âYou shouldnât be here.â
Thaddeus had to yell to be heard over the sound of the idling plane engine and the streaming wind.
Monicaâs dark eyes snapped with anger and a trace of exhaustion. âNeither should you.â
âGet back on the plane.â Heâd have picked her up and deposited her there himself, but that would require touching herâsomething he was loath to do. The woman had long ago proven irresistible to him. He didnât need to get any closer to her than he already was.
âIâve traveled too far to turn around now.â Her words sounded worn-out, as though sheâd repeated them to herself many times.
His heart gave a sympathetic lurch, which he instinctively resisted. He couldnât let this woman get under his skinâsheâd done it once before, and it had taken him all of the past six years to get over her. âGet back on the plane. The fog is getting worse. If you donât leave now, you might not be able to leave for days.â
âIâm not leaving without you.â
RACHELLE McCALLA
is a mild-mannered housewife, and the toughest she ever has to get is when sheâs 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. Sheâs never been arrested, gotten in a fistfight or been shot at. And sheâd 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.
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 youâve stayed with these siblings through all the trials of their adventures, I pray youâll find their journey an encouragement on your own.
ONE
âRegis?â
The Crown Prince Thaddeus of Lydia didnât hesitate to respond to his prearranged code name. âYes?â
âHave you seen the news?â
âAlways.â
âThen you knowâ?â
âYes.â Thaddeus didnât 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 forcesâa man who went by the code name 8, short for Octavian, an egomaniac would-be despot, whoâd stop at nothing to achieve the power he desired. What Thad didnât know, was how to stop him from taking over the tiny kingdom.
âYou know that we need you?â A voice broke in, a female. One of his sisters? Princess Isabelle or Princess Anastasia, he couldnât be sure which one.
âYou need me to stay right where I am.â 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.
âNoââ Isabelleâs voice for sure. âWe need you on the thrââ
âDonât say it.â 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 heâd made would have been in vain.
âWe need you here.â That was Alexanderâs voice, so much more mature than when Thad had left home. But then, Prince Alexander had been through many trials on behalf of Lydia. âYouâre the only one who can end this.â
âIf I come home, things will only get worse, I promise you. You have to trust that I know what Iâm talking about.â
âIf you would explainââ
âI canât. Not over the phone. You know that.â Thad took a deep breath, wishing there were some way he could impress upon his younger siblings the gravity of the situation. They couldnât underestimate the foe they were up against. âPlease donât try to contact me again. The risks are far too great.â