Whisked Away (Jewels of the Nine Kingdoms #1)
Chapter 1
Chapter One
REIYANA
T he first ship arrived at sunrise, and with it, Princess Reiyana’s last day of freedom.
Her fingernails dug into the windowsill as the vessel carved through dawn’s blush, its black sails catching the first weak sunlight, bleeding to gold at the edges.
Beyond it, two more slipped free of the mist—then five, then ten—until the bay of Nymaris bristled with masts, their banners snapping in the wind.
Not merchants, but Alphas.
Her lungs locked, a sharp pinch beneath her ribs. Six months ago, she would’ve flown down the palace steps, skirts lifted in both hands, eager for the news and treasures brought by traders from the Nine Issoirean Kingdoms—a glimpse of the world beyond her walls.
Now, the sight coiled cold around her heart, curling up her spine like frost.
Today, Alphas were coming for her. An Omega princess, a prize in a tournament.
A knock at the door broke through her reverie. The faint scents of lavender and starch seeped under the door, sharp against the salt-laced air drifting in from the sea.
“Enter,” she murmured, though her voice barely rose above the surf below.
The door creaked open. She turned to see her maid enter her bedroom. Fia’s slippers whispered across stone as she approached, a blue velvet box balanced in her palms.
“I’ve brought the pearls Her Majesty chose for you, Princess.”
Reiya’s fingers drifted to the wing-shaped pendant at her throat— his gift, its crystal edges worn smooth from restless touches, from the nights she traced it like a prayer.
“I’ll wear this, thank you.”
Fia’s throat bobbed, her voice soft with the weight of orders she dared not refuse. “But the queen insisted?—”
Reiya’s lips curved, a flicker of sharp humour. “Please tell Her Majesty the pearls clash with my iron shackles.”
Then, from the doorway came a voice, smooth as polished glass.
“They symbolize blessings , Reiyana. Not shackles.”
She watched her mother glide forward, sapphire gown pooling behind her, the limyerite crystal crown on her head catching the sunlight. For an instant, when the queen’s gaze fell to the pendant, something flickered in her light blue eyes.
Then, quickly, it vanished.
Warm fingers brushed Reiya’s nape, the necklace slipping away before it was placed gently in her palm.
“You will wear the pearls.” Her mother lifted the double ivory strands from the velvet box and fastened them around her neck. Their lustrous surfaces gleamed in the soft light, each orb perfectly round and unblemished—a testament to the skill of Aethonia’s pearl harvesters.
“Many Alphas came to join the tournament. Our people call you the ‘Pearl of Aethonia,’ the pride of our kingdom. It is only fitting that you wear them.”
Reiya’s fingers brushed instinctively to where her pendant had been. “It’s just… that one feels more like me.”
Her mother’s hand grazed her shoulders—a soft pressure, as if in comfort .
“They’ve been blessed at Luneth’s temple this morning,” came the gentle murmur at her ear.
A metallic taste filled Reiya’s mouth as her jaw tightened.
Luneth, the Moonfire Goddess of night, fertility, and guardian of Omegas. The pearls were meant to symbolize her favour, a blessing for the Omega princess destined to find her Alpha.
But they didn’t feel like a gift. They wrapped around her neck like a chain—delicate at a glance, but unyielding beneath her fingers. Cold and hollow. Beautiful, but only in the way something meant to bind could be.
As though sensing her thoughts, her mother guided her to the mirror on the other side of her bedroom. They stood side by side, mother and daughter, framed in the polished glass. The queen’s eyes carried no anger, no reproach—just the serenity of someone who knew she’d already won the battle.
“Do you see how beautiful you look?” she murmured, hands warm on Reiya’s shoulders.
Her reflection stared back—a vision of courtly perfection, everything an Omega princess was meant to be.
The gown, a pale blue, clung to her frame in translucent waves, whispering with each movement. A gold lace belt hugged her waist, pearls gleamed at her throat, and her braid lay coiled in obedient elegance.
Flawless. Composed. A glittering symbol.
Her chest tightened. For a fleeting moment, she imagined tearing it all away—the silk, the pearls, the expectations—scattering them like broken glass.
But the queen’s gaze held her still.
“That pendant is lovely,” her mother whispered. “But it was a gift from Castiel. Inappropriate to wear on the day you are choosing a husband.”
Reiya’s fingers tightened as memory pulled her back—to the day Castiel had pressed the necklace into her palm. Limyerite crystal, he’d murmured, brought from Tremore, its shimmering blue depths chosen to match her eyes.
