Princess in Peril by Rachelle McCalla Page A

already witnessed, Levi realized it was likely that no one knew any more about what had happened.
    He turned his attention back to Dom. “Who tied you up? Soldiers?”
    The man’s eyes bugged wide. “Lydian soldiers. They asked if I’d seen any members of the royal family. I was shocked because the television said they were all dead.”
    Isabelle’schin lifted defiantly. “At least one of them escaped.”
    A warm smile lit Dom Procopio’s face. “At least one,” he agreed. “And the soldiers didn’t specify who they were looking for. Perhaps all of your family is at large.”
    Levi was grateful to the man for his encouraging words and for the insight he provided. His mind lit upon a detail he’d almost overlooked. “The soldiers we fought earlier inthe mausoleum—one of them looked at me and said, ‘Alec?’”
    He met Isabelle’s eyes and she regarded him solemnly for a moment. “Your blue eyes—my brother Alexander has blue eyes. And with your beard covering so much of your face, if the soldiers were looking for my brother, they might have thought you were Alec. He’s served many years in the Lydian army. Most of the soldiers know him.”
    “So yourbrother may be unaccounted for,” Levi concluded.
    But Isabelle was clearly thinking about something else. “The soldier in the Embassy, the one who said Valli would bepleased that they’d captured me—he’s a friend of my brother. Sergio Cana.”
    “Do you think Sergio said what he did to warn us?”
    A hope-filled smile spread across Isabelle’s lips. “I believe that’s exactly what he was doing. If hehadn’t said what he did—if we’d have waited one more second to act—we might well be in Valli’s hands right now.”
    Her words sent a chill up his spine. If they waited one more second to act, they might yet fall into Valli’s hands. Levi closed his eyes for a moment and prayed, “Lord, may Sergio Cana not be punished for his bravery. And may we not waste his efforts.” Then his eyelids snapped backopen and he met Isabelle’s eyes. “We need to get moving.”
    Dom Procopio rubbed his wrists where they’d been bound. “I will help you in any way I can. What is your plan?”
    “We have to get the princess out of the country.”
    “That is wise,” Dom agreed. “But judging from the number of soldiers who searched the cathedral earlier, I would guess that to be a very difficult task. Perhaps we should tryto hide her inside the country.”
    “No.” Isabelle inserted herself firmly in the discussion. “That would only give the insurgents greater opportunity to move forward with their plans. I
must
reestablish the rule of my family. I can’t do that if I’m in hiding.”
    Levi placed a calming hand on her shoulder. “We’ll get you out of this country.” He turned to Dom. “We’re less than two miles from theSardis airport. Do you think you can get us there?”
    “Get you to the airport?” Dom repeated, his round eyes thoughtful. “It might be possible, but you’d never get on a plane. Both of you would need passports, for one thing. And even if there were no soldiers at the airport, which would shock me, Her Highness is certain to be recognized.”
    The older man made many good points. Levi continuedtobrainstorm. “The coast is just as close. Could you get us to a marina?”
    “Do you have a boat?” Dom asked.
    Levi shook his head regretfully.
    “We could go through the mountains,” Isabelle suggested.
    Levi felt a jolt of fear at her suggestion. “We’d have to travel across the whole country. That’s more than a hundred kilometers.”
    “And it’s the last place they’d think to look.”
    Dom took her side.“There’s a Sanctuary outpost on the Albanian border. You could cross there.”
    The same outpost where the fated message had been delivered by a man who ended up dead? Levi shook his head. “I don’t know—”
    “We’d still need passports to cross at the border and to make an international flight