Read Online The Lost Princes of Ambria 06 - Taming the Lost Prince by Raye Morgan - Free Book Online Page B

her eyes. She pulled away from his hand and turned to look at the distant sea. They were miles away, but she thought she could hear the waves pounding on the rocks.
    “Listen, what about this Mercuria situation? I know you don’t know exactly what their beef is, but you must have some idea of what set them off.” She turned back to look at him. “Any clue at all as to what their problem was?”
    He stared at her for a moment, then gave a bitter laugh. “You mean why they want to lock me away in their particularly nasty tower and torture me with bad food? No. I’m still not sure what that is all about.”
    She frowned. “Come on, Max. You must have a secret opinion. Or two.”
    “Oh, yeah. I’ve got some thoughts on the matter.” He frowned and shifted his weight from one foot to the other, as though suddenly uncomfortable with those very thoughts. “But you wouldn’t like them.”
    That gave her a momentary pang, but she was game. “Try me.”
    He made a face. “I’d rather not.”
    She looked into his eyes. He was serious.
    “Max, this isn’t a game. We have to find out the truth. This has to be dealt with.”
    He nodded slowly. “Of course.”
    She waited. He stood very still and watched her. She sighed with quick exasperation and tugged on his sleeve. “Max! Tell me! Delve down into your deepest intuitions and tell me what you think it just might be.”
    He grimaced, then looked back at her and shrugged. “Okay. If you really want me to do this, here you go. This is just a guess, but …” He took a deep breath, then looked out at the distant mountains. “I think they want me to marry their princess.”
    She stared at him in shock. He glanced at her and sighed.
    “And here you thought this was the only royal gig I had lined up,” he said grimly. “But no. I’ve got my choice. Lucky me.”
    Kayla swallowed hard. She hadn’t expected something like this. Staring at Max, she tried to get her mind around these new developments. Everything inside her was aching for a denial. He couldn’t … could he? He hadn’t … had he?
    “Is there …uh …a reason they would be demanding this? I mean, their charges were pretty hard-line, even if they weren’t explicit.”
    His blue gaze skimmed her features. “You mean, did I compromise the girl’s reputation in some way?” he said with a trace of sarcasm and a touch of resentment. “No, Kayla. I did not.”
    “Oh.” Relief flooded her, leaving her breathless. And then she realized she still didn’t know any of the details. “Then …?”
    “The Princess Nadine is fifteen years old,” he told her, looking almost angry. “She decided to get a teenage crush on me. I didn’t do a thing to encourage it. Believe me, I do have certain scruples. But girls that age …” He shrugged and looked toward the heavens for help.
    It was ridiculous. Maddening. And ultimately, he had a feeling it would be quite embarrassing. There had to be a way to handle this without everyone knowing what the Mercurians really wanted.
    Princess Nadine was a lovely girl, but she was much too young to be handed off to an old guy like him. He’d only seen her a few times and he’d managed to keep those visits short. He couldn’t go back there. There was no telling what would be demanded of him. The family running the country was a few bricks short of a load at times. One might even say, crazy as loons.
    “It’s not a good situation.”
    “Oh.”
    “She decided she wanted me. And her daddy, the King of Mercuria, gives her whatever she wants.”
    “Oh, dear.”
    “Yes. ‘Oh, dear’.” He finally looked her in the eye. “So how am I supposed to explain this to Pellea? Especially when I don’t even know if it’s true?”
    She thought for a moment. It was a problem. The queen was not going to be happy, and this put her in an awkward position in regard to an international relations situation that would just tangle things into knots. She could see why he hesitated to tell