Chapter 30

Drake

'Oh my god, oh my god,' Iris said, as she started pacing, breathing heavily. At first, I was ready to become angry and start cursing, but then I remembered reading the part about stressful situations for babies, so I decided to be calm instead. Which was really hard. 'Honey, breathe,' I said, taking her hands in mine. She looked up, quizzically. 'I thought you were the hot headed one, Drake, why aren't you fuming?' I shook my head. 'I am, on the inside, but I have to keep you calm to protect that baby.' She blushed and nodded, taking a deep breath. 'Okay, you're right… but I can't promise I'm not freaked. The destruction of the apple orchard is a massive threat, isn't it? This group is after us, they know our every move!' I cupped her cheeks with my hands. 'We'll call Jimmy, we can hardly do more than we possibly are. We have to keep calm and be level-headed.' I paused. 'And then you have to leave the room so I can be my hot headed self, Valentine.' She let out a soft laugh and nodded. 'Okay, let's call Jimmy.'

I grabbed my phone, and dialled his number. He picked up quite soon, and we heard Emma yell all kinds of curse words in the background. 'Hey, Drake. I'm guessing you saw the video,' Jimmy said, sounding slightly worried. 'Yeah, we did. Iris is here too,' I said, taking her hand in mine. She was still breathing a little heavily, so I rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb. Her eyes caught mine, and even though she tried to act calm, her eyes betrayed her.

'As you can hear, Emma is getting rid of her anger. You sound surprisingly calm, or did you destroy the Beaumont Manor before calling?' Jimmy asked, trying to joke, yet his voice was trembling. 'He's keeping me calm, but I'm pretty sure that he'd like to destroy everything,' Iris said, looking up at me. I nodded agreeingly. 'Yup.' I sighed. 'You guys are at the palace now?' 'Yes,' Jimmy said, 'we'd just arrived at my mother's chambers when we saw the video. Jake ran over to the library and started searching for my mother's death, and we are about to start searching the room… once Emma's done ranting.' Iris nodded, folding her arms. 'Yeah that sounds like Emma.'

She paused and frowned. 'Hey Jimmy, remember that song you told me about, a few months ago?' Jimmy was silent for a few seconds. 'You mean the song my mother taught me?' 'Yes, that song. The song she made you sing the night of her death.' 'Of course, why?' Jimmy asked, confused. 'Well,' Iris said, frowning deeper. 'I've been thinking about it… I find it strange that she made you memorise the song, and I feel like it may hold some sort of deeper meaning. I memorised it myself too.' She looked up and recited the song. 'All things grow in their own time… Red flowers bloom, slow vines unwind. Those that wait till spring's last glow, still hold more colours than you know.'

I raised my eyebrows. 'How could that be a clue, Valentine, it's a cutesy song about flowers.' She chuckled and shook her head. 'No, no. I had to dissect poetry to get my teaching degree until it made me weep out utter frustration, I find hidden meanings in everything.' Emma had gotten quiet a while ago, and was now speaking up. 'You're right, Iris. That isn't just a song.' I heard her walk around and tell Jimmy something. 'Look for something with flowers, Jimmy.' They searched the room, yet returned a few minutes later with bad news. 'We can't find anything,' Jimmy sighed. I caught Iris' eyes, and she looked determined. 'Drake, can you handle things around here? I'll fly back to-' She started, but I cut her off. 'No way, Valentine. Either we both go, or we don't. I'm not letting you travel alone.'

She smiled slightly, and took my hand in hers. 'Hold on Jimmy, we'll call back in a minute,' she said, and I ended the call. 'I'll be with Jimmy and Emma, nothing is going to happen,' she said. I shook my head. 'I'm coming with you.' 'Honey, you've been looking forward to spending time with Savannah for ages. Don't worry about me, I'll ask Tim to come. I'll be fine.' I felt conflicted. Of course I wanted to spend time with my sister, but my need to be with Iris was greater. I needed to know she was safe, I shook my head again. 'In every other situation I'd let you go, but not during this period of assassinations and destructions.' I cupped her cheek. 'I'm coming.'

