“I now pronounce you husband and wife, again,” Erik says. “You may kiss the bride.”

I grin at Magnus as he leans in, cupping my face with his palm. His eyes twinkle with love and adoration and a hint of something wicked before his lips press against mine and he envelopes me in a long, slow kiss. A sweet spring breeze picks up and flows through us, bringing the smell of glacial water and flowers.

Everyone claps and cheers.

And by everyone, I mean everyone that matters the most to us.

There’s Jane.

Ottar.

Einar.

The King.

The Queen.

All of Magnus’s sisters.

There’s my father, and, low and behold, my brothers, most of whom spend their time ogling Magnus’s sisters, even after being told off by Cristina, but hey, at least they’re here.

There’s Viktor and Maggie.

There’s Harold, Maud and Guillermo.

And of course, Slender Man, our officiant. Apparently, it became a side business of his right after I first met him.

There are even two wedding photographers, Russian twins that Magnus likes to call the T-1000. I guess because they tend to be everywhere, Magnus just went right ahead and hired them, just to make it official. If you can’t beat them, join them.

Or hire them, as it were.

We’ve all been gathered on the top of Kjerag mountain where Magnus usually does his BASE jumping. And even though that’s not out of the question today, the reason we were really here was to renew our vows.

Yup. We’ve only been married for over a year, but Magnus had the crazy notion a couple of months ago that we should do it right this time.

Now, I happen to think that the nationally-televised wedding we had was doing it right, but I saw where Magnus was coming from. Mainly, he wanted this to be something that the both of us planned, that was under our control. Most of all, he wanted to get the proposal right all over again. I’m not sure that question time was all that official.

So, he got down on one knee and proposed and gave me a ring that he picked out himself—diamonds and orange garnets—and with that, we were doing things honestly. We’re not starting over, far from that, but at least it got to be on our terms.

The truth is, a lot has happened in a year.

My non-profit organization, Ocean Crusaders, managed to stop illegal fishing vessels off the coast of Iceland and we started a campaign to eliminate whaling in Norway by 2025. It’s been a slow process and there’s a lot of opposition, but that doesn’t stop us or scare us. In fact, one of the things that keeps us going is the youth in this country. They’re numerous, passionate and progressive and it’s through their voices, particularly through the high schools, that a lot of the changes have already begun.

It just gets me so excited to get out of bed every day and see what kind of challenge I’ll be up against with all these like-minded people at my side. It gives me hope and light and peace to know that surely but steadily I’m making a difference and I’m giving a voice to the powerless. This is exactly what my dreams have been made of and now I’m finally living it, with the man I love at my side.

We still don’t have a dog yet. But I’m working on it.

As for my father, we’re definitely closer. I visit him every few months for “diplomatic business” which is really just hot-air ballooning with him and Schnell (it’s his new hobby). We talk a lot, sometimes about business, mostly about my mother. It’s nice to know that I have that relationship with him but it’s also nice to know that I don’t need it to validate me.

On the other side of the family, the King has made a full recovery, but Magnus has really stepped up in his role of heir. He’s balancing his ADHD with mild medication and spending a lot of his time focusing on that aspect of his life. He’s attending all the high council meetings, as well as meetings with the prime minister. They still don’t get along, but at least there is respect. He’s also acting as King Regent and traveling on behalf of his father when he doesn’t feel up to going.

I couldn’t be more proud of him, taking on the new responsibilities with the same kind of zest and gusto that he has for other things in life.

But of course, he’s still Magnus.

And we wouldn’t be up here at the top of this cliff if he didn’t have some dastardly plan to jump off of it.

“As you all know,” Magnus says to the small crowd, “this is a very special place to me.” We’re gathered about twenty-feet back from the edge. It’s been a hell of a climb to get here so there wasn’t much to the actual ceremony because we couldn’t transport anything up the mountain (except for all the old folks—they were dropped off by royal helicopter) and all of us are wearing layers of warm clothing to deal with the high altitude.

But Magnus just renewed his vows in a flight suit and it seems that Viktor and Ottar are wearing the same thing.

I shake my head. They can’t all be going, can they?

“So special you have to launch yourself off of it,” the King says dryly.

“You are correct, Father.” Magnus nods. “Originally I thought that it would be fun to renew our vows and then jump off together.” He glances at me and my unimpressed expression. “But, of course, Ella here quickly shot down that idea.”

“I have my reasons,” I tell him.

I’ve told quite a few people here of my reasons too.

He’ll find out pretty soon.

“Anyway,” Magnus goes on, “I did convince Ottar and Viktor to do it with me. The rest of you are still welcome, I have some extra suits.”

