The Kingdom Chronicles Box Set 1

by Camille Peters

  Liam finally excused himself—leaving behind his untouched plate—and locked himself away in his study, leaving me to worry about him; it gnawed at my heart as I wandered the gardens.

  Soon I couldn’t bear the thought of Liam’s melancholy any longer. I went to the kitchens, currently in a swirl of cleanup from breakfast and lunch preparations. I waved away the excited kitchen girl who’d bustled over to serve me and prepared a cup of tea while she bounced on her toes beside me, anxiously wringing her hands.

  “I can do that, Your Highness.”

  I shook my head. I wanted to prepare tea for my husband. I prepared it the way I knew he liked—a large dose of cream and three spoonfuls of sugar. My lips twitched. He adored sweets. When I finished, I spotted a freshly baked tray of cherry tarts, a treat he was partial to.

  “May I have a plate of these?” I asked the frittering kitchen girl.

  She curtsied. “Certainly, Your Highness. Would you like me to—”

  I shook my head and placed four on a plate before carrying it and the cup of steaming tea to Liam’s study, where I rested the tray on my propped-up knee so I could raise a hesitant hand and knock.

  A brief pause. “Come in.”

  I pushed the door open. Liam leaned back in his seat at his empty desk, staring out the window. He glanced over and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

  “Hello Lavena, is there something you needed?”

  I set his treats down and he blinked at them.

  “What’s this?”

  “I—” Heat filled my cheeks. “You seemed out of sorts, so I wondered…perhaps you might like some tea?”

  He gaped, first at the tea, then at me, his brow furrowed. He slowly took a sip and his eyebrows rose in surprise. “How is this prepared?”

  “A large dose of cream, three spoonfuls of sugar.”

  His eyes widened. Once more he stared at the tea, followed by the plate of treats. “I love cherry tarts,” he said.

  “I know.” I smiled and turned to leave.

  “Lavena?”

  I paused in the doorway and glanced over my shoulder. Confusion filled his expression, but it softened as our gazes met. “Thank you, this is very sweet.” His forehead puckered. “You’re so…nice. Why didn’t I realize that about you sooner?” He sighed and buried his face in his hands. “I’m so daft. Of course you’re a kind person, despite how horribly I treated you all throughout our engagement.”

  “You’re not the only one at fault, Liam; I hate the thought of how much I hurt you.”

  He smiled. “See? You’re extremely sweet and forgiving. I wish I’d taken the time to learn more about you before our marriage rather than determinedly pushing you away. Thankfully, it’s not too late to remedy that oversight.” Shyness filled his eyes as he motioned to the seat across from him. “Won’t you sit down?”

  I returned his timid smile with one of my own as I closed the door and came over. Liam moved his seat around the desk closer to me so that when I sat down our knees were practically touching. He pushed the plate of tarts towards me.

  “I brought them for you,” I protested.

  “I know, but I want to share them with my wife.” He tilted his head rather adorably. “You knew these were my favorite, didn’t you?”

  I shrugged and his grin widened.

  “You’ve been paying attention. And you’re not the only one.” He snagged a cherry tart and shoved the entire thing in his mouth. “Your favorite dessert is blueberry pudding.”

  It was actually anything with strawberries, but strawberries had been entirely absent from our meals considering Princess Lavena was deathly allergic to them. But blueberry pudding was admittedly the dessert I’d enjoyed the most since our marriage, and I was pleased he’d noticed. “You’ve been observing me?”

  He nodded as he licked his fingers and urged me with his eyes to take a tart. I did and began nibbling at the ends. He studied me. “You always eat everything so slowly. I can tell you take pleasure in it.”

  “Shouldn’t wonderful things be made to last?”

  Liam gave me the sweetest, most knowing look, as if he could see right into my heart. “Indeed. You love life. We’re similar in that way, even if we express it differently.”

  “You jump into life with both feet and live each day to its fullest potential.”

  “Whereas you take time to appreciate every experience.”

