To Love a Prince (Knights of Valor Book 1)

by Elizabeth Drake

  But Auburn wasn’t there.

  “Any ransom demands?”

  “No, Your Highness.”

  “Do you know who killed the guards?”

  “No, Your Highness. We have no witnesses though we have several leads we’re following.”

  Eli shook as he fought to control his rising anger and fear. “What can you tell me?”

  The captain bowed. “When I have more information, I will inform you immediately, Your Highness.”

  Eli growled several expletives as he stormed towards his office. Someone had taken her. But who? And why? If it was Fredrick, he’d have killed her and left her body for Eli to find.

  The prince’s mind raced as he thought of all the enemies he had, but he could think of none that would’ve been able to penetrate security in the palace. None, except Fredrick.

  He had to tell King Garrett his suspicions about his cousin and get Fredrick removed from the palace altogether, but first, he had to find Auburn.

  Panic slipped across Eli’s normally impassive face, and a hundred unpleasant scenarios played through his mind.

  What if Fredrick had captured her and tortured her rather than killing her? What if she was alone and hurt or dying somewhere?

  The thoughts burrowed into his chest and almost paralyzed him.

  Sucking in a breath, Eli forced his mind to calm. To think rationally. If Fredrick had failed and Auburn had escaped him, where would she go? She knew no one in Tamryn.

  He glanced toward the darkness and shadows, now quiet after the priestesses’ cleansing. The thought slapped him.

  Auburn’s vision. The gold dragon.

  He yelled to the Captain of the Guard as he sprinted to the stables.

  I know you’re here, little mouse,” a sing-song voice called out. “Only you would barge into a closed temple.”

  Auburn’s heart slammed against her ribs as she moved on dancer’s feet to the apse and crouched down behind the altar.

  “There are so many things I know, little mouse, things you’d like me to tell you. Like why the king closed this temple.”

  Pressing her lips together, Auburn tried to ignore the voice as she searched for another hiding place.

  “This is where Queen Gwendolyn was laid out after she died. Over there.” Fredrick pointed across the church. “Eli wouldn’t leave her. Even slept in here as he prayed to Dracor to bring her back. But gods don’t bring back the dead, not even for a Dracasan prince.”

  Auburn’s heart squeezed. So much pain for a boy to bear all alone. She couldn’t let him go through it again. Couldn’t let Eli be alone again.

  “And I know who you are. I don’t mean a slave to the Sultan of Qumaref, or the princess you’re pretending to be.”

  Auburn pressed her lips together.

  “Do you want me to tell you your birth name? Perhaps the names of your parents?” Fredrick’s mirthless laugh reverberated off the walls. “You have a sister.”

  Closing her eyes, she tried to ignore him, to not listen to his lies.

  “I can tell you the truth about your family, about why they didn’t rescue you. Why they left you alone, abandoned, and lost. A slave. I could even reunite you with them. You’re useful to them since you’ve snared Prince Eli.”

  It was as if he knew what she most wanted and was tainting it before offering it to her. Auburn bit back her retort, knowing it’s what he wanted.

  “Not at all curious, little mouse? Perhaps not. Why would you be after they abandoned you?”

  Fredrick strolled down the aisle, pushing back the pews as he searched for her underneath them.

  “Just you and me, little mouse. Eli won’t step foot in this place, not since Dracor abandoned him and his mother. Let her die in Eli’s arms. There’s no one coming for you, just as no one came for you when Premal snatched you and took you to Qumaref.”

  Another pew crashed to the floor. Auburn tapped the dagger in her pocket. No one had come for her in Qumaref, and she’d made it out on her own. If she had to escape Fredrick on her own, she would.

  Chapter 49

  As Eli mounted his black charger, five royal guards fell in around him.The captain followed him out and bowed to the prince, then straightened to his full height.

  “It would be safer if you stayed at the palace and let my men search the streets for her, Your Highness.”

  “Auburn won’t trust you.”

