Chapter One
“Next.”
Breestlin sat on her throne with her chin propped up on one hand, trying desperately to stay awake. For the third day in a row, she had heard petitions from residents of Junacave who have come to court, seeking restitution or compromise over disagreements.
Everything from quarrels over land or grain, squabbles between neighbors, and allegations of adultery by husbands or wives.
While Murphy, the sheriff, handled incidents in the kingdom and village on a daily basis, any problem that could not be remedied by him was brought before the king or queen when court was held, twice a year.
So Bree had done her duty as queen to hear the cases and provide a resolution.
After taking control of Junacave less than a year ago, Bree had done everything she could to make a good impression on the residents of her kingdom.
So if that meant she would have to sit there for another day, listening to petition after petition, she would.
That didn’t make it any less tedious, though.
When a man approached the throne and bowed before her, Bree sighed. Not again…
“Miles,” Bree began, “this is the second time I’ve seen you in two days. If this is about the goat once again…”
“No, Your Majesty. This time the beast has taken my cow, Bella.”
Bree dropped her face into her hands. Rowan chuckled in the seat next to her.
For the past two months, Rowan had been busy helping Sir Raymun with guard training.
This was the first day he’d been able to stay with Bree during court and while he found the people and petitions to be entertaining, after two days, Bree was no longer amused.
“Miles, I cannot stress enough, just how ridiculous this is. You and I both know there is no beast. And when did you come to possess a cow, anyway? Yesterday, you said that your goat was the last thing you owned when you demanded compensation for it...”
Miles looked around, nervously, then began to hiccup.
“Er, well…”
“Have you been drinking before coming to court?” Bree squinted her eyes at the man.
Sherrif Murphy stepped forward and took Miles by the arm.
“I’m terribly sorry for this, Your Majesty,” Murphy said. “If I could, I recommend one night in the dungeon or the stocks, perhaps?”
“The stocks,” Bree replied, nodding. “But not an entire night. Just long enough for him to come back to his senses.” She turned to Miles.
“Miles, I hope you use this time to reflect on your actions. Do not come back to court with such wild, untrue allegations, again. Do you understand? Or it will certainly be the last time.”
Miles nodded, staring at the ground as Murphy escorted him out of the hall.
“You would never actually punish him, would you?” Rowan asked, laughing.
Miles was a well-known drunkard in the village.
Having lost his wife and two children to illness many years ago, Miles had taken to drinking to ease his pain.
That decision resulted in the loss of his land, home, and livestock.
But people felt sorry for him and occasionally gave him food or money, which he would immediately waste at the tavern.
“There is really no need to punish him. He punishes himself, every day.”
Just then, Sarita entered the hall with Sidonie following. The young girl’s pink gown and blonde curly hair swayed with every step. If there was anyone who could brighten up a room, it was Princess Sarita. She had just turned seven years old and was livelier than ever.
“Sissy, are you finished?” Sarita asked when she reached the throne. “Rowan promised to let me ride Dragon when you’ve finished. He’s going to show me how to ride with one hand so I can hold a sword in the other one!”
“Oh, really?” Bree turned to Rowan, who was purposefully avoiding eye contact. “First she learns to shoot an arrow and now she’s training for knighthood?”
Sarita giggled. “Girls can’t be knights. That’s silly. Rowan says I can be a warrior princess instead!”
“Ah.” Bree couldn’t help but laugh. She knew Sarita’s tiny arm could never hold the weight of a sword. At least not yet, but the idea made the princess’ face light up and Bree wouldn’t dare discourage her.
“So are you finished?” Sarita asked, again.
“No, I’m afraid not,” Bree replied. “But Rowan is free to leave. He doesn’t have to stay.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind?” he asked. Even though he was glad to finally have a moment with Bree, he did enjoy spending time with Sarita, especially if it involved horses and swords. The girl was a quick learner.
“No, no. Go ahead. Sid can keep me company.”
“We’ll be back before supper.” Rowan rose and gave Bree a quick kiss before taking Sarita’s arm and leading her out.
Sidonie took Rowan’s empty seat, gently spreading her skirts out as she sat.
“We missed Dagan at breakfast this morning. Is he occupied with something?” Bree asked, wondering where her Royal Mage had been.
“Yes, he went into the village,” Sid said. “He’s trying to find something that might explain what is happening with my powers, so he’s scouring the area for historical texts.”
