Spy Girl (Spy Girl #1)

“What’s Terra?” Ari asks.

“I don’t know what this is referring to, but Terra was the Roman Goddess of the Earth. In renditions of her, she is always beautiful and usually surrounded by a cornucopia, flowers, and fruit. Sometimes, she is depicted pregnant because she is also the guardian of fertility and motherhood. In planetary science, Terra is the third planet usually referred to as Earth. The male counterpart is Tellus. He was an Athenian statesman in Herodotus’s Histories, where he is said to be the happiest man ever because he had a good life and children who remembered him. Apparently, to the ancient Greeks this was the most honorable life. If I remember right, though, he died in a battle, but not before crushing his opposition.”

“How do you know all that?”

I shrug. “I like history. Architecture and Greek and Roman Gods, particularly.”

Ari rolls his eyes at me.

“Her Greek counterpart is Gaia. Let me do a quick search and see what comes up.” I type in my phone. “Not much more than that other than the festival held in her honor was on April the fifteenth. Then pages and pages of info of pretty much the same. I’m not seeing it used in any other way.”

“Could it be the name of a terrorist organization?”

“Let me see. Hmm. There’s an old Spanish terrorist group that seems to have existed from the late seventies until the mid-eighties but nothing from them in years. It looks like they wanted their own state. It looks like they finally came to peace with the government and announced their dissolution.”

“Could it have been revived?” Ari wonders.

“I don’t know. I don’t see anything more about it or anything else.”

“Sounds like a dead end. Let’s discuss the Prince’s cousins. They’re next in line to the throne. We need to meet them soon. Oh, and it seems Peter and Allie are joining us in Montrovia. I’m putting them in separate bedrooms, just so you know.”

I laugh. “Uh, oh.”

“Speaking of that. Daniel got called back to the Embassy immediately upon news of the attack on the castle, but he did mention going to the Casino tonight. I think we should go.”





Peter and Allie arrive just after sundown. Peter has already booked dinner reservations at the Michelin starred restaurant we vetoed the other night. Allie gives me air kisses and rushes to her room to freshen up and change for dinner. Their plane was delayed due to weather, and they are running behind schedule. Peter informs us that we mustn’t be late for our reservations, so I run up to my room to change into a cocktail dress.





X X X





Dinner works in our favor. Not only do we have an incredible meal, but Peter is joined in the bar afterwards by the Prince’s two cousins and their significant others. We meet the eldest of the sisters, Ophelia, as well as her boyfriend, Viktor. Ophelia is slender with a lean yoga body and short, dark hair that frames her petite face. She’s smart, sarcastic, and a leader—almost to the point of domineering. She’s dressed in a severely cut dark green suit, black pumps, and a large angular black hat. She has mastered the art of resting bitch face and looking bored. Her boyfriend, Viktor, is much more gregarious. He’s friendly, has an aristocratic air, impeccable manners, and can throw down quite a lot of alcohol. He seems fine with Ophelia wearing the pants in their relationship of six months. Viktor and Peter are well acquainted, having vacationed together with their families because of their fathers’ friendship.

Younger sister, Clarice, looks exactly like Ophelia would with long hair, but that’s where the similarities end. Clarice has more of a laid-back, hippie vibe. Her passion is travel, and she entertains us with stories of trips to exotic locales and her focus on charities that attempt to make the world a better place. Her boyfriend, Armend, who I find out she’s only been seeing for a few weeks, is quiet but controlling. She’s super laid back, and it surprises me when he looks at her and barks out an order—like My drink is empty—and she immediately scurries to remedy it. Plus, his predatory gaze gives me the creeps. My gut reaction is not to trust him, and my mind runs through scenarios. The kind of scenarios where he could be in on the plot to overthrow the monarchy. And it gets me wondering if that’s even the plan. What if the plan isn’t just to kill the Prince? What if it includes bossy, outspoken, and uncontrollable Ophelia? Or controlling an easy to manipulate Clarice? I imagine her and Armend married and him running the show.