. "Yeah, well, I needed to catch up on as much sleep as I could before I started work again."

"So how was it? Flying overseas?"

"Amazing. A little strange going through the gates. Felt almost illegal, but seas, it was such a great experience."

Mason almost laughed.

Noah made himself something to eat and then retreated back into his room where he poured over the rest of his notes, and then started compiling thoughts and ideas.

Chewing the inside of his cheek, Noah did a quick search on the housing places he'd found in California, then compared them with some of the places he found in Australia. Australia was a little more affordable and unfortunately at this point, they needed to go with practicality. They could always relocate down the line.