She smiled, and pulled my head towards hers. 'I love you, Drake Walker.' Her lips brushed over mine, and made my mind go blank as her tongue found mine. My heart started pounding, and my hands gripped her waist. 'Damn it, Valentine,' I grumbled, as I felt my entire body ache for her closeness again when she pulled back. Her green eyes widened slightly as she scanned my face. 'What's wrong?' She asked surprised. I shook my head, a small smile on my lips. 'You can't kiss me like that.' She let out a soft laugh, and bit her lip mischievously, slowly letting go. 'I can kiss you any way I want,' she whispered, pulling me closer.
I could argue, pretend like I wasn't that easily seduced by her, but the fact was… my pants was getting tighter, and I was that easy, really.

'Fine,' I grumbled. She chuckled, and pecked my lips once more before pointing at my phone. 'We should call Jimmy back.' I nodded slowly, and looked at her before I called Jimmy. 'If we weren't supposed to call and leave, this conversation wasn't over yet, Valentine.' She smiled seductively as she let her hand run down my chest. 'Why not, Mr Walker?' I glared at her. 'You know why.' She smiled bigger. 'I want you to say it.' I sighed, 'you never let one slide, do you?' She shook her head mischievously. I rolled my eyes, grabbed her waist and pulled her against me, taking her jaw in my hand a little tightly yet not painfully, and I made her look into my eyes as I leaned closer to her lips. 'I fucking want you, Valentine.' Her eyes grew dark immediately. I knew she loved my soft side and my romantic side, but she had a certain kind of love for my rougher side. It turned her on immensely, and I was well aware… just like her teasing was torturous to me.

'Fuck, Drake,' she whispered and pulled my head towards hers, kissing me hungrily. I knew I was supposed to call Jimmy, but at that moment, my entire brain was blanking. After a few minutes of kissing, she pulled back, panting, and put her forehead against mine. 'Even though I think I'm speaking for the both of us as I say that I really want to finish this, but we have to call Jimmy.' I nodded, and pecked her lips once more. 'This is not the time to make me want you so badly,' I said, accusingly. She let out a soft laugh and smiled, shaking her head. 'You're right.' We took a few deeps breaths and I grabbed my phone again. 'You stay away from me now, Valentine,' I said, glaring at her while dialling Jimmy's number. She giggled.

That afternoon, we travelled to the palace and ran in, immediately running towards Eleanor's room. I knocked on the door, and Jimmy opened swiftly. 'Guys!' He said, looking tired. 'We turned this place upside down, but we have no clue…' I'd noticed Iris thinking of many things in the plane, so she greeted Jimmy and burst past him. I shrugged at Jimmy as he looked surprised. 'She lives for this kind of stuff,' Emma said, and looked at Iris. 'Let your nose do its work, German Shepherd.' Iris started looking around, right when Jimmy's phone rang again, it being Jake. 'Jimmy, I think I found something,' I heard Jake say through Jimmy's phone. 'Could you come check it? I don't know if it's any Cordonian nobility thing or unusual.'

Jimmy nodded. 'Drake and I are on our way.' I nodded, and was about to follow Jimmy, when Emma walked up. 'I'll join you, Iris is in the zone anyway.' I walked over to Iris, made her look at me and told her that we were going to see Jake. She nodded, pecked my lips and continued searching. I smiled and shook my head. Emma, Jimmy and I ran over to the library, and joined Jake. 'Hey, Drake, what are you doing here?' He asked surprised. I sat down across from him and pointed in Eleanor's room's direction. 'Iris thought she was on to something, so we decided to travel here.' He nodded. 'Ah, our very own commissioner Rex,' Jake joked. Emma laughed, 'German show, look it up. Bree always loved that show.' Jake opened the book, and pointed at a picture of Eleanor, right before she was poisoned, maybe it was even the same night. 'Here, Eleanor receives a gift from someone, I can't see who it is,' Jake said, pointing at the picture. 'It's a royal cup… what if the poison was in there?'

Jimmy's mouth fell open. 'I remember that night, it was the night she died. She and father had just returned from Hana's estate in Shanghai, and the first thing she did, was make me recite the song. Shortly after, she was presented a cup… that cup.' He looked up and frowned. 'I'm cracking my brain to remember who'd given her that cup.' My heart started pounding. I did remember. 'Jimmy… it was Godfrey.' His eyes locked on mine.
'We were right.'

