ROGUE PRINCESS (Sample Chapters)

Chapter Four

Delia rolled her eyes. "Pirates," she whispered. Ridiculous.

Classified!

She should have demanded his name, or at least the name of the prince he was guarding.

Her hand was on the steering controls, one finger tapped a random beat. She thought about his expression when she revealed who she was. Unlike most of the young men in court, who were all nervous smiles and anxious grins, the bodyguard's reaction to her true identity was so quick, she was sure it was genuine surprise. But there was something else she wasn't used to seeing on all those other faces.

Regret? No, she decided. More like remorse at getting caught.

An alarm grabbed her attention. The radar showed a Queen's Guard ship with two smaller deluxe gliders approaching at full speed. Delia did a quick calculation. She had less than three minutes before her ship would be spotted.

A muffled cry came from outside. She listened carefully, then heard another.

Delia flicked on a tiny screen to her left. A monitor came alive with the outside view of the back of the ship. "Oh!" She hardly believed what she was seeing. Invisible hands pushed on her chest, squeezing tightly. Her eyes flicked to the radar showing the Guard's closing dis- tance, then back to the image on the screen.

Letting out a frustrated growl, she unbuckled her safety straps and made her way to the back of the ship, easing the door open. One, two, three . . .

Delia jumped out and ran toward the trees, zeroing in on the fig- ures locked in a battle.

A man with long hair had latched himself onto the back of the bodyguard, choking him in a tight arm hold, his face showing a bluish tinge. Delia pulled off her helmet and took aim. The man's eyes lifted to acknowledge what was about to happen a second before her helmet made contact with his nose.

With a cry, the man loosened his grip. He slumped off the body- guard, his back thudding the ground. Writhing in the dirt, his hands covered his face as rivulets of blood spilled out between his fingers.

After catching his breath, the bodyguard straightened up, wip- ing the dust from himself. He looked at the bedraggled man on the ground, then back to Delia.

Although pale, he gave her a smile that looked just like Shania when she was making faces behind Advisor Winchell's back. "Is it just me, princess," he said, "or are you my worst stroke of luck?"

"You're welcome," she replied, jutting out her chin. There was a strange vibration under her skin that she found quite distracting.

"That's rich," he replied. "If you hadn't forced me out of the ship, I wouldn't have been attacked."

"If you hadn't stowed away on the ship—"

He put up a hand, interrupting her.

He interrupted me!

"Beyond my control, remember? Classified," he said. "Your argument is poor. But lucky for me, your aim is true."

His smug tone made her grit her teeth. Foolish man! She opened her mouth to refute, but he'd already turned his attention to the at- tacker on the ground.

"In all honesty, my friend," he said to the man. "That broken nose was a waste of natural beauty. I have nothing to give you."

The man pushed himself off the ground, one hand still covering his face. "You have no idea what having nothing means," he said. His voice was rough, but with an underlying weakness.

His desperation unnerved Delia. She looked up at the sky expect- ing the Guard's ship to appear. She pulled on the bodyguard's arm. "We have to leave."