  We exchanged another smile and I felt something pass between us, a thread pulling us closer.

  “We’re rather…compatible.” Liam said, his expression dazed.

  My heart warmed at the word. I loved discovering similarities between us, ones that only existed because I wasn’t Princess Lavena.

  Liam took a sip of his tea as he leaned back in his seat, his gaze flickering towards the window. “I saw you pacing the gardens. Are you alright?”

  The warmth already within me grew, every word he spoke stoking the fire in my heart—he’d noticed me just as I’d noticed him. “I was worried about you. You’ve been rather pensive this morning.”

  “And you expected an imposter, I take it?” His teasing grin lit up his eyes, dispelling the melancholy that had been present earlier. “I know it must have been rather shocking for you to see the goofy prince so somber. It’s been known to happen.” He drained the rest of his tea. “I’ve been thinking about last night…and about us.”

  My heart leapt. I’d been thinking obsessively about last night, too, especially the kiss he’d tenderly pressed against my brow, a kiss whose shadow still lingered. I leaned closer. “What about us?”

  His cheeks darkened, but his blue gaze smoldered with an intensity that had never been present before. “As much as I’ve enjoyed our growing friendship these past few weeks, I want us to be more than friends. I want us to be…a couple.”

  My breath hooked. Was he really saying…?

  “I know it may take time,” he continued hastily. “We both need to heal from the pain we caused one another before our marriage, but I’ll never give up until I’ve atoned for it. I’m so sorry I never gave you a fair chance.” He frowned, considering. “I not only created a false image of you, but I kept you at arm’s length. I think I was afraid about what would happen should I open my heart up to you.” He took a wavering breath. “But no longer.”

  My own heart pounded at his tender words even as uncertainty tightened in my chest. How could I allow Liam to open his heart to me when who he thought I was…was all a lie? It’d make it so much harder when Princess Lavena returned to take back what was hers. But the more I came to know Liam, the more deeply I cared for him and the more I wanted to open my heart to him in return.

  He looked at me expectantly, his eyes full of heartbreaking hope. I rested my hand on his knee. “You want to be more than friends?”

  “I want to try. After all, you’re my wife, and thus I want to care for you. You deserve to be loved, not merely put up with.”

  Wife…my heartbeat escalated, both at that word being applied to me and at his sweet desires to care for me, even though it would make our eventual separation all the more unbearable. Joy and despair raged war within my heart. But joy won, and I smiled. “Does that mean you like me?”

  He nodded. “I like you a lot.”

  I sighed contentedly. The only explanation for his changing feelings was that I wasn’t Princess Lavena. Despite the mask I was forced to wear, bits of Anwen were emerging. Perhaps he’d discover more in our time together. I’d happily give him as many parts of Anwen as I could.

  “I really want us to work,” he continued shyly. “Do you?”

  “More than anything,” I whispered.

  He smiled tenderly and stood. “Will you spend the rest of the morning with me?”

  At my nod, he extended his hand and helped me to my feet, pulling me so close we stood nearly pressed against one another. The warmth from his body enveloped me like an embrace as our eyes remained locked, allowing dozens of wordless conversations to pass betwe
en us, conversations I ached to explore forever. I desperately hoped I had a lifetime to do so.

  His soft touch trailed down my arm until he reached my hand, which he lifted to gently wind my arm through his. My fingers curled at his elbow. He stared at where my hand rested before raising his gaze to mine, his own filled with an intensity that made me weak in the knees.

  “How about a stroll?”

  At my nod, he escorted me from the study and outside to the manicured grounds. “Have you tired of the gardens, considering you’ve spent most of the morning walking them?”

  “I adore nature and could spend all my time immersed in it.” The ring flared, a warning to watch my words. I bit my lip to suppress a sigh. There were so many memories I ached to share with him from my time spent as a goose girl before Princess Lavena had discovered me, when I’d spent every single day outside, no matter the weather. Going from such a life to being cooped up indoors as the princess’s handmaiden had been suffocating. But I couldn’t share any of this.

