Page 1
Kerainne
Present
I remember the first time I died. The shock of the cold water, the unrelenting force of the wave as it forced me under, the burning pressure of salty liquid pouring into my lungs, the crushing weight and starburst of pain in my chest, followed by a drowsy weightlessness.
Then soothing warmth and darkness wrapping around me, cocooning me in blissful oblivion.
The next thing I saw was his face.
I never wished to see that face again, though my dreams taunted me with him every night.
But on the day my daughter and her small army returned from a skirmish against Mephistopheles in Kinsen, she brought an unwelcome guest. I should have expected such, as I’d only been reunited with my sister mere weeks ago. He was bound to find out. Bound to come after her.
Yet I’d only been thinking of my joyous relief that my daughter and her king had won the battle and were coming home. I’d rushed from my rooms in the King’s tower, eager to embrace my loved ones, only to freeze and nearly tumble down the stairs when I saw him standing with them.
The former love of my life.
My true-bonded mate.
My former betrothed.
The man who spurned me.
The man who broke my heart.
The man betrothed to my sister.
Lucian Jagwolfe.
Fates damn him, he still looked like a god from Earthfolk mythology.
Though he wasn’t as tall as King Zareth or Delgarias, he’d tower over any other luminite.
His golden hair, darker than mine, tumbled down nearly to his waist and glinted from the lamplights like treasure.
His eyes, no longer the cerulean they turned when he was happy, were a cold cobalt blue.
Much as I was always a summer creature, he’d taught me the beauty of winter.
The chill of those eyes flicked over to me, and I nearly tumbled again before Xochitl and Nikkita rushed to my sides and steadied me.
My voice came out in a weak whisper. “Lucian.”
“Princess Kerainne.” His voice was icy as he bowed.
I couldn’t look weak in front of him. Never again. I straightened my spine and shrugged off my sister’s and daughter’s grips on my shoulders. “Queen Kerainne now.”
He had the gall to laugh at me. “Queen of what? A giant abyss?”
Now I shook from rage instead of heartbreak. Rage was much better. “We the people of Aisthanesthai and our allies will defeat Mephistopheles and take back what is ours. In the meantime, I claim my rightful title and seat on the Conclave. You never answered my question. What are you doing here?”
“Following orders.” Lucian paused, then added, “To a point. I did as our matriarchs commanded and came here to find my betrothed, but since I hope just as much as you and Nik to get out of the arrangement, I’m going to take a vacation from the dull monotony of Luminista.”
Nik spoke beside me, her tone more civil than I would have liked. “Is it true that they broke your betrothal to my sister because she gave birth to Xochitl? That’s what Grandmother told me before I escaped her clutches.”
I wanted to throttle her. Did she have to speak of this here? And now? Couldn’t I have a moment to brace myself? But my little sister had always been impatient.
“It is.” Lucian suddenly looked at my daughter. Unbelievably, his cheeks flushed red. “No offense, Highness. My family has certain standards on who is permitted to join with our clan.”
My mouth twisted in scorn. There he was, blaming his family again. The family that pressured me for centuries to marry him. But when it came to my daughter, he’d had plenty to say for himself , not for them.
Nik seemed to ignore the insult and continued calmly. “Is the Jagwolfes’ declaration of my sister’s unworthiness because my niece is a half-breed, or is it because she’s the daughter of the Evil One?”
Xochitl spoke up, voice rife with hurt and anger. “They called me an abomination up there.”
I put my arm around my daughter’s shoulders, and shushed my sister like when she was a child. “Nikkita, that’s enough. We don’t need to press the issue.”
“Oh, but we do.” Nik’s burning copper eyes suddenly belied her cool facade. “Because the answer could help us get out of this betrothal.”
Lucian’s insolence vanished just as quickly.
For a moment, I saw a flash of the man I used to know.
“I think it could very well be both. The half and quarter luminites aren’t always well-regarded by the heads of the older families.
But the official stance is that Kerainne is an unworthy match because she willfully birthed the offspring of Mephistopheles. ”
He couldn’t even look at me as he said those words.
But beneath that blaze of anger came another.
He’d had twenty-five years to break the betrothal if he’d wanted to.
Hell, he could have refused to become engaged to my sister in the first place.
So if he wasn’t here to try to force Nikkita to marry him, what the fuck was he doing here?
