The Lost Princes of Ambria 06 - Taming the Lost Prince by Raye Morgan Page A

deep breath. “So I’m getting him a superior teacher.”
    “Really?” Kayla’s heart fell but she fought against it. This was just what had to happen. He had to learn his place in the scheme of things and she had to keep her distance from the entire process. It was all for the best and she knew it. “Who is that?”
    Pellea stared at her, lips pursed as though she were annoyed with her somehow.
    “A wonderful woman. She’s perfect for this assignment. Her only flaw is that she is rather slow on the uptake at times.” She gave a sound of exasperation. “It’s someone he already respects and has a great affection for.”
    “Really?” She was still frowning. She hadn’t realized he knew that many women here. But what was she thinking? He always knew women, wherever he happened to be. “Do I know her?”
    Pellea threw up her hands. “It’s you, silly. And you have exactly one week to perform a magical transformation.”
    Max arrived at Pellea’s office in a somewhat surly mood. He’d spent the morning thinking about what he was going to say to her and nothing very good had come to mind. He decided to go for the basics—to tell her why he’d been in Mercuria and how his work there went. Then maybe she could weave some sort of conspiracy out of it all.
    “Good morning, Your Majesty,” he said cheerfully as she rose to greet him. He kissed both cheeks and smiled at her.
    “You just missed Kayla,” she told him. “I sent her on an errand.” She gave him a sharp look. “But that will give us a chance to talk openly, won’t it?”
    He frowned, not sure he appreciated her implications that there might be things he could tell her that he wouldn’t tell Kayla. Still, he followed her lead and sat across from her at her desk.
    “I take it you have something to tell me?” she said, looking almost eager.
    He shrugged and took a deep breath. “I’ve made some inquiries. I’ve got a few ideas.”
    “Good. Tell me what they are, because I don’t have a clue.”
    He chewed on his lower lip, then admitted evasively, “I don’t really have anything definitive.”
    She looked disappointed. “You don’t know why the Mercurians are angry with you?”
    He laughed shortly. “Angry, sure. Ready to lock me away in a dungeon … not so much.”
    Pellea’s eyes were cooler now. “Why don’t we start at the beginning?” she suggested. “Maybe there’s something you’re just not noticing. Why don’t you tell me everything? All about your time in Mercuria.”
    He felt his jaw tighten, but he knew he really couldn’t blame her. So he tried to do it her way.
    “Okay. It all started when an old flight instructor of mine recommended me to the Mercurian Army as someone who might be able to help them get an air force organized and trained. I flew over, met the king and talked to the military people in charge. It seemed like a decent little country, trying to emerge onto the global stage, but without a lot of money and mainly ancient aircraft at their disposal. The jets were going to have to come later. Anyway, I thought I could help them. Why not? So I signed on.”
    “How long were you there?”
    “Not quite a year.”
    She nodded, thinking about what he’d told her and frowning. “Were you successful?”
    “I thought so. We got a good skeleton of a program started.”
    She nodded again. “Did you know they were helping us with our war effort?”
    “Of course. That was one reason the project appealed to me. I’m Ambrian, too.”
    “Why did you leave?”
    That was a harder question. There were too many threads making up that answer to get into right now.
    “Actually, around that time some old flying friends of mine showed up and talked me into coming over to join the fight for the restoration of the monarchy here in Ambria. It sounded like fun. Aerial combat and all that. And I was growing tired of all the bureaucracy I had to deal with in Mercuria. I wanted to get back into real flying again. So I joined