“Just a precaution.” He smiled and jumped out to open my door. “You don't know what I had to do for this surprise.”
When we walked to the entrance, I saw that it was an Art Gallery. “You didn't?”
“I had to.” He knocked three times on the glass doors.
A woman with a short bob opened the door. She wore a soft grey suit with a white satin blouse completely covering up her neck.
“Good morning, your Highness,” she greeted Lucian.
I suppressed my giggle.
“Maggie,” he muttered.
“You must be Elena. I'm Maggie and this is my art gallery. Welcome.”
Lucian rolled his eyes. He despised being addressed as royalty.
The gallery was empty, besides us and the masterpieces on the wall.
We followed Maggie from painting to painting as she explained more about the pieces and the artists. Suddenly I missed Dad again. He promised me that one day we would go to an art gallery, but we never got around to it.
A painting in the corner caught my eye. It was a pencil sketch of a woman sitting against a tree. The artist had done an amazing job. Her face and eyes carried a deep sadness in them that made my heart ache.
“This is a portrait done by Renaldo Aramiz; the woman in the picture is none other than Queen Catherine.”
Lucian and I both gasped.
“Are you serious?” he asked, and she nodded.
“It doesn't look anything like her.”
“It's not supposed to either. She was merely the inspiration,” Maggie said simply.
“Was she really so sad?” he asked.
“It was the year before she died,” Maggie said. Cheng's story of Tanya leaving her jumped to my mind. The queen must have struggled with losing her dragon sister.
Lucian touched the lines that formed the queen's face, as if he wanted to wipe away the invisible tear. “How much?”
“It's not for sale, Lucian.”
“Are you sure about that?” He smiled.
She grinned back with soft eyes. “That smile won't work on me. I'll never sell it.”
“Elena's an artist too.” Lucian changed the subject.
She looked at me with a slightly raised eyebrows and a Julia Roberts smile. “You should show me one day,” she said eagerly.
“They're not that great.” I pointed to the picture of the queen.
Lucian glared at me. Clearly he didn't like the way I sold myself short.
A bright flash reflected on the colors of the next painting as we made our way over to it. It almost made the leaves on the trees come to life. Lucian jolted his head back when a more flashes bounced off the walls. He yanked me back behind a pillar, pulled off his leather jacket, and threw it over my head. Maggie froze on one spot, staring with huge eyes at the front door.
My heart beat fast. “What is it?”
Lucian ignored my question. The light overpowered the gallery and I could hear people yelling Lucian's name.
His jaw muscles clenched and his eyes hardened. It almost made him look like a dragon. “Who did you tell, Maggie?”
“Lucian, I promise I didn't say one word.” She spoke fast and she sounded just as shocked.
He took a deep breath. “Just wait here okay. I'm so sorry, Elena.”
I just nodded, not really knowing what was happening and felt as if my heart was going to explode with the tempo it beat in my chest.
“I'm going to kill the person that leaked this,” Maggie said.
“Are those people from the press?” My voice broke on the last word and I cleared my throat.
“Yes, Elena. He really didn't plan on this.”
“Can we wait them out?” Images of them trampling over us to get clear shots jumped inside my head.
She huffed. “If it was another celebrity, maybe, but Lucian McKenzie? No way.”
I closed my eyes and wished I could disappear. I wasn't good with handling big crowds, especially ones with cameras. “Is this going to be in the newspapers tomorrow?”
“Sweetheart, it's the Prince of Tith. It's going to be in every magazine.”
Lucian came back. “I'm so sorry, Elena. Welcome to my world.”
I felt sorry for him if this was what his life felt like. “What are we going to do?”
“We can wait it out, but they're not going to leave. By the next hour, the crowd will have multiplied and who knows what it could look like in three. They know that I'm in here with you and will wait until you come out, even if it's going to take three days.”
I swallowed hard while my stomach took a couple of turns. An image of me hurling in front of cameras jumped into my mind.
“Honey, the way I see it is, give the ones out there what they want and get the hell out before more arrive,” Maggie said practically.
I closed my eyes, not knowing how I would be able to walk out of here. I was a nervous wreck.