A Royal Elopement

by Emma Lea

  Mistborn danced under me and snorted before wheeling around. He reared, his front hooves kicking out at the boy and the fluttering kite. I fought with him, trying to calm him, but when the little boy cried out in alarm, the battle was lost. Mistborn reared again before bucking and kicking out with his back legs. I held on as long as I could, but Mistborn was too strong. I landed with a thump, my head hitting the ground. I experienced a blinding flash of pain before blackness claimed me.

  Savannah

  I chased Archer through the thick undergrowth. I should never have bought him that kite, but when I had seen it in the toy shop I couldn’t resist. The poor child had barely anything to his name and I felt so guilty for having to leave him and Papa alone so much. I thought maybe he and Papa could take it down to the lakeshore and play with it during the day while I worked. The last thing I had expected was for Archer to take off into the woods with it as soon as he saw it.

  I heard the unmistakable sound of a horse’s neigh - although it sounded more like an outraged cry of indignation. But it was Archer’s answering cry that made me move faster. It was one thing to be caught trespassing by the game keeper and another thing entirely for Archer to be trampled by his horse. I broke through the brush and came to a stop at the sight of the big grey horse, who stood stamping his foot and snorting big puffs of steam into the cold air. Archer stood in front of him, looking up at him in wonder.

  “Archer,” I called softly. “Come here baby.”

  “Look maman,” Archer replied without moving. “Isn’t he beautiful?”

  I looked at the horse again. I recognised the big brute. He was one of Alyssa’s horses, but not one that she rode. He had been a gift from that traitor Jordan Wicks. I would never understand why she hadn’t gotten rid of the horse after what that man put her through.

  But none of that was relevant right now. I kept one eye on Archer and the other on the temperamental horse as I slowly inched forward.

  “Don’t touch him, Archer,” I said calmly, trying not to spook either horse or child. “Just come back here to maman.”

  “What about the man?” Archer asked, pointing to the slumped bundle on the ground that I had failed to notice.

  “What happened?”

  “He fell when the horse went up on his back legs,” Archer explained patiently. “Do you think he’s dead?”

  I certainly hoped he wasn’t dead. I didn’t even know who he was, but if he was riding Mistborn then he must be one of the stablehands. The last thing I wanted to do was to explain how I stumbled upon a dead stablehand in the middle of the woods at dawn.

  “Archer, mon cœur, I need you to go and get pépé. Quickly now.”

  “Yes maman,” Archer replied with a sigh.

  I waited until he had cleared the horse and the man before approaching the big grey beastie with caution. “You’re not going to hurt me, are you?” I asked the horse who snorted at me. At least he had stopped rolling his eyes around and now seemed calm, if annoyed. I approached gingerly until I could crouch down and see to the man. I pulled back the collar of his coat and gasped. Jed.

  His dark lashes brushed the pale skin of his cheeks - skin that was paler than I had ever seen it. I gently brushed my hand through his hair and my hand came away sticky with blood.

  “Oh god,” I breathed. “Please don’t be dead.”

  I leaned down to see whether I could hear his heartbeat or feel his breath on my cheeks. He moaned lightly and I pulled back, looking down at his face, but his eyes were still closed.

  “Jed,” I whispered as I ran a finger over his eyebrow, smoothing away his frown.

  His eyelids fluttered open and he stared up at me with deep green eyes before they fell closed once again.

  “Jed,” I whispered again, leaning close enough that his cheek brushed mine. “Please wake up.”

  He turned his head and his lips brushed mine. I felt a shock of electricity course through me at the touch of his lips on mine and jumped back in shock.

  “Mmm,” he murmured.

  My heart was racing and I didn’t know what to do or where to look. I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment - at what, I wasn’t quite sure. Maybe at the inappropriateness of my reaction.

  “Come on pépé,” I heard Archer say and took a deep breath to calm my racing heart.

  “I’m coming, I’m coming,” my father replied.

  I scooted back from Jed, keeping a careful eye on the horse, who snorted and stamped his foot again at the intrusion, as Papa and Archer came back into the clearing.

  “What do we have here?” Papa asked.

  “It’s Jed,” I replied, standing to my feet. “His head is bleeding and he seems to be unconscious. We need to get him into the cabin.”

  “Do you think that is a good idea, mon amour? Shouldn’t we just leave him so that we are not discovered?”

  “Non père,” I replied forcefully. “I will not leave an injured man here to freeze to death. Now help me get him into the cabin.”

