Heir in Exile (Royals Book 3) Read online

  Chey basked in his attention and the sentiment, which made her heart soar. A sentiment she had waited so long to hear. Trailing a gloved finger along the smooth angle of his jaw, she said, “That's right. Don't you forget it.”

  He tilted his mouth to her cheek and brushed a warm kiss there. Then he whispered, “Lipstick.”

  “You're so afraid someone is going to see you with color and gloss on your mouth. You have a lipstick phobia,” she said with an amused smile.

  “PeachyKeenPerfection”, he said, obviously making up a fake lipstick name. “Doesn't go with primary colors. What will all the fashion experts say?” Sander struck a feigned look of horror.

  Chey gave in to another bubble of laughter. “Did you ever stop to think you could just wipe it off?”

  His brows arched, as if her suggestion had only dawned on him right that second. The gleam in his eyes gave his game away. Then he swooped in to claim her mouth with a kiss, so thorough that he transferred some to his lips and smeared the rest off her own.

  Either way, Chey wasn't complaining.

  . . .

  Hung with royal blue silk, a gilt throne front and center on a shallow dais, the throne room was a sight to behold. Chey, standing in her spot to the side of the elaborate chair, surveyed the sparkling chandelier that hung from a high ceiling, the rows of chairs lined up like pews to either side of an aisle, and the collection of faces, cameras and photographers hovering both in the seats and along the sides of the seating. Many council members, ambassadors and other people of importance were in attendance. The royal siblings sat front and center, dressed immaculately for the occasion.

  Feeling conspicuous and on display, Chey wished she was one of the photographers standing out of the spotlight behind a piece of equipment. Sander, after their heated kiss in his suite, had easily agreed to pose for her later in his royal uniform and crown so that she could snap a few shots of their own.

  The historical importance of what she was about to witness, and become a part of, did not escape her. She found it all but impossible to wrap her mind around what it meant, and what her future might hold. Not just her upcoming wedding to Sander but their child and his role in the Latvala lineage.

  A hiss of doors opening pulled Chey from her reverie. Sander, framed in the arch to the throne room, entered as he was announced by a liveried man standing next to an official carrying a pillow with a crown nestled in the center. Another bore a scepter, and still another a long blue cape with silver trim and a silver crest embroidered on the trailing hem. Those men stood in front of the throne, awaiting while Sander made his way to them.

  He went to a knee as the ceremony got under way, head bent, looking as regal as any King should. Chey regarded the proceedings with no small amount of awe, tears stinging the back of her eyes, stomach tight with pride and anticipation. To bear witness to one of Sander's greatest moments was a highlight of her own life, an event she would never forget.

  Lifting his head at the end of an intonation, he went still as the cape was draped around his shoulders and clasped across his throat. The next man handed him the scepter, a beautiful thing with jewels along the shaft and the complicated wolf's head at the top.

  Last came the crown, stunning with its carved silver peaks and blue sapphires inset at intervals. The piece glittered as the man placed it on Sander's head. In the final gesture, a silver sword with matching sapphires in the pommel and rune carvings on the blade touched Sander's shoulder one time each. His coronation ritual complete, the blade passed off to one of the attending officials, Sander rose to his feet.

  In English, coming after the Latvala verse, the official ended the ceremony.

  “I present to you the new King of Latvala, Sander Darrion Ahtissari.”

  Applause broke out in the room as Sander passed between the officials, who stood aside with their heads bowed, and took a seat on the throne. He dominated the high backed, ornately carved chair with the sheer power of his presence and charisma.

  Chey, a bundle of nerves, wasn't sure if she was supposed to applaud or not. Was it proper? Or was she supposed to remain still, as if she knew this was his due? A glance at Mattias proved the siblings were not applauding with the rest. Taking her cue from that, she held her hands together before her, as demure as she knew how to be.

  Flashbulbs popped from both sides of the room, had been for the last twenty minutes, immortalizing the event for all time. Video rolled, people cheered, and the officials signed a document that must have had to do with the coronation. They displayed it aside the throne when they were done, then carefully placed it before Sander, who signed last.

  Removing the document, they posed for more pictures with Sander's signature scrawled across the bottom, before carrying it away through a small, guarded door at the back.

  Ten minutes was all the military allowed the guests to remain. Row by row, people filed out of the throne room until there was only Chey and Sander left. As the door closed and silence descended, Chey met Sander's eyes.

  “Was I supposed to go out with the rest of them?” she whispered, worried cameras were rolling somewhere and that she might have breached protocol already.

  Sander laughed. He stood up from the throne, scepter in hand, the cloak trailing behind his feet. Descending the shallow steps, he came her way. “No. This was my first order as King. I told them all to leave us when the ceremony and the pictures were done.”

  Chey couldn't tear her gaze from his face. Even in low heels, he towered over her, taking her breath away. If not for the wicked twists and terrible turns it took them to get here, she would have thought this was all a fairy tale. Too many memories of funerals and the recent pain of loss assured her it was anything but.

  He cupped her jaw with a gloved hand, the cloak whispering around his body as he came to a halt.

  “I'm at a loss for words,” she confessed, embarrassed.

  “Don't be. I'm still the same man you read the riot act to, the same man whose face you've slapped—what? Two times now? Three? I've lost count.”

  A startled laugh escaped before Chey could contain it. Of all things for Sander to say. “You're not supposed to bring that up at a time like this.”

  “Of course I am. You know what comes next, right?” he asked, dragging his thumb over her lower lip.

  “I'm not sure, but I suspect it involves redoing my lipstick again, and you washing your glove,” she said. There was a peachy stain across the pristine white.

  The grin he bestowed on her was riddled with rakish charm. He handed her the priceless scepter, which Chey was hesitant to take. Wrapping her hands around the middle, she held it aloft like it might shatter any moment.

  Sander scooped her up in his arms, cradled her against his chest, and struck out for a different door to the side of the room.

  Laughing, helpless with amusement, she tucked the scepter against her body and put her lips on his jaw.

  Let the sweet torture begin.

  . . .

  About the Author

  Born and raised in Corona California, Danielle now resides in Texas with her husband and two sons. She has been writing for as long as she can remember, penning works in a number of genres. To date, she has published fourteen novels and nine short stories. Her interests vary wildly: reading, traveling, photography, graphic art and baking, among others.

  There is a black cat named Sheba involved who thinks Danielle's laptop is her personal grooming station.

  Check her website for trading card offers, giveaways and announcements!

  www.daniellebourdon.com

  More books by Danielle Bourdon:

  Romance:

  Heir Untamed (Royals Series 1)

  King and Kingdom (Royals Series 2)

  Heir in Exile (Coming March, 2013)

  Fantasy/Romantic Suspense:

  Sin and Sacrifice (Daughters of Eve 1)

  Templar's Creed (Daughters of Eve 2)

  The Seven Seals (Daughters of Eve 3)

  Th
riller/Romantic Suspense:

  The Society of the Nines (Society Series 1)

  Violin Song (Society Series 2)

  Vengeance for the Dead (Society Series 3)

  Young Adult/Fantasy:

  The Fate of Destiny (Fates 1)

  The Fate of Chaos (Fates 2)

  The Reign of Mayhem (Fates 3)

  A Crisis of Fate (Fates 4)

  Paranormal Romance:

  Bound by Blood

  Fantasy:

  Dreoteth

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four