Burning for Love

by Evangeline Anderson

  The Duke bowed and then kneeled upon a golden velvet pillow, which had been provided for the purpose. He held his head straight, ready to receive the crown.

  “And now, by the powers vested in me by the old King upon his passing,” the Steward droned, “I crown you King of all Regalia Five. May the Goddess of Mercy bless your reign and—”

  But at that moment, just as the Steward was settling the rather heavy crown upon Duke Grabbington’s head, a new person appeared on the stage, right in front of him—quite blocking the view of the communications devices and cameras that were recording the momentous event. No, not just a person, he saw with horror—a woman. The Princess!

  “People of Regalia Five,” Princess Ka’rissa said, as an awed gasp swept over the room. “You have been lied to and deceived.”

  By now, Duke Grabbington was struggling to get up off the golden velvet pillow but before he could, she walked over to him and swept the crown—and his wig—right off his head!

  Another shocked gasp ran through the room and the Duke could feel that every eye was on him. This time, it wasn’t quite such a satisfactory feeling.

  “Stop! Stop her,” he shouted, pointing at the Princess. “She lies! She is a liar!”

  He fumbled anxiously on the ground, looking for both the crown and his wig.

  “Looking for this, Your Grace?” Another figure suddenly appeared—where were they all coming from? It was the Kindred guard who had been such a meddling nuisance, Duke Grabbington saw. In his hand, he held the powdered wig with the projection bead.

  “Give it to me! Guards, arrest these two!” he exclaimed.

  But the guards weren’t moving. They were just staring at him. Duke Grabbington thought he had never felt more exposed—not even after that damn duel when he had been unjustly accused of cheating!

  “This man is not Lord Shammington,” Princess Ka’rissa said clearly, pointing at him. “The real Lord Shammington is dead—Duke Grabbington killed him in order to assume his likeness and marry me under false pretenses. He then tried to have me killed as well, so that he could take the throne for himself and rule our entire planet!”

  Another audible gasp swept through the assembled crowd of Nobles and the Duke was quite certain that the common people in their homes were gasping as well. This time the idea didn’t give him such a good feeling.

  “I…I did what I had to do!” he shouted, trying to defend himself. “If I hadn’t taken the crown, it would have passed to a flighty, foolish girl with no notion of how to rule!”

  “I may be a woman, but I am not flighty or foolish and I assure you, I do know how to rule.” Princess Ka’rissa looked at him coolly. “Guards, remove the noose from Lady Mildew’s neck and place it around Duke Grabbington’s instead. He has committed High Treason and must be punished for it.”

  “Now, wait just a minute, Young Lady!” the Steward blustered, stepping forward as the guards moved to obey the Princess. “You are not even the monarch—you cannot make such life and death decisions!”

  “A problem which you will rectify this moment,” Princess Ka’rissa turned a cold glare on the old man. “I will not allow you to shove me aside, as you did my mother, Steward,” she told him. “I am the rightful ruler of Regalia Five and you will crown me at once. If you do not, then I will have you hung for High Treason as well.”

  “Now wait just a moment, Young Lady!” the Steward exclaimed. “High Treason? I’d like to know how you can make a case for that!”

  “I can make the case quite easily,” the Princess told him, her eyes flashing. “All I need to do is point out the way you allowed my Royal mother—who should have been crowned Queen—to self-immolate instead of finding her a suitor she could marry to help slake her Heat! You preferred to keep the throne for yourself rather than let her ascend to it and the power and trust my Royal father placed in you allowed you to do it! You betrayed his memory in the worst possible way. My mother would still be alive today if not for you—if that is not High Treason, I do not know what is!”

  “My Goddess, she’s right!” one of the Nobles in the crowd called out. “The old Steward should be hung as well! Off to the gibbet with him! As soon as the hangman’s noose is done with the Duke, of course.”

  There were general murmurs of agreement and then someone shouted, “Long live the Queen! Long live Queen Ka’rissa the Wise!”

  The Steward had turned positively gray—clearly he knew that the crowd had turned against him.

  “I…I never meant…” he stuttered. “I didn’t think…a woman alone cannot rule the planet!” he burst out at last.

  “I shall not be alone,” the Princess said calmly. “I shall marry my Companion, Sir James. Before anyone objects,” she went on, speaking directly to the communications cameras, “Sir James shall be my Royal Consort—not the King. Though I shall consult him at times, I shall make the final decisions as Queen. And I promise all of you, that I will always have the best interests of Regalia Five in mind.”

  “You…you cannot do this!” the old Steward spluttered. “You cannot choose your own husband! Especially not a foreign one!”

