Their Royal Ash (Once Upon a Harem Book 4) Read online

  Their Royal Ash

  Once Upon a Harem

  Lia Davis

  Copyright © 2018 by Lia Davis

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  Published by: Davis Raynes Publishing Group, LLC

  dba After Glows Publishing

  PO Box 224

  Middleburg, FL. 32050

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  Cover by: Takecover Designs

  Formatting by: Glowing Moon Designs

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  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Once Upon a Harem

  About the Author

  Also by Lia Davis

  Note from the Publisher

  Chapter One

  “Girl!”

  The single word echoed through the grand hall, rattling the windows. Or was it the rattling in my brain? A cold shiver raked down my spine like icy claws. Terror gripped a hold of my heart at the fierce tone of my step-father, King Balsatra of the Kregon Kingdom. The most feared ruler.

  And a cruel bastard.

  He was also paranoid. We were the only kingdom who had a technology and magic ban. The king feared it so much, he wouldn’t trade or do business with other, more advance kingdoms.

  Did he understand it left us all vulnerable to outside threats? Did he care?

  “Girl! Come when you’re called.”

  The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. He never remembered my name. Or never bothered to try.

  The only time he sought me out was when he needed something, or wanted to beat me like a disobedient servant. The latter was usually done in front of his sons to humiliate and remind me I didn’t belong in their family. Especially when they were caught paying me attention. Sometimes I wondered if it was my step-brothers he was punishing.

  My heart ached at the thought. Conell, Ayen, and Elion were becoming more to me than just my friends. That slice of truth cut the deepest. I needed to run.

  Run away from the palace. From my step-father’s cruelty.

  The king’s rage and need to punish me for whatever reason he could think of had grown worse in recent months. So much so, I feared for my life every time he set his attention on me.

  I was out.

  I’d lived through enough beatings, and wore the scars to prove it. I was eighteen, an adult, and didn’t have to remain to endure his abuse any longer. I didn’t want to think about how much worse it could get for me if I stayed.

  I rushed to the back corner of the Great Hall, desperate not to be caught before I could escape the castle. After a quick glance to the main entrance, I slipped into the stairwell only the servants used, then raced down the steps. My heart hammered faster than a scared rabbit. If I didn’t escape unseen, the beating I’d get would be far worse than any he’d delivered since my mother died a year ago.

  Princesses didn’t disobey their father—step or not—and servants died for running from the king. Especially if that king was cold-hearted and power hungry.

  I exited the stairs into the kitchen, then continued to the side door. Relief flooded me when I entered the empty kitchen. No witnesses to my escape. Just a few feet and I’d be free, as long as the king hadn’t called the guards on me.

  Just then the bells sounded, indicating that yes, the king had called them.

  My step-brothers would find a way to stall them. It was part of the plan to get me out. Elion had come up with it and his two brothers backed him. It was up to me to be quick. Although I feared I wasn’t quick enough if my stepfather was searching for me.

  My chest tightened at the thought of leaving them. Hell, they were the only reason I stayed as long as I had. But it was too risky now that I’d fallen for my step-brothers. Each one of them held my heart.

  We had to part ways. They didn’t deserve a servant for a girlfriend. The king would kill us all if he found out.

  As I grabbed the handle, a shadow fell over me. My heart sank to my feet and fear burned my insides. I close my eyes briefly before glancing at the man standing beside me.

  Piercing green eyes stared at me. There was no emotion in his handsome features, but those eyes told me to run and wait for him to find me again. Kieran was one of the royal guards and another that held my heart.

  He supported the princes’ plan to help me escape, then find the evidence they needed to dethrone the king. Conell had said with me safely out from under the king’s attention, they would be able to manipulate their father into confessing.

  In truth, the guys wanted me far away from their cruel father. I was on board with that plan.

  Kieran’s wavy brown hair fell into his eyes as he turned sharply and called out to the others. “She’s not in the kitchen.” He slipped something into my hand and closed my fingers around it. “There is a village about a day’s travel on foot to the north. Go there. Ask for Cathy. She will provide you with what you need to continue on.”

  Then he left.

  Relief washed through me, threatening my ability to stay upright. I wanted to hug him one last time. To feel his arms around me. We’d be caught for sure if that happened and the bastard king would kill Kieran, then beat me for days.

  Tears rolled down my cheeks as I pushed through the door. The sunlight hurt my eyes at first. Pulling out my shawl from the pocket of my underskirt, I wrapped it around my head and ran across the yard to the forest.

  Once inside the safety net of the trees, I heard the dogs howl and the guards yelling commands back and forth.

  The dogs were Hounds. Vicious, barely sane wolf shifters who were more wolf than man.

  I pressed my back against a large tree, trying to slow my breathing.

  Please don’t come this way.

  Peeking around the trunk, I spied the king’s private guard, Jonah, as he stood beside his horse outside the stables. No. My stomach soured. I couldn’t go back there. And he would come after me for sure.

