Player's Princess (A Royal Sports Romance)(142)
“After the war he toured the Nazi camps. He came back and took an oath from his son, that one day our family would rise up and make sure nothing like that ever happened again.”
“That’s not such a terrible dream,” I say, trying to comfort him. “Many people have said…”
“Remember the burning nobles,” he says softly. “This was how he meant to achieve it. My great grandfather, my grandfather, and my father refined the designs…and built, built, built like mad. They hollowed out the mountain, built the factories. I learned later what it cost them.”
I turn around to face him.
“What do you mean?”
“The engineers that oversaw the construction down here were all murdered to ensure it remained secret. Anyone who knew about it was killed. The factory is self-sustaining. All it needs is materials to be fed into hoppers above the castle. All I have to do is turn it on and fifty suits a day roll off the assembly line.”
“Oh my God,” I breathe, “this is crazy. You can’t mean…”
“My grandfather’s dream was a war. The last war, to cover all the world in our shadow. What you have seen from my suit is a paltry demonstration of what they are capable of. The ones down here have flight capabilities, advanced weapons… They turn a simple soldier into a walking tank, or a fighter jet so tiny and maneuverable yet so deadly that no other on Earth can possibly match it.”
I swallow, hard.
The prince takes my hand, holding tightly, and pulls me with him.
“Once it started it could never stop. The war would never end. What even my father, what my brother did not realize, was that it is insane to even try. No one man can rule the world. Once we unleashed this army, the whole planet would turn against us…and in the end, they would use nuclear weapons. It’s suicide, absolute madness.”
“I understand what you meant now about the walls keeping you in,” I say, so softly. I squeeze his hand back. “What about your brother?”
“Our situation was never kind to him. From when he was old enough to speak it was made clear to him that I would rule here and he would not. Cassandra would be mine and not his, and he knew, damn him, damn her, he knew that I did not want her. I never wanted any of this.” His voice rises. “This is insane, all of it. Look around you. As you said, a noble goal. Not worth murdering millions, not worth another war. There has to be another way.”
“What happened to her?”
“She seduced Kristien and turned him against me. Whispered lies in his ear, told him I was weak and would lead the country to ruin. The worst part is, she was right. I knew the moment my father brought me down here and explained what all this was for that I would never be part of something like this. I will not murder the world to save it.”
“My prince,” I whisper, saying the words with real respect for the first time. “I’m so sorry.”
“She meant for him to usurp me. Their plan was to murder me and for Kristien to take my place. The people would never know. We were identical except for a small scar on his chin, from a riding accident when we were children. He hurt his head.
“She tried to convince him to kill me in my sleep. Instead he put on one of these suits and went on a rampage through the castle. I donned my father’s armor for the first time that day. My suit was more advanced. He was always stronger but I’m faster, and the suit gave me the edge I needed. I killed him. I ran a sword through my own brother’s heart.”
He lets go of my hand and sinks to his knees. “I never wanted any of this to happen. Don’t you understand? I don’t want anyone else to die. I don’t want anyone else to suffer. I wanted to take away all the pain and worry.”
“You did.” I kneel beside him and put my arms around him. “I believe you now. You did want to help, but you were wrong. You gave everyone in your land safety and security, but you took away the most beautiful parts of life. Freedom. Choice. Art. Music. Risk. It’s a very safe prison, but it’s a prison. You have to let them go.”
“How? How can I undo what generation after generation of my fathers and their fathers have done? You tell me to give them freedom, but how can I lay such a burden on them after they’ve lived their whole lives like this?”
I sigh. “I don’t know. I’m not a philosopher, Kristoff. I’m not even really a teacher. I didn’t finish my degree. They’ll hire anybody to teach English abroad.”
The prince rises to face me and rests his palm against my cheek.
“I don’t want to be the king of Tartarus anymore, Penny. You are a light shining into this hell. Do what you have already been doing. Show me the way.”
I sigh. “You can’t do this all at once. It’s going to take time. It’s going to be difficult. You have to change everything about this place. One day you or maybe your son or grandson is going to have to give up the power.”
“My line ends with me, unless you stay with me. I won’t have anyone else.”
“I don’t want that burden.”
“I don’t want mine. No one asked me to shoulder it. I’m giving you that choice, though. Stay with me until the end of the week, fly with me to America. If you leave me I will let you go. I fear I will die but I will let you go, and I will spend the rest of my life turning this land into a garden to await your return.”