Crown of York Read online

  Crown of York

  Charlotte Byrd

  Contents

  Part 1

  Chapter 1 - Easton

  Chapter 2 - Easton

  Chapter 3 - Easton

  Chapter 4 - Everly

  Part 2

  Chapter 5 - Everly

  Chapter 6 - Everly

  Chapter 7 - Everly

  Chapter 8 - Everly

  Chapter 9 - Everly

  Chapter 10 - Everly

  Chapter 11 - Everly

  Chapter 12 - Everly

  Chapter 13 - Easton

  Part 3

  Chapter 14 - Easton

  Chapter 15 - Easton

  Chapter 16 - Everly

  Chapter 17 - Everly

  Chapter 18 - Everly

  Chapter 19 - Easton

  Chapter 20 - Easton

  Chapter 21 - Easton

  Chapter 22 - Everly

  Chapter 23 - Everly

  Chapter 24 - Everly

  Chapter 25 - Everly

  Chapter 26 - Everly

  Chapter 27 - Everly

  Chapter 28 - Everly

  Chapter 29 - Everly

  Chapter 30 - Everly

  Part 4

  Chapter 31 - Easton

  Chapter 32 - Easton

  Chapter 33 - Everly

  Chapter 34 - Everly

  Chapter 35 - Everly

  Chapter 36 - Everly

  Chapter 37 - Easton

  Chapter 38 - Easton

  Chapter 39 - Everly

  Chapter 40 - Everly

  Chapter 41 - Everly

  Chapter 1- Ellie

  Chapter 2 - Ellie

  Chapter 3 - Ellie

  Chapter 4 - Ellie

  Connect with Charlotte Byrd

  Also by Charlotte Byrd

  About Charlotte Byrd

  About Crown of York

  He used to be my only hope. Easton Bay: a man who’s as ruthless as he’s gorgeous and as tender as he is cruel. His every touch sends shivers down my spine.

  I crave him.

  He saved me once, but will he do it again? He’s a mystery. An enigma. A suspense.

  There’s a darkness inside of him. It scares me to my very core.

  Yet, I pull closer with each breath. I am an addict and he is my drug.

  What happens when it’s not enough?

  Praise for Charlotte Byrd

  “Decadent, delicious, & dangerously addictive!” - Amazon Review ★★★★★

  “Titillation so masterfully woven, no reader can resist its pull. A MUST-BUY!” - Bobbi Koe, Amazon Review ★★★★★

  “Captivating!” - Crystal Jones, Amazon Review ★★★★★

  "Exciting, intense, sensual” - Rock, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★

  “Sexy, secretive, pulsating chemistry…” - Mrs. K, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★

  “Charlotte Byrd is a brilliant writer. I've read loads and I've laughed and cried. She writes a balanced book with brilliant characters. Well done!” -Amazon Review ★★★★★

  “Fast-paced, dark, addictive, and compelling” - Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★

  “Hot, steamy, and a great storyline.” - Christine Reese ★★★★★

  “My oh my....Charlotte has made me a fan for life.” - JJ, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★

  "The tension and chemistry is at five alarm level.” - Sharon, Amazon reviewer ★★★★★

  “Hot, sexy, intriguing journey of Elli and Mr. Aiden Black. - Robin Langelier ★★★★★

  “Wow. Just wow. Charlotte Byrd leaves me speechless and humble… It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat. Once you pick it up, you won't put it down.” - Amazon Review ★★★★★

  “Sexy, steamy and captivating!” - Charmaine, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★

  “ Intrigue, lust, and great characters...what more could you ask for?!” - Dragonfly Lady ★★★★★

  “An awesome book. Extremely entertaining, captivating and interesting sexy read. I could not put it down.” - Kim F, Amazon Reviewer ★★★★★

  “Just the absolute best story. Everything I like to read about and more. Such a great story I will read again and again. A keeper!!” - Wendy Ballard ★★★★★

  “It had the perfect amount of twists and turns. I instantaneously bonded with the heroine and of course Mr. Black. YUM. It's sexy, it's sassy, it's steamy. It's everything.” - Khardine Gray, Bestselling Romance Author ★★★★★

  HOUSE OF YORK Series Reading Order

  1. House of York

  2. Crown of York

  3. Throne of York

  4. Empire of York

  5. Demise of York

  Part 1

  Chapter 1 - Easton

  When I try to wash it all away…

  My life is a graveyard of things that I’ve done on my father’s orders.

  Now, deceiving Everly is just another tombstone.

  I can’t face her for what I’ve done. Mirabelle is here to take her to see my father. He will meet with all of the contestants, but he really wants to meet Everly.

  He’s aching to tell her. I know it.