  Jonah was a wolf shifter—lethal and cold—and his senses were that of a tracker, superior to the Hounds. Once he locked onto his prey, there was no escape.

  Still I waited. If he moved toward me, I’d run faster than I ever had. Then beg him for death once he caught me.

  My insides froze when my three step-brothers rode up next to him on their horses. Jonah mounted his horse and directed the princes in the opposite direction from me. My fear spiked. That wasn’t part of the plan. Was it?

  When the others rode off, Jonah fixed his gaze back on me. My blood froze. Could he see me from that distance?

  Not wanting to find out anytime soon, I tore off toward the sound of the river.

  My slippers weren’t made for running in the forest. Neither was my maid’s dress. I should have stolen Elion’s clothes. Trousers would’ve allowed for easier climbing.

  Damn, I didn’t plan my part of the escape very well. The guys gave the signal and I ran.

  The sound of Hounds barking and growling pushed me faster. My heart hammered in my head, throat, chest. My muscles burned.

  I came to a drop off and skidded to a stop. No. I must have taken a wrong turn. Glancing over the edge, I sagged in relief at the sight of the river b
elow. The distance down wasn’t too bad. Climbing was an option. Jumping was another. However, I didn’t know how deep the water was.

  The baying and growling faded in the distance. Another shudder of relief rippled through me. I wondered if Kieran lead them in a different direction. My heart ached at the thought. He risked his life for me.

  What was I doing? Running. God, I was so weak.

  A tear slid down my cheek.

  Just then a twig snapped and I spun around, meeting the heated, angry depths of Jonah’s stare. My heart sank to my feet. His dark red hair fell in waves to his shoulders, adding to his lethal beauty.

  Taking a step back, I held up my hand. “You will have to kill me because I’m not going back.”

  He dismounted from his horse, then stalked toward me, his features not altering. Hazel eyes bore into me, challenging me. But he said nothing as he prowled closer, a predator stalking his prey.

  I didn’t have much interaction with Jonah. He was the king’s private guard. I tried to stay as far away from my step-father as I could. “Don’t come any closer. I’ll jump.”

  He paused in mid-step, but it was brief, then flicked his gaze behind me. With speed that no man should possess, he was in front me, his large hands on my wrists. Fear froze me place. He glanced over the edge before returning to hold my tear-filled gaze.

  “Goodbye, princess.” His eyes darkened like a storm brewed from deep within him.

  Then he shoved. Confusion filled my brain. It took me a few moments to realize he pushed me off the cliff. I wasn’t prepared for the free fall or the freezing temps of the river. Water went up my nose and I struggled to gain control over my body. In a panic, I gasped in a mouthful.

  I tried swimming to the surface but the current was too strong. My lungs burned for air. The rushing water jerked me from side to side and rolled me with the currents. I slammed into something. Pain exploded in my head, then darkness enveloped me.

  Chapter Two

  One year later

  An uneasiness settled in my gut as I walked the narrow cobblestone streets of Trelan. The feeling of being watched buzzed along my nerves, twisting my stomach in knots.

  The small village was the third I’d come to in the last year. It was about a two days’ travel from Kregon Kingdom in the opposite direction Kieran said to go and had been my home for the last four months.

  The people here were nice. Plus, I was lucky to come across an elderly man by the name of Frank who needed help. I cooked and cleaned. We had a small garden and chickens. Life here was peaceful.

  My peace turned to sadness when Frank passed on about a month ago. He left the house and everything with it to me. How was I to just leave it?

  A little voice in my mind nagged that I’d stayed too long and it was time to move on.

  After all, the guys would come looking for me. Or already were. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be found. Not yet. Their plan included taking me back to the palace one day. I wasn’t going back. Not while the king was there.

  Dread sliced at my insides and I couldn’t pinpoint the source of the building panic. Darkness touched my awareness in a familiar way.

  Taking a deep breath, holding it for several moments, and then releasing it, I tried to calm myself. I was being ridiculous. There was no way the king would search for me this far outside the kingdom. Or would he?

  Then I saw him.

  Kieran Grady.

  My heart dropped to my feet while sadness and desire battled each other for dominance. The impulse to run to him, wrap my body around his, to feel his arms around me again, was too strong.

  If I exposed myself, I’d have to go back. I wasn’t going back.

  Ever.

  Besides, I didn’t know if he was alone or other Royal Guards were around.

  Darting into a breezeway leading toward the path through the woods to my small cottage, I ran. There was no outrunning a vampire. I just had to get enough of a head start to lose him.

  I prayed to the heavens Kieran didn’t see me or catch my scent.

  When I reached my home, I grabbed the saddle bags from the hook just inside the back door, then rushed to my bedroom and shoved a change of clothes, money, and my journal inside. Not giving a second look, I darted out the back to the barn where my horse was.

  Before I reached the wooden building, I heard Penny kicking her stall door. She neighed with each kick. A warning?