  Liam paused halfway down the stone steps and searched my expression, his own concerned. “Are you alright, Lavena?”

  I flinched at her name. “I’m fine.” It was a lie.

  “I know I’m rather new to this husband thing, but you don’t seem fine.” Liam cupped my chin to lift my gaze. I shuddered at his touch. “What’s bothering you?”

  There were so many things I wanted to tell him—so many I never would be able to—but I couldn’t bear the thought of keeping every part of myself hidden from him. Perhaps I could test the ring and see how much it’d let me reveal. “Until I was fourteen, I spent the majority of my time outside, no matter the weather.”

  No protest from the ring.

  He chuckled. “I never thought of you as one who spent so much time outside.”

  We strolled down a path that twisted through rows of blooming irises on one side and a hedge along the other. I ran my fingers along the green leaves as we passed by.

  “Princesses aren’t supposed to like the outdoors,” I said. “The sun ruins our complexions.” That had been Princess Lavena’s primary reason for avoiding being outside, which made her choice of a traveling minstrel all the more ridiculous. It definitely wouldn’t last, which meant Liam and I wouldn’t be together long. Perhaps the princess was even now waiting at the Dracerian palace for when we returned from our honeymoon. My heart constricted at the thought.

  Liam tilted his head to study my face. “Ah, you have freckles.” He lightly brushed over them with his fingertip.

  “I freckle in the sun.”

  “And princesses aren’t supposed to freckle?” His mouth quirked into one of his adorable dimpled smiles. “Your freckles are cute.” He traced his finger from one to another. “They’re making me want to play connect-the-dots.”

  I giggled. “Perhaps I can be persuaded to humor you.”

  His eyes widened before his usual grin broke free. “Excellent, another husband perk. I’m surprised you’re so willing to let me exhibit my childish antics in such a way. I used to think you rather vain.” A blush caressed his cheeks at the admission, and goodness, he was even more adorable when bashful. “But you’re not that way at all. Was pretending otherwise merely a charade?”

  I sighed. “Yes, everything was a charade.”

  “I like you better when you’re not playing a part,” he said. “I’m grateful I’m finally coming to know the real you.”

  My stomach knotted. He was wrong; he didn’t know me at all. I ached to tell him the truth, but the princess’s ring tightened around my finger in warning. He must have sensed something had distressed me and allowed silence to settle over us. Walking with Liam with our arms looped soon calmed my anxiety.

  He stirred after several content minutes, slowly unhooking our arms. I peeked curiously at him and found him blushing once more. “Lavena, can we––”

  He gave me the shyest look as he wove our fingers together. My breath hooked and my hand instinctively tightened around his. Liam is holding my hand. I’d never held a man’s hand before except for Father’s and Archer’s, and that had been as a little girl. This experience was vastly different and far more wonderful.

  “This alright?” he asked breathlessly.

  “Yes,” I somehow managed.

  I vaguely realized we’d stopped walking. I was grateful, certain my wobbly legs were too weak to continue our stroll. At first Liam only held my hand, but then he began to stroke the back of it with his thumb, each touch sending a pulse of heat up my arm.

  “This alright?” he asked again.

  This time I couldn’t speak, so I only nodded. Liam lifted our hands and pressed them to his chest, right above his beating heart, a heart I had the wish to keep forever. He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss on each fingertip.

  “Such beautiful hands, just like the woman who possesses them.” His smoldering gaze rose to meet mine, turning me inside out. “Shall we continue our stroll?”

  “I don’t think I can walk,” I admitted. His entire manner lit up as he stepped closer, his fingers caressing up and down mine.

  “Why? Am I…affecting you?”

  Heat tickled my cheeks but I was unable to look away. There were no words to describe the sensations filling me from each of his touches, the strong need I felt for him to never pull away. “I’ve never felt this way before,” I admitted.

  “Neither have I.” He raised my hand once more to press a soft kiss on my palm. “But I like it.”

  “So do I.”

