Avoiding eye contact was not as easy as he thought it would be, even when his beautiful fiancée met him with an obligatory compliment as he took his place between her and Alec Wescott. It didn’t help that the COO leaned against his elbow towards Luke and started raising questions about the trade agreements and his interpretation on how it would affect the economy of a superpower like New Rome. Not that the topic did not interest the crown prince, on the contrary the expatriate’s points were both valid and compelling, but the businessman’s spot forced Sophia into Luke’s line of vision. If they had met under different circumstances, they could have been business partners or perhaps even friends. However, the royal was still uncertain about the unprecedented betrayal of the woman he risked his very reputation for. The sentiment, unfortunately, extended to Alec Wescott. 

The two men were very much engaged in their hushed discussion that Sophia was left with the dwindling wine in her glass as she listened to the host narrating a milestone of Evolab. Luke allowed himself a glance once in a while wondering if his decision was a good idea. She was the one who wanted their secret affair to stop for both their sakes, but she knew as much as he did that it was a lie. In the end, the conversation inside the anteroom ended with an argument that neither won. And even then, he agreed to, once again, try to beat the odds and meet with her after dinner. He would just have to be persuasive in raising his point to the queen.

In the middle of his explanation of the proposed tariff policy to protect the local agricultural industry, he felt the notification buzz on his wrist. Instinctively, his eyes wandered to the source of interruption. The short and informal sentence cut his short. 

[i]Poisoned?[/i] 


“Is everything alright?”

Luke’s blue eyes traveled from the reassuring smile on Alec’s face to the almost finished platter of appetizer and half-filled glass of wine that the waiters had yet to retrieve. “I am not sure how to answer that. Excuse me.” He retrieved a black earpiece from his pocket, fitting it on one ear as he purposefully walked from the table. With a fluid gesture on the gadget on his wrist, he opened the encrypted communication line between him and his security team. It was designed for immediate response should an emergency happen. If possible, his personal guards, at least those who were in the venue, stood more alert. They expected trouble, but the program went on like clockwork with nothing, not even a strand of hair on the host’s wig was amiss.

“Your highness?” Confusion was apparent in the bodyguard’s voice. 

“Watch the table for me,” Luke instructed. It didn’t help explain what was wrong, but none of the men would disobey a direct order from their future king. “Follow whoever will pick-up Rhiane’s glass and plate. ID the person, but do not engage. Is that clear?” Unfortunately, Tobias was not enrolled in the same frequency, but he should be now that he was assigned to Rhiane. 

“Your highness, I sense that there is something wrong,” Nolan interrupted. He made a hand signal to his comrade to keep watching the table as Nolan moved to meet the prince. 
“Rhiane might have been poisoned,” he whispered through the communication line. “It is too early to tell, but not at all impossible. Our priority is to get help for her discretely.”

With Nolan in tow, he turned to the alcove where he saw Rhiane and his second cousin disappear into. From the long hallway, he saw a crack on the women’s room’s door. Thankfully nobody was present in the area, not even the cleaning staff. When he pushed the door open, the scent greeted him before the unsightly scenery did. “Rhiane,” the name escaped his lips and before he was thinking straight and calling people who could help, Luke was advancing towards the barely conscious woman. The anger of being unable to foresee it happening, of being unable to protect one woman, of being vulnerable through another person, vanished at the sight of the feisty farmer defeated by whatever poison she had ingested. He realized then that all she had shown him was the formidable strength of a woman, even after facing cold weather, or injury. To see her in that state made him feel something else other than anger.

“You can’t.” Nolan stood on his way, blocking his path and shaking him awake. “I’m sorry, but you can’t take a step closer, your highness.”

“He’s right,” added Tobias. “The poison can be anything at this point, even a biochemical weapon. Therefore, you are advised to keep distance, your highness.”

Of course. His life was more precious than the farmer’s. She was dispensable, a vessel that they would throw away once her purpose was served. If she died, it would be a challenge to arrange for another nationwide search, but it was not impossible. Luke composed himself, but did not comment. Instead, he switched to the commercial networks and dialed Sophia. It took three rings, but the actress picked the phone up. “Sophie, give the phone to Wescott.”

“Alec?” She was whispering on the handset. “Seriously? Luke, you were just talking to my boyfriend.”

Luke sighed. The more minutes they spent, more risk was injected into the princess elect’s situation. “Sophie, please. I have no time for this. Just pass the damn phone.”

“Prince Alessandro, you asked for me?” If confusion could be heard, he heard it clearly from the COO’s voice. Not five minutes ago, the two gentlemen were having a fine conversation, then the prince walked out on him and now he was calling the COO with urgency. 

Luke explained the situation in the briefest possible manner. Alec, afraid of the ghosts that haunted the company, promised to cooperate and lend one of the company’s hovercrafts on the fourteenth floor gate. He explained that there was an exit in the anteroom that led to a lobby. Nobody should bother them should they choose that route because it was a company holiday. The building, save for the locations that was part of the itinerary, was practically empty.

“Rhiane, if you can hear me,” Luke said, after he explained the plan to both Nolan and Tobias. “Don’t worry, you will be fine. Dr. Gulsvig will take care of you and I’ll be with you as soon as I can.” He nodded at the bodyguards, watched Tobias’ back as he carried the princess elect in his arms.