  Just then, Kieran filled the entrance of the barn. I stopped dead in my tracks, shaking all over. “Please, let me go.”

  His dark brows dipped and he prowled closer. Tears filled my eyes. He was beautiful for a man. I was sure that was the vampire charm. A way to lure his prey in.

  I stepped back, shaking my head. “I can’t go back there.”

  With speed too fast for me to track, he was in front me, his arms wrapped around my waist. He pulled me close until our bodies melted into each other. A low growl rumbled from him, sending a shiver down my spine.

  We’d spent so much time hiding our attraction. Him more than me. He’d told me he needed to wait until I came of age. Tradition held the female of the family was married off at seventeen.

  I was nineteen. I’d stayed in the palace, enduring the king’s cruelty and punishments for a year longer than necessary before fleeing a month after my eighteenth birthday. Secretly, before I fled the palace, I had hoped Kieran would claim me as his. That day never came. Then I fell in love with the princes, who each friended me and made promises I knew they couldn’t keep.

  Kieran nuzzled my neck and inhaled. Another growl vibrated from his chest. “You never have to endure the king’s abuse again.”

  There was a promise in his words. “Then why are you here?”

  He lifted his head and gazed into my eyes. His green depths swirled with so many emotions, I couldn’t decipher all of them. “My debt to the king is paid. I’m no longer part of his royal guard. Plus the plan had always been to find you.”

  A renewed fear rose within me. I shoved at his chest until he let go. “And you led them right to me.”

  I pushed out of his arms and rushed into the barn, but he was back in the doorway, blocking my way. “They’re not coming after you. The king believes you are dead.”

  Relief flooded me and I almost sagged to the ground. Of course. Jonah must had told him he killed me when he pushed me off the cliff. “How did you know to come look for me?”

  The corners of his lips lifted. “Remember when you gave me your blood after King Bastard locked me up without feeding?”

  I nodded. It had been a few months after my mom died and I was supposed to clean the dungeon. I came across Kieran’s cell and couldn’t leave him like that. “I remember you called me a stupid girl. But I couldn’t let you go mad with bloodlust.”

  “Yeah. Stubborn, stupid girl.” He smiled. So did I. The title he gave me became an endearment over the following two years. He cupped my face, bringing my attention back to his handsome face. “Your blood is part of me. I can track you anywhere.”

  A shiver of terror went up my spine at the knowledge that it was possible for others to track me. Could King Balsatra track me? He’d most likely had the hounds out looking for me. “I have to go.”

  When I pushed out of Kieran’s embrace and moved to the barn again, he grabbed my upper arm. “Stop running.”

  Shaking my head, I scanned our surroundings, waiting for something to jump out of the shadows at us. “I can’t go back there.”

  Kieran blew out a breath, then in one swift movement, scooped me up in his arms. “I already told you, you’re not going back. Not on my watch.”

  I fell silent as he carried me into my cottage and I studied his features. The sense he was not telling me something brushed against my awareness. My mom had always told me for as long as I could remember that I had the ability to read people, to know if they were truthful or not.

  Kieran was definitely withholding information.

  When he set me on my feet in the middle of
my living room, I crossed my arms and glared at him. “What are not telling me?”

  One dark brow lifted, then he lowered his shoulders. “Have a seat. You must listen to everything I say. No questions or talking until I’m done.”

  Uh oh. It was bad if he needed to warn me. I wasn’t a child anymore. I could handle whatever he said. After all, I had survived the last year on my own.

  Once I sat on the sofa, I patted the spot next to me. The need to be near him was overwhelming. Plus I felt safe close to him.

  He sat without question. Either he too craved closeness, or he sensed my neediness. “Don’t look so scared.”

  He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me so my head rested on his chest. A soft sigh escaped me. “Just tell me.”

  “Like I said earlier, the king believes you are dead. Jonah confirmed your death to him.” I stiffened but remained silent. It was hard because the questions churned in my mind. Like did Kieran know it was Jonah who pushed me off the cliff? But if Jonah confirmed my death, why did he lie to the king? Unless Jonah believed I was dead.

  Kieran tightened his hold on me as if to send a silent reminder to let him finish. “When I heard of your death and that Jonah was the one to kill you, I went to the wolf intent on tearing him apart. To my surprise, your step-brothers beat me to Jonah. The three of them had the guard pinned to a wall, each taking turns…um, never mind. I think seeing how the princes reacted to the news almost as violently as I made me pause. In that moment, I realized that my connection to you was still there, meaning you were not dead.”

  Kieran paused and kissed the top of head. My thoughts whirled. What happened after I left? Kieran continued with his head leaned against the back of the sofa. “After I secured the area so no others would overhear us, I told them you weren’t dead, but not how I knew. The princes stared at me suspiciously. I ignored them and asked Jonah why he lied. The male simply said no child should be a slave or beaten and it was better if the king believed you were dead.