Iris

'All things grow in their own time… Red flowers bloom, slow vines unwind. Those that wait till spring's last glow, still hold more colours than you know. All things grow in their own time… Red flowers bloom, slow vines unwind. Those that wait till spring's last glow, still hold more colours than you know,' I kept repeating to myself, as I looked around the room. I saw that Jimmy and Emma had checked everywhere, even through the big bookcase Eleanor had… but something sparked my interest. There were only a few books in the bookcase.
What if she was talking about these books?

I ran over to the bookcase and recited the verse again. 'All things grow in their own time.' I scanned the books, and found a book with plants on the cover. I pushed it towards the wall, and heard a click. My heart started pounding and I was breathing heavily. Oh my god. 'Red flowers bloom, slow vines unwind.' My eye fell onto a red book… and I pushed that one too too, my hand almost shaking like a leaf. The bookcase cracked alive, and started moving backwards. Oh my fucking god. As I moved further, trying to remain calm, I remembered the last line to the verse. 'Those that wait till spring's last glow…' I said, and looked around.

I saw one last book, having all kinds of colours on the front. 'Still hold more colours than you know,' I whispered. I pushed back the book, and a wall behind the bookcase opened up, revealing a secret passage. 'Holy shit…' I mumbled. I was about to grab my phone to call Drake, when I took a step forward and… the bookcase drew close behind me. 'No, fuck!' I shrieked, and tried to make it stop… but I was not nearly strong enough. 'Crap…' I looked around quickly, trying to search for another secret button to open the door again… but there was nothing. I grabbed my phone, and tried to call Drake.

No reception. Damn it!
I took a deep breath, and knew that the only way out, was to go further. However, the hallway wasn't lit, so I used my phone's flashlight to light the path. It was incredibly dusty in the hallway, causing me to sneeze multiple times. My heart was still pounding hard, and I felt watched, as if many eyes were looking at me, walking through that passage. I took a deep breath and walked somewhat quicker, finally arriving in a room. 'Wow,' I mumbled, as I looked around. I held up my phone to take pictures. The room could easily be mistaken for a study, and it probably had been… but a secret study, where Eleanor was keeping track of things.

After I'd taken a few pictures, I walked over to the desk, and found all sorts of papers on it, all in the same handwriting. Some were lists, lists of names. I frowned, and held up two papers. One was a list of girl names, and another was a list of boy names. Next to the list, I found a piece of paper that said, "Leo, Jimmy and Charlotte." My heart skipped a beat.
Oh my god, Eleanor was pregnant when she was poisoned.

My breath started racing, that couldn't be the reason she was poisoned, was it? I put down the name lists, and found a little green book, which almost looked like a diary. I opened it, and started reading. Her pages were focused on all kinds of terror groups in Cordonia, and Eleanor seemed convinced about her being a target. She was pretty sure it was because she was a commoner… which seemed to add up to all our suspicions as well.

"I know it's going to happen tonight. I did everything I could to teach Jimmy the verse, maybe one day he'll connect the dots. He'll turn out fine, Jimmy is the last person I worry about. I worry more about my attacker flying under the radar. I feel like I'm fighting against invisible forces and my time is running out. Constantine doesn't know I'm pregnant, he doesn't even know I don't trust the government. Better said, I feel like I can't trust Godfrey."

I gasped, and my heart skipped a beat. Damn, we'd been right…

I dropped the book, as it was the last thing she'd written, and my eye fell on the floor. Almost like I was in a trance, I walked over to a cup, lying on the ground. I picked it up, using my shirt not to mess with any possible prints. The cup was engraved and had a lot of little rubies on it. I felt goose bumps all over my arms. Could Godfrey have poisoned her because she was a commoner… ascending from commoner status to Queen? I shivered, I had to get Jimmy.

