The Silver Eyed Prince (Highest Royal Coven of Europe)

by VJ Dunraven

  What he discovered astounded him. Gone was the tough girl who built a fortress around herself. The one he held was a sad, confused girl, who was lonely and frightened. How could he have missed it? What had happened to her? What was her life like before he found her? Too many questions nagged at him. He had plenty of catching up to do.

  Elizabeth stirred and he loosened his hold.

  “I got you all wet.” She hiccupped.

  “Don't worry about it.” He lifted her chin with his fingers and wiped her tears with his thumb. He gazed at her tenderly, wanting so badly to kiss away her pain. Where had she been this whole time? Why couldn't she recognize him? And why the hell was she trying so hard to push him away?

  Just then, Major Alexander called from the other side of the wall. “Your Highness! Is everything okay back there?”

  “Yes!” He regretfully released her, displeased by the intrusion. “I'm bolting both of us over. Please clear the immediate area.”

  Footsteps shuffled and voices faded.

  “All clear!” Major Alexander hollered.

  The Prince turned to Elizabeth. “You have to get on my back.” He watched her eyes widen.

  “H-how do I do that?” She wiped her tear-stained cheeks with the back of her hand, looking quite mortified.

  Prince William kneeled on one knee. “Put your arms around my shoulders.” She obediently did as she was told. “You need to hold on tighter.” He adjusted her arms, pulling her closer. Her body molded against his back and a sudden spark of desire coursed through him. Not now, he scolded himself, taking a deep breath to calm down. “Now—, wrap your legs around my waist,” he said over his shoulder, trying his damnedest to look solemn even when the mere suggestion of what he had just said made him imagine the most unholy imaginings.

  “What?” Her brows snapped together as she turned to look at him, their mouths sheer inches apart. “Sir, I don't think so!” She looked quickly away, bright red blotches coloring her cheeks.

  He suppressed a smile. Aha. His Elizabeth was back to her fiery self! “Do it, or I'll leave you here,” he said in a stern tone.

  She glared at him before she grudgingly hoisted one leg. He held it and stood up, wrapping her other leg onto his waist. He supported her with his strong arms and shifted her twice to ride her higher up his back. Elizabeth clung to him on all fours on instinct—like a monkey on a coconut tree.

  “You're choking me.” He stretched his neck. Her face was so close, his jaw brushed against the side of her face. The sweet scent of her skin kept driving him to distraction.

  “Sorry.” She relaxed her grip only to sag down.

  “Hold on tighter, will you?” he said huskily, once again craving the feel of her curves pressed against him. Never mind if he choked to death—not that it would happen.

  “You said I was choking you!”

  “Look. If you fall, I'm not coming back for you.” He shifted her upwards, prompting her to fasten herself securely on his back. “Okay, now don't ever—ever let go,” he said firmly, relishing the sensual friction of her softness against him just a tad longer, even if his restraint was just a hair away from splitting. Pay attention! He mentally kicked himself. If he didn't get them out of here in the next minute, they would end up taking their vows with the minister tomorrow.

  He assessed the wall and sharpened his focus. “Ready?” He angled his head a little, his cheek touching hers.

  “Yes,” she whispered, her lips brushing the side of his chin as she clung closer to him.

  Nice. He smiled in approval and pulled himself up to his full height. Then he positioned one leg a single stride ahead of the other leg and bent both knees almost halfway in a launching stance. He used both their body weights to build rigid tension in his strong, muscular thighs. Feeling the rush, he released the pressure with a powerful jolt.

  They went airborne, over the wall and on the ground in less than five seconds.

  Elizabeth shut her eyes as soon as they launched off the ground. She felt the forceful thrust and unnerving descent, but not the landing.

  “Elizabeth?” A deep voice whispered.

  She raised her lashes slowly.

  A pair of silver eyes peered at her with concern. They were so close she could see the metallic flecks in the irises. Such beautiful eyes. She could spend hours just gazing at them.

  “Prince William!” Major Alexander's voice interrupted her daydream. “Is she okay?”

