Ash Swan

By Amber Kell and Stephani Hecht

This is a re-issue of a previously published work.

Landon Cob future king of Aria had four years before he could legally be king. Deciding to use this time to learn about other cultures, Landon travels to the realm of earth to see how they run things. His work with the governor helps him learn about earthly ways, but it isn’t until he meets Brian Dawson that he really starts to think about his future.

Brian Dawson doesn’t know what to think of the gorgeous man who takes him home after he has a spill. In his experience people were rarely kind for no reason. When Landon is hit with a curse Brian learns that evil witches and magic can be real. In his wildest dreams he never thought his love life would include a king.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amber Kell
• Release date: Apr 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311436580

Amber Kell

Amber Kell is a dreamer who has been writing stories in her head for as long as she could remember.She lives in Seattle with her husband, two sons, three cats and one very stupid dog. To learn more about her current books or works in progress, check out her blog at http://amberkell.wordpress.com.Her fans can also reach her at [e-mail].

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Prologue

It was a good thing Petra didn’t believe in tradition, decorum, or any of those other stuffy things. Otherwise it would have been hard for her to justify wearing a white string bikini while dancing on MTV’s live spring break show. To be fair, there had to be at least a hundred other people dancing with her, but she doubted any of the others were a fairy godmother in training.

To make her little, itty-bitty sin greater, she was supposed to be back at the academy studying with her classmates. But who wanted to be stuck in a stuffy room reading about spells, object transformations, or how to counter wicked curses when the sun was up and a hundred buff, half-naked studs were calling?

This morning, when she woke and spotted the oh-so-tempting Fort Lauderdale weather report, she did what any other immortal young gal of one hundred years would do—she magically retracted her wings, tucked her bright red hair up into a bun, and grabbed her beachwear.

The last thing she wanted or expected was a summons to the high castle, and yet that’s exactly what came while she was pressed between two hot men in what could possibly have passed for dancing but was actually more like a simulated sex act.

The summons shocked her, horrified her, and made her completely forget to change her clothes before she answered the call. Which was how she ended up in the middle of the throne room, dressed only in her thread of a bikini and about ten gallons of suntan oil from her former dance partners’ bodies.

Petra stumbled a bit on her high-heeled white sandals. A wave of dizziness always followed teleportation. As she looked up, she became painfully aware of all the disapproving gazes pointed her way—and by all she meant a lot… a whole, whole lot.

Crap, she whimpered under her breath.

The crowded throne room of the royal castle of Aria was so packed it would have been shut down by the Fire Marshall if they were on Earth. The king, the queen, and all seven of their kids stood prominently on a dais at the front of the room. Worst of all, Petra’s mentor and main teacher, Eleanor, stood just a few feet from them. Judging from the look of shock and horror on her face, she wasn’t pleased. She even let out a strangled sound as she put a hand to her chest.

Unlike Petra, Eleanor wore the customary fairy godmother garb. Her dark pink gown perfectly matched her mauve wings. Complementary beads and gemstones threaded throughout her intricately braided brown hair, making her look regal. Eleanor swallowed hard a few times; her face turned all kinds of interesting colors, and then she snapped her fingers.

A gown appeared on Petra, covering her bikini and sending a surge of annoyance through her when she noted the pale yellow color. Eleanor knew Petra hated yellow. No doubt her mentor had done that on purpose—a subtle punishment.

Petra’s wings burst out of her back with a loud whooshing sound. The crowd gasped at the all-black color, causing a flood of shame to redden her cheeks. Some fairies considered black wings a bad omen, or worse, an outright death curse, while others pooh-poohed the idea and considered it old-fashioned. Obviously the palace crowd had yet to catch up with the times.

The oldest prince, a boy with dark brown hair and matching eyes, smiled at her, showing off the cutest set of dimples. The youngest boy, an infant with a mop of blond curls, let out a bubble of laughter as he stared at her wings.

Ha! At least some people had good taste.

Petra plastered on her best serious expression as she curtsied first to the king and queen, and then to Eleanor. You summoned me here, mistress?

Yes. I have some sad news. Finnegan died this afternoon, Eleanor announced.

Now that did come as shocking news. As a fairy godfather, Finnegan was immortal, which meant he should have been damn hard to kill. So either he’d done something incredibly stupid or somebody had murdered him. Given what an ass the guy was—oops, had been—Petra could see either scenario playing out.

Let me guess… he boinked the wrong guy’s wife.

Although Petra had whispered the sentence to her mentor, the gasp coming from the queen let her know she hadn’t been as quiet as she’d hoped. Eleanor closed her eyes and moved her lips. Petra knew she was silently counting to ten—something her mentor did with alarming frequency since being named Petra’s advisor.