“You know the cliff didn’t get any shorter,” Mari points out. “It’s still the most dangerous sport in the world.”

“Not any more dangerous than marriage,” Magnus says to me with a wink.

I have to laugh, even though I’m a bit nervous.

It’s not about him jumping. No, I trust that he knows exactly what he’s doing.

It’s about everything else.

Nervous in the best way.

While Magnus makes his way to the edge, Viktor positions himself beside him.

The truth is, Viktor isn’t jumping. He’s suited up for it and everything, but Maggie made him promise he wouldn’t, and I don’t blame her. Not everyone is cut out for this.

But he does have his purpose to be standing there beside Magnus, with Ottar on the other side of Magnus.

“You’re jumping first,” I tell Magnus.

“Damn right,” he says, slapping his goggles over his eyes. “The first one off gets the best wind.”

I don’t even know if that’s true. It doesn’t matter.

He stands at the edge of the cliff, toes hanging off, staring down into the wind and the drop, the fjord snaking three thousand feet below him.

He’s taking in a deep breath. Everyone else has their phones out, ready to take pictures. The Queen has her eyes pinched shut.

He’s about to go.

I speak up.

“Hey Magnus,” I call after him.

He turns his head to look at me, maybe annoyed I got him right before he got in the zone. “What?”

“On the way down, try and think of baby names.”

He frowns. “Wh-what?”

I give him a big smile, the kind of smile that shows him exactly what I’m talking about, all the joy I’m feeling.

“I’m pregnant,” I tell him.

I’ve been holding onto that one for a long time.

People around me gasp happily.

Someone claps.

And I’m watching his expression change from one of confusion to one of absolute elation. His mouth drops open into a huge grin.

“You’re what!?” he exclaims happily. “For real?”

I nod. “Let me know what you come up with.”

“Huh?”

Just then both Viktor and Ottar put their hands on to his shoulders and shove him off the cliff so he goes flying backward and we hear this long “Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!!” as he freefalls to the fjord below.

Of course, then we all run to the edge, or at least as close as we can go without getting vertigo and see the bright yellow chute of Magnus’s open and he starts floating down to safety. Instead of screaming now, he’s hooting and hollering for joy that echoes off the mountains.

He’s happy.

So bloody happy.

We’re having a baby.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt so much hope before.

“Your turn,” Viktor says to Ottar.

“Are you kidding me?” he says. “I’ll walk down thank you. Let’s go see how his Royal Highness is dealing with the news.”

But as we walk down the mountain and continue to hear Magnus’s cries of joy bouncing off the cliffs, I know he feels the same way that I do.

He’s dealing with the best news he’s ever gotten.

* * *

I have that dream again.

I’m on the desolate, cold beach, pebbles strewn at my feet while the giant, black bodies of pilot whales are washed up on the shore.

As usual, the wind bites into me and the whales are crying for help, crying for me to do something, anything.

I know the oil is going to start rising fast soon and as soon as the thought hits me, the black liquid starts to bubble out of their blowholes, staining the sea.

Then the man appears.

Walking right into the water.

At that moment I feel like I have a choice. I can try to save the whales. I can save him. Or I can save myself.

But as he disappears into the oily waves, I realize he’s trying to move the whales back out to sea.

He does need help, but not in the way I thought he did.

The oil rises quickly, as usual, to my knees, but instead of letting it swallow me, I start walking out there. I join the man and put my hands on one side of the whale, trying to push it.

With the rising oil, the whale is able to float.

But so are we.

And we keep working, helping each other keep our heads above water, helping each other push the whales out.

Until one by one, they’re free to swim away.

Leaving the man together with me in the water.

Now I look at the man and his face is no longer blank.

It’s Magnus.

I think I always knew it was him.

And he’s here beside me, through thick and thin.

Keeping each other afloat.

Thank you so much for reading The Wild Heir.

Reviews are much appreciated! They really help the book world go round and help author’s out in so many ways. If you leave a review of THE WILD HEIR, you’d make my day <3

If you’re wanting to check out any of my other romances, I have TOO MANY to list, but here are some of my favourites (and all are available on Kindle Unlimited):

- (Prince Viktor’s story)

- (a quirky friends-to-lovers romance)

- ( young single mom falls for her father’s best friend)

- (the ultimate forbidden romance with the sexiest Spanish soccer star ever)

- (two best friends agree to marry each other by the time they’re thirty)

- (A trilogy about three rugged mountain men from Canada with very dangerous and thrilling jobs and the women who love them)

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