Rachelle McCalla - The Missing Monarch

ROYALTY IN EXILE

Six years ago Crown Prince Thaddeus abandoned his new bride and went into hiding. His motive was to protect his country and his family from a ruthless tyrant. But when his estranged wife tracks him down, Thaddeus knows it’s time to make a stand. Restore the royal line. And reclaim the crown. Yet just as he learns about the family’s new addition—his and Monica’s son—little Peter becomes a target. In a deadly game of power, Thaddeus must choose between the country and heritage he’s been raised to defend…and the woman he never could forget.

“You shouldn’t be here.”

Thaddeus had to yell to be heard over the sound of the idling plane engine and the streaming wind.

Monica’s dark eyes snapped with anger and a trace of exhaustion. “Neither should you.”

“Get back on the plane.” He’d have picked her up and deposited her there himself, but that would require touching her—something he was loath to do. The woman had long ago proven irresistible to him. He didn’t need to get any closer to her than he already was.

“I’ve traveled too far to turn around now.” Her words sounded worn-out, as though she’d repeated them to herself many times.

His heart gave a sympathetic lurch, which he instinctively resisted. He couldn’t let this woman get under his skin—she’d done it once before, and it had taken him all of the past six years to get over her. “Get back on the plane. The fog is getting worse. If you don’t leave now, you might not be able to leave for days.”

“I’m not leaving without you.”

RACHELLE McCALLA

is a mild-mannered housewife, and the toughest she ever has to get is when she’s trying to keep her four kids quiet in church. Though she often gets in over her head, as her characters do, and has to find a way out, her adventures have more to do with sorting out the carpool and providing food for the potluck. She’s never been arrested, gotten in a fistfight or been shot at. And she’d like to keep it that way! For recipes, fun background notes on the places and characters in this book and more information on forthcoming titles, visit www.rachellemccalla.com.

The Missing Monarch

Rachelle McCalla

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Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness,

and all these things will be given to you as well.

—Matthew 6:33

To Henry, my firstborn,

valiant protector of the realm. I love you.

Acknowledgments

Special thanks to all my readers. If this is your first visit to Lydia, I pray that you will love it enough to seek out the stories that have come before. And if you’ve stayed with these siblings through all the trials of their adventures, I pray you’ll find their journey an encouragement on your own.

Contents

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

Epilogue

Dear Reader

Questions for Discussion

Excerpt

ONE

“Regis?”

The Crown Prince Thaddeus of Lydia didn’t hesitate to respond to his prearranged code name. “Yes?”

“Have you seen the news?”

“Always.”

“Then you know—?”

“Yes.” Thaddeus didn’t need his friend Kirk, the sole person on earth who knew how to reach him, to elaborate any more over the phone. Yes, he knew that the tiny kingdom of Lydia had been nearly overtaken by insurgent forces ten days before. He also knew who was behind those forces—a man who went by the code name 8, short for Octavian, an egomaniac would-be despot, who’d stop at nothing to achieve the power he desired. What Thad didn’t know, was how to stop him from taking over the tiny kingdom.

“You know that we need you?” A voice broke in, a female. One of his sisters? Princess Isabelle or Princess Anastasia, he couldn’t be sure which one.

“You need me to stay right where I am.” Thad hoped his sister could hear the authority in his voice. He was, after all, her big brother, besides being the crown prince of the Christian nation. He knew what he was talking about.

“No—” Isabelle’s voice for sure. “We need you on the thr—”

“Don’t say it.” Thad interrupted her before she could drop any words that might give away his identity. They had no way of being certain their line was secure, though he knew Kirk would have taken every possible precaution. The risk was simply too great. If Octavian ever found where he was hiding, all the sacrifices he’d made would have been in vain.

“We need you here.” That was Alexander’s voice, so much more mature than when Thad had left home. But then, Prince Alexander had been through many trials on behalf of Lydia. “You’re the only one who can end this.”

“If I come home, things will only get worse, I promise you. You have to trust that I know what I’m talking about.”

“If you would explain—”

“I can’t. Not over the phone. You know that.” Thad took a deep breath, wishing there were some way he could impress upon his younger siblings the gravity of the situation. They couldn’t underestimate the foe they were up against. “Please don’t try to contact me again. The risks are far too great.”

“You need to come home.” It was Kirk’s voice again, insistent this time.

“No. I need to go. Goodbye.” Thad gripped the phone, knowing he needed to end the call and cut the line that exposed him to potential detection. Still, he hesitated to sever the connection to his family. He missed them so much, the six long years since he’d seen them last weighing on his heart.

Anastasia’s voice echoed distantly over the still-live line. “You were right, Kirk. He’s determined not to return. I wish we could make him understand, but we can’t risk trying to visit him, and he won’t listen to any of us.”

“There is one person he might listen to. I don’t know if I can convince her—”

“Don’t!” Thad nearly shouted, glad he hadn’t hung up the phone after all. “Don’t bring her into this. Never speak of her again.”

“But—”

“No. There’s nothing she can say to me that will change anything. She deserves her privacy. Do you understand?” Silence ticked by in tense seconds, and Thad feared the connection had been severed after all. “Promise me you won’t try to contact her.”

Reluctance filled Kirk’s voice. “I promise.”

“Thank you. I’ve got to go.” Thad ended the call, feeling even more alone than he had mere moments before, the reminder of his long-lost wife prickling the long-dead parts of his heart like blood rushing back to a sleeping appendage, as though to rouse his buried feelings back to life.

He trusted his friend. Kirk would keep his promise not to reach out to Monica.

Thad stared at the phone in his hand, replaying the details of their conversation. They hadn’t spoken Monica’s name. And surely their line was secure. So why did Thad feel such a breathless sense of panic, as though somehow, by mentioning a woman he cared about, they’d exposed Monica to detection?