The Heir Read Online Free Page B

toward Baylin, and he
wrapped his strong arms around her, nestling her in so she felt
safe and secure. Luana was certain she could be happy staying
exactly in that moment for the rest of her life. At least mostly
happy. She stroked her lower stomach. After all, it will be
perfect once our child is born and in our arms. She smiled to
herself.
    Just then there was a soft knock at the door
of the chamber. Baylin got up and wrapped a linen blanket around
his waist. When he arrived at the door, he found his father’s
steward waiting on the other side.
    “Your Grace,” said the steward with a
bow.
    “Yes, what is it?” Baylin questioned. “Is
there something wrong?”
    Luana sat up in the bed, hugging a fur
blanket around her. Is it the King? Has the illness taken
him? She worried for the King because she knew the great love
Baylin held for his father.
    “No, not at all,” the steward answered. “I
have been asked to inform you that the King and Queen request you
and your bed wife to break your fast in their chamber this
morning.”
    “Yes, that will be fine,” Baylin agreed.
“Has there been any news of the royal family of Mirstone?”
    “At last we heard, Your Grace, they set sail
from Mirstone,” the boy explained. “With the current against them,
it could take several weeks before they arrive.”
    “And what of my uncle?” Baylin asked with
shortness in his voice.
    “I do apologize, Your Grace. I must confess
I have not heard any news on his account,” the steward said
solemnly. “I’m sure there is nothing to be concerned about. I’m
certain he is safe.”
    The poor boy doesn’t even know what he’s
saying. Luana sighed at the words. There is a lot more going
on than Baylin has been telling me.
    Baylin nodded. “Thank you. Please inform
them we will be there soon.”
    As Baylin closed the door Luana asked, “What
is it?”
    “My love,” he said, crossing the room to
her, “I am sorry. You should be resting. I did not mean to wake you
so early.” He leaned in and kissed Luana.
    “Why are the King and Queen of Mirstone
coming?” she asked, sliding from the bed to her feet.
    Baylin began dressing, slipping a pair of
black leather trousers on. “They are coming for their protection.
Mirstone is having troll problems as well, it would seem.”
    Trolls. The thought made Luana shiver
and wrap her arms around herself. It had been a problem with trolls
that almost took Baylin’s life only a few months before.
    Luana wrapped a heavy robe around her and
tightened it with a sash.
    “Do you know of Mirstone and the royal
family?” Baylin inquired.
    “I know of them, I suppose,” she said,
straightening a stack of books on her small writing desk. “Everyone
in the villages is taught of the five Kingdoms. Though, I could not
tell you who they are ruled by.”
    Baylin smiled and laughed, as though he were
enjoying a joke that only he had heard.
    “What is it?” Luana asked, walking over to
the settee in front of the hearth and sitting down.
    Baylin followed, kneeling down and throwing
a log on the sleepy embers, trying to revive them. “I just found it
amusing. I can only imagine how Queen Fia would react at
discovering there are people who do not know who she is. She tends
to assume the world revolves around her.”
    Luana smiled at the remark. “Do you know the
royal family well?”
    “I certainly would not say we are close,”
Baylin replied. “However, I have met them several times on business
for the Kingdoms when I was younger.”
    “What are they like?” Luana asked, unable to
contain her curiosity.
    “To be honest, they are a bit…” Baylin had a
distant look on his face as he searched for the right word.
“Superior?”
    Luana laughed at the Prince, covering her
mouth to stifle the sound. She looked up and noticed her handmaid
had entered the room holding a dress for her to put on.
    “Good morning, milady,” Meg, Luana’s
handmaid, greeted.
    “Good morning to you, my dear Meg,”