  Sligo stepped from the shadows. “No one saw her leave, and she’d have been memorable. It could be Fredrick luring you out.”

  “Lord Fredrick?” the captain said. “He may still be in the palace, Your Highness. I questioned him a short while ago when we were looking for Princess Auburn. He said he hadn’t seen her but would postpone his meeting with you.”

  Eli swore as he swung down from his horse. “Fredrick’s a snake. We need to find Auburn before he does.”

  The captain nodded.

  Silencing the fear, Eli forced his mind to focus. “You’ve been looking for her, but perhaps in the wrong places. She learned to hide among servants.”

  Surprise widened the captain’s eyes, but he said nothing.

  “She’ll be heading towards a gold dragon, like that on the altar at the Dragon Church.”

  “Gold dragon, Your Highness?” the captain said. “Why?”

  Eli arched a brow.

  “Palace is full of gold dragons, Your Highness. I will send men to check them all.”

  The captain raced back into the palace, the stones crunching under his boots.

  Eli’s heart pounded, and he sucked in a breath, refusing to allow fear to consume him. Auburn would get to the gold dragon.

  He just had to find her before Fredrick did.

  Pushing the fear aside, Eli focused on all the places she could have gone. All the places he’d taken her that day. The image of the gold dragons on the doors to the king’s office played through his mind.

  Eli sprinted back into the palace.

  Little mouse, little mouse,” Fredrick called. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

  Another pew crashed.

  Auburn glanced at the tall windows, but she could see no way out. Fredrick had to know she was hiding behind the altar, but he didn’t come and try to kill her.

  Fear salted her tongue as she considered what he was planning.

  “I wonder how you snared Prince Eli,” Fredrick said as he sauntered down the aisle. “How you lured him when no other could, especially when marrying you costs him so much.”

  Auburn clutched the hilt of the dagger and tried to ignore his words, words he wanted to hurt her.

  “Not the usual beauty, dowry, or connections. A witch, maybe, ensorcelling Eli.”

  The temperature in the temple dropped until her breath puffed around her, and Auburn shivered as she huddled closer to the warmth of the altar.

  “There’s a prophecy, you know, that Duke Calloway’s daughter would be queen.” Fredrick chuckled. “But you ruined Eli’s marriage to Daniella, didn’t you?”

  She wanted to peek around the massive stone altar, but her stomach twisted, and she stayed hunkered.

  Fredrick stalked around the perimeter of the apse. “Maybe you trapped Eli instead. Rumors are circulating that he’s being forced to marry you because of the Rule of Succession.”

  Swallowing hard, Auburn forced her breathing to steady and touched her hand to the dragon necklace. Eli loved her no matter what the gossips said. No matter what Fredrick said.

  “Only a handful of times has the Rule of Succession ever been invoked. But I believe you could’ve used it to force Eli to marry you.”

  He stopped at the edge of the apse, and she touched the gold dragon on the altar. Warmth flowed into her, chasing away the cold, the curtain of half-lies, and the seed of doubt.

  “I thought the Dracasan family would die out. I’ve had no children despite my best efforts.” Fredrick smirked. “I blackmailed Eli’s mistresses, but it seemed he was just as unable to reproduce as I was. U
ntil you.”

  Auburn remembered Leopold’s words again. Either the Knight had never shared them with Fredrick, or Fredrick hadn’t listened.

  “I wonder if I could get the old Eli back by killing you. Worked once before, but Eli’s older now. More cynical. You wouldn’t like the way Eli was before Qumaref, but he was useful.”

  Her fists balled at the threat, but she kept her temper and focused on escaping.

  Two large guards dressed in the midnight blue and gold royal livery were still stationed outside his father’s door.

  The guards nodded to the prince. “The king is in the throne room.”

  “Anyone else go in?”

  The guards shook their heads.

  “A servant, perhaps, to tidy up after he left?”

  The guards frowned at each other.

  “I’m looking for Princess Auburn. She’s in trouble.”

  They opened the doors for Eli, but only silence greeted him.

