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I was surrounded by a fortress, two dozen guards securing the thick walls lining my parents’ estate. I hated where I lived, the stern rules that kept me locked down. While I had everything a princess could want, there was only one thing that made me happy—a beautiful boy who’d allowed me to be myself. He didn’t care if my parents were powerful or that I was a princess.
As I rushed through the woods surrounding the house, I felt more alive than usual, eager to spend even a few precious minutes with him. He was my best friend, someone I could talk to about anything. He was always there for me, but if my father knew we dared speak to the princess of the Lazarro Empire, he would be banished. I couldn’t allow that to happen. Our friendship was a secret, the only special thing in my life.
I weaved my way through the trees, stopping every few seconds to make certain a guard wasn’t close. When I reached the pasture on the edge of the thick forest, I held my breath and peered out at the barn. The sound of the horses whinnying meant he was tending to them. A smile on my face, I raced toward the doors, carefully opening the bar holding them together.
As soon as I walked inside, the entire world seemed different, brighter. I could do anything I wanted, leaving behind the tight confines of my heritage, a legacy of violence going back generations. We lived in opulence while so many others suffered in poverty, food often scarce.
I moved down the stalls, petting several of the horses along the way. Then I finally saw him, and my heart fluttered.
“D’Artagnan.”
The moment he heard my whisper, he turned, a smile crossing his face. Then he cocked his head, staring down the corridor toward the closed doors. I sensed not only apprehension but anger. “You shouldn’t have come.”
“Don’t worry. I was careful. I had to see you.” I walked closer, biting my lower lip. He was brushing Magnum, the gorgeous stallion one of my favorites. D’Artagnan’s actions were fierce, barely acknowledging when I brushed my hand down the horse’s mane. “He’s so beautiful.”
“Yes, he is.” His deep voice always settled my nerves, his intense blue eyes soulful. I could get lost in them for hours as he told me about his hopes and dreams for the future, escaping the invisible tethers keeping him prisoner. They weren’t dissimilar to mine, both of us longing to break free of the chains we’d been born into.
His was one of poverty and service.
Mine was one of danger and darkness, my father the Don of the Sicily Cosa Nostra. While my father had tried to keep me from discovering that he was nothing but a savage monster, I was no fool. I’d overheard conversations, had seen more bloodshed that anyone should be forced to face. But he was still my father and I loved him.
“Maybe one day I can ride him,” I said defiantly.
“He’s too big for you. You’re just a shrimp,” D’Artagnan said, teasing me as he always did.
“I’m not a shrimp.” I stood as tall as possible, forced to lift my head to be able to glare him in the eyes. “I’m thirteen now.”
“Uh-huh.” He rolled his eyes, continuing to brush Magnum. “You’re a tiny girl and you’d get hurt.” He was almost seventeen, almost a man. All my friends had a crush on him, but he never as much as looked in their direction. To him we were just kids.
“I like it better when you call me a lion.”
“Lioness.Leonessa,” he breathed, accentuating his Italian accent. “Female lions are more powerful than their male counterparts but I’m bigger and stronger. I’ll protect you no matter what happens.” He smiled for real, which was something he rarely did.
“Are you trying to be my hero, my knight in shining armor?”
“Oh, please. You don’t know what that means.” He huffed, giving me a stern look.
“Yes, I do. That means you’d protect me at all costs, risking your own life if necessary.” That’s the way I’d always seen him, a bold and strong boy who’d never let anyone hurt me.
I moved closer, traying to stand as tall as possible. “I’m not a little girl anymore,” I continued. He was much older, so tall and muscular that he dwarfed me.
D’Artagnan smiled but looked away almost immediately, tossing the brush into a bucket and taking several deep breaths. “I promise. No matter what happens.”
I believed him. “What are you going to do when you grow up?”
“I am grown up, shrimp,” he teased. “I’m going to rule an empire one day.”
“What about music?”
“Well, maybe I’ll be a famous musician first.”
I giggled, clapping my hands. “And I’ll be your groupie.” His eyes clouded over and he looked away.
“You need to go back to your house. If your father finds you here, I’ll be punished.”
“I won’t let him punish you. I’ll protect you.”
He swung his head in my direction, anger in his eyes. “You’re a little girl. You have no idea what your father is capable of.”
