Thin Hope Read online

  “We don't have anything you want." A feeling of faintness came over her, but she stood tall, hoping that Ivan didn't notice. "Delainia has taken our ports already."

  “I would like your land, of course, in exchange for my forces chasing out the Delainians. However, I will not be stripping you of your royalty, but you will answer to me, as other kings and queens will be soon. I can end all these wars, Queen. My forces will protect all countries under my watch from invasion, in exchange for making me the highest authority on the continent. And to seal our agreement,” he spoke as if Dawn had already agreed. "I would like to...make our royal statuses connect."

  “How would you do that?” Dawn asked automatically, dreading the answer.

  “I read in your paper that your eldest daughter is already in an engagement, but your youngest daughter, however....”

  Dawn looked back at Riley in horror. The Emperor wanted to take the younger Princess as his Empress. Riley went pale and gagged as if she were going to be ill. At the same time, Ryan moved in front of her, trying to block her from the Emperor's view.

  “She's only seventeen. She's not even an adult yet!” Dawn yelled, pounding her fists on the table. Her terror vanished as raw anger took its place. She didn't care how terrifying the Emperor was. He would not touch her daughter. "Riley will marry who she pleases, and that's not you, you selfish pig."

  Ivan shrunk back from the camera as if hurt. It was all a ploy. “She is almost eighteen, my Queen. Wouldn't you want your daughter to marry an Emperor with infinite riches? Perfect, good looks? A stable position and eternal life?" He adjusted his crown, straightening it on his head. "Does age really matter when it comes to love?”

  Riley backed away from her brother, lips twitching like she wanted to say something.

  The Emperor sighed and stared at her through the screen. "I've been watching you, Princess, through my visions. You're beautiful and you have a soft personality. You're artistic. It's just what I want in a woman. I'll be seeing you very soon.”

  The Emperor ended the call, and the screen returned to the Keiliaran coat of arms.

  * * * * *

  Riley watched her mother sink into the chair, put her hand over her chest, and breathe heavily. Ryan went over to calm his mother down, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. Ashley went over and sat down on a couch with her head in her hands. Everyone was stressing out.

  Riley stared at the reflections of the glass table as she zoned out. Her stomach rolled, like her lunch wanted to disagree with her. Now she had the Emperor chasing after her, the most hated dictator on the continent. She could suddenly understand what Kiki had been going through with Patrick this past year, and wished her sister were here now to say something to her. And visions? Everyone knew the Lateinians had magic, but could the Emperor actually close his eyes and see someone far away? The thought made prickles race across her skin, as if Emperor Ivan were observing her right now. If that was true, no wonder the Lateinians couldn't rise up against their leader.

  The elevator doors opened and King Morris, Prince Damon, and Princess Kiki walked into the stressed out environment. Kiki still looked pale, like she had yesterday at the hospital, but much better than before. She still had a couple of bandages on her arms from where the IV units had fed her fluid, and gauze around the deep cut in her forearm where she had lost a lot of blood a few days before. Riley had no time to run over to her sister, because her father rushed into the room, blocking the way.

  “My dear,” her father said, rushing over to the meeting table. “Did something else happen?" He knew about the new invasion already, thanks to her mother calling everyone an hour ago.

  Her mother burst out in tears as she collapsed into his arms.

  “The Emperor of Lateine is attacking us!” she cried. “He wanted to deal with us, saying he would get rid of the Delainians, in exchange for having our land and having ultimate authority before us. Then, he wanted....” The Queen looked to her. “He wants to take Riley as his Empress, and will stop at nothing to have her hand in marriage."

  Riley gagged as bile rose into her throat. Hearing those words from her mother made it all real somehow.

  The King looked over at her, eyes big. He never showed fear, until now.

  “I will not have that despicable man as my son in law!” He paced across the room, hands behind his back. “I already have a scumbag in my family. I will not have another. I want what is best for my daughter and even if she did want to marry him, I wouldn't let her.”

  There wouldn't be any arguing with her father on this one. None at all.

