Royal Bastard

by Nana Malone

  Royal Bastard

  Nana Malone

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Thank You

  Complimentary Download

  Nana Malone Reading List

  About Nana Malone

  To all those who believe in fairytales…

  1

  Lucas

  Would anyone ever look at me that way?

  I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone look at someone else the way my brother looked at Penny as she walked down the aisle.

  He was in awe. Completely dumbstruck.

  One second, he’d been murmuring nonsense words to me, telling me to stop fidgeting, while he was the one who was rocking back on his feet and clearly antsy to see his bride. But then the music started playing, and she appeared with her father in the doorway, dressed in some slinky white confection that showed off her body.

  Was I even allowed to say that about the future queen?

  Either way, Sebastian stopped moving. He was frozen, rooted in place. Staring at her.

  I knew fuck-all about fashion unless it involved some barely dressed supermodel, but the dress was pretty. It had glittery stuff on the shoulders and around the waist, and something that looked like feathers along the skirt. And she was wearing a veil.

  The cinnamon complexion of her arms practically shimmered under the lighting from the stained-glass windows.

  Okay, yeah, she was gorgeous. She wasn’t mine, but even my brain stopped for a moment.

  But the best part was Sebastian’s face.

  The big brother I’d never even known I had was completely in love, and I was happy for him. I was going to ignore the big gaping hole in the center of my chest, the one that burned, the one that told me that I didn’t belong here, that this was a mistake, that this was some kind of accident. I would absolutely ignore it.

  Ignore me if you think you can, but I’m right. You don’t belong here. These are not your people. They will eventually see that you’re a fraud.

  I shoved that voice down, stomped on its head, and locked it up. Then I sent my ugliest, scariest demons to guard it. Sebastian was my brother. The kind of brother that I’d dreamed of having when I was struggling to survive as a kid.

  From the moment I’d been aware that there were families that loved you and looked out for you, I’d dreamed of having one. A real family. Not my fucked-up mother and her fucked-up choices. I’d always imagined that my real family would come and get me, liberating me from the hell I was in.

  They wouldn’t make me steal. They wouldn’t make me do—other things. I would be safe and well fed, and I could just be a kid.

  Little did I know, that dream family had existed, and they had been looking for me.

  Now here I was standing next to my brother, and a guy who would turn out to be one of my best friends in the world, wondering how the hell I ended up here. All the while watching my brother marry a girl I genuinely loved. If anyone was deserving of this crazy fairy-tale ending, it was the two of them. Of course, that also meant I was going to need a new roommate.

  I’d liked Penny as a roommate. She cleaned, she cooked, and she had excellent taste in TV shows. She loved anything involving superheroes. Where the hell was I going to find someone else like that?

  As the ceremony started, I let my gaze drift around the packed church. One thousand people sat in the cathedral. Those of greater importance were closer to the front. My gaze collided with the Queen Mother’s. The smile she gave me was warm and bright.

  And Christ help me, my eyes misted a little bit. It wasn’t my fault. Honestly, it wasn’t. But the woman had been really nice to me. Considering I was the bastard son of her dead husband, she was more than accommodating. She was… loving.

  The first time I met her, she enveloped me in her arms and told me how happy she was to meet me and how much my father would have wanted to see me home. I hadn’t been able to keep it together. I was slightly ashamed of that now, but I would never forget the kindness and love she’d shown me that my own mother never could.

  None of the other people knew who I was. All they knew was that I was a friend of Sebastian’s from his time in the States, which was true. There were only a handful of them who sat on the Regent’s Council who knew who I was, a fact we were all keeping quiet for the time being. All but two of them had voted in favor of me being legitimized and named prince. They were, at best, cold towards me, at worst, dismissive. Which was fine.

  In the two additional meetings I’d attended, the plan for the announcement of my title and my knighthood had been met with some arguments. But for the most part, everyone followed Sebastian’s lead.

  Sebastian commanded respect and allegiance without ever having to demand it.

  That’s because he’s the king. Even as a prince, they would follow.

  It was true. And who was I to be welcomed into the fold?

  You are the second son of King Cassius Winston, Commander of the Royal Armies.

  My heart squeezed just thinking about him.

  It was ridiculous for me to mourn a man I’d never met. I knew that. But still, Sebastian and his mother insisted that I had a right to it, that I could feel sorrow for the man who would have loved me.

  And I did. Every time someone brought him up, my heart pinched as I tried to understand who he was. There had been some letters, things he’d written for me and our sister, but I hadn’t been able to bring myself to open them yet. And maybe I never would because I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to feel about them.