  “I can and I am,” Princess Ka’rissa said calmly. She spread her arms, an expression of sincere devotion coming over her beautiful face as she looked at the cameras. “My people, I love you and I wish only to serve you. But I am an independent woman and I must choose my own husband—one who will love and support me for our entire lives together. I hope that in time you will come to love Sir James, my wonderful Kindred guard, as I do. And I promise that the greater good of my people and my planet shall always be uppermost in my mind.”

  There was a cheer from the Nobles—mostly the women, it must be admitted, but a few of the men cheered as well. The Princess turned back to the Steward and frowned at him.

  “Will you place the crown on my head or shall I find someone else to do it?”

  Gray-faced and shaking, the old Steward reached for the crown.

  “Kneel, Your Majesty,” he said, his voice cracking on the title. “And I shall crown you Queen Ka’rissa the Wise of Regalia Five.”

  Epilogue

  “And so, Gentle Reader, our beloved Princess Ka’rissa has returned from the dead to claim her rightful place as the Queen of both Regalia Five and of all our hearts as well!

  The dastardly Duke Grabbington has been punished for his crimes—he swung from the gibbet he’d had erected for Lady Mildew before the coronation ceremony was over.

  As for Lady Mildew and the old Steward, the two of them have been packed off to a convent and monastery respectively, where neither can do any harm to anyone ever again. Truly, our new Queen is very kind and forgiving, considering that it is rumored that Lady Mildew was excessively cruel to her and the old Steward is accused of deliberately withholding a suitor for her late Mama, allowing her to self-immolate rather than giving her the throne. Some are saying that he deserves the same fate as Duke Grabbington, but that is not our call to make. Only Queen Ka’rissa the Wise can decide his fate.

  Before ending this missive, this Author must say one more thing about our new Queen and her handsome Kindred consort. The new couple seems so happy together it makes one’s heart glad. But not only are they happy, they are also working diligently to ensure the happiness of others. As one of her first proclamations, the Queen has declared that young women all over the planet are now allowed to choose their own suitors and husbands without any outside interference. She has also declared that women are equal to men and must be treated as such. No longer are women barred from holding jobs outside the home or attending places of higher education. They shall be free to attend universities and seek employment and marry whomever they like. It is enough to make this Author’s heart sing with joy! Why, I may even feel safe enough to reveal my identity…sometime in the future.

  For now, all this good fortune is thanks to good Queen Ka’rissa the Wise, long may she live! This Author is going to go celebrate now and I suggest that you, Gentle Reader, should do t
he same.

  Your Obedient Servant,

  Lady TittleTattle

  Follow my Breadcrumbs!

  * * *

  Rissa stopped reading and put down the scandal rag to smile at her new husband. She and James had been married in an official ceremony the day after the coronation and she was now firmly entrenched in her new role as Queen.

  James, for his part, made an excellent Royal Consort. The whole planet seemed to have fallen in love with him, though they still called him “Sir Robot.” But he was so clearly devoted to her and so tall and handsome and brave that Ka’rissa wasn’t a bit surprised that they had accepted him as her husband.

  “So it seems Lady TittleTattle approves of your new policies,” he said, smiling at her. Rissa loved how easy and open he was with his emotions now. Except for his ocular scope and his metal hand, he bore no resemblance to a robot now—at least, not to her.

  “Indeed she does—and she even approves of you, my love.” Rissa scooted closer to him on the couch, sighing with pleasure as he draped one long, muscular arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “And the people approve, too,” she added, smiling up at him.

  “Lady Mildew appears to have been wrong, then,” James remarked. “She was certain that if you married me, it would cause a ‘bloody civil war.’”

  “Well, I won’t say there haven’t been some protests,” Rissa remarked soberly. “But mostly among men who dislike the idea of women being their equals. They don’t seem to mind having you as my consort nearly as much as they dislike the idea that women have minds of their own.”

  “I believe the females of Regalia Five are more than happy enough to make up for a few protests by a handful of bitter males who have unjustly dominated the other sex for so many years,” James said decisively. He squeezed her again and then leaned down to kiss her. “Your Majesty,” he murmured. “Do you think you could spare some time from your Royal duties to bond with your new husband again? I fear that you are becoming overheated and it is my duty, as your Consort, to slake your Heat.”

  Rissa felt a shiver of pure lust rush through her.

  “Yes, James,” she whispered breathlessly. “I…I think I can spare some time.”

  As the big Kindred took her in his arms, she couldn’t help reflecting how wonderful her life was now. True, she had a lot of responsibility but she had James to help her bear it. And she had more freedom now than she ever had before, with no one to dictate her actions or force her to be with a man she didn’t want. Instead, she had a husband she really loved and a bond with him that nothing but death could break.

  Truly, it had been a difficult road that had brought her and James together and her Heat Cycle had very nearly killed her, but Rissa didn’t regret a moment of it. After all, she knew she and James never would have gotten together if she hadn’t been…Burning for Love.