  “But what about us? What if we are found?”

  I stood and stared down my father. I loved him, I did, but I didn’t particularly like him sometimes. “We will cross that bridge when we come to it,” I replied.

  Papa threw his hands in the air and then crossed the clearing to help me. We dragged Jed through the snow and back to the cabin where I had hidden my son and my father. Mistborn followed along behind us without any direction. Archer chattered away happily to the horse as if they were best friends. The horse didn’t seem to mind.

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  Glossary

  Kalopsia is a fictional place, but I borrowed heavily from the Greek islands for inspiration. In my imagination, Kalopsia’s national language is a somewhat augmented version of Greek, which is why Jamie uses some Greek phrases as terms of endearment for Meredith. Below are those phrases (including the Greek letter translation) and the English interpretation.

  agapiméni gynaíka mou ~ αγαπημένη γυναίκα μου ~ my darling wife

  s’agapo, se latrevo ~ Σ’αγαπώ, Σε λατρευω ~ I love you, I adore you

  agapoúla mou ~ αγαπημένη μου ~ my sweetheart/my love

  The Young Royals

  Have you read the other books in the series?

  Book 1 - A Royal Engagement

  Despite being the second child of the King and Queen of Merveille, Alyssabeth thought that if she kept a low profile she could stay out of the media's glaring spotlight and live a relatively normal life. That was until her father, the King, and her brother, the Crown Prince, was both killed in a hunting accident.

  Her dream of joining the UN was no more and instead she needed to return to the small European country of her birth to pick up where her father and brother left off. Her Harvard degree in International Relations is forfeit and in it's place she must become Queen, that was if the misogynistic Parliament can see past their prejudices.

  Not much had changed in the small country in her four year absence, but there are two noticeable differences. Her brother's two best friends Will Darkly and Jordan Wicks have grown up into two very intriguing men. Jordan practically swept her off her feet from the moment she stepped off the plane, but Will's more reserved, darkly intense interest in her gave her tingles.

  Alyssa wasn't sure she was cut out to be Queen, but she knew that she wanted to do her father and brother proud, so she was willing to give it her best shot, even if it meant going toe to toe with Parliament. And then there was the small matter of her needing to be married in order to fulfil her birthright and take her place as the Head of State.

  Book 2 - A Royal Entanglement

  On the day of the new Queen’s coronation, a man from L
ady Alexandra’s past turns up unannounced in Merveille. Lord Frédéric intercepts him and discovers that Alex had left this man at the altar six months ago and now he was here to claim her.

  Alex hasn’t told anyone the real reason she left everything she had worked so hard for in the States to move to Merveille and take up the position of Queen Alyssa’s personal assistant. But now the main reason for her flight from the US has turned up on the palace’s doorstep and she is backed into a corner. The only person that she can think of to help her is Freddie, but she’s worried that getting too close to him might just do more harm than good.

  The last thing Freddie wants is to get entangled with a woman. He liked to keep his options open, but now that he has returned to Merveille for good, his mother is trying her damnedest to get him married off and producing the next Bingham heir. When Alex asks for his help, he is only too eager to help her and maybe get his mother off his back in the process. He never expected to fall for her.

  Book 3 - A Royal Entrapment

  The Queen is getting married and Priscilla is required to work alongside the Lord Chancellor, Dominique, to ensure that the whole affair goes off without a hitch and that they don’t, unwittingly, start World War Three. The only problem is that Priscilla finds Dominique insufferable and Dom isn’t all that enamoured with Priscilla either.

  When Priscilla’s sister, Bianca, falls for Dominique’s brother, Louis, the two young lovers hatch a plot to ensure that they can spend time together, but it means that Dom has to pretend to be interested in Priscilla and get her to date him.

  The more time they spend together, the more Dom and Priscilla start to like each other, except that now Dom is caught in a difficult spot…should he tell Priscilla that he only asked her out because his brother wanted to date her sister, or should he keep quiet and hope she doesn’t find out?

  Book 4 - A Royal Expectation

  Lady Jeanette Bower had always known what her life was going to look like. It had been drummed into her since she was a little girl. She would marry a titled gentleman and make him a splendid wife who was above reproach. It was what her mother had always wanted for her and Lady Jeanette always did what her mother wanted her to do. She was a good girl. The only problem was, Lady Jeanette didn’t expect a six foot four Australian with sparkling tawny coloured eyes and a mischievous grin to walk into her life and show her that there was perhaps another path for her to take.