  When the choir stopped singing “Ave Maria,” Penny’s choice of song as opposed to “Pachelbel’s Cannon,” I lifted my gaze to look at Sebastian. The way he was looking at her, the way he bit his lip and then broke out into the broadest of grins, proved he was a man in love. He was a man who knew his place in life, who knew that he had family.

  He was the man who I hoped to be like, because the boy I’d been once knew how lucky I was.

  Sebastian had given me the life I’d always wanted, the life I’d dreamed of and never thought I would get. I would do anything to show him that I was deserving of it. I would give my life for my brother. I would give my life for this country. There was no way in hell was I ever going back. The old me was dead, and nothing was dragging me back into the darkness.

  Sebastian

  I fidgeted with my military uniform, pulling at the hem of it, adjusting the pins. I just wanted to hear the music of “Ave Maria” and know everything was okay.

  Roone leaned over. “Relax mate. She’s coming.”

  I shifted my glance over to him, and he gave me a reassuring nod. Lucas, however, winked and gave me a smirk. The little shit had seen me running back from Penny’s parents’ house on the grounds. Yes, I might have been screwing my soon-to-be bride… on our wedding day.

  Not exactly tradition,
but it didn’t matter. It was almost as if we both needed the reassurance.

  But where is she now?

  What if it’s too much? What if she runs? What if the danger is too overwhelming? What if she doesn’t want this life?

  Things had been so crazy in the last year. I didn’t want any of that to overshadow how I felt about her. I wanted her to know that she was everything to me. I wanted her to know that my world started and ended with her.

  She knows. Relax. She’s coming.

  But once I heard the violin start, the panicked tap-tap-tap of my heart calmed to a steady thrum. She was here. She was coming. One more glance over at Roone with his wide smile, and my brother, who gave me a full grin this time, and I knew that I was doing this. I was excited to do this. I couldn’t wait to do this. Penny was going to be my queen.

  After everything we went through, we’d found our way to this spot, and I wasn’t going to take any of it for granted. It took several moments before I saw her appear in the entrance of the church. The long Cathedral had a thousand guests seated; members of court, dignitaries from around the world, even Hollywood was represented.

  Blake Security had a presence of course, some as guests, some as added security. I knew what had happened to my father and what had almost happened to Penny and me. I wasn’t taking any chances.

  Penny met her father and brother halfway down the aisle, and they both walked her down. I rapidly blinked away the tears. I knew she and Michael hadn’t had the easiest of relationships, so to see her with her brother as a unified team… I had to admit, it choked me up.

  And the look he gave his sister, one of pride and love, was something she’d always felt like she’d been missing from her brother. And given Michael’s relationship with the traitor, Robert, I knew how important it was to her that he also walked her down the aisle.

  The closer they got, the calmer I became. The violin playing “Ave Maria,” the soprano soloist bringing the house to tears, Roone, Lucas, our thousand guests, my mother sobbing quietly in the front pew, all of it vanished.

  And all I saw was Penny, my bride.

  My Queen.

  Penny

  He’s here.

  Okay, of course he was here. I knew he would be. I could still feel him inside me. My whole body still pulsed with need after what we’d just done. I still couldn’t believe this was my life. A little over a year ago, when I’d been sent to protect him, I had no idea how my life would change.

  I had no idea that this was where it would go, or who I would be. How in the hell had that happened? Who in the hell had made it happen? With each step I took forward, I could see him more clearly. He was waiting for me. His smile only broadened as I got closer. And the calm that fell over me was like nothing I’d ever felt before. There was a reason they called me ‘Calamity Penny.’ I was always a little too hyper, a little too crazy. But with Sebastian, everything slowed down, like he was my center. And I was walking to him, ready for a whole new life.

  When I met my father and my brother, both gave me reassuring smiles. I handed Michael my bouquet and hooked my arm into my father’s. And then Michael handed my father my bouquet as I hooked my other hand onto his arm. I knew it was unconventional for my father and my brother to give me away, but Michael and I had been working on our relationship.

  We’d both been working on repairing the rift that had somehow landed us on opposing ends of the spectrum. Neither one of us had ever really understood the other. And that had cost us time, so much precious time. But it was time we had back now, and I was thrilled to have it. As we walked, I saw Robert’s parents out of the corner of my eye. Well, his mother and his adoptive father, I guess.

  I’d gone to see them once after Robert had been arrested, just to check on them. His father, always a kind, quiet man, hadn’t had much to say. His mother had spent most of the visit sobbing. She’d apologized profusely several times.

  His father had just looked mostly numb with shock. I’d wanted to offer to do something to help them in some way, but that wasn’t appropriate. After all, their son had tried to kill me, so offering to help them wasn’t really going to fly. And I didn’t want to help Robert. I didn’t so much care about what he’d tried to do to me, but I did absolutely care about what he’d tried to do to Sebastian.