I quickly looked around again, and saw that there was another way out. I followed the path, and somehow, I had no idea how, I finally ended up in the palace gardens. I climbed up from a small, hidden stone, still holding the cup. I started running to the palace itself, still feeling incredibly distraught and skittish. Right before I could run up the stairs to the palace doors, I heard movements behind me. I turned around quickly, and found four masked men. 'I think that cup belongs to us,' one of them said. 'How did you-' I started, but the guards were started to gang up on me. '

When the four of you flew back to the palace, interrupting your tour after the destruction of the apple orchard, we knew you'd be here,' another answered, sounding angry. I took a deep breath, ready to scream at the top of my lungs. 'We're taking you with us, Duchess Iris. I'm pretty sure those commoners will be coming for you again.' I exhaled, suddenly feeling a burning rage in my body, fuelling a massive strength. 'I am a Valentine, I am not to be used,' I spat, putting the cup behind me on the stairs. 'You'll have to fight me, and I'm warning you, I won't go nice on you after talking about my future husband and future Queen like that.' I clenched my fists, and took a deep breath again.

The masked men laughed, and one of them walked up to me. I screamed loudly, hoping they'd hear me in the palace, and started fighting the masked assassin, feeling a rush of adrenaline driving through my body, enabling me to throw harder punches than I'd ever had before. Once I'd knocked down the first one, the other three ran up to me, at the same time as I heard the palace doors being thrown open.

Drake

As we were discussing a few different pictures, we heard a loud scream from outside. At first I was confused, that scream must have been immense, we were all the way down in the library… until I realised that it was someone who wanted to be heard. 'Come on!' I said, and jumped up. I started running, and Jimmy followed suit. Jake and Emma ran somewhere behind us, but I had to admit, Jimmy and I were exceptionally fast. Within half a minute, we'd arrived at the palace doors, and we heard fighting noises. I heard someone fall onto the stairs, and my eyes fell on three masked men, and another down on the stairs, fighting… Iris. The three men were running up to her, and were about to pounce. 'No!' I growled, and I ran over her, faster than I'd ever run before, jumping down the stairs, right onto one of the men. Jimmy had the other one covered, and Iris started fighting the third one.

The assassin and I were rolling down the stairs, and I saw red, feeling an immense rage burning inside my body. I was furious, blazing… I'd knocked out the assassin within twenty seconds, running back to Iris immediately. 'HAH!' She called, looking furious as she kicked the assassin down the stairs, sending him down. He flew up to me, and I took over, grabbing his collar and sucker punching him to the point of utter unconsciousness. I looked around, and saw three assassins on the ground, knocked out, and Jimmy was fighting the last one. The last one didn't stand a chance against him either, and was left unconscious quite soon. 'Guys,' Iris said, her voice trembling as her face was pale. The furious look in her eyes had faded, and she was now looking vulnerable. 'Thank you, I was…'

I ran up to her and took her in my arms, tangling my hand in her hair, pressing her head against my chest. 'Tell me you're okay, baby,' I said softly, as I cupped her cheeks and looking in her eyes. She nodded, her eyes slightly glistening as she took a deep breath. 'God, I had no idea they'd be here…' I rested my forehead against hers for a few seconds, needing to feel her in my arms, safe. I softly stroke the back of her head, and pressed my lips onto hers. 'I love you, Valentine, god I love you.' She nodded. 'I love you too, Drake.' She smiled slightly, and looked up at Jimmy. 'Thank you so much, Jimmy.' He smiled at her and shook his head. 'Of course, Iris.' I let go of her, reluctantly, as she went to hug Jimmy.

Jake and Emma had descended the stairs, Jake helping Emma. She'd been able to walk again for a while, yet stairs were still terrible on her shot wound. She hugged Iris tightly, and Jake followed suit. Once they'd let go of her, I pulled her back in my arms again, not ready to let go of her. I'd travelled with her to the palace to keep her safe, damn it…

She smiled up at me, slightly, and pecked my lips again. 'I'm okay, I promise.' Once she'd said those words, I felt myself calming down a little, yet not enough. We were exposed, expected. I needed to get her away from there. 'What were you doing here, Iris?' Jake asked, slightly confused. Iris pointed at something behind Jimmy. Jimmy turned around and picked up the object. 'Damn, Iris, where did you get this?' He gasped, as he turned around, showing us the cup… the cup Eleanor was poisoned with all those years ago.

Iris' eyes darkened. 'I have something to show you guys.'