No, he got into an unfortunate chariot accident.

Oooh, it must have been unfortunate indeed… as in decapitation or some other gruesome end.

He was hanging out with Puck again, wasn’t he? Petra sadly shook her head. Even she knew better than to hang out with that mess of a guy. The one and only time she’d hung out with him, she’d woken up with a misspelled tattoo and a humdinger of a hangover.

We can talk later. We have more important issues to discuss, Eleanor stressed as she tipped her head to the side.

Petra may be slow at certain things, but she wasn’t stupid, so all sorts of alarm bells began to ring inside her head. Fear made her mouth dry. She nervously licked her lips in a lame effort to moisten them. What’s going on?

You’re the last of the Emerald line. I’ve called you here to take over Finnegan’s duties.

The queen interrupted them. I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what this girl has to do with my children.

Forgive me, Your Highness. Please allow me to explain. Whenever a fairy child is born, they are bestowed with special gifts and talents. With those gifts comes a status that forever marks their place in fairy hierarchy. For centuries, the royal family has only been protected by those from the Emerald sect.

Why is that? The queen flicked a dubious glance at Petra.

Because Emerald fairies are best at countering curses and fighting off other forms of evil.

"You mean to tell me that she is the best your kind has to offer?" the queen demanded, raising a shaking finger to point at Petra.

She does hold great potential, Eleanor defended.

It heartened Petra to hear a sliver of a compliment coming from her usually stern mentor. She wished she could have a videotape of the event. But all the warm fuzzies vanished at Eleanor’s next statement.

Besides, she’s your only choice.

Nonsense. Just break with tradition and have a fairy from another sect watch over my children, the queen ordered with a flick of her hand.

Petra’s dislike for the woman grew. While the queen might be pretty enough on the outside, with her white-blonde hair and deep blue eyes, on the inside, she was a troll. Petra knew since the one lesson she had managed to master was the ability to read person’s true self.

Begging your pardon, Majesty, but that is impossible, Eleanor said with a slight bow of her head.

The queen’s cheeks grew red with anger. Why?

Because while you may rule here and have your own laws, our laws predate yours by thousands of years. We are the caretakers of the kingdom and, by rights, responsible for its citizens. So I’m afraid we can’t just put another fairy sect in charge.

Petra’s lips parted in shock, and she barely managed to hold in the laughter.

Wow!

While she’d been on the receiving end of Eleanor’s censure before, Petra never dreamed her mentor would give the queen the same treatment. It was nice to see the mean woman put in her place.

I’m the queen!

Yes, I realize that, Eleanor replied in a firm voice, but fairy inheritance is very complex. We can’t change our traditions on any royal’s say-so. Monarchs come and go, but we are the land’s eternal caretakers.

"You expect me to allow that… that… hussy around my children?" The queen glared in Petra’s direction.

Petra is young yet. She’ll grow into her role.

The queen turned to her husband. You’re the king. Make them listen to you.

The king put a comforting hand on his wife’s shoulder. Maybe we had better listen to the fairies. While their ways may not always make sense to us, they have our best interests at heart and have watched over our family for centuries.

The oldest boy spoke up. I like the fairy. She has pretty wings.

Shut up, Landon, the queen hissed. You’ll soon learn pretty isn’t everything.

An unexpected surge of protectiveness rose in Petra. She wanted to lash out at the queen for speaking so harshly to her son. Petra opened her mouth to say something, only to press her lips tightly together again when Eleanor gave a slight shake of her head.

The queen scowled. I may not know all the rules and archaic guidelines you fairies follow, but I do know I can refuse to have Petra serve my sons.

Eleanor’s eyes grew dark with concern. I would highly advise against that, majesty. If you refuse Petra, the fairy council won’t have anyone else to assign in her place. That would leave your children unprotected.

My husband has a vast army at his disposal to protect his family. I’m sure we don’t need the added service of some fairy tart.

Majesty, I beg you to reconsider. I’ve recently had troubling premonitions, ones that speak of a great threat to your sons. You’re going to need Petra’s skills in the future.

The queen gave Petra another once-over before rolling her eyes. The only thing this one knows how to do is drink excessively and sleep around. We don’t need that kind of influence on our children. Now, be gone. Both of you.

Wow, rude much? Petra shot off before she could stop herself.

A strangled sound came from the queen. The king groaned as Eleanor’s lips twitched into what looked suspiciously like the beginnings of a smile.

Landon spoke up again. But, mama, I want her to be our fairy godmother.

I told you to shut up!

The queen lifted her hand