The rain in Virginia always smelled of wet asphalt and pine needles.

I sat at my kitchen table, the harsh glare of the overhead light bouncing off the brass buttons of my service dress blue jacket.

I was running a white polishing cloth over the anchor insignia when the headlights swept across my living room wall.

Two black SUVs idled on the gravel driveway.

The engines hummed, a deep and heavy vibration that cut through the sound of the storm outside.

I stood up, leaving the cloth on the table.

My hand instinctively hovered near my waist, though I was unarmed in my own home.

The knock on the front door was loud, three precise strikes that rattled the old brass knocker.

I opened it.

Two men stood on my porch, water dripping from the brims of their dark wool hats.

They wore tailored charcoal overcoats with small, silver crests pinned to their lapels.

“Commander Emily Carter?” the taller one asked.

His accent was thick, European, and heavily formal.

“I am,” I said, keeping my posture straight and my shoulders back.

“I am Inspector Vance of the Royal Court Security Division,” he said, showing a leather credential.

The silver crest on his badge matched the one on his lapel.

“We have been sent on behalf of His Majesty, King Alaric.”

I stared at him, my mind spinning to find a connection.

“I think you have the wrong address,” I said. “I am an officer in the United States Navy.”

“We have the correct address, Commander,” Vance said. “We are here concerning your sister, Rachel Carter.”

My stomach tightened at the mention of her name.

I had not spoken to Rachel in over three years, not since our father’s quiet, sudden funeral.

“What has she done?” I asked.

“Her wedding to Prince Alexander has been halted,” Vance said.

He did not blink.

“By direct order of the King.”

The wind blew a spray of rain across my face, cold and sharp.

“Halted?” I repeated. “I did not even know she was engaged. Let alone to royalty.”

Vance exchanged a look with the second officer, who kept his hands folded in front of his coat.