Chapter Forty
King Midas
I’ve been to every single kingdom in Orea.
First Kingdom is a tepid jungle, flooded with pretentious fools who fancy themselves masters of the arts. Second is an arid expanse of sand and not much more, the monarchs a dull, puritanical lot.
Third Kingdom holds more interest, their coasts speckled with private islands only to be visited upon invitation of the monarchs. Their only blight is that they share a murky border of swampland with Fourth, but King Rot’s kingdom holds no interest to me at all.
Fifth Kingdom, however, I’ve grown increasingly fond of.
I look out below me, my hands braced on the balcony railing. The ground glitters silver and white, but my focus is on the ice sculptures in the courtyard, maintained as religiously as any royal garden, every curve chiseled, every inch shaped to perfection.
What a wonder it will look like once all the ice has been touched with gold.
I don’t have ice sculptures in Highbell. The blizzards and storms are far too vicious for that. But here in Fifth Kingdom, the everlasting cold is much more mild, only light dustings of snow gracing its sparkling ground.
I watch the sculptors continue to carve for a moment longer before I turn and head back inside, letting the balcony doors snick shut behind me. I’ve been given the south suites of Ranhold Castle to stay in, the interior all decorated in whites and purples, with gray rock and black iron fortifying its structure. It’s lavish and entirely respectable enough for a visiting monarch.
Except, I don’t intend to simply visit.
I sit down at the desk set into the corner of the room, fresh blue winter blossoms set cheerfully on top, its stem resting in frosted water.
I’m deep in a stack of papers when the knock sounds on my door, and my advisor, Odo, shuffles in.
“Your Majesty, a letter has arrived for you.”
I hold out my hand, my attention split on the roster in front of me as he places the rolled parchment in my palm. Breaking the wax seal, I unroll the message, my eyes distractedly skimming over the words. But then I stop. Go back. Start over.
I read it once, and my body goes rigid. I read it a second time, and my jaw clenches tight. By the third time, I’m seeing red.
“Sire?”
My eyes snap to Odo where he waits in front of the desk, no doubt wondering if I need to send a reply.
There will be no reply.
My hand crumples the paper. “They have her.”
My voice is dark and low, words formed between barely separated teeth. The realization pounding in tandem with my enraged pulse.
Odo hesitates. “Who has who, Your Majesty?”
In a blink, I’m on my feet. My arms sweep everything off the desk in a terrific crash. Books slam against the floor, papers go flying, the frosted vase of the flowers shatters against the wall.
My advisor flinches back, wide eyes on me as I pace back and forth across the room. My fists are clenched so tightly at my sides that it’s a wonder I don’t snap the bones in my fingers.
“King Midas?” Odo questions hesitantly.
But I barely hear him, nor my guards who come into the room because of the noise, their swords drawn against a threat that isn’t here.
A cloud of fury gathers in my head, a heavy storm of thoughts pummeling behind my temples and dripping down my limbs.
No one dares move or question me further as I continue to pace, probably in fear that I’ll solidify their heads and leave their golden skulls on a frozen spike outside the gates.
I don’t feel it when I stop and slam my fist into the wall. I don’t care when my knuckles split and blood stains the white carpet in furious blots of red.
I don’t feel it, and I don’t care, because the thing that matters the most to me in this world has been taken from me.
My favored. My gilded. My precious. She’s been stolen from me and is being held in an enemy’s clutches.
I turn to my guards, my anger rising like boiling water, sending a thick haze of fury over my vision. The precision of my planned annihilation against King Fulke will be nothing compared to those who dared take Auren from me.
She’s mine.
And I’ll destroy everyone in my path to get her back.
End of Book One
Golden Gold Vine
Part One
There was a miser who prized her,
this golden gold vine.
This sapling so gilded,
her leaflings did shine.
The moment he saw her,
he let out a whisper of, “mine.”
He’d found her in rubble,
along a plain road.
Unburied, he took her,
in pocket he stowed.
Back to his house,
where he stared at her gleam.
Hands curled to covet,
want stitched to seam.
What a chance this was,
the chance for much more.
So he planted her there,
right outside his front door.
Kept under secrets and hidden she lay.
This old miser did find her,
did steal her away.
Brought to the yard,
he planted her there.
Fenced her all in
to shelter her glare.
Soon she grew tiny buds,
glinting with gold.
He plucked them by one,
went to town to be sold.
He paid off his debts,
bought whatever he sought.
But it wasn’t enough,
whatever he got.
For greed had been planted
beside her thin roots.
Want had leafed out,
along with her shoots.
Yet although he watered,
soon she did wilt.
Her golden did dull
and worry he spilt.
For his most prized possession
looked right to be culled.
She wasted away,
while he fretted and mulled.
It wasn't til so angry,
he pulled out his hair.
Brown clumps all fallen
on the vine bare,
that her color suddenly glistened,
her vine did then surge.
She grew ever much
from his body he'd purged.
Ecstatic, he knew, what he must do.
So this miser clip-clipped,
and gold flowers then bloomed.
His hair he snip-snipped,
gladly shedding his plume.
For she would not grow
without sacrifice.
Only pieces of him
would ever suffice.
For her to keep growing,
that was her price.
This golden gold vine
was the miser’s own vice.
To be continued…
Thank You For Reading
Thank you so much for reading and taking a chance on this series. If you enjoyed Gild, please leave a review and then come hang out in my reader group! It’s where the magic happens (AKA where the funny memes and giveaways happen.)
I am obsessed with this new world of Orea. This story has been on my mind for a year, begging to be let out, and I’m just so in love with how it turned out.
This is just the beginning! I know you might be wondering who Auren is going to end up with, what the heck is up with Midas, and why the commander’s spikes are so…spikey. Don’t worry! Book two is going to be here soon, and it will answer a bunch of questions…and probably leave you with a few more. ;)
Don’t forget to follow me on Amazon so you’ll be notified for every new release or preorder.
Acknowledgments
I thought it would get easier over time to release new books, but I can say it never does. I want to thank my family and friends for your love and unending support.
To my husband, for being such a rock
star every single day. I couldn’t do this without you, and I love you so much.
To my daughter, I’m sorry for all the times I have to work instead of play, but I want you to know that I adore you more than all the waves in the sea.
To my Dad, you watch every single book release, and even though you’re not allowed to read them, you have cheered me on and celebrated every word. Thank you.
To my mom, you read my first