Four Kings (The Rothhaven Trilogy Book 2) Read online

  Copyright © 2018 Pinard House Publishing, LLC

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writers’ imaginations or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of these authors.

  Copyediting by Amabel Daniels

  Cover art and design by Emma Ryder @ Moonstruck Cover Design & Photography

  Author Note:

  This is book 2 in the Rothhaven Trilogy, and is part of an ongoing series. If you have not read book 1, Four Princes, you’ll need to read that one first in order to continue the story in this book. We hope you enjoy it! ~Cassie & C.J.

  Chapter 1

  King Alexander’s brow furrowed as he read the telegram that was delivered mere minutes before. He looked up at the servant who’d delivered the message. “Was King Griffin also informed of this?”

  The young pageboy, no older than sixteen years of age, wrung his hands together at the sight of the intimidating but youthful king of the North Haven. “Yes, sire, all four kings in each of the Four Corners were delivered a telegram identical to that one.”

  “Thank you,” Alexander said, dismissing the young man. “That will be all.”

  The teen bowed low and then scurried out of the throne room.

  King Alexander raked a hand through his dark hair and stared at the message. He wondered what in the hell he was going to do about the problem. He read it again:

  All maidens appear to be barren still.

  No children or pregnancies have been created in any of the four corners.

  We may be forced to travel to outlying countries to find maidens, and procreate with them.

  The Rothhaven family will have no heirs if one is not rectified soon.

  “Dammit,” he muttered under his breath. He crumpled the paper in his fist and shoved it into the pocket of his tunic, got up from his throne, and stalked toward the door. The knights, who flanked him, briefly chanced a glance at each other until one got up the nerve to speak.

  Clearing his throat, Sir David asked, “Your majesty, do you require an escort?”

  King Alexander halted his steps, his long, green, crushed-velvet robe swishing about his ankles. He looked at David. “You may escort me.” Then, with a nod, he addressed the others. “The rest of you, stay watch.”

  A murmured chorus of “yes, sire” echoed among them, and King Alexander left the chamber without another look behind him.

  As the king and his knight entered the hall, chambermaids and jesters stopped suddenly and took a knee, their heads lowered in reverence. A couple of women he recognized smiled demurely at him as they bowed their heads in respect. Alexander could swear he saw one—a buxom blonde he’d had quite fun using a horse flogger on a few weekends ago—mouth “I want you” before she bowed. He sighed deeply, but paid them no mind. With his head held high, he made his way down the silent stone chambers of the North Haven castle, Sir David keeping pace with him. Through many corridors and down numerous hallways he walked, until he found the doorway he’d been searching for.

  As Alexander lifted his hand to knock, he paused and looked at his faithful knight. After a slight clearing of his throat, he looked at David. “That will be all. I shall return before suppertime.”

  Sir David gave a curt nod, then bowed low. “Very well, Your Majesty.” With that, he was gone, striding purposefully back toward the throne room with his head held high and his armor clinking loudly against the stone floors.

  King Alexander hadn’t realized he’d knocked until the door swung open and the disheveled-looking, but beautiful, fiery-haired maiden Mariselle opened the door. Her initial reaction was surprise, which was followed by happiness, but then quickly masked in skepticism.

  After a less-than-graceful curtsey, Mariselle narrowed her eyes at the king. “May I help you, Your Majesty?”

  The fact that the last two words were dripping in facetiousness did not go unnoticed by Alexander. He reined in his temper and replied, “Are you alone?”

  She made a dramatic gesture of looking around the very empty bedchamber and then back at the infuriatingly sexy king. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

  He strode inside without another word and then shut the heavy wooden door behind him. He stopped short as his gaze drank in the gorgeous, feisty Mariselle. She wore nothing but a thin, gauzy white nightshirt and absolutely nothing else. Pulling up all the inner strength he had, Alexander reverted his eyes to her beautiful jade-green ones.

