A Muse Her

Chapter 42

"Your Highness this is bad," Willem said as he burst back into the shed with his eyes full of worry. "Prince Jorien is using Haro's mercenaries to break up the crowds."

"What?" Maia said, digging her nails into Mateo's arm. "But Eline's out there."

"He doesn't care," Mateo said, shaking his head. "But her guards will be near her. She'll be safe."

"You better hope so because those mercenaries aren't going to break up the crowds," Bas scoffed. "This is all part of Mr. Haro's plan. He'll use them to create more chaos so Prince Jorien will have no choice but to put the country under martial law."

Mateo grit his teeth as he curled his hand into a fist. "Which will give my brother complete authority to do whatever he wants for as long as he likes."

"Yes," Willem said. "Lars has been trying to get through to King Harald to stop him, but he won't speak to anyone, not even the queen."

"Then you have to go to him," Maia said, sliding her hand over Mateo's. "You have to tell him you're alive so he can stop this."

"No, King Harald isn't going to be the one to stop this," Cornelis said, leaning his hand on the table as he pierced Mateo with a stern gaze. "You are. I know you never wanted this, but you have to claim your birthright or our country will never be the same again."

"I know and I won't let that happen," Mateo said, curling his fingers around Maia's. "I'm ready, as long as you are, liefje."

Maia took a deep breath. "I'm ready."

"Wait," Bas said through gritted teeth. "What about my family? I told you what I know and You promised you'd make sure they're safe."

"I'm a man of my word, Bas. Your family will be protected," Mateo said. "But we need to get to the Palace first."

Demetri raised an eyebrow as he slid his hands to his hips. "How the hell are we going to sneak in there with the military surrounding the place?"

Gerrit grinned. "Easy," he said, slapping a hand to Demetri's shoulder. "We'll use the old tunnels like we used to when we were kids."

"Precisely," Cornelis said, sliding the brown sack over Bas' head.

"What are you doing?" Bas roared, struggling as Cornelis pulled him up from the chair.

"You're still a prisoner and I don't want you to see or know where we are," Willem said, zip tying Bas' wrists behind his back. "You may have given us valuable intel, but I don't trust you."

"I know this is probably inappropriate, given the seriousness of the situation," Demetri said while Cornelis and Willem escorted Bas out of the shed. "But will you two be addressing the public?"

"Yes, most likely." Mateo nodded as they stood from the table. "We'll need to make some sort of announcement to stop the protests. Why?"

Maia shook her head as a soft laugh escaped her lips. "Because we don't look like royalty at the moment."

"No, you don't," Demetri said. "And if you're stepping up as King with Maia by your side, you at least need to look like you've taken a shower."

"Dem's right on this one," Gerrit said, nodding. "You need to make an entrance."

"Then you can make that happen," Mateo said, slipping his arm around Maia's waist. "There's a tunnel to Vijverwoud. You and Gerrit will go there and pick up whatever you need and meet us at the palace."

A smile tugged at Demetri's lips as he bowed his head to Mateo. "Yes, sir."

"We'll meet you at the car," Mateo said, squeezing Maia's side. "I need a minute with Maia before we leave."