  Kiki put her hand on her father's shoulder, trying to calm him down, but it was no use. He was so worked up that his face had turned red. Riley's stomach felt worse, seeing her normally calm dad this way. She felt as if all eyes in the room were on her, and it wasn't a good feeling. Was Emperor Ivan watching her in a vision right now? How long had be been watching her?

  “Maybe we should round up a group of soldiers and send Riley away for a while?” Kiki proposed, leaning on Damon. "If Lateine breaks out of their barrier, the soldiers will have orders to capture her."

  Riley choked and got up the courage to speak. "She's right. The Emperor said he's been watching me all this time. He might know where we're at." The Keilaran National Bank logo was pretty obvious, even from in here, and he might have seen that in a vision. What would he do to her family if he came here? Another shudder stole over her at the thought.

  The King's anger lightened as he faced her, the red draining out of his face. "We may have to do that. I can arrange for a cab to take you to your grandmother's out in the country. I'll order one with tinted windows, so that if the Emperor does spy on you, he won't be able to tell where you're going. Also, I will gather some of our best soldiers and send them with you." He swept her up in a hug. "I love you so much. I won't let that slimy excuse for a man come anywhere near you."

  Riley returned the hug, holding back tears. Damon's voice faded into the background as he called the Keilaran Special Forces and ordered the cab. How long would she have to be away from her family? Until this conflict was over...if it was ever over.

  A short time later—too short of a time later—her father broke the hug as Damon approached. He held a pistol in his hands, shining under the florescent light.

  “Use it if necessary,” Damon said, handing her the gun.

  She stared at the hunk of metal in her hands. Riley had never shared the affinity for guns her brother and sister had, but she felt secretly thankful that her dad had made her go to the shooting ranges several times. Riley gave her father one last hug before entering the elevator, looking at back at her family. Her mother stood there, red-eyed, with her siblings, staring after her as if she would never see her again.

  For all they knew, they might not.

  The elevator never seemed to stop descending as it made its way down through the silent levels of the Keilaran National Bank. The doors opened, and a group of green-uniformed soldiers met her in the lobby.

  "Captain Small, Your Highness," the first, a graying man with a bushy mustache, said as he shook her hand. "We're going to get you to your grandmother's in approximately two hours. Meanwhile, we have procured an armored van for your travel, and will travel out of the city through a southeast route, farthest from Lateine's forces."

  Riley returned the handshake and willed her heart to stop pounding as much. She liked this man already. He reminded her of her grandfather when she was very young.

  An armored van waited on the bottom level of the parking garage, surrounded by more of the green-uniformed soldiers. The black tint on the windows made it impossible to see inside, and probably impossible to see much from the inside as well. If Emperor Ivan was watching now, he was probably throwing a fit. He'd never be able to tell where she was once he zoned in on her. The thought calmed some of the butterflies racing around inside of her.

  Captain Small sat in the front passenger seat while the other soldiers silently got int
o the van around her, guns in their laps and at the ready. The van's engine sounded eerily silent as they rolled through the barren downtown area of Frelladon, through a suburb, and finally out of the city limits. Houses grew farther apart as the storm clouds of the Delainians' occupation got dimmer and less threatening behind them. Soon, only trees and the occasional farmhouse passed, barely visible through the tinted windows of the van. Air conditioning cooled her skin. Soon, she'd be at her grandmother's estate, and the woman would have a way to hide her for a while. She was clever like that, and Emperor Ivan probably wouldn't know where the estate was. Like her mother, her grandmother didn't like to get into politics and tried to stay out of the spotlight. Riley hadn't been out there in a few years, either. If necessary, she could always hide with one of her grandmother's neighbors, too, like Craig, who took her strawberry picking when she was four. Or even Marsha, who had gotten her interested in drawing right when she'd entered grade school. Riley's tension started to ease as they went deeper into the countryside. Nothing was out here except fields and trees.

  "Are you doing okay, Your Highness?" Captain Small looked back and asked, his bushy mustache going up and down.

