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“T!” Ray flung T’s door open. Fire was consuming the quilt, bed, and mattress, licking up the wood frame.
T was on the floor, lying on his side. Behind him, a shadow darted over the balcony.
“Tristan!” the king’s voice hollered from behind them.
“Get a medic,” Ray yelled at his dad.
The king pulled his phone out.
Ray reached T first. The skin on the left side of his face and neck was bubbling, and his shirt was burning. Ray put the flames out with his hands.
Macey felt for a pulse on the right side of his throat. It was strong, and she could feel his breath on her hand. “He’s breathing and has a pulse. I’m going after the perp.”
Ray’s gaze was frantic, shocked.
Macey didn’t waste any time. She leaped to her feet and ran for the balcony. A man was working his way down the castle wall like Spiderman. He wore a ski mask, so even if it was someone she knew, she didn’t recognize him. How could she intercept him?
She looked to the side and saw one of the copper poles like the one Kiera had slid down. If a child could do it …
Not stopping to think, she climbed onto the balcony ledge, wrapped her hands and legs around the pole, and slid. Fast. Really fast. She clung tighter to slow her descent, thumping onto the grass so hard she thought she’d broken her legs. Standing on wobbly but thankfully unbroken limbs, she saw the man fling himself to the ground ten feet away.
Macey sprinted at him, knocking him to the ground. He squealed in protest. She flipped him over and wrapped her elbow around his throat, securing her arm with her other hand and pulling tight. She’d rather pummel this scum, but she couldn’t risk him getting away if he knew how to fight.
“Don’t move or I’ll break your neck,” she threatened. She was dying to see who was under the mask, but she didn’t dare loosen her grip until backup arrived.
“Help,” he squeaked out.
Footsteps pounded toward them, followed by the appearance of four castle guards. Macey released the guy from the chokehold, jumped to her feet, and ripped him up. Sirens wailed through the night air. She hoped Tristan got the medical help he needed.
“Miss Macey?” Jacob, a guard she recognized, said. “Are you all right?”
“Yes. This is the man who tried to kill Prince Tristan.”
“Tried?” The guy scoffed. “He’s dead!”
The guards surrounded him and ripped his black mask off. He couldn’t have been more than twenty and he looked far too familiar, though she’d only seen him on surveillance tapes.
“Jobe?” she guessed.
“I killed that cocky, pompous jerk so Lisa will finally know I’m better than him and agree to marry me.”
“Luckily for you,” she told him, “the crown prince is alive.”
“No!” He started sobbing. “Lisa thinks she loves him.”
Jacob and the other guards looked at Macey. The guy was insane. He’d probably started the notes when Lisa had dumped him. She must’ve told him then that she loved Tristan. All of this over a romance. That thought stung. Had she messed things up over the romance she felt with Ray? Neither of them had been with Tristan to protect them because they’d been too busy kissing.
“Throw him in a cell. Tell him to get comfortable there.” Macey tried to sound like a confident royal should. Was Tristan okay? Was Ray?
Jacob nodded.
“Wait.” Macey held up a hand. “You wrote the notes threatening the crown prince after Lisa dumped you, right?”
“Yes. I hate him, so I started threatening him and setting up my plan to murder him.” He spat on the ground.
The kid was too young and dumb to realize he was digging his own grave. She doubted he was smart enough to pull off the queen’s murder but she’d let Jensen interrogate him about it.
She nodded to Jacob. They hauled him off.