  Drew Taylor had just landed his dream job and the fact that it was half way around the world from his meddling mother was just icing on the cake. He never expected to be swept off his feet by a woman on a hot pink Ducati. A woman who also happened to be one of the queen’s ladies in waiting. And then there was the complication of the viscount she was supposed to marry. How could a cane farmer’s son from tropical Queensland compete with a man who could give Lady Jeanette the title she had always wanted? He couldn’t, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying.

  Acknowledgments

  I love Meredith’s and Jamie’s story but it wasn’t without its challenges. Jamie was a dream to write but Meredith was quite a bit harder to nail down. She was a complex character who had these two conflicting ideals inside her that I sometimes had trouble articulating. What I loved most about her was that she was so strong but had this hidden sweet side that only came out around her father and Jamie. And Jamie? Well, I fell in love with him right from the first book in the series and was looking forward to writing his story. I’m already thinking of ways to write a spin-off series with him in it, maybe ‘The Young Royals ~ The mediterranean Edition.’

  None of this would be possible without the love and support of my family. I am so very thankful for my husband and the encouragement he gives me daily. He is willing to sit down and listen to me prattle on about my imaginary friends and how they are misbehaving and will even offer solutions to plot holes all the while pretending his wife hasn’t lost her mind. I love you dearly, my sun and moon.

  Thanks also to Kathryn who continues to support me with her words of encouragement and her eagerness to read my very rough first drafts - spelling and grammar mistakes and all.

  And I can’t mention spelling or grammar without also mentioning Brooke who takes my simple clay pot and polishes it to a high shine.

  I am so grateful to these two wonderful women and what they bring into my life. Without them, I would be lost.

  About the Author

  Emma Lea is a barista, artist, cook, mother and wife. She lives on the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia with her wonderful husband, two beautiful sons, her dog and cat (both of which are female because, hey, we needed to balance all that testosterone!)

  She is a ferocious reader with eclectic tastes and has always wanted to write, but never had the opportunity due to one reason or another (excuses, really) until finally taking the bullet between her teeth in 2014 and just making herself do it.

  She loves to write stories with heart and a message and believes in strong female characters who do not necessarily have to be aggressive to show their strength.

  If you enjoyed reading this book, please share the love by leaving a review and telling your friends!

  To connect with Emma Lea

  www.emmaleaauthor.com

  Thanks

  Thank you for reviewing this book and recommending it to your friends and family.

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  Other books by Emma Lea

  This is Emma Lea’s complete book library at time of publication, but more books are coming out all the time. Find out every time Emma releases something by clicking here and signing up for her New Release Alerts.

  SWEET ROMANCES

  These are romantic tales without the bedroom scenes and the swearing, but that doesn’t mean they’re boring!

  The Young Royals

  A Royal Engagement

  A Royal Entanglement

  A Royal Entrapment

  A Royal Expectation

  A Royal Elopement

  Bookish Book Club Novellas

  Meeting Prince Charming

  Broken Arrow Trilogy

  Broken

  Cursed

  Eternal

  SWEET & SEXY ROMANCES

  In my Sweet & Sexy Romances I turn up the heat with a little bit of sexy. No swearing, or very minimal swearing, and brief, tasteful and not too graphic bedroom scenes.

  Love, Money & Shoes Series

  Walk of Shame

  Strictly Business

  Skin Deep

  In The Money

  All At Sea

  Love, Money & Shoes Novellas

  The Five Year Plan

  Summer Fling

  Standalone Novels

  Amnesia

  HOT & SEXY ROMANCES

  Hot & Spicy Romances turn the heat way up. They contain swearing and sexy scenes and the characters get hot under the collar.

  Recommended for 18+ readers

  TGIF Series

  Girl Friday

  Black Friday

  Good Friday

  Twelve Days

  Twelve Days of Christmas - Her Side of the Story

  Twelve Days of Christmas - His Side of the Story

  Quickies (Collins Bay Novellas)

  Last Call

  Standalone Novels

  Learning to Breathe

  TOO HOT TO HANDLE ROMANCES

  These are definitely 18+ reads and contain graphic sex scenes and high level swearing – not for the faint of heart

  The Young Billionaires

  The Billionaire Stepbrother

  The Billionaire Daddy

  The Billionaire Muse

  The Billionaire Replacement

  The Billionaire Trap - coming soon

  Music & Lyrics

  Rock St
ar

  Songbird

  Strings