  “Is there something you needed?” Mariselle asked, her arms folded across her chest.

  Was there ever! He grinned. Even her sass turned him on. He pulled the telegram from the pocket of his cloak and handed it to her. As she reached for it, their fingers touched and a thrill of excitement floated through her.

  Mariselle glanced at the handsome king and sighed. Even as a girl, she had always thought Alexander, with his jet-black hair and crystal-blue eyes, was so incredibly handsome. Memories of their time in the courtyard a few weeks back, and her very first time seeing and touching any man’s thick, heavy manhood, came rushing back to her, and a blush creeped up her pale, freckled cheeks. She both loved and hated the fact that she had so very much enjoyed having him inside her mouth and down her throat.

  Reluctantly, she looked down at the rough parchment now in her hands and uncrumpled the page. As she quickly read over the message, her ginger brows furrowed together. After regaining her composure, she squared her shoulders and handed the message back to King Alexander.

  “That’s unfortunate, but I don’t quite understand what this has to do with me. Seeing as I’ve menstruated since my encounter with King Griffin, I clearly am not your girl. In fact”—she gestured around the elaborate chamber—“I don’t understand why you are even keeping me here. I obviously serve no purpose to you or your kingdom.”

  The words she had spoken so spontaneously and honestly gave her pause and made her sad. Her father, Marcus, had given her such high hope that she was the one to end the awful curse the witch, Angelique, had brought upon Syracuse. But she did not think that was going to happen.

  As Mariselle was about to explain to Alexander that she needed to go back to middle Syracuse and tend to her ailing father, she felt a warm hand on her face. She looked up to see Alexander towering over her, his finger propping up her chin as if he’d closed the distance between them in an instant.

  “I believe in you, Mariselle. You told me of your encounter with the witch. You told me how you had befriended Angelique as a child. I believe she had a special place for you here.” With a slow, methodical movement, Alexander moved his finger from her chin, over the hollow of her throat, and down to the valley between her heaving breasts. With a slight pressure, he pressed his finger to her breastbone.

  Mariselle could swear she felt the heat of his touch travel straight to her heart, and then much, much lower. She gasped, wide-eyed.

  “There’s something about you that has always intrigued me. You’ve always commanded my attention when you’ve been around. Why is that?” Alexander asked, gazing into her piercing green eyes.

  Mariselle chewed her lip and shook her head slightly, her the auburn curls that had escaped her braid bouncing gently around her shoulders. “I don’t know. Sir.”

  Thoughts o
f her lips and mouth consuming him in that courtyard came rushing back to Alexander, and therefore, he couldn’t control what came next. Without any further thought, he leaned down and crashed his lips to hers. A strangled moan escaped Mariselle and she leaned up on tip-toe, and then threw her arms around his broad shoulders. As their tongues began to mingle and play, the king reached around and snatched the thin, gauzy nightdress and pulled it off over her head.

  Now… she was completely bare to him.

  Inside, Mariselle was elated. She wanted to feel what she’d been missing from Alexander. She longed to be married to him and be his wife, see if she could produce an heir for the Rothhavens, and something inside of her thought he would be the right one to be the father of her children. As she continued to kiss him and feel his warm, rough hands on her body, she felt such exhilaration. She longed to feel him writhing and pulsing inside of her. But above all that… to be his queen, the mother of his child… would be the best direction her life could go. She was extremely attracted to the dark-haired king, and she knew they would be happy together.

  “I’m so hard,” Alexander mumbled between kisses, her nightdress pooled at her feet. He leaned back and looked at her beautiful, milky breasts, her hard, pink nipples standing at attention. He reached up and caressed the top of her left one with the pad of his left thumb.

  “Yes,” Mariselle breathed as she leaned her head back and ran her hands down his back. Then, she began peppering kisses to his cheek, jaw, and then his neck.