  The room appeared exactly like it had earlier that day, or as it had months ago when King Garrett had sent his son to Qumaref.

  Fear clawed at Eli.

  Where else could she have gone? There weren’t that many places to hide when the captain and all the guards were searching for her.

  As he turned to leave the office, a twinkle of gold caught his attention. The altar to Dracor. His father prayed to the Dragon God often for wisdom or guidance, particularly on difficult matters.

  Eli hadn’t prayed in years.

  The Dragon God hadn’t answered his prayers on that sunlit day so many years ago, and Eli had never bothered again. Never acknowledged the god again. Never saw the point.

  Dracor hadn’t been there for him the one time Eli had needed Him.

  If the prince admitted the truth, it was why he’d never asked for Dracor’s blessing.

  The prince stared at the altar.

  Dracor hadn’t listened then, but perhaps He would now. Swallowing back his pride, Eli bowed before the altar then dropped to his knees.

  Chapter 50

  A commotion outside the dragon doors disturbed Eli’s prayer.

  “But I gotta see him,” a boy said.

  “You need to return to the kitchens,” the guard said, “before I see you punished for disturbing the prince.”

  “But she said...”

  Eli jumped up and sprinted to the door. Pulling it open, he ignored the guards and turned his full attention on the boy. “What did she look like?”

  “Reddish hair, funny clothes, and a gold dragon necklace. Like on these doors,” Andrew said.

  “Take me to her. Now.”

  The boy gave the guard an I-told-you-so look and ran back through the halls with Eli on his heels.

  Andrew led the prince deep into the palace, and Eli felt like a lead ball filled his stomach as he realized where the boy was taking him.

  Slowing before the wide doors, the prince swallowed the lump in his throat. He hadn’t been there since the day he’d buried his mother.

  Not to any of Dracor’s temples.

  Eli hadn’t attended religious services, paid his final respects at funerals, or celebrated weddings. Nothing had convinced him to acknowledge the power of a god that had let his mother die.

  He heard Fredrick on the other side of the doors, but a biting cold burned Eli’s hand, forcing him to yank it back before he could grab the handle.

  “I was wondering when you’d join us,” Fredrick said. “Please, come in.”

  The cold dissipated long enough for Eli to pull open the door. The prince bottled his anger and entered, the door closing with a thud behind him.

  Despite the destruction Fredrick had wrought, a sense of order pervaded the holy building. Little had changed since the day he’d said his final goodbye to his mother, and the thin layer of dust reminded him that his father preferred to attend services at the main temple.

  Fredrick stood at the front of the aisle and spread his arms wide. “You decided to meet with me after all. How fortuitous.”

  “Let’s go back to my offices and talk.”

  “I think not,” Fredrick said. “The ambiance is so much better here. Easier to remember dead queens and deaf gods.”

  “What do you want, Fredrick?”

  “Want? I want nothing. Not anymore. But you do.”

  Eli stilled as he regarded his cousin.

  “A wife. An heir. The throne. So many things you want.”

  “You trying to kill Auburn doesn’t get me any of them.”

  “But it brought you and made you listen.”

  “Why would I listen to you? You sent Premal to kill me.”

  “I sent Rolland to bring you home quickly and safely. I worked behind the scenes to make sure you married Daniella and took the throne, but the sultan interfered. Then Premal acted foolishly, but Rashalee repaid him.”

  “You betrayed me to Rashalee.”

  “Betrayal? What do you know of betrayal?”

  “More than I should.” Eli scanned the chapel. There were few places to hide, but he still couldn’t see Auburn.

  Fredrick’s face crimsoned in his rage. “You know nothing of betrayal. I’m giving you what should have been mine. I worked, studied, did everything Dracor demanded. And when I stood before Him, He turned away from me.”

  Auburn was somewhere in the temple. He had to keep Fredrick talking, focused on him rather than her. “Why help me?”

  “It’s what Rashalee wills, and She rewards Her followers for doing Her will. You know Dracor doesn’t. It’s why you never asked for His blessing. Why you turned to Rashalee.”

