His Royal Princess Read online

  His Royal Princess

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  His Royal Princess

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Epilogue

  THE END

  Author Bio

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  His Royal Princess

  2nd Digital release: Copyright© 2014 Debra Kayn

  1st Digital release under the title, Betraying The Prince, Copyright© 2008 Debra Kayn

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from Debra Kayn. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  www.debrakayn.com

  Chapter One

  "Hurry, Celina, I beg you. Prince Joqua summoned you five minutes ago." Danika pushed her older sister toward the curtained doorway. "The prince is going to be angry if you don't start moving."

  Celina guessed what awaited her beyond the door. She scowled at Danika. If only her mother had obeyed her wedding vows instead of running off with an American, she wouldn't be here waiting to pay the price for her mother's mistakes. Damn you, Mama.

  "Quit it, Danika. I'll go when I want to go." Celina lifted an eyebrow at her sister, daring her to push her too far.

  Danika bowed her head and stepped back. Turning toward the door, Celina took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her papa must realize his idea verged on insanity.

  "Celina, I hear you breathing on the other side of the curtain. Come in now before I'm even more displeased with you."

  The tinkle of bracelets worn on Celina's slender wrists gave way to her arrival. She swept the curtain aside and strode into the room. Her father needed to learn that what he planned was a bad idea.

  The prince lounged on a heap of vibrant colored floor pillows, surrounded by a select few of his wives. She ignored the women and kept her gaze glued on her father.

  "You wanted to see me, Papa?" She stepped forward in a challenge.

  A low growl came from Prince Joqua, but his regal facial features never changed. He ordered his wives to leave him at once and waited until they left to talk with his daughter.

  "Sit beside me, Celina, so that I might speak with you without getting a crick in my neck." He patted one of the large pillows beside him.

  "As you wish, Papa." Celina took her place beside her father and demurely batted her green eyes at him.

  "Stop the flirting, Celina. It will not get you out of fulfilling my wishes. What I have to say to you is very important. I do not wish for you to take this lightly." Prince Joqua gave his daughter a warning look. "You are getting too old to play this game, and that is the reason why I have decided—"

  "I will not do it, Papa."

  "Celina."

  "I won't, and if you love me—"

  "Don't go there. I love you as if you were my own flesh and blood, and that's why I'm doing this. I've sheltered you too long. You're a woman. It's time to set things right." He pushed himself off the pillows and stood, looking much younger than his sixty-two years. "I have made all the arrangements. In two days, you will travel to America with Mr. Randall. You remember Mr. Randall?"

  Celina did not answer. She clenched her teeth together and raised her chin. She wouldn't go. Papa could stone her.

  "You will stay with Mr. Randall, and he will teach you the ways of an American."

  "I am not American."

  Prince Joqua's breath hissed out between his teeth. Celina crossed her arms. No matter how much he tried to convince her that he only cared about her well being, she didn't believe for a second that he cared enough to listen to her opinion. She was a princess. A woman.

  "Your mother wanted you to be an American."

  She flinched. His words hurt, and cut deep. She hugged her waist and doubled over. Burning pain radiated from somewhere deep inside her and left a bitter taste in her mouth.

  "I'm nothing like my mother," Celina snapped. She bowed her head. Angry tears pushed at the corners of her eyelids.

  Prince Joqua leaned over Celina and lifted her by the arms. She stood, and he ran his fingers under her eyes and wiped the moisture away. She never held out against the loving nature of her papa.

  "You are more like your mother than you realize, and that is exactly the reason why I want you to have the life you deserve. You were not born to serve an Antakian male." Prince Joqua held her face between his hands and forced her to look in his dark brown eyes.

  "She was a traitor," Celina spat.

  "No, she was your mother. An American woman not brought up in the way of life she found herself. Not like an Antakian woman is brought up knowing her place." He refused to let her duck her head. "You cannot place blame on your mama."

  "But I was brought up as an Antakian, Papa. It's all I know. Please—"

  "My mind is made up."

  "But—"

  "No."

  Prince Joqua kissed both of Celina's cheeks, softening the harsh words he obviously forced himself to say. At twenty years of age, she should be married, not living under the prince's watch.

  "Out with you now." He nodded toward the door.

  ***

  The door to the girls' room slammed shut with such force it rattled the window. The other four young women in the room ranging from twelve to eighteen years old stopped to witness Celina's rage. Her chest heaved, and her breath came out in ragged gasps. The nerve of Papa sending her away from the only home she knew. The only people she called family.

  "It's true, then. Our papa is sending you across the ocean to America?" Nari threw a smug look to her sisters.

  "Shut up, Nari." Danika glared at her sister and hurried to Celina's side.

