ANYWAY
Blurb:
When the royal family
is brutally murdered, Princess Kazia alone is left to rule the kingdom. But how
can she rule when her home has burned to the ground and at any moment the
assassin may return to finish the job?
Under the protection
of the Captain of the Royal Guard — her late brother's childhood best friend —
the princess must flee to protect herself and what is left of the royal line
until the assassin can be found and brought to justice. First to her uncle's estate
and then to her betrothed's kingdom, but the assassin seems to be one step
ahead of them all along the way.
And then there is the
captain. With every mile they travel together, Princess Kazia must fight the
feelings for him that she thought she had left behind long ago.
Surviving until her
coronation seems like an impossible task. But survive she must…
With both her life and
her heart at stake, the weak and seemingly helpless Princess Kazia still bears
a secret. One that can either save her and her kingdom or take everything she
has left.
Links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Links:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Sneak Peek:
They were almost
across the village when a little girl with dirty blonde hair and a gray dress
stopped them. She held up a hand while she stood in the middle of the dusty
road, the other pudgy fist on her hip. Heath and Benjamin both stepped closer
to Kazia, looking warily around the houses for a trap.
“Are you an angel?”
The girl tipped a dirty little face up to Kazia.
Kazia smiled,
stooping down so they were face to face. “No, I’m not an angel.”
“You’re beautiful
like an angel. And your skin is white like an angel.”
Kazia started to
laugh, but the little girl’s impish grin turned to terror and her eyes got big
and round.
“Yes, she looks
like an angel, but she has the common sense of a goat.”
Kazia stood and
turned, a little too quickly, and half-fell over before Heath caught her and
uprighted her. Luke was storming down the center of the village path, his face
as dark and angry as the incoming clouds above. “You two are relieved of your
duties. Pack up and go home immediately.”
Benjamin and Heath
both paled simultaneously. Snapping their heels together, they saluted him.
“Yes sir.”
“Oh no they
aren’t!” Kazia snapped. She rose to her full height — all five feet six of her,
and glared right back at Luke.
“You have no say in
whom I relieve of their duties in my unit, your
Highness.” He snarled the last word and Kazia wanted to flinch. But she did
not.
Inside, her heart
was screaming please don’t hurt me,
please don’t hurt me, but she hid it well. “You forget, Captain, who you answer to — the one who
wears the crown.” Luke’s jaw dropped in disbelief, and Heath and Benjamin both
froze in their tracks. “They protected me and they did it well. There is
absolutely no reason for you to reprimand them.”
“They disobeyed a
direct order.” Luke crossed his arms over his chest, clenching and unclenching
his fists.
“Yes, by obeying my
direct order, which takes precedence over yours, does it not?” she growled.
Nakomi, now at her side, bared her teeth. Luke stared, first at Kazia and then
at Nakomi, and then back at Kazia in bewilderment. Kazia sucked in a breath,
trying to level her voice. No need to let Nakomi eat the captain of her guard
right here in front of the adorable little girl. “They were only doing what I
asked. If you’re going to be angry at someone, be angry at me, but leave them
alone.”
“If I may speak,
Captain?” Benjamin asked, stepping up to her side. Luke glared at him, but he
spoke anyway. “She was protecting you, sir. She was afraid you were too tired
and wanted you to get your rest.”
Luke’s eyes
softened and he looked back at Kazia. “Is this true?”
“Of course it’s
true, you idiot. Why else do you think I didn’t wake you?” She crossed her arms
over her chest and stared back.
He sighed and ran a
hand over his face. “We’ve been scouring the estate looking for you. I thought
I’d lost—” He trailed off, shaking his head.
“You thought what?”
Kazia asked quietly.
“I thought I’d
failed in my duties as Captain of the Royal Guard,” he snapped, the gentleness
in his eyes hidden, but barely. Kazia could still see it.