  I could be there to see the disappointment on her face. He had called me in as well, but this time, I won’t come.

  I can’t bear to see her tear-misted eyes.

  Why did I do it?

  Why did I sleep with Everly? It would be a lie to say that I only did it because of his orders. Deep down, I know that I had another motivation.

  Everly.

  When I first saw her at that charity ball, I was drawn to her immediately. There was something in her eyes. A glimmer. A twinkle.

  And her demeanor? Uneasy and yet confident.

  Then I spoke to her. Her voice was soft and distant, but familiar.

  It was all of these things and so many more.

  Everly smiled at me.

  She challenged me.

  She fought with me.

  And suddenly, this connection we shared, became something more. We exchanged only a few pleasantries, but that was enough to strengthen our bond.

  I tried to protect her.

  I tried to warn her about this place. I did the best I could without coming out and telling her everything. But she ended up here anyway; this dark, horrible piece of sand that is my home.

  She shouldn’t be here. None of them should. But she really shouldn’t.

  I was never much of a believer in destiny, and now I’m not so sure. Perhaps she is doomed to York just like I am.

  Still, I cannot help myself. I know that there isn’t much I can do for her, but I can’t stop myself from trying.

  She’s pulling me toward her.

  I crave her.

  I want her.

  I have to have her.

  I haven’t felt this way in years. Not since… It’s still hard to talk about it.

  There was once a woman in my life whom I loved very much. She knew what York was about. She and I tried to make a break from this place. We were going to spend the rest of our lives together, but then, she drowned.

  I used to think that I had a curse on my head. I used to think that nothing good would ever happen to me or anyone else I know.

  And now?

  Now I know that I’m cursed for sure.

  I descend under the water and push off the side of the pool. I kick my legs as fast as I can to propel myself forward. I haven’t swam in this pool in a long time, and I’ve forgotten how good it feels for water to run along your body.

  Oh, if only I had the strength to submerge myself entirely and never come up for air again.

  I tried to do that once. I should do it again before I cause any more suffering.

  Unfortunately, I can’t. I’m the only friend that Everly has
and I can’t leave her alone in this God-forsaken place.

  As I split the turquoise water with my body, I imagine Everly walking toward my father on his throne. Even after all of these years, I cannot say that I know him well, but the one thing I do know is that he likes to play games.

  My father takes a new wife every two years. He runs this competition to find her.

  He is a rich, bored, old man who likes to pit people against each other in the illusion of a contest.

  One will win, but what will she win exactly?

  A lifetime of slavery?

  Two years of being called a Queen, until the next one comes to replace her?

  Everly is about to find out the truth about York.

  She’s about to find out that the only reason I slept with her is because he ordered me to. But I’m not sure if she will find out why I followed his orders.

  I don’t think he will tell her that it was in an effort to protect her. I don’t think he will tell her that if I didn’t, then she would be eliminated.

  Everly March cannot be eliminated. Even if, at the end, she is to become my father’s wife, I will do everything in my power to stop her from being eliminated and sold off at auction.

  If she were to become Queen, she would live here in chains.

  Not literal, but metaphorical.

  She would be cloistered away with the rest of the wives.

  She would have to travel with him.

  She would have to attend formal functions.

  She would have to sleep with him and bear his children.

  She would not have much freedom, but she would not be sold off.

  The rest of the contestants, the ones who will be eliminated until the Queen is crowned, will be auctioned off.

  I don’t know exactly what is to become of them, but I know that their lives will not be easy.

  It will probably be akin to what’s going on in the dungeons below. Foreign lands. Foreign rulers. Passed around as play things.

  People around here talk in hushed tones about what awaits them.

  I will do everything in my power to protect Everly from that life.

  I flip over onto my back and tread water to stay afloat.

  What did I ever do in my past life to deserve such a father? What did I ever do to deserve the life that I’m leading?

  A part of me wishes I was more like Abbott. My brother is someone without much of a conscience. He lives entirely by his desires.

  What he wants, he gets.

  What he thinks he deserves, he goes after.

  He doesn’t care that none of the women here want him, or that they’re all afraid of him. He likes the power that he has over them. He’s the Prince of York, after all.

  I’m a Prince of York as well, but what good does it do me? My heart goes out to the women who live behind York’s gates, but I can’t help them. I can’t even show sympathy for them for fear that they will be punished as a result.

  This place is a game that I can’t win.

  So, why do I keep trying?

  What’s the fucking point?

  Chapter 2 - Easton

  When I run into an old friend…

  Everly does not return to me that day. A part of me wants to go find her. To tell her the truth, but another part knows that I can’t.

  I can’t because he said I can’t. He. The King of York. My fucking father.

