Elias held her with his good arm and swung her in a circle. He felt more in control of his own body, as if everything was completely back in sync.
“I guess I’ll file that away to use as blackmail,” he said, continuing the tease. He kissed her soundly, reveling in the affection blooming bright in his chest. The emptiness and lack of emotion during his stint with amnesia was a condition he’d rather forget. Being unable to experience true happiness, joy, sorrow, and love had worn his soul thin near the end.
She kissed him again, palms cupping his cheeks. “That’s all right. I have a ton of blackmail on you, too, Elias Ahtissari.”
“Oh, I have no doubt.” Amused, he loosened his grip enough that her feet hit the sand. “I wanted to apologize for my treatment of you during the recovery. I should have tried harder to bridge the awkward gaps.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for, Elias. Really. It was hard, I won’t lie, but I also understood. As much as I could, anyway.”
“Excellent. I intend to make it up to you, so there’s that.” He aimed for levity rather than somber promises.
She laughed, confirming he’d made the right choice.
“And when do you plan to start?” she asked.
“How about right now?”
Chapter 34
Sander spent the following two days sorting through meetings with advisors and plans to have Elias reinstated as heir. He addressed the nation and explained that Elias had recovered and would be resuming his title immediately. Elias took the podium for several minutes to reassure the public as well, which was more to assert the monarchy’s stability than anything else. Sander wanted to leave nothing to chance and hoped to avoid any new coup attempts in the near future.
Within the week Elias had been officially reinstated, the remaining coup members had been found and arrested, and life at Kallaster began to resemble something more normal.
If the life of a royal family could ever be considered normal.
Several mornings after Elias’s reinstatement, Sander rose before the sun and dressed for a hard day’s work: beaten buckskin pants, thickly treaded boots, and a faded blue cotton shirt that had been the color of a robin’s egg a hundred washings before. He scraped half his hair back and secured it with a small band.
After a brief kiss to Chey’s temple, he left her in bed and descended the halls of Kallaster on quiet feet.
Moments later he was in the clearing behind the castle where he’d been when the whole ordeal began. Someone had thought to put his ax back near the pile of wood he’d been chopping, a thoughtful act that did not go unnoticed.
Although darkness shrouded the land, there was enough residual light to see by. He picked up the ax, tested the grip in his hand, and had just hefted the blade over his head when a voice surprised him from behind.
“Old men shouldn’t strain themselves like that.”
Sander laughed and turned to bring Elias into view. His son had donned similar clothing, as if he’d known of the plans to chop wood. Which was impossible; he hadn’t told anyone, not even Chey, of his agenda.
“And young men with wrist injuries shouldn’t even think of wielding an ax,” Sander retorted. He rested the wooden handle on his shoulder, the sharp edge of the blade tilted toward the dark sky.
“Who said I was offering to do hard labor?” Elias asked. His lips twitched as if warding off a smile. “I’m here to oversee the effort.”
“So I shouldn’t be straining myself, yet you’re here to oversee? That’s a contradiction.”
“Not when you have help,” Leander said.
Sander snapped a look in the other direction. Leander and Jeremiah had appeared on the sly. He laughed when he spotted the axes in their hands.
“I’m not sure you’re both up to the task I’ve set for myself today,” Sander said. He swung a hand toward the large pile of unchopped wood. “There’s probably a good six or seven hours of labor here.”
Leander snorted. Jeremiah laughed.
Elias laughed as well and perched himself on an upright trunk. “Should we take bets on who cuts the most the fastest?”
Competitive to the bone, Sander didn’t bother to wait for the semantics to be worked out. He swung the ax high.
Three blades landed almost simultaneously in different pieces of wood.
The unofficial race was on.
* * *
The End
A Note from the Author
Thank you for reading the latest book in the Latvala Royals series. The support of my friends and family, plus the encouragement from you the fans, make all this possible. If you enjoyed the book or even if not please consider leaving a review.
Reviews are the lifeblood of books and it would be greatly appreciated towards the success of reaching more readers and bringing together more fans to share in my stories.
Sincerely,
Danielle Bourdon
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 over 30 novels and nine short stories. Her interests vary wildly: reading, traveling, photography, graphic art and baking, among others.
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Books by Danielle Bourdon
Contemporary/Romantic Suspense
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Heir Untamed (Royals Series 1)
King and Kingdom (Royals Series 2)
Heir in Exile (Royals Book 3)
The King Takes a Bride (Royals Book 4)
The Wrath of the King (Royals Book 5)
A Royal Legacy (Royals Book 6)
A King’s Crusade (Royals Book 7)
Latvala Royals: Bloodlines (Royals Book 8)
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The Royal Elite
Mattias
Ahsan
Chayton
Leander
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Romantic Suspense
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Escaping Vegas (Book 1)
Rendezvous in Rio (Book 2)
A Dangerous Tryst (Book 3)
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Contemporary Romance
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I’ll Say Anything (Book 1)
I’ll Do Anything (Book 2)
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Superstar
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Fantasy/Romantic Suspense
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Sin and Sacrifice (Daughters of Eve 1)
Templar's Creed (Daughters of Eve 2)
The Seven Seals (Daughters of Eve 3)
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Thriller Suspense
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Society of the Nines (Society Series 1)
Violin Song (Society Series 2)
Vengeance for the Dead (Society Series 3)
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The Starsight Project
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Young Adult/Fantasy
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The Fate of Destiny (Fates 1)
The Fate of Chaos (Fates 2)
The Reign of Mayhem (Fates 3)
A Crisis of Fate (Fates 4)
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Paranormal Romance
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Bound by Blood
Latvala Royals: Sacrifices Page 16