  Alexander shuddered at the feel of her mouth on him and adjusted himself behind his trousers, the thoughts of getting himself inside her slick, practically-virginal walls making him painfully hard. As he began to remove the layers from his body, a knock at the door had them both freezing in place.

  “Miss Langer, may I come in?” asked a voice they both recognized as Shawna’s, Mariselle’s chambermaid.

  They reluctantly let go of each other and Mariselle quickly grabbed her nightdress from the floor and slipped it on over her head to cover herself. Alexander straightened his tunic and stood tall.

  “Yes, please come in,” Mariselle called out.

  Shawna entered the chamber carrying a basket full of freshly laundered clothing. She smiled as she entered, but that smile quickly fell, and she immediately bowed low. “Your Majesty. My apologies. I did not realize you were here.”

  “It’s fine, miss. Please leave the garments and then go,” he replied to the middle-aged maid.

  “Yes, Your Majesty,” she replied as she set the basket at the foot of Mariselle’s grand bed. She curtsied once before quickly exiting the chamber.

  Mariselle looked to the door, and once it had clicked shut, she looked at the king. “You didn’t need to speak to her that way.”

  Alexander had gone to reach for the redhead’s curly locks, so he could draw her to his mouth once more, but quickly pulled his hands away. His dark brows furrowed as he asked, “What way?”

  “Just dismissing her like that, she was simply bringing me clean garments.” Mariselle now stood with her arms folded over her chest.

  “Well, she was, in fact, simply bringing you clean garments, love. She’s a chambermaid, we dismiss them all the time. It’s expected.”

  Mariselle looked up at him, knowing he was right, but still not liking it. As she contemplated what she would do next, Alexander pushed his body flush to hers, and she could feel his rock-hard thickness through their clothes. Albeit, she wore a very thin nightdress, but she definitely got the hint.

  “Let me lay you down and love you,” he whispered in her ear, as his lips made their way back to her mouth, and he began devouring her once again.

  With a sigh, she let her mind wander back to where they had been before Shawna had come in. This was what she had wanted, right? A long night of passion with another Rothhaven brother? She remembered her first time with Griffin. That had been passionate and magical. She wanted that again. Should she demand she try for an heir from the firstborn king first before attempting it with Alexander, the second-born?

  But he was right here, wasn’t he? Picking her up and laying her down on the massive bed. Just a little taste of him, just one night. It couldn’t hurt, right?

  Chapter 2

  Mariselle lay in a tubful of warm water, frustrated on so many levels. She had come so close to having Alexander, but after doing too much overthinking, she decided she couldn’t give herself to him, as much as she wanted to. Just because she hadn’t conceived Griffin’s child the previous month didn’t mean all hope was lost. She had learned from Shawna that not every sexual encounter led to pregnancy.

  She had come to consider Shawna a friend of hers. The woman was probably forty, and she was the kindest, wisest person. She watched her tidy up the chamber and put all of Mariselle’s clean clothes into the wardrobe. She began to feel bad for all the work Shawna was doing, and summoned her over to the massive metal tub.

  “Please sit and talk with me?” Mariselle implored with a smile.

  Shawna looked apprehensive; anyone could see that such a request had never been made of her before. She smiled professionally and said, “Milady, there is much work to do.”

  Mariselle grinned. “Such as…? You’ve already laundered all of my clothes, which weren’t very dirty to begin with. You’ve tidied up my chamber and drawn me a bath. You need to sit and relax. Come talk with me. I need an ear.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Shawna replied. She folded the thin material that comprised of the towel Mariselle would use to dry off with, and set it in her lap before taking a seat on the wooden chair next to the tub.

  Mariselle used the small bunch of tied-up cloth to wash herself with as she got up the courage to ask Shawna more questions. She longed to have her mother near so she could ask her, but Katriana had passed just after the curse of Syracuse had plagued the land and caused all maidens to be barren.

  “I’ve some questions for you. You know, matters of the heart, and I do not know who else I can ask. Do you think you could help me?” Mariselle dropped the makeshift sponge into the water and looked at her chambermaid.

