Jacen

Princess Liana blames herself when she and her wondrous bird companion, Pym, are kidnapped. If she hadn't kissed her bodyguard, Jacen, he never would've been fired, and she and Pym would never have been abducted from the palace.

Jacen has loved Liana for as long as he can remember. Even disgraced and exiled, he will still do anything to protect her—and Pym. Unfortunately, saving her life means losing her forever, but that's a price he's willing to pay. After all, he could never ask her to run away to the stars with him—could he?

A romantic novella of 22k words. 

Note: This title was originally published as "The Princess and Her Bodyguard" in the Pets in Space 4 anthology.