  Riley nodded, lost in thought. Maybe she could dye her hair and get a new look after she got to her grandmother's. Something that Emperor Ivan wouldn't think fit her at all. Maybe she could dye her hair black, spike it, and add some pink highlights. The thought was bizarre and so not her, but it was better than having him track her down.

  The convoy suddenly came to a halt.

  Riley's heart jumped. "Why are we stopped?"

  The driver leaned forward to peer at something on the road ahead. He addressed Captain Small. "Sir, we have a large group of cows in the road ahead. We may have to take a detour."

  The Captain spoke into a radio. "This is Captain Small. There is an obstruction in the road ahead, and we may have to take a detour. Please advise." The inside of the van went silent as all the soldiers around Riley seemed to clutch their guns tighter.

  At last, the radio hissed and another man's voice came through. "We have your coordinates. Make a left two hundred feet behind you, then a left at the next road, and another left in three miles, and you'll detour around the obstruction. We haven't picked up any heat signatures in your area other than wildlife. You are safe to proceed."

  Safe to proceed. The words washed through Riley, slowing her heartbeat. They couldn't be too far from her grandmother's estate now.

  The van turned around with the crunching of gravel. The sun looked like a dim orb through the tinted glass and the plants, like indistinct shadows. It really made the landscape seem apocalyptic all of a sudden.

  Trees appeared around the armored van as they turned down the side road, bouncing up and down on the potholed dirt. Riley jumped in place.

  An explosion nearby sprayed dirt on the windshield of the van.

  Captain Small swore as the driver slammed down on the brake, stopping as dirt rained down on the roof of the armored van like hail. A trace of white-blue light faded as the smoke cleared on the road ahead, revealing a large, earthen crater in the road ahead that spread across its width.

  Riley lurched forward as they stopped, then slammed her head into the back of the seat. Guns cocked around her and she found herself tightening her grip on her own weapon. All thought left her, leaving her mind a blank, numb slate.

  The Lateinians were attacking. Somehow, Emperor Ivan had found her.

  "Shit!" Captain Small yelled, losing his cool. "Private, turn us around!"

  Riley couldn't see much through the tinted glass, but enough: figures dodging out of the trees around them, dressed in steel-gray uniforms. They carried no guns...but they didn't need to.

  Another white-blue ball of fire sailed through the air, and a pop sound followed. A hissing noise came next as the air left one of the armored van's tires. Riley's heart became a frantic drum. Why wasn't the private getting them out of here?

  The driver took both hands off the wheel, facing Captain Small. Expressionless and like a zombie, he raised both hands as the now-familiar white-blue glow appeared around them.

  Riley could've raised her pistol and fired. Part of her wanted to, to save the Captain's life. Her arms refused to move. She couldn't. Actually shooting someone was nothing like those cardboard targets at the range.

  A rifle raised up next to her. "Princess, duck!"

  It was too late. The van filled with the white-blue glow. A second later, it faded, leaving Captain Small slumped in his seat, head rolling to the side. His eyes were open, blank, unfocused as smoke rose from his green uniform.

  The driver opened the door to the van and leapt out as a gunshot sounded through the air, but it was too late. A small explosion filled the cabin, leaving a spider web of cracks across the near-bulletproof windshield.

  "Stay here, Princess," one of the soldiers ordered. Doors slid open as the others poured out, shouting and raising their weapons as the hot summer air blasted in. More blasts of white-blue magic shot past the van as a Keilaran soldier fell nearby, dropping his weapon.

  Riley raised her pistol and aimed at the nearest Lateinian soldier, a woman in steel gray about to fire her magic on a pair of soldiers kneeling to shoot at her. She didn't succeed. Before Riley could pull the trigger, twin gunshots rang through the air, sending the Lateinian falling into the nearby underbrush. The pistol trembled in Riley's grasp as the forest crashed around the van and more Lateinian troops appeared and surrounded the dwindling Keilaran forces.

