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“If it was me, I’d lock his ugly carcass in here and set the bomb off,” Aliya piped up.
“How dare—” William cut off at the glower on each of the men’s faces. He studied the cave floor.
“Lucky for you, these fine gentlemen are much more gracious than the ‘white trash’ princess.”
“You are the furthest thing from white trash, love,” Curt said.
Aliya hugged him tightly. “Oh, I know that, lover lips. I’m just quotin’ that lame loser cowering on the ground like the scaredy-cat wuss he is.”
Nolan smiled at his daughter-in-law and then gestured to the rest of them. “You all go first. Henry and I will bring along the garbage.”
“Gladly.” Her dad grabbed William’s other arm none too gently.
Tristan escorted Jennifer down the tunnel, Aliya and Curt behind them. She could hardly believe it was over.
They pushed the growth out of the way of the opening and climbed out. The sun had risen, and it was glorious outside. They were coming out of the darkness and ugly confrontation in the cave and of their past. The new morning tasted fresh and clean and made Jennifer believe she and Tristan could start their life together.
It was also a very precarious landing. She and Tristan carefully slid to the side and made their way down to where the trail was a bit wider. The guards eased back to give them room.
The drop was still over fifty meters on her left side. She found herself leaning into the mountain and praying. Prayers of gratitude that they’d escaped and her dad was free. Prayers that they could find and rescue her mum. Prayers that they wouldn’t slide off the cliff.
“Everything all right, Prince Tristan?” one of the guards asked, looking them over.
“No.”
Aliya and Curt joined them on the trail as Henry, then William, and then the king emerged from the opening.
“Sir?” The guard’s voice was full of confusion. “The lieutenant general?”
“Gone,” Tristan said tersely.
“How can I help the king?” he asked.
“Please head down the trail so we can get everyone off the ledge.”
“Yes, sir.” It was obvious the man wanted to go help the king, but there wasn’t any extra room. He obeyed Tristan.
They all teetered on the edge. Jennifer’s stomach dropped as she glanced back and glimpsed the darkness, insanity, and rage in William’s gaze.
“Dad,” she cautioned, chills pricking at her skin.
William shoved her dad. Henry clung to the other man’s arm, and they both lost their footing. For a long, drawn-out moment, they both teetered on the brink of losing their balance. But their momentum could not be stopped, and they slid over the cliff’s edge.
Jennifer and Aliya screamed in horror as Curt and Tristan both cried out, “Henry!”
King Nolan grabbed on to her dad’s free hand. William whipped out over the chasm, hanging on to Henry and screaming in high-pitched cries that echoed in the vastness below.
The king clung to a tree root, but he and her dad both slipped closer to the precipice.
Tristan and Curt scrambled back up the incline. The guards edged around Jennifer and Aliya to help. Jennifer was frozen with horror.
“Dad!” She didn’t know what to do to keep all three men from falling.
Tristan reached them first. He grabbed on to a solid tree limb with one hand and grasped her dad’s belt with the other. Her heart raced out of control as she prayed desperately for all of them to survive. Even William.
“Please, good Lord above. Please, please, please,” Aliya murmured next to her.
Curt reached them, lodged one of his hands into a crevice of rock, and lowered himself closer to Henry and William. He was an expert rock climber, but even Curt would be dead if he went over that cliff face.