  Elizabeth whipped her head to find the Major and her friends rushing towards them—with the entire class trailing right behind.

  “A little shaken up, but fine,” the Prince replied, his baritone vibrating pleasantly against her chest.

  Her chest? My God! She was still clinging to him like a stupid tree frog!

  “Oh, no!” She abruptly released her arms and pushed against his back, wrenching her legs free from his grasp.

  “Wait! You'll—” He lost his grip.

  She landed on the grass, sprawled like a holiday turkey in front everyone. Now, how did she manage to land on her ass twice—also in the same class?

  “I was going to say,” Mr. Mockery resurrected with a vengeance, obviously entertained, “that you'll fall.” His eyes glittered and his mouth curved with suppressed laughter.

  At that point, Elizabeth wanted to give him a piece of her temporarily deranged mind, but Ben saved her the trouble.

  “You're all muddy and wet!” Ben fussed. “Are you okay, Sweetie? I hope you didn't hurt your ovaries!”

  “Will you quit talking like a gonad?” Carlos snapped. “Here, take my hand.” He pulled Elizabeth to her feet.

  “Come on.” Lela tugged on her arm and signaled to Ben and Carlos. “Ben has extra clothes in his car.”

  They excused themselves from Major Alexander who readily let them go without confronting her, thank God!

  Elizabeth looked over her shoulder on their way out. She was fairly certain Mr. Mockery was enjoying this spectacle at her expense.

  However, her loathing was cut short when she saw him. He stood with his arms crossed on his chest, looking at her the way he did when he held her in his arms in that dark creek.

  A warm glow lit her heart.

  Tenderness. That was the look he gave her.

  So in spite of her unwavering opinion that he was a conceited, overconfident snob, whom she would never, ever, like.... She met his gaze and returned the same tenderness with a shy smile.

  Chapter 11

  The Duke of Northern Peninsula

  January 10, 2011

  Northern Wilderness

  Cape York Peninsula, Australia

  John Drake stood by the window in his library, staring out into the starless night deep in his thoughts. The only son of the Duke of Northern Peninsula, he was a lucky man. Handsome, intelligent, and extremely wealthy, he inherited his father's title and assets after his death.

  He had everything—but why was there a gaping hole in his heart?

  A tap on the door broke his cogitation.

  “Yes?” he asked with a hint of annoyance.

  “Lieutenant Jones, Your Grace.”

  “Come in.” John sat on the leather chair behind his desk.

  Lieutenant Jones entered. “We have the most recent lists you requested, Your Grace, but I'm afraid the trail is cold.”

  John met his scarlet eyes with his black gaze. “Did you pull up student records from every school in America?”

  “Yes, Your Grace, like I did the previous years.” Lt. Jones positioned a laptop on the desk and turned the screen towards him. “The Highest Royal Coven currently controls two hundred schools across the country. One hundred are tactical schools exclusively for Descendants. The other hundred are progressive learning schools for Royals and the Tainted.

  “We examined the records of Royal students enrolled in every progressive learning school, but came out with no leads.” The Lieutenant shook his head.

  John Drake sat back and propped his chin between his thumb and
index finger, absorbing the information. “Are you sure you didn't miss anything?”

  “Absolutely, Your Grace. We found one hundred and twenty nine Royals by the name of Elizabeth this year, but none of them have the correct parentage.”

  “Hmm.” They couldn't just disappear off the face of the earth, John wondered. He was hunting Elizabeth Gwendolyn XV, former queen of the Highest Royal Coven of Europe all over the globe, when one of his men discovered her hiding in America by accident.

  Twelve years earlier he sent his Sergeant in California to recruit Discards, Descendants like Lieutenant Jones, who had been rejected by the Royal Army Review Board because of reasons that didn't necessarily mean a lack of skill.

  The Discards were perfect for his rapidly growing private army. They were combat trained and battle ready, but had nowhere to go after failing to meet the stringent requirements befitting a Royal Army Cadet.