  Green-uniformed soldiers fell under white-blue magic exploding everywhere. More gray-suited figures spilled out of the woods, seemingly dozens of them, as her soldiers banded together in a huddle, comrades lying smoking at their feet.

  The pistol fell from Riley's grasp. It was an ambush. Somehow, Emperor Ivan had outsmarted the infrared detectors of the Keilaran military. Found her. She'd never have enough bullets to take all of them. She was about to be captured, and every one of these soldiers dedicated to protecting her was going to die in the process. Riley couldn't let that happen. It wasn't the Keilaran way, to sit by and let these people sacrifice themselves without trying something.

  Riley moved before she could help herself. "Stop!" she cried, leaping out of the van. "I give myself up, okay? Just stop!"

  Her words echoed into the sky as every figure on the dirt road and underbrush froze, staring at her.

  "Princess, no." A Keilaran soldier struggled in the grasp of another green-uniformed soldier—the Lateinian in disguise who had led them into this ambush.

  "Yes. Wise choice," said the traitor. He plucked the rifle away from the Keilaran and tossed it behind him, to be caught by a pair of his fellow soldiers. "I knew you were not one for violence, Riley. Soldiers, disarm the Keilarans, take them to the nearest farmhouse, and lock them up for the time being. We will allow them to call for help later. I want all of the Keilarans to know what kind of power they're dealing with."

  Riley stared at the driver. He smiled as he released the Keilaran soldier, letting him fall to the ground and scramble away, unarmed. Before he could stand, a pair of Lateinians took his arms and pulled him up. The driver smiled wider. It couldn't be.

  "It is," he said, seemingly reading her mind.

  The driver started to go limp, head rolling back. A white-blue vapor rose from his body, thickening above him and finally drifting down to the road in front of him. A figure started to take form inside the vapor as the driver slumped to the ground, unconscious. No one made an effort to catch him.

  Riley tried to back away, but bumped into a steel-gray figure. There was nowhere to go. It took all she had to stand as tall as she could, to appear as confident as possible, like her father had taught her. Her pistol was still sitting in the van, now guarded by a pair of Lateinian soldiers. She'd failed. She should never have let go of her weapon, and should have staked out an escape route like her sister always preached back at the shooting range. But she wasn't here now, and Riley had a feeling
her pistol wouldn't do her any good in this situation.

  A black suit, long ponytail, and huge golden crown appeared from the bluish mist as it dissipated, along with a triumphant sneer.

  Emperor Ivan approached, ignoring the fallen Keilaran driver behind him. "Riley. It was a pleasure speaking with you on that long ride. Fortunately, your driver made a good host. Barely even fought me as I took control." He stood tall just two feet from her, towering over her five-foot frame.

  “You're quick,” Riley said to him, trying to keep her voice as level as possible. It wasn't working too well, but she couldn't let the Emperor think she was some meek girl any longer. If he wanted gentle and quiet out of her, she was determined not to let him get it. It was her last defense. Nobody was going to get out here in time to help her out.

  “I'm just that powerful,” Emperor Ivan said. “I told you I can get what I want, and now I have you. You see, your father did prepare for your journey well, but he did overlook one little thing." His dark-eyed gaze shifted to the armored van and back to her. "While your van was sufficiently tinted not to allow me to see you on your journey, your soldiers weren't as they stood in the garage of the Keilaran National Bank, waiting for you. It was easy to pick off the driver and take over his body, and thus transport myself right to you. And the infrared sensors? My soldiers are educated in the magic necessary to hide from it, thanks to yours truly." He patted himself on the chest as if congratulating himself.

  “Go to hell,” Riley said, barely able to contain her terror. Emperor Ivan somehow had found out where her family was hiding.

  “You've got quite a mouth there, for a seventeen-year-old.” Ivan remarked. “I've always have known you to be quite soft and kind. You never raise your voice at anyone."

  “You don't know me,” Riley murmured. He sure hadn't seen her the other day when she'd yelled at Ryan for destroying one of her drawings. The thought calmed the butterflies in her stomach a bit. At least it seemed as if he hadn't been watching her twenty-four seven.