Oblivious to my agony and suspicions, my sister continued speaking to Lucian.
“I have something important to tell you that could make me unworthy as well. But I need to shower and clean up all this blood and dirt. Then we all need drinks. Let Zareth show you to your room. We’ll meet in the kitchen in an hour.
Xochitl, you come too. And Sylvis, I think you also should join us. ”
I thanked the fates for a reprieve from this painful, awkward situation and fled to my rooms. Instead of going to shower immediately, Nik intercepted me in our now shared suite.
“I’m sorry no one had time to warn you,” she told me. “I know seeing him has to be difficult. And I made it worse.”
“Difficult?” I chuckled bitterly. “It’s impossible!” I took a deep breath and tried to focus on the positives. “At least you telling him about yours and Del’s daughter will definitely end the betrothal. I understand why you brought up the end of mine. It was a clever setup.”
Nik shrugged and continued to look at me with pitying eyes. “I know, but I didn’t like hurting you with reminders of what he and his snobby family did to you. What our own family did.”
I couldn’t take anymore. Not her pity, not my ex-fiancé being under the same roof as me, not any of it. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to skip the meeting. I need some time alone. I need to think. To…I don’t know.”
“Of course.” Nik moved to embrace me, then stepped back, looking down at her hard leather armor, encrusted with dirt and dried blood. “And I’m sure we can get rid of him quickly.”
Unfortunately, I had a feeling that she was wrong.
After Nik left to shower, I was tempted to collapse on the lush bed King Zareth had provided me as befitting my rank as not only Queen of Medicia, but also Queen Mother of all of Aisthanesthai.
But I knew sleep would be impossible. So I went down to the library and grabbed a gothic novel I’d been reading, Midnight Rooms by Donyae Coles.
Unfortunately, I was unable to concentrate on the words on the pages as memories of the past pelted me.
Kerainne
Past
My mother had gone into her second Yearning.
A rare thing, especially merely a hundred years after birthing a child.
Thankfully, I’d gotten sufficient forewarning and was able to escape the castle and the surrounding village before Mother’s yearning could trigger one in me.
I’d already had my first one twenty-seven years ago.
It was agonizing. Not ready to be that intimate with anyone, I flew to a cave and spent the next eight hours writhing in agony.
There was only so much I could do to ease myself.
The Yearning is a frenzy that overcomes female luminites, making them desperate to mate, not too dissimilar to that of many species of mammal. It’s usually the only time when they’re fertile, though even that has exceptions.
This time, I’d thought the best idea to cool off the residual heat from Mother’s Yearning was to take a swim in the sea. Unfortunately, I swam out too far and was dragged out by the undertow.
Many books romanticize drowning, claiming it’s a peaceful way to go.
It wasn’t for me. Even after twenty-five hundred years, I won’t forget it.
The sting of saltwater in my eyes, the crushing weight of the waves, the suction of the current, the burning lungs.
Most of all, I hated the way my vision went black.
I always hate that part. When all color is drained from the world.
And sure, the peaceful warm-feeling came as I lost consciousness and my soul left my body, but it’s not worth the cost, no matter what the poets say.
After I died and awoke in Luminista the first time, I was at first blinded by the bright white light of the welcome chamber where luminites transcend back home and reform their bodies.
Until now, I’d only seen paintings of these rooms and didn’t expect them to be so bright.
They really should tone down the lighting and use a darker marble. Maybe set down some soft carpeting too.
When my vision returned to focus, I saw the face of the most beautiful man leaning over me.
I don’t know how long I lay there on the cool marble, studying the sharp planes and angles of his cheeks and jawline, the sensuous curvature of his lips.
And his eyes… Fates, I could drown in those cerulean depths.
“Welcome, Kerainne Leonine, Princess of Medicia.” His voice was warm and musical as he offered his hand.
When my palm slipped into his and he pulled me to my feet, I was again enthralled by his muscled form, those toned forearms, that golden chest partly revealed by the cut of his silvery silk robes.
As heat spiraled through my lower body, I worried that the Yearning had caught me after all and that I would leap on this gorgeous stranger with wanton abandon.
And then I became aware of my nakedness and the heat coursing through my body morphed into burning embarrassment.
Table of Contents
- Page 1 (Reading here)
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57