Read Allegra's Dream (Avador Book 4, a Books We Love Fantasy Romance) for Free Online

distant claimant to the throne. I’ll wager he’s searching for you even now, or has ordered his henchmen to find you.”
    Somewhat mollified, she kept silent. She admitted, if only to herself, that his words made sense. She realized, too, that he was trying to protect her, and she was only making his task more difficult. How she wished she could escape this constant supervision. She longed to return to her native country and turn the clock back, pretend her parents still lived. Since that was impossible, she yearned to return to her country and take the throne herself. She was now the rightful ruler, after all. How much longer could her country go on without a monarch? Surely there was much discontent in Formoria now, with no one to guide and help the people.
    His bass voice snatched her back to the present. “How would you like to go horseback riding tomorrow?”
    A warm glow of pleasure washed over her, erasing her earlier gloom. “I’d like that very much.”
    After Allegra settled in bed that night, she relived her delight in the evening, recalling all the people she’d met. She chastised herself for her anger with Rowan, again aware he wanted only to protect her. Best she do nothing to hinder him. She saw him again in her mind’s eye, his tall, erect figure, his solicitude and consideration of her, as though he had no other obligations.
    And she would see him again tomorrow. She wondered why that prospect should thrill her so.
     
     
    Chapter Six
     
     
    Prince Arnou had gathered his advisors for a meeting at the Castle Vaden, deep in the northern forests of Fomoria. Although spring had arrived, snow still layered the ground, the trees skeletal. Icy winds blew in through the slits in the castle wall, prompting the men in the conference room to wrap their fur-lined cloaks tightly around them. Rushlights lit the dim room, the walls darkened by smoke.
    The prince glanced from one man to another, all of them sitting around an oval pine table. His voice reflected his concern. “My henchmen haven’t been able to find Princess Allegra, except to say she is no longer in Elegia.”
    “Most likely Avador,” said one of his advisors. “Avador and Elegia have remained on good terms for years.”
    “Avador,” the prince mused, “my men searched that country also but to no avail. Several palaces there but no leads.”
    “Sir,” another advisor spoke, “with all due respect, I would suggest that your men didn’t try hard enough. Bribery works wonders.”
    The prince shot him a sharp look. “As if I didn’t think of that! Either the palace guards at Avador’s many palaces are amazingly loyal, or Princess Allegra simply isn’t there. It could be she’s been taken to another palace in Elegia.”
    “Or to another country,” said a man to the prince’s right. “Galdina, Partholonia.”
    The prince spoke with resolve. “We will find her. We will not give up.”
    “Surely the war faction is also looking for her,” said an older man.
    “Of course they are!” Exasperation laced the prince’s voice. “Do you suppose I haven’t thought of that? We must find the princess before the war party does. We all know they want to assassinate her.”
    One of the men spoke with hesitation. “Sir, is it absolutely necessary that you marry Princess Allegra? There are other–“
    ”No! I want to unite my house with that of Dorsay. That would be best for Fomoria.” He looked from one man to another. “We must find the princess and we must defeat the traitors. Only then can we bring peace to Fomoria. The war with Elegia went on far too long and accomplished nothing. Just when we have achieved peace, the warmongers plan to renew hostilities.
    The gold mines in the disputed territory present a temptation almost too great to overcome,” continued the prince. “If–when–I become king, I would strive to present a better plan for the development of these mines. As it was, King Corvell and the Elegian king reached a truce