Chapter 26 - Refuge in the Rockies
Twenty-four hours later, the humid swamps of Florida were replaced by the jagged, snow-capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains.
Mateo’s safehouse—a massive timber-and-stone lodge tucked deep inside a private valley in Montana—offered absolute isolation and impenetrable security. High stone walls, thermal perimeter sensors, and a natural mountain barrier made it virtually impossible to approach undetected.
Inside the lodge, a massive stone fireplace crackled with burning pine logs, casting a warm, amber glow across the rustic living room.
Oliver and Emma were fast asleep in a warm upstairs bedroom, finally recovering from the harrowing cross-country evacuation.
I sat on a plush leather sofa near the fire, pressing a cool, damp cloth against a minor scrape on Adrian’s forehead where flying glass had grazed him during the airfield shootout.
“You’re terrible at retiring,” I murmured softly, applying an antiseptic wipe to his skin.
Adrian let out a low, weary laugh, catching my hand and pressing his lips against my knuckles. His gray-green eyes looked tired, carrying the weight of a dozen lifetimes.
“I tried, Sophia,” he said quietly, staring into the flickering flames of the hearth. “I gave up the council, I handed over the ports, I buried the accounts. I thought if I walked away from the crown, the crown wouldn’t follow me.”
“It’s not the crown they want, Adrian,” I said, sitting down beside him and resting my head against his shoulder. “It’s us. As long as we’re breathing, people like Madame Cartier will always believe we hold the keys to their past.”
“Then we rewrite the past,” Adrian declared, his voice dropping into a tone of absolute, unbreakable resolve.
May you like
I looked up at him. “What do you mean?”
“Madame Cartier said the European council is starving for leadership,” Adrian said, turning to look me in the eye. “She thinks they’re coming to hunt us. But she’s wrong. They aren't hunting us... they’re walking right into the trap I set six years ago when I first walked away from the table.”