  The End?

  Of course not!

  Dear Reader, there are always more Kindred Tales to come!

  Dear Reader, there are always more Kindred Tales to come! For my next book, I am seriously contemplating some kind of mafia story. That’s the wonderful thing about writing science fiction—you can write any genre you want and make it work within the sci-fi framework. I want to thank you for coming along with me and skipping from genre to genre. It’s fun for me because it never gets boring, the way writing contemporary romance would. (For me at least.) And I love bringing you different stories from far-flung worlds and taking you someplace new every time we get together.

  For those of you who haven’t read all my previous books and would like to know more about the Dark Kindred and their home world, Zeaga Four, please check out Brides of the Kindred 12, ENHANCED and the Kindred Tales book called BONDING WITH THE BEAST.

  If you have enjoyed Burning for Love, please consider taking a moment to leave a review HERE. Good reviews are like gold for an author in this crazy, crowded e-book market. They let other readers know it’s okay to take a chance on a new series. Plus, they give me the warm fuzzies. : )

  And if you are one of my readers who has been with me a while, you might be interested to know that I am about to put out a special 10th anniversary edition of CLAIMED, the very first Brides of the Kindred book that started it all. Can you believe I’ve been writing this series for 10 years? I know—me either! Of course, good reviews are even more important for the first book in a series. If any of you would like to leave a review for Claimed and let other readers what you thought about the very first book in the Brides of the Kindred, I would be thrilled and so very thankful. Or you can just upvote a good review that someone else has written if you want. You can leave a review for Claimed HERE.

  Hugs and thanks so much,

  Evangeline, August 2021

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  Also by Evangeline Anderson

  Below you'll find a list of available and upcoming titles. But depending on when you read this list, new books will have come out by then that are not listed here. Make sure to check my website for the latest releases and better yet, sign up for my newsletter to never miss a new book again.

  Brides of the Kindred series

  (Sci-Fi / Action-Adventure Romance)

  CLAIMED (Also Available in Audio)

  HUNTED (Also Available in Audio)

  SOUGHT (Also Available in Audio)

  FOUND (Also Available in Audio)

  REVEALED (Also Available in Audio)

  PURSUED (Also Available in Audio)

  EXILED (Also Available in Audio)

  SHADOWED (Also Available in Audio)

  CHAINED (Also Available in Audio)

  DIVIDED (Also Available in Audio)

  DEVOURED (Also Available in Audio)

  ENHANCED (Also Available in Audio)

  CURSED (Also Available in Audio)

  ENSLAVED (Also Available in Audio)

  TARGETED (Also Available in Audio)

  FORGOTTEN (Also Available in Audio)

  SWITCHED (Also Available in Audio)

  UNCHARTED (Also Available in Audio)

  UNBOUND (Also Available in Audio)

  SURRENDERED (Also Available in Audio)

  VANISHED (Also Available in Audio)

  IMPRISONED (Also Available in Audio)

  TWISTED (Also Available in Audio)

  DECEIVED

  STOLEN

  COMMITTED

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME ONE

  Contains Claimed, Hunted, Sought and Found

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME TWO

  Contains Revealed, Pursued and Exiled

  BRIDES
OF THE KINDRED VOLUME THREE

  Contains Shadowed, Chained and Divided

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME FOUR

  Contains Devoured, Enhanced and Cursed

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME FIVE

  Contains Enslaved, Targeted and Forgotten

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME SIX

  Contains Switched, Uncharted and Unbound

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME SEVEN

  Contains Surrendered, Vanished, and Imprisoned

  BRIDES OF THE KINDRED VOLUME EIGHT

  Contains Twisted, Deceived, and Stolen

  All Kindred novels are now available in PRINT.

  * * *

  Also, all Kindred novels are on their way to Audio, join my Audiobook Newsletter to be notified when they come out.

  Kindred Tales

  The Kindred Tales are side stories in the Brides of the Kindred series which stand alone outside the main story arc.

  These can be read as STAND ALONE novels.

  MASTERING THE MISTRESS (Also Available in Audio)

  BONDING WITH THE BEAST (Also Available in Audio)

  SEEING WITH THE HEART (Also Available in Audio)

  FREEING THE PRISONER (Also Available in Audio)

  HEALING THE BROKEN (a Kindred Christmas novel) (Also Available in Audio)

  TAMING THE GIANT (Also Available in Audio)

  BRIDGING THE DISTANCE (Also Available in Audio)

  LOVING A STRANGER (Also Available in Audio)

  FINDING THE JEWEL (Also Available in Audio)

  BONDED BY ACCIDENT (Also Available in Audio)

  RELEASING THE DRAGON (Also Available in Audio)

  SHARING A MATE (Also Available in Audio)