  Why did I ever come back here? Again, because of him. I don’t come here often, but when I do, it’s because I absolutely cannot miss the event. A lot of important people will be here. They will all be very impressed with my father and very happy to get some of his cast-offs. His hand-me-downs. The women he isn’t interested in keeping for himself. Will Everly be one of them?

  I know what I need to do. I need to stop thinking about her. There’s a good chance she will be eliminated and I will never hear from her again. And, if she does become the Queen, well, then she will be my stepmother. Either way, it’s dangerous to be her friend. But still, I can’t keep her out of my mind.

  After getting out of the water and toweling off, I decide to go for a run around the grounds. I don’t go for any particular reason except that I need to do something with my body to get myself out of my head.

  As blood starts to pump through my body faster and faster, I turn up the music on my phone and try to lose myself in my heavy breaths.

  Breathe in.

  Breathe out.

  Breathe in.

  Repeat.

  Again.

  Again.

  Yet, my mind keeps going back to Everly.

  Will my father really marry a woman who I just slept with?

  Would he stoop that low?

  And what about Abbott?

  He was the one who attacked Everly, twice.

  His first attack landed her in the dungeons. His second attack landed him in Hamilton, a hard labor camp, for a week.

  When he returns, he will be looking to exact his revenge. And he’s not one who is easily satisfied.

  As I make my way around the gardens with towering hedges and intricate flower arrangements, I turn down a small alleyway toward the back of the main mansion. This is my quiet place, somewhere I can be alone with my thoughts. I slow down to a jog and enjoy the sight of a few hummingbirds gathering around a little bush. A little bit to the side of them, a finch pounces around, looking for crumbs, near the rose bushes.

  Just then, a large double door swings open and a woman with hair in a shawl comes out.

  Stunned to see her, I trip over my feet and collide straight into her before either of us can move out of the way.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” I mumble, a little dazed.

  I look around and see that I have knocked her all the way to the ground. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes, yes, I’m fine,” she whispers, averting her eyes.

  I give her my hand to help her up, but she rejects it. Instead, she gets up on her own. Wait a second. I know who she is. At least, I think I do.

  “Isla?” I ask, kneeling down to get a better look at her face.

  She looks up at me. Our eyes meet for a second, but then she looks down at the ground again. Yes, it is her.

  “Isla, it’s me, Easton.”

  “Yes, of course, your Royal Highness,” she mumbles. She bows her head before me and bends at the knee. A perfectly-executed curtsy.

  “Do you remember me?” I press her.

  “I’m sorry, your highness, but I have to go,” she says and takes a few steps back. Technically, she is not allowed to turn her back on my face, so if she wants to walk away, she has to retreat away from me.

  I take a few steps forward. I’m not going to let her get away that easily.

  “Isla—“ I start to say.

  “Please, don’t call me that, your highness,” she whispers under her breath. I can see the terror in her eyes. What has he done to her to make her so afraid?

  “I haven’t seen you in a long time,” I say. “How are you?”

  “I’m wonderful,” she lies.

  As she turns a little away from me, her loose-fitting floor-length day dress with long sleeves snags on her stomach. I see that it’s bulging out past the rest of her rather small body.

  I look at her and wonder what became of the spunky, fun girl who came to babysit me when I was little.

  She was the daughter of one of my father’s closest friends. But after his sudden death, she was one of the first participants in the original contest that my father held to find his first Queen. She won and her prize was to marry him and have his children.

  “Are you pregnant?” I ask.

  “Yes, your highness.”

  “Again?”

  “Yes, your highness,” she says, looking sullen and tired.

  “How far along are you?”

  “Seven months, your highness.”

  “But didn’t you just have one?”

  “I had two ten months ago, your highness.”

  “So, how many is t
hat now?”

  She looks up at me and forces herself to smile. “I am the proud mother of seven children, your highness. With one on the way, your highness.”

  I can see that she has been lying for so long that she no longer knows what is true or what is a lie. Or maybe at this point, she barely cares.

  “And my father doesn’t think he’s had enough?”

  “Your father is a lover of children, your highness,” she says proudly.

  Yeah, right, I say to myself. He has so many children that I’ve lost count and I’m pretty sure that he has, too. It’s as if he thinks that the survival of the planet depends on him.

  “Thank you for stopping to talk to me, your highness,” Isla says and takes a few steps away from me.

  I want to talk to her, and I can demand that she does. But what would be the point?

  I watch her retreat, and I don’t follow her.

  Chapter 3 - Easton

  When I have to see her…

  Isla’s name isn’t Isla anymore. It is not enough for my father to take away a person’s rights and to make her a captive for life. He also has to erase her whole identity.