Broken Kingdom (Royal Hearts Academy #4)(101)

“Are you okay?” Jace questions.

There’s no mistaking the worry in his tone.

That’s…strange.

I highly doubt Oakley told him about our argument.

I sit up in bed. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know,” he gripes. “How about the fucking fires? Why the hell do you think I’ve been trying to call you all afternoon?”

“Fires?” I utter. “What fires?”

The only thing I’ve lived and breathed for the last forty-eight hours is Oakley.

Jace sighs. “There are wildfires spreading across the state.”

“Seriously?”

I quickly find my remote and flick on the television. Sure enough, every local news station is covering the gigantic wildfire spreading through parts of California.

“Shit.”

“I know,” Jace says. “I’m trying to get a flight back there, but the earliest one I can find isn’t until later tonight, and even then, it’s still a six-hour flight.” There’s a long pause. “Bianca?”

“Yeah?”

“The news just said it’s starting to spread through Ship’s Haven and…” His sentence trails off…as if he can’t bring himself to say the next words.

But he doesn’t have to.

Ship’s Haven is only three towns over…which means it’s close.

Too fucking close.

“Oakley’s missing,” I whisper, realizing he could be anywhere. “I’ve been trying to call him, but it keeps going to voicemail.”

“Fuck,” Jace mutters. “I was hoping he was home so you weren’t alone.” I can practically hear his teeth clench. “Dad’s still in Japan, but I’m gonna see if he can get a helicopter over there to come pick you up.”

“You really think Dad can summon a helicopter during a fire?”

And even if he could…I wouldn’t get on it without knowing Oakley’s safe.

“I don’t fucking know, Bianca. But I’m not gonna sit here and do nothing.” I overhear Cole saying something to him in the background. “Hold on, Cole wants to talk to you.”

“Hey,” Cole greets me a moment later. “So, I’ve been thinking and I’ve come up with a plan so you don’t get roasted.”

“Gee thanks.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “What’s your plan?”

“Get your ass in the swimming pool. This way when the fire passes over Royal Manor, you’ll be safe…because you know…water and shit.”

All things considered, that’s not a horrible plan. “Yeah, that might—”

I don’t get to finish my sentence because Jace snatches the phone from him. “I’m gonna try calling Dad again to ask about that helicopter and see if there’s anything he can do on his end.” The fear in his voice is palpable. “Don’t start freaking out yet though, okay? I’m gonna figure something out.”

“Okay,” I tell him, even though it’s pretty hopeless at this point.

The only positive is that my family is out of harm's way.

My stomach churns. Oakley, however, isn’t.

“I love you,” Jace says and it’s all I can do not to lose it because we don’t say those words unless it’s serious.

“I love you, too.”

I’m ending the call when it occurs to me that I might not get the chance to tell Oakley the same.





I draw my knees to my chest as terror ripples through me.

The fire blazed through Ship’s Haven and is currently burning its way through the next town...which means it won’t be long before it reaches Royal Manor.

If I close my eyes and concentrate…I can hear the sirens looming in the distance and smell the smoke in the air.

I should pull myself together and try to escape, but I have nowhere to go.

And even if I did, all the roads are congested due to people trying to evacuate.

I’m literally trapped.

But that’s still not the worst part about what’s happening.

The worst part is that Oakley’s out there somewhere and I have no idea if he’s okay.

And I’m probably going to die without ever making things right between us.

I start rocking myself, desperately trying to ease my anxiety as tears fill my eyes.

I’d give anything to go back to that night at the bar and do things differently.

Because despite us being a train wreck waiting to happen and me always feeling like I was one breath away from drowning every time he was near.

I’ve never been happier in my whole life.

I’m so lost in my thoughts, I barely register the sound of the front door opening and heavy footsteps rushing up the stairs.

“Get up.”

My head snaps up at the sound of Oakley’s voice, and for a moment I honestly think I’m hallucinating because how is he standing right in front of me?

Getting off my bed, I rush toward him. “Where the hell were you?” Tears clog my vision as fear and anger spiral through me like a boulder rolling downhill. Before I can stop myself, I shove him. “Do you have any idea how worried I was?” I shove him again, harder this time. “How hard I cried myself to sleep the past two nights because you abandoned me—”