  Shawna clawed a stray piece of brown hair that had escaped her braid back behind her ear and smiled at the young redhead, the towel still folded neatly in her lap. “Go ahead and ask, Miss Langer. I’m not sure how much assistance I can be to you, though. I’ve only loved one man in my life, but he is not here.”

  “I’ve asked you to call me Mariselle,” she replied, grinning.

  “And I’ll never get used to it, miss,” Shawna replied with a slight grin and a nod.

  “First, you tell me about your love,” Mariselle replied. She had always fancied hearing other peoples’ stories, and this was no exception.

  Shawna shifted nervously in the straw chair. “Oh, I couldn’t. It’s not very remarkable, anyway. You would find it rather mundane, especially considering the situation you’re in.”

  Mariselle’s heartrate quickened. “What situation?”

  A pink blush creeped up Shawna’s cheeks. “I’m sorry if I have overstepped, milady.” She went to stand, but Mariselle quickly interjected.

  “No! You haven’t. Please sit, Shawna. I want to hear about your love.”

  Shawna sat back down slowly and looked at the pale redhead in the tub. “If you insist, milady.”

  Mariselle held her breath and then dunked her head under the water, but quickly popped back up, smoothing her long hair from off her forehead. “I insist.”

  Shawna smiled apprehensively and wrung her hands together in her lap. After a big breath, she began. “Before Castle Rothhaven was destroyed, Oscar and I both worked on staff there. I was basically doing the same thing there as I do here. I was one of Queen Lizbeth’s many chambermaids. Oscar was cook in the royal kitchen.

  “One day, as I was bringing the queen’s uneaten food back into the kitchen for the staff to eat—”

  “Wait,” Mariselle interrupted, her dripping wet hand flying out of the tub. “The staff eats wha
t the royals don’t finish?”

  Shawna looked confused, but then smiled. “Of course, milady. We don’t waste food. Plus, they were only feeding us once a day. A young man like Oscar was constantly hungry.”

  Mariselle, feeling sick to her stomach, nodded with a frown. “Continue.”

  “I brought the kitchen staff the plates and asked where I should put them. Oscar, without turning around at first, told me to place them next to the sink. I did as I was told, and began to walk out of the kitchen area. But then he turned around to thank me, and our eyes met. He was the most handsome man I had ever seen. Dark-brown hair, intense, passionate brown eyes, and a smile that could light up a room. A layer of gooseflesh peppered my entire body as he stared into my eyes. It was all I could do to not melt into a puddle there on the spot.” Shawna ended on a sigh.

  Mariselle bit back a grin and a sigh of her own. “Very nice. Do continue.”

  “He slowly thanked me, and I shyly said, ‘You’re welcome,’ and left the kitchen. I couldn’t stop thinking about him the entire night, though. The very next day, he showed up in the maids’ chambers, looking for me. The rest, as they say, is history.”

  Mariselle frowned. “No, it’s not history. You two fell in love? Had babies? Lived happily ever after? Where is he?”

  Shawna looked down at her lap and fiddled with the ruffled edges of her apron. “We did fall in love. Madly, I must say.” She chuckled. “We also had one child, Armand. He’s currently serving in the King’s Army in the East Haven under King Griffin. Strapping young man he turned out to be.” She ended with a prideful smile and a sad look covering her light-brown eyes.

  “And what of Oscar?” Mariselle asked, genuinely curious.

  “He’s also working for King Griffin in the East Haven.” She puffed her chest out a little. “He’s the king’s most favored cook.”

  Mariselle shook her head and stood up from the bath.

  Shawna also quickly stood and wrapped the thin cotton garment around the would-be princess, and then followed her to the bedchamber. As Shawna helped her into her nightdress, Shawna couldn’t help but wonder what had suddenly upset the young maiden. “Is there something troubling you, milady?” Shawna asked as she helped Mariselle dress.