  Celina looked at her sisters, each one beautiful with their long black hair, mocha skin, and exotic features proving their paternity. They were all special to her. Except Nari, who never let Celina forget she carried no blood of the Prince of Antaka in her body—while each of the other girls were truly their papa's daughters, Celina was burdened with a bland complexion and dirty blonde hair.

  "What did Papa say?" Danika placed her arm around Celina.

  "I leave in two days."

  "No..." Tressa joined Danika in consoling Celina. "We will never see you again."

  All the sisters, minus Nari, wailed and damned their father for doing this horrid thing to her. Here, entwined between her sisters, she found acceptance and vindication.

  "I'll run away." Celina swiped at her cheeks.

  The girls gasped and stepped back from Celina. Going by their reaction,
they acted as if she'd murdered someone instead of giving them hope they'd see her again.

  Celina shook her head. "Not here. When I get to America. Papa is too cruel. I'll not become a sheep to any American wolf. They do not understand how to take care of an Antakian woman. They are...abusers and liars."

  "But if Papa hears what you have done, he will cut off your foot in front of fifty witnesses." Danika latched on to Celina's arm.

  She bit her lip and cocked her head to the side. "I don't believe there is a law about running back to Antaka, only away from the prince. He's already pushed me away."

  A shudder rolled down her spine, and she hugged Danika to her chest.

  "But the stories we have heard, they must be true."

  "We must have hope. Punishments like in those stories haven't happened in a long, long time." Celina straightened her spine. At least not since Mama betrayed the prince. Damn her.

  "I'll find a way to come back. I swear on my life." Celina kissed each of her sisters' lips and sealed the promise.

  The morning of Celina's departure, she woke up early to visit the holy grounds. She pushed through the gate that sectioned the cemetery off from the rest of the palace yard. She looked around, her gaze memorizing the prestige grounds. She'd miss the mix of sand and pebbles beneath her feet, and the endless sun that rarely went down.

  Her vision grew blurry and she blinked hard. Very few people mingled outside at this hour, and she tried to take advantage of the quiet time in the early morning when she could lose herself in her thoughts without one of her sisters bothering her.

  Across the yard, the dew still clung precociously to the blooms on the many flowered decorations adorning the graves. She inhaled deeply. The salt off the sea hovered in the air, reminding her there would be no other place that would ever compare to the small island of Antaka

  Celina followed the nearest path and weaved between the markers atop the graves. She veered off to the back area, among graves unblessed by the prince, with one thing on her mind—to try to find her mother's grave for the first time.

  For years, she sought this peaceful area, but her anger and refusal to accept an American mother kept her from hunting out her grave. To do so would be showing her too much attention. Attention a woman who betrayed the prince didn't deserve.

  This morning was different. It might be the last time she ever sets foot on Antaka, and she had to see the grave for herself.

  A smooth, flat piece of copper identified each gravesite. She held her hand to her chest. Her heart raced underneath her palm. She must hurry or she'd change her mind.

  After she checked each grave, she still didn't have any proof. She walked back through again, not willing to give up. She looked everywhere, and yet, no grave marked her mother's place amongst the dead. Her shoulders drooped. Somewhere her father had to lay her mother to rest.

  More people began to arrive for their daily visit with their deceased loved ones inside the holy grounds. Not wanting to talk with anyone, Celina cut behind the caretaker's shed to escape notice. She pushed back the giant lilac bush overgrowing against the corner of the building and slid between the bush and wall. She leaned over and squeezed below the branches.

  A familiar name scrolled across a marble tile beneath her feet brought her to a stop. She gasped. Natalia Rodriguez. It couldn't be.

  Why would her mother's grave lay in the area of those blessed by the prince? Death by stoning broke all the laws, and her death had been a punishment issued by the prince himself. Surely the prince knew about the error of her burial. Why did he allow her to remain with the blessed?

  Celina stared down at the grave marker and wondered what possessed Natalia to lose her life for a traitor, especially to an American man who never came to look for his daughter. Damn them both.

  The courtyard bell gonged, announcing the start of the day for businesses at the market. Celina backed away from her mother's grave and ran blindly for the high arched doors of the palace. Her unwanted thoughts attacked every good memory she yearned to hold close. If Papa took back the decision to send her away, she'd happily be doing her studies right now, instead of running from the past.

  With her time on the island ticking away, she headed toward the palace wing where her brothers resided. Her brothers, no doubt, did not know about Papa's plans for her. Her being a female, Papa probably thought the news of her leaving was too frivolous to inform the boys.

  Six brothers, starting at the age of seven and going up to the age of eighteen, lived in the opposite side of the palace from the females in the family. Each of the sexes lived in their respected wing and roamed freely without running into each other. Unlike her sisters, she attended school and had developed a closer relationship with them, despite the age difference.

