Page 57 of His Runaway Princess

“Whenever you’re ready, Your Royal Highness.” The captain waited near the gang plank.

Amalia nodded and walked toward him. She hesitated for only a few seconds before taking the first step, then the second.

Then the one that took her onto the deck itself.

She waited to see if the fear would overtake her again.

It hadn’t gone away, but it didn’t control her like it had before.

She moved to an area where passengers typically weren’t allowed. The captain made a space available for her to sit where she could be inside but also see the shoreline and anything else that came along.

Ryker stayed next to her the whole time.

In a few moments, they’d pulled away from the dock and headed for the open water.

“How are you?” Ryker watched her rather than the view.

“Better than I expected.” She stood to lean closer to the window. “Is that a walrus? I haven’t seen one in years.” They weren’t close enough to see it well, but no other animal made sense.

Walruses made Øyanord their home, as did polar bears, reindeer, seals, puffins, and far more sled dogs than expected for a nation their size. Those weren’t wild, of course, and it reminded Amalia that she needed to visit the kennels at the palace more often. Puppies should be born anytime, and she loved playing with them.

Maybe she and Ryker could adopt one of the dogs not suitable for being a sled dog.

Blinking, she realized they’d picked up speed. Not much, but definitely faster. She looked over at the captain to realize he’d been watching her and using nonverbal communication with Ryker to see if it would be okay.

It surprised her how okay she felt.

She turned to Ryker before she could change her mind. “I want to go outside.”

“Are you sure?”

Amalia nodded. “I am.”

Together, they went through one of the doors onto the deck. Amalia held on tight to the rail, but the feeling of the wind in her hair and the taste of the salt on the breeze fed her soul in a way she hadn’t expected and certainly hadn’t felt in Ravenzario.

These were the waters of her homeland.

She closed her eyes and reveled in the sensations.

“One day, I want to go kayaking out here,” she told Ryker, eyes still closed. “Maybe not right here, but in the waters around Øyanord. I’ve done a little kayaking but not enough to be comfortable in the open water.”

Ryker moved to stand behind her, the warmth from his presence comforting as his hands gripped the rail on the either side of hers. “I’ve done some kayaking. I’d love to go with you.”

“That sounds like a plan.” She relaxed her hold and leaned the back of her head against his chest.

They stayed on the water for several hours with Amalia nearly giddy that, somehow, that trip to Biansola had helped her overcome the fear that had had paralyzed her for a year.

Or maybe Ryker had something to do with it.

His calming presence in Ravenzario and now here could well be part of the calm she felt.

Once they were back on solid ground, they went to Amalia’s favorite local cafe for dinner. Fortunately, there was kind of an unwritten understanding with the locals. They didn’t bother the royal family, and, in return, the royal family supported a number of local causes.

They did get more stares than usual, likely because she had never brought a date to the North Shore. They saw Ryker as a bit of an oddity.

When they finished their meal, they returned to the house, but neither wanted to go inside just yet.

They wandered down to the lookout at the cliff.

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