  Eli arched a brow.

  “Come now, cousin. I’ve watched you walk away from Dracor as you went further down Rashalee’s path for over half your life.”

  Eli didn’t want his cousin to be right, didn’t want to listen to his half-truths. He wanted to find Auburn and get her to safety.

  “Ask yourself if you’d seek justice or vengeance if I killed Auburn right now.”

  Eli’s fists clenched at his sides.

  Fredrick laughed. “Exactly. You’re already Rashalee’s.”

  “How can you follow the goddess of betrayal?”

  “Her faithful use betrayal as a tactic, even among ourselves, but Rashalee is true to Her followers once they prove themselves.”

  Eli eased forward several pews. “Had to cost you a lot to prove your loyalty.”

  “Less than the decade I devoted to Dracor, and the rewards have been far richer. Money, power, women. Few know I’m one of the wealthiest men in Tamryn. Richer than you.”

  “What did She demand for that?”

  “Does it matter? I gave it.”

  “I want to know what I can expect Her to demand of me.”

  “Don’t listen to him,” Auburn said, her words reverberating through the temple. “He speaks lies and half-truths to deceive you.”

  “Silence!” A bolt of darkness shot from Fredrick’s hand and slammed into the stone altar. The solid rock didn’t even shudder under the assault.

  Eli still couldn’t see her, but Fredrick knew where she was, and his cousin possessed some kind of dark magic. It was even more imperative that Eli keep Fredrick focused on him. “It was your mother, wasn’t it? Rashalee forced you to kill your mother.”

  Fredrick’s voice hitched. “Poisoned her.”

  “You loved her.”

  “Rashalee demanded...” Fredrick stopped. “Of course She did. There is room only for Rashalee. It was harder to kill her than my brother only because so many people were watching, worried she’d do something foolish as she wept for her infant son. A son meant to replace me.”

  “Your mother loved you, and you betrayed her.”

  “She betrayed me first, turned away from me when she birthed that brat. Rashalee was the only one there for me. The only one that cared after Dracor humiliated me. My mother was too busy with the baby meant to replace me when I needed her most.”

  Eli swallowed hard.

&n
bsp; Fredrick was in Rashalee’s thrall.

  The prince had to figure out a way to get Auburn to safety, and he had to do it before Fredrick lost what little sanity he still had. “I won’t come between you Rashalee. Let me leave with Auburn, and the throne is yours.”

  “You want more than a boring life in the country. I can give you Auburn, the throne, and your heir. Everything you’ve ever wanted, ever desired.”

  Temptation gnawed, and the words escaped before Eli could stop them. “Auburn and the throne? How?”

  “I have your attention. Good.”

  Chapter 51

  Don’t listen to him!” Auburn said from behind the altar. “He’s trying to trick you!”

  Fredrick’s eyes narrowed, and a wall of cold blasted through the church. Eli heard Auburn’s teeth chattering, but she didn’t leave the safety of the altar.

  “No trick. I can offer you all of that.”

  Eli moved closer to the apse. “How?”

  “You kill your father as tribute to Rashalee, and I side with you in ensuing milieu. I have numerous wealthy and powerful nobles that owe me a great deal, nobles that haven’t sided with you yet.”

  “Kill my father?”

  “Before the Dragon Church figures out what we’re up to, we’ll have won. The two of us together can destroy the Dragon Church and put you on the throne.”

  There it was. What Rashalee wanted. What Eli once might’ve agreed to do. “And what do you get out it?”

  Fredrick’s voice turned to a smooth purr. “A favor now and again. You’ll have all of Tamryn, the woman you love, and an heir. What’s the occasional favor?”

  The temptation was strong. All Eli had worked so hard for was his for the taking. But not at the cost of his father’s life. Not at the cost of the Dragon Church and all Tamryn stood for.

  “Don’t listen to him!” Auburn begged. “It’s all lies. He’ll offer you anything to get you to agree so he can weaken Tamryn for Rashalee.”