  She was too old for school, but the prince had used her education as an excuse to keep her unmarried. Deep down, she believed she was unworthy of an Antakian husband because of her mother's blood running through her veins.

  She peeked around the corner into the long hallway and waited until the corridor emptied of servants. The moment the coast cleared, she scurried through the hall and knocked on the boys' door.

  "Hurry, hurry," Celina whispered, glancing back and forth down the palace wing. If someone caught her in the forbidden area, all the girls suffered.

  The door opened, and Celina pushed her way inside and slammed the door. The corners of her brothers' mouths tugged with merriment. She bowed her head quickly, and the boys scrambled for their trousers and shirts.

  "Celina, what are you doing here so early in the morning? Did you not do your homework again?" Niagre frowned.

  "I have important news."

  Niagre motioned for the other boys to come and listen. Celina sucked in her bottom lip, and tears filled her eyes.

  "Why are you crying?" Beebe squeezed between the bigger boys and stood in front of her, staring up at her with big dark eyes showing his concern.

  She placed her arm around her youngest brother and drew him close, his warm spirit so loving and precious. Would he even remember her in years to come? Only seven years old, too young to realize how important he was to her.

  "I'm leaving this morning for America."

  The boys remained silent, except for the sniff Beebe let escape. Celina lifted her chin and placed her hand under Beebe's petite one. Such a sad face gazed up at her.

  "I might not be coming back. If I don't, I want you—all of you—to know how much I love you. You are my brothers in my heart." She placed her hand on her chest. "And, there you will remain."

  "What can we do?" Niagre asked. His hands planted on his hips.

  Already a man in Prince Joqua's opinion, Niagre showed promise in his education of becoming the first male in line for the prince's power. She cleared her throat and threw her arms around him. "Nothing. It's what Papa has decided."

  "Why couldn't he have sent Nari instead? I don't understand."

  "Nor do I, but I must do what he wishes while on the island." She shrugged. "You all understand the laws. There's no getting around them without being punished."

  Celina moved around the room and gave each boy a hug. She inhaled the musky scent she seldom got close enough to enjoy and promised herself she'd never forget them. Brave and strong, each one of her brothers stood in front of her, looking so much like the prince. She swallowed the lump of sadness. She wished only good things for each of them.

  Celina turned and walked toward the door. "I'll never forget you." She peeked out the door and turned back. "You will all grow up to be great men of Antaka."

  The soft click of the door shutting behind her broke the tight control on her emotions. Gasping, she leaned against the wall and squeezed her eyes closed to block out the pain. How was she going to make it through the rest of the day? The goodbyes chipped away small pieces of her heart, and she wondered if anyone else had ever survived such heartbreak.

  Celina entered the girls' room. Danika, Sera, and Tressa sat together on Celina's
bed. She crossed the room and joined them.

  "I do not want to say goodbye." Tressa clung to Celina's hand.

  "Then we will smile at each other and know in our hearts and souls that someday I'll make it back to see you."

  "Not me. Goodbye, dear sister. I hope you enjoy America." Nari laid her head back on her pillow to catch a few more minutes' sleep before someone ordered her out of bed.

  "Don't mind her." Danika waved her hand in Nari's direction. "I for one would like it if she was the one going to America instead of you." Danika cast an evil eye upon her rotten sister.

  Celina patted Danika's hand. "I must see about gathering my things ..."

  She rose from the bed. Her clothes needed packing, and it would distract her from the rapid approach of her departure. The walk-in closet showed vacant areas where her clothes had previously hung. She rushed to the shelves reserved for her keepsakes and ran her hands over the bare wood.

  "I'm sorry, Celina." Danika stepped up beside her.

  "He didn't leave me one thing." She gazed around trying to find something, any little thing, he might have left for her to keep.

  "I'm sor—"

  She held up her hand. "No, it is not your fault. It will all work out." She straightened her posture and took Danika's hand into her own. "Come, it is time."

  With proud and determined strides, she crossed the room and faced her sisters. She kissed each one without shedding a tear. She would survive. At the door, she lifted her chin and forced a smile. "I'll be back someday."

  The servants strolled past her without a second glance. She marched to the prince's room. Her hands balled into fists, she only wanted to get this last goodbye over fast.

  "Linje, would you see if Prince Joqua will see me?"

  "I'm sorry, Princess Celina, but Prince Joqua is gone for the day." Linje frowned.

  Celina raised her hand to her chest, and then glared beyond the servant to the curtain shielding Prince Joqua's room. She thought saying goodbye to her siblings was hard, but her father's rejection cut deeper than anything she'd experienced so far.

  "Princess...are you all right?"

  She looked at the faithful servant and nodded her head. "Goodbye, Linje."