The Princess and the Guard (Book 1)

Fifty-Eight

Juliette's eyebrows sank together lower on her forehead in concentration. Noah watched her in his peripherals, hiding a smile. She was supposed to be handing him things when he asked her to, but when he went to get something for them to eat, she had taken one of his books and started reading. He left her alone, while he slid beneath the control panel and neatened up some of the wiring.

He had reminded her of their intended plan of escape earlier yesterday, and though she had no memory of it, and it didn't ring even the slightest bell, she was eager to come to the garage with him.

"Do you have a pencil?" she asked. She blinked several times, as if clearing some dust from her eyes. Her eyes, Noah noticed, were bloodshot.

"Check in that little cubby," Noah said without getting up.

Juliette stood and crossed the room, crouching down to dig around a small box. Noah's eyes narrowed, watching her. Was she moving slower, or was he being paranoid? Her spirits seemed to be up, at least a little bit, but her movements were slow. Lethargic.

Noah made a note to see if he could covertly get her to take a nap at some point.

Clearing his throat, focusing his attention on the ship in front of him, Noah took a deep breath, starting to grow nervous. Skies above he was really stripping his ship of all palace connections. He and Mason had spent hours poured over the black box, learning everything they could. It was time to actually do it.

If anyone found out, they'd all be in serious trouble.

"I bet the first person to test fly one of these things was terrified," Juliette murmured with half a frown, looking up at the ship.

"Oh yeah?" Noah asked, trying not to let her see how nervous he was.

"Yeah."

Noah drew a steadying breath. He didn't even let himself look over at her, afraid she'd be looking at him and start talking again. Sweat trickled down his temple. He removed a small chip, tucking it in his other hand to destroy, and replacing it with a blank one.

He did it again and again, one at a time, until all the trackable components of his ship had been replaced. He checked his tablet, expecting Mason's name to flash up at him any second with a warning to stop. Mason had offered to take over for Aaryn while he was out working with some new recruits, giving Noah a slim window of opportunity to get the ship stripped.

Noah breathed a sigh of relief when five minutes passed and there was no word from Mason. He dropped his head down and closed his eyes, sweat making his hair damp.

"Are you okay?" Juliette asked.

"Yeah. It's just really hot under here," Noah replied with a grunt as he slid out and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. He sent a quick nex't to Mason, double checking that nothing had come up.

Mason responded right away, saying he was in the clear.

Noah dragged a hand down his face, finding it wet. His hands were shaking, his heart was fluttering madly in his chest, and the back of his shirt was drenched.

Juliette picked up a few crackers from the plate of snacks beside her, her eyes wandering around the

"Hey would you do me a favor?" he asked, willing his voice not to shake.

Juliette looked over at him.

"Grab me some water from the kitchen? Sorry, my hands are a mess," he added, holding up his greasy hands.

"Yeah, sure." Juliette set the book down and disappeared.

"Okay, Lord, please let this have worked. Please, please, please," Noah whispered, running a quick diagnostics check on the ship to make sure everything was running smoothly and he hadn't damaged the mechanics.

Mason appeared, jogging down the stairs, smiling. "We did it."

Noah dragged a hand down his face, holding his hand up in a high-five.

"Where's the princess?"

"She went up to the kitchen."

"She knows though? About the escape plan?"

Noah nodded, wiping his hands off on a rag and then tossing it in the trash. It was beyond salvaging. "Yes. I want her to show me how she does a check on the ship's computer, just to make sure they're still talking to each other."

Mason nodded.

"House Atworth and House Apatite should change names since all the food comes from Atworth," Juliette said as she came back down into the garage, a glass of water in her hand. Her eyes landed on Mason, and she stopped, awkwardly smiling.

"Yeah, that would make more sense," Noah chuckled. He down the water in a single gulp, not seeing the need to mention that "Apatite" and "appetite" were spelled differently.

A light frown settled over her face. "Odette was going to take me to Canyons once. I think. But she didn't. She gave me some new tablets instead... for some reason."

"What? Odette? Do something nice?" Mason muttered on his way back up the stairs.

Juliette must have heard it because she almost laughed.

"Here, let me take those," Noah said, taking the books from her.

"That was Mason, right?" she asked, lowering her voice to a whisper and walking closer to Noah.

Noah nodded. "Yes. Me, Mason, and Luis are all your guards. Luis mostly works nightshifts outside your room."

Juliette rubbed her wrist, letting out a shaky sigh. "Do you have any schoolbooks left from when you were in school?"

Noah paused. "I think so. Why?"

"Can I read some?"

"Sure. Any one in particular?"

Juliette shifted her lips to the side, stepping in front of him when he grabbed the door. "Any on Demetria's history? I thought I'd scan over some of that and see if... well, if any of it comes back."

Noah grinned. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

He and Juliette started upstairs toward his room, where he dug around for some old school textbooks. "History," he repeated, flipping the book around and handing it to her. "Flip through the first chapter and see if that's what you're wanting."

Juliette nodded, taking it.

Noah balled his hands into fists, then shook them out. Maybe he should go for a run, or do something to get all this pent up nervousness out.