  Unable to recruit European Descendants due to the scarcity of Discards from their breed, he settled for Australian and American Descendants. The latter had been the reason he sent Sergeant McKay to coastal California.

  The same Sergeant promptly reported rumors he'd heard about a woman strolling along a private beach every day at dusk, who bore a remarkable resemblance to Queen Elizabeth Gwendolyn XV. Upon further investigation he had discovered that not only was she the Queen in disguise, but she'd been living with humans.

  Humans! John shook his head and chuckled. Who would've thought she would stoop that low, living with Mortals in America instead of using her Royal connections to hide?

  “Your Grace?” The forgotten Lieutenant Jones inquired.

  John waved his hand to dismiss him. “Leave the laptop with me. I wish to go through the records myself.”

  He reflected for a minute as the door closed. Sergeant McKay and his men had gone at once to recapture the former Queen, but once again, she'd outsmarted them. She created false leads, changed identities multiple times, and relentlessly moved from state to state.

  Crafty little witch! Her dizzying, complicated scheme proved to be successful. Twelve years later, his efforts to locate her remained futile.

  However, one little detail could be the key to her whereabouts. During those daily walks the former Queen took at the beach, Sergeant McKay witnessed something crucial.

  A little girl accompanied her.

  Her daughter.

  Therefore, no—, they couldn't have vanished without a trace. That daughter of hers, now seventeen years old if he wasn't mistaken, should be in one of the schools somewhere.

  John pulled the laptop towards him and began pouring over the lists himself.

  Chapter 12

  Prince William’s Dilemma

  Elizabeth blew a sigh of relief as she parked by the curb in front of her house. She hated the forty-five minute drive through the creepy dark woods from Darian Hall. She tiptoed across the porch and entered the house, mumbling a quick “hi” to her mom who was working on the computer as she headed up the stairs.

  Her mom followed her to her room. “How was school?” she asked, leaning on the door frame.

  “Fine.” Elizabeth glanced at her and unlaced her shoes.

  “Did you like your teachers and your classmates?”

  “Yeah.” She took off her sneakers hoping her short quips would not encourage further conversation. The last thing she wanted was to talk about how her first day went.

  “Any interesting boys?” Mom inquired so eagerly that Elizabeth sat up and gaped at her.

  “Mom!” She rolled her eyes. “It's the first day of school!”

  “Just asking.” Mom shrugged innocently.

  Elizabeth bent down and pushed her shoes away, hiding the hot flush on her cheeks. Not once in her entire life did her mom ask her about boys—until now. She quickly brushed off the thought of a certain dark haired guy with the most beautiful eyes.

  “Where'd you get that dress?” Mom moved away from the doorframe and sat next to her on the bed. “What happened to your clothes?”

  Elizabeth tried to look as nonchalant as possible. “From Ben, one of my new friends.” She pulled off her socks and threw them in a hamper. “He's into costumes.”

  “I'm glad you found new friends quickly, but I'm curious as to how you ended up in Ben's orange fairy costume with wet socks and sneakers.”

  “I—uh—fell in a creek. Combat class. Long story.” Elizabeth pulled out the bag of wet clothes from her backpack. “I really need to launder these.” She stood up to end her Mother's inquisition.

  “By the way,” Mom got the hint and switched the subject, “your high school friends saw me on the front porch and stopped by on their way home from a party right after you left. I told them you were still with your Aunt Karen.”

  Elizabeth averted her face, concealing the pang of guilt from cutting off contact with her friends. One of these days, when she has everything all figured out, she would find a way to see them, starting with Bryan.

  “You'll be able to visit with them soon.” Mom took Elizabeth’s hands in hers.

  Elizabeth jerked her head to meet her mom's gaze. “You'll let me see them?”

  “Yes, but give yourself time to master self- control before you do.”

  Elizabeth shrieked and flung her arms around her mom, thanking her profusely. She would be with Bryan and her friends again—soon!

  In the council chambers at Darian Hall, Sir Henry rose from his desk as the doors opened. Richard strode in with Prince William Erik XIV.

  “Your Highness.” Sir Henry bowed.