“Historical? Does he think it’s happened before? To someone else?”
“I don’t know. He has a theory—I’m sure of it—but he won’t share it with me until he has proof.
I wish he would just tell me. It’s hard enough not knowing what I’m capable of or how to control it.
I learn something new about my magic every day, but I still don’t understand any of it.
I accidentally set his cloak on fire yesterday. Did he tell you?”
“Ha! On fire? No, he didn’t. He may have told Rowan, though. Sometimes I think your wizard spends more time with Rowan than I do. Especially since court began. But I do wish Elric were still here. I just know he could have helped you.”
“I know.” Sid frowned. “I wish he was still here too.”
Sidonie had hardly known Elric, Dagan’s grandfather and Junacave’s previous Royal Mage, before he passed. And even though Elric left Dagan his wizard tower with texts, ingredients, and spellbooks, Bree was right that having Elric there would be better.
Maybe he could have shed some light on the strange circumstances surrounding her magic.
Growing up with the Sabras, Sidonie wasn’t aware she’d even had magic until she accidentally ran into Dagan’s arms one night, somehow igniting her powers.
And while she had been working with Dagan, learning about her abilities and trying to control them, she still didn’t understand how or why it was happening to her.
Sid wished she could speak to her parents, to get answers.
But her mother had passed away when she was ten years old and she didn’t even know who her father was.
The only family she had left was her sister, Adelphie, leader of the Sabras.
And so far, Adelphie didn’t know about Sid’s magic, which was for the best.
Sherrif Murphy returned and brought the next person forward to speak with the queen. Bree forced a smile and managed to make it through the rest of the day without falling asleep on her throne.
When the kitchenmaids finally brought supper into the hall, Bree was delighted. The room was soon filled with people, eating, drinking, and gossiping. It was her favorite part of the day as she watched over her family, friends, and knights of Junacave, ravaging the roasted pig set out before them.
Bree had just finished her first glass of wine, when Sir Raymun, Head of the Castle Guard, approached her table with a rolled-up piece of parchment in his hands.
“Your Majesty, this letter arrived for you, just now,” he said, after a quick bow.
“Thank you, Sir Raymun,” Bree replied as she took the letter and read it to herself.
It was from her mother, Cicilly, who was visiting family in Vale. Upon Bree’s insistence, Cicilly had traveled to Vale with her sister, Celeste, just over two months ago. Bree had feared for her mother’s safety after she had been kidnapped by King Silas and held captive in Sire.
And while they were able to rescue Cicilly and Silas had been killed, Bree worried that Silas’ widow, Vallica, may attempt to recapture and harm Cicilly. Therefore, she had encouraged her mother to visit Vale and sent Sir Nicholas, the First Knight of Junacave, along with her for protection.
“Is it from Cicilly?” Rowan asked as he sat across the table from her, already enjoying his second plate of the evening.
“Yes. She has invited us to come to Vale. All of us.”
“I thought they were coming home soon,” Sidonie said, between bites.
“I did too,” Bree replied. “But my mother is requesting we come to Vale to see my grandfather. She says he’s ill. Then she will return with us, after.”
“Are we going to go?” Sarita asked, her eyes wide. “I’ve never been to Vale. I want to go. Can we?”
“I don’t see any reason why we can’t go,” Bree said. “Dagan, would you and Sid like to accompany us? My mother mentioned that you are both welcome.”
Dagan nodded with his mouth full of food, then reached up to tuck a stray strand of his white hair behind his ear.
While Rowan may have been on his second plate of supper, Dagan was easily on his third.
Wizards must eat a lot of food to help maintain their energy and with all the casting Dagan and Sidonie had been doing lately, they’d both been eating more than usual.
“When would we leave?” Rowan asked. “I’ll need to make arrangements with Raymun before we go. Make sure my guards will be covered, in my absence.”
Rowan was enjoying his new job training the guard.
Having spent most of his adult life as a Junacave spy, he was happy to take time from traveling the realm and focus on teaching.
He’d also been working with Sir Luthias, training for knighthood.
Come this spring, Rowan would finally fulfill his father’s wishes and become a fourth-generation knight.
“I guess we should leave as soon as possible,” Bree replied. “Two days from now. Three, if necessary. My mother says that Leitis has predicted more snow next week. We should aim to arrive in Vale before the snowfall.”