  We stood for several minutes in this manner, Liam attentively playing with and kissing my hand, until he eventually tugged me gently after him to continue our walk. Our hands stayed intertwined as we playfully swung our arms back and forth. I felt as if I floated rather than walked down the path. Who knew such a simple gesture could fill me with so much joy?

  I suddenly paused when I spotted a chrysis ignita, a ruby-tailed wasp, an insect I’d read about but had never seen before. I gasped. “Oh! Oh!” The wasp buzzed several yards away, silently pleading for me to study its vibrant colors more closely. I instinctively stepped forward, taking Liam with me.

  “What is it?” Liam looked around quizzically, having not spotted the marvelous insect buzzing around the primroses.

  “Look!” I pointed and his eyes widened, but not with awe.

  “What is that?” He pulled me away. “Don’t worry, my dear, I shan’t let the pest harm you.” And just like that, I lost my opportunity to study one of the insects I’d always ached to see. I dug my heels into the path, too annoyed to even savor the fact that Liam had just called me my dear.

  “No, wait—”

  He paused, eyebrows raised, and a searing pain encircled my finger, a reminder I was supposed to be Princess Lavena, which meant I wasn’t supposed to like insects. I gritted my teeth as I cast a longing look back at the wasp, no longer in sight. Perhaps it had been my exuberance that had triggered the ring.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” I snapped, far more venomously than I intended, even though it wasn’t his fault I had a part to play. It was torturous having to keep so many parts of myself hidden, no matter how small. The beautiful moment that had been between us had all but shattered, so much so that even his hand in mine seemed to burn me, but not enough for me to pull away.

  “You’re upset.” He sounded perplexed. “I suppose I figured it was too good to be true to think we’d completely gotten past our usual contention. Won’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

  “I saw a ruby-tailed wasp,” I said. “That’s what’s wrong.”

  “Okay…” The poor man seemed thoroughly confused. “And it frightened you?”

  “Heavens, no. It was…lovely, wasn’t it?” I said the words tentatively as I nervously fiddled with my hair, wanting to share something about Anwen—if we were going to work at all with this ridiculous deception, I couldn’t hide every part of me away, especially my feelings—but not wanting to upset the sadistic ring. Than
kfully, it made no protest. I relaxed.

  “Lovely?” He wrinkled his nose. “You’re upset because a garden pest was lovely?”

  I sighed. “No. I’m sorry, Liam, this isn’t important.”

  “But it is.” He once more pressed my hand to his chest. “I admit I don’t understand, but I want to. Please help me to.”

  I pressed my fingers against his heart, relishing each beat it made against my fingertips. His sweet concern did wonders for my disappointment. I smiled and he tentatively returned it. “I was disappointed about something, but the moment has passed. Thank you, Liam.”

  He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “I’m glad, although I admit I’m still confused. What did I do to help? Please tell me so I can write it down for next time.”

  I managed a smile. “You were simply you.”

  “And you like me being me?”

  I tipped my head back to stare deeply into his blue eyes. “Very much.”

  “Thank heavens the remedy to a sad Lavena is so easy; I just have to be myself.”

  He winked before he proceeded to do just that, spending the remainder of the walk telling me humorous stories, pointing out anything to make me smile—such as a bird’s nest full of baby chicks—or tucking a flower that matched my dress behind my ear.

  Each sweet, playful gesture only made it more difficult not to fall in love with him. I couldn’t allow myself to do that, not when the princess would eventually return to take back what was rightfully hers.

  But I was powerless to fight the process, and it frightened me. As Liam managed to cheer me up and make me laugh and smile, I clung to his hand all the more tightly, afraid to let go and lose him, even though in my heart I knew our separation was inevitable.

  Chapter 10

  My Dear Sister,

  Thank you for your recent letter. I know you’re confused by my actions at your wedding, but allow me to reassure you that I have nothing but your best interests in mind. I’m fully aware of your situation and won’t allow you to come to any harm. Don’t be afraid; all will be well.