  Prince William acknowledged his courtesy with as curt nod. “I wanted to discuss some pressing concerns with you.” He sat down on one of the leather chairs opposite him.

  Sir Henry swallowed the lump in his throat. The Prince was as impatient and straightforward as his father, King William James XIII. “I will be glad to be of assistance, Your Highness.” He took his seat and glanced at Richard.

  “He can stay,” the Prince, answered his unspoken question.

  Richard sat on the chair next to the Prince.

  “Why wasn't Elizabeth prepared for me?” Prince William inquired without further ado.

  Sir Henry was astonished at how easily he had identified Elizabeth out of the one thousand students at Darian Hall. “She is surrounded by unusual circumstances, Your Highness.”

  “Her memory is full of humans; human sentiments and experiences,” the Prince stated irritably. “She's absolutely unaware of her true heritage and purpose! Explain to me why Elizabeth Gwendolyn the fifteenth, her mother, did not instruct her.”

  Shaken with the knowledge the Prince had rapidly gathered, Sir Henry decided to reveal everything he knew. He told the Prince about John Drake, Duke of Northern Peninsula, and the events that forced the former Queen to keep the truth from her daughter out of concern for her safety. He likewise disclosed the reasons why she elected not to go back to Europe.

  Finally, Sir Henry made his appeal. “Your Highness, Elizabeth Gwendolyn the fifteenth had requested that her relationship with her daughter be kept secret. I hope you find there is sufficient basis to grant her wish.”

  Prince William sat back in his chair with an elbow on the padded armrest, brushing his knuckles pensively across his lips. “Hmm. So that was the reason I couldn't foresee who and where she was ... she thought she was Human!”

  Richard shifted in his chair. “May I express an observation, Your Highness?”

  The Prince pinned his eyes on him and nodded.

  “Lady Elizabeth is quite outspoken and prejudiced with our race,” Richard stated openly. “She doesn't trust us and shows signs of unease. We placed her with the Tainted not just to conceal her true identity, but also to give her time to adjust—.”

  “You are implying that I should have more patience and not rush her,” Prince William inserted brusquely.

  “Precisely, Your Highness.” Richard inclined his head. “She is only seventeen—.”

  “Seventeen?”
The Prince hurled a sharp glance at Sir Henry.

  “The sign of the Omni appeared early, Your Highness.” Sir Henry curtailed his anxiety. “I had no choice but to call on you, even if she needed another year before she could fulfill her destiny.”

  The Prince muttered an expletive under his breath and dragged his fingers through his hair.

  “The time could be used favorably to establish a relationship, Your Highness,” Richard said quietly. “Patience has its rewards.”

  “Patience is something I do not possess nor do I have the time,” the Prince retorted and stood up. “Thank you, Sir Henry, Mr. Stapleton.”

  Both men rose quickly from their chairs.

  “I shall summon you if I need anything.” The Prince strode to the door and left the room.

  Sir Henry shook his head and turned to Richard. “I knew he wouldn't be pleased with the situation.”

  “He's quite upset.” Richard shrugged. “But if he doesn't heed my counsel he may be in for a surprise. Lady Elizabeth is headstrong. She was raised differently and doesn't have any concept of the magnitude of his rank. She will put him in his place.” His mouth curved at the corners.

  “Let the merciful Omni help us all when that happens,” Sir Henry said and patted Richard on the back.

  Prince William stared out the window of his private suite located in the right wing of Darian Hall, reflecting on the conversation he had with Mr. Stapleton and Sir Henry.

  He had not counted on a prolonged stay in America. He and his cousins did not come here to study. His main goal was to find Elizabeth and promptly bring her back to England. His cousins came to provide extra protection. However, he didn't expect to find her unaware of their shared destiny or that he had to wait a year to have her.

  Blast it! He cast a surly gaze at the starless night sky, restraining his impulse to grumble to The Great Omni. Most certainly, this was a new test to challenge his fortitude. The All-Powerful had dealt him with yet another curve-ball, complicating an otherwise simple task.