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Amazon
KateMarie Collins
Category:
Fantasy
Publisher: Solstice Publishing
ISBN-10: 1625265069
Type: Fiction
Pages: 146
Copyright: December 22, 2016
ISBN-13: 9781625265067
Price: $2.99 (eBook)
A novel of Tiadar. Sequel to Mark of the Successor.
Talin thinks his life is perfect. He’s going to be Lily’s Consort, and, eventually, her husband. What could possibly go wrong?
A stranger showing up, framing Talin for an attempted assassination, for one. Old foes from Eire, questions about his parentage, and the threat of war quickly follow.
Now, Talin’s in a fight he never expected. One where the stakes are higher than he ever imagined.
Excerpt
The music changed. Instead of trumpets blaring, notes from a dozen harps cascaded from the hidden recesses scattered around the chamber. Talin shifted his attention to the chamber he had left.
Lily emerged, Rylin just slightly behind her. Something jabbed his ribs. “Breathe,” Kade ordered. Talin did as he was told, but couldn’t tear his gaze off of Lily.
Her black hair was swept off her face, the green eyes serious. He could see a slight twitch to her eyebrow. She was nervous, just like he was. Her dress, silver lace over a deep sapphire blue, was unlike anything Talin had seen before. Instead of the high waist favored by most women in the kingdom, it fit closely to her waist before falling gracefully into a full skirt.
“Damn it, Lily.” Kade muttered under his breath.
Without turning, Talin whispered back, “What’s wrong?”
“The dress. I know she said she wanted something a little different. She’s going to have every person that can work with needle and thread trying to put that design out now. Rylin’s in love with it. I can see it on her face.”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Cost, Talin. It’s going to be expensive.”
Talin bit his cheek to keep from laughing. Lily and Rylin made it to the edge of the dais. Shifting, he took his place next to her.
What happened next was a blur. Oaths were said, promises made. Keryth placed a circlet on Lily’s head first. Corvin handed the other one to Lily while Talin knelt in front of her. The metal fit his brow perfectly. Then they were allowed to take their seats next to the king and queen. Kade moved forward, taking Rylin’s hand, and were the first to pledge their loyalty to the Heir and her Consort.
Once that was done, Kade moved behind Talin’s seat while Rylin settled behind Lily. “At least you get to sit down for the rest of this,” he muttered. “My feet are going to be killing me by the time we get to the banquet.”
Talin stopped trying to remember the names and faces after the first half hour. Some were noticeably absent. A representative of Heren’s house came, muttered the oath under his breath, and all but ran from Keryth’s glare. Heren resided in solitary exile, a man alone on an island that no shadrim could reach. Jasper, while not in exile, was under house arrest. His every move was documented and reported back to the Crown. Everyone in his employ had scattered to different residences.
For her part in everything, Erena was locked in a cell. Where, exactly, Talin didn’t know. Lily had asked her mother to spare the woman’s life. Not out of compassion, but so she could spend her days seeing the damage she did to Lily unravel. The harshest punishment would be for her to see Lily rule as Queen in her own right and not the puppet for another.
“Any word on your cousin yet?” Talin muttered to Kade.
“No.” Kade put a great deal of vehemence in that single word.
Iris was the only one they hadn’t found. She’d kept out of the council chamber during the presentation. She’d fled after Lily proved that she could not just do a little bit of magic. The truth had come out at last. She must’ve known it was possible, Talin reasoned. It’s the only logical reason why she didn’t attend. Iris never was stupid. If she thought there was even a chance Lily would expose everyone and their plots against her, she would’ve run.
At last, the line was dwindling. A lone figure approached the thrones. There was something familiar about his face, but the man’s hood obscured some of his features. The plain gray and brown of his outfit was both unremarkable and unmistakable at the same time.
One of the royal guard stepped forward. “Sir, it is customary to remove your hood when approaching Their Majesties and Their Heirs.”
The man raised a single hand and pushed back his hood. A shock of red hair, unkempt and bushy, erupted from his head. He turned and looked right at Talin.
“Hello, son.”
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