  For myself, I wasn’t fussed. I was used to being overlooked and undervalued, sometimes by the people whom I loved the most. Robert had systematically tried to hurt me and belittle me, but again, I didn’t care about that.

  What I cared about was Sebastian, my husband-to-be.

  The closer we got, the more at ease I felt. My mother was at the front pew, next to the Queen Mother. They were both clutching on to each other, sobbing. What was it about moms and weddings? Ariel was waiting up front, and her grin said it all. Oh my God, we did this!

  And I wouldn’t have been able to do any of it without her. But then my attention fell on Sebastian, and it stayed there. Everything else faded away.

  The priest in front of us was asking something. Then I felt my father move away and hand me my bouquet as Michael let me go. They both gave me brief kisses on the cheek, and I couldn’t even respond appropriately because my eyes were glued to my future husband.

  His gaze swept over me. “Well worth the wait,” he whispered. “You look sensational.”

  I couldn’t help the tug of a grin over my lips. He always had a way of making me feel like I was the only person in the room. When he held out his hand, I took it, ready for our new adventure, ready to be his wife, if not so ready to be queen. Either way, together we were going to do this.

  But even as the warmth and the bubble of love and light wrapped around us, I could feel the tension, the anger, the enemy at our back. Today was about us, about love, about everything Sebastian and I were to each other.

  Tomorrow, we returned to the fight.

  2

  Bryna

  I knew what this looked like.

  It looked like I was escaping.

  Who the hell ran away from a wedding ball? Me. Little Miss Crazy. My parents had said it all; I was ungrateful, I was taking this opportunity for granted, I was looking a gift horse in the mouth. But I had to get out of there, so I was making my escape… out of a window… in my canary yellow, satin and tulle ball gown.

  I wasn’t entirely without guilt. I winced a little when I thought about it. My mother would be disappointed, but what else was new? My father would be furious. Again, not new.

  I only came to the stupid ball because they forced me. Dad threatened to keep me from going to New York if I didn’t comply. Little did he know, I was way ahead of him on that. I was already prepared for such a threat. After all, my parents and I had been dancing to this tune for years.

  I had something I wanted to do, and they would dangle it as a carrot. When I would do what was asked, poof; The carrot vanished or moved.

  I had an internship at Turntable Records that started in New York the following week. It was unpaid and had to be done in conjunction with some business courses, but it was a dream internship. I’d worked hard to get it, and finding fresh, undiscovered musicians was a total passion for me.

  The plan was to travel with my parents. But, as this was not my first rodeo, I wanted to make sure New York happened.

  I stared at the window. Okay, first things first. Shoes out. And then bag, because a girl is going to need her cellphone and cash to get out of this joint. Next, bunch up the dress and climb out.

  Except, the office window was slightly higher off the ground than I’d anticipated, so I had to hoist myself up to get on the sill. By the time I swung my legs around, the jump looked downright dangerous. Suck it up, Bryna. You got this. Either that or suffer here in another situation you don’t want. Take charge of your life. Or let someone else do it.

  That did it. Without looking, I jumped… and squealed.

  As I fell, I tensed every muscle I had. There might have also been some expletives and silent prayer to every deit
y I could think of. Then I landed with a thud and a crunching of leaves and branches, with a gardenia up my—dear Lord. I’d normally expect dinner before anything got shoved up my ass. Was that too much to ask? Somewhere to my right, there was a giggle accompanied by a low, rolling chuckle.

  Then a low, melodic voice said, “Wow, you must be desperate to leave. I didn’t think the music was that bad. That’s flipping Mark Ronson on the ones and twos.”

  From my spot in the middle of the gardenia bush, I whipped my head around toward the male voice I’d heard. The voice was too low to belong to the giggle. Oh hell.

  “Who the hell is out here?”

  “You’re the one sneaking out a window, and you’re asking us who the hell we are?” The owner of the voice stepped forward dragging a pretty blonde behind him. I recognized them from the ball immediately. He was a friend of the king’s.

  One of the groomsmen or something. I didn’t know his name. But the girl… I knew her name all right. I generally called her other names I couldn’t repeat in public. Because to be fair, my ex’s inability to keep his dick in his pants wasn’t her fault.

  But her pursuing him, was.

  At any rate, her actual name was Charity Fellows, and it was no surprise to find her out here with some random hottie.

  It took a moment, but I was able to prop myself into a sitting position, gardenia still lodged where the sun doesn’t shine. Unfortunately, the tulle of my yellow dress was wrapped around my feet and the bushes, and I couldn’t extricate myself.