“He will be in attendance,” her mother continued. “It is best to ignore him. Suitors of distinguished lineage have travelled far to vie for your favour. Focus on them .”
“Castiel Vaelmont is the Duke of Caerelle’s son. Doesn’t that make him someone of distinguished lineage?”
“ Fourth son.” Her mother arched a brow. “His service to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is commendable, but despite his future as a diplomat, he is a Beta. An Omega’s destiny is to be with an Alpha. You know this.”
The words slipped out before she could stop them. “You never objected to Castiel before. The duke’s influence was enough.”
“We believed you were a Beta then. The situation has changed, so must your future.”
Reiya pulled free, the soft drag of silk brushing her ankles.
“For years, everyone welcomed the idea of me marrying Castiel. Now, it’s suddenly unacceptable?”
Her mother’s gaze held firm, only a flicker of sympathy softened it.
“Do you know how rare it is for an Omega to Awaken at twenty years old? After the age of eighteen, it is nothing short of a miracle. Luneth’s priestesses and the royal physician said so.”
Six months ago, crowds had filled Nymaris with flowers and songs, parading to Luneth’s temple in her name.
Her mother had wept tears of joy, her father’s and brothers’ chests had puffed up with pride.
They called her a blessing, a miracle, when they thought the royal family could boast only one Alpha son.
Standing on the palace balcony, she had felt it—not the jubilation, but the first weight of the chains slipping over her shoulders.
She exhaled sharply. “It feels more like a curse than a miracle.”
Her mother’s voice remained calm. “You see only the burden, but Aethonia sees the blessing. An Omega princess is a treasure bestowed upon her kingdom.”
Reiya let out a hollow laugh and looked away. “You mean a prize for an Alpha.”
Dread lanced through her at the thought of being claimed—bound to one of those dominant, commanding brutes. Alphas ruled with natural-born authority few dared challenge. Their presence bent the will of those around them, an innate power others bowed to .
She’d heard enough whispered stories about Omegas shackled to their Alphas—how their bodies, delicate and instinctively submissive, succumbed to their partners’ control.
The rightful hierarchy, people called it, the natural order of the world.
Betas, the majority of the population, lived without such burdens. No unnatural pulls, no instincts dictating their place.
But Omegas like her—rare, coveted—had only one fate: to be claimed, their bodies no longer their own.
“This is the way of the world, Reiyana. Alphas and Omegas are destined for one another. Their unions strengthen bloodlines, and the kingdoms themselves.”
Reiya turned away, pulse tightening in her throat, the walls of the chamber pressing a little too close. Her steps carried her to the window almost before she realized it, drawn to the open air as if she could breathe a little easier there.
Outside, Nymaris sprawled in sunlit splendour. White limestone buildings shimmered, ocean-blue roofs tumbling down the hillside toward the harbour. Fishing boats bobbed in the bay, their sails snapping in the breeze. Merchants’ voices wove through the distant hum of the market.
Beyond the city walls, the coastline stretched into the horizon, untamed and boundless. The beauty of it, so vibrant and alive, only deepened the ache within her. It mocked her with its freedom while she stood here, trapped in silk bindings.
Her quiet voice broke the silence. “I never asked for this.”
Her mother’s sigh stirred the air. “No, but the honour was given nonetheless. The fever, the sharpened senses—they were Luneth’s will.”
Those words unlocked the memories like a key to a box of unpleasant dreams.
Fevered heat had pressed against her bones, so relentless she’d thought her skin would crack.
At first, she’d dismissed it as a passing malady, too much time spent on the shore without a cloak.
But the symptoms worsened. Each day, her senses sharpened—sounds swelled, scents thickened until they overwhelmed. And the Alphas . . .
Their presence became suffocating.
She couldn’t explain it—the way her body responded to them, raw and heightened, as if she no longer belonged to herself.
“I thought I was dying,” she whispered.
Her mother’s hand brushed her arm. “The physician said it was your Awakening, your presentation as Omega. You were taking the first step into who you were always meant to be.”
Reiya stepped away. “I never wanted to be one. I was happy as a Beta—like you, like father, like Torsten and Leif.”
The queen sighed. “No one chooses their caste, Reiyana. Among a thousand women, only one will Awaken as you have. That rarity makes you precious, and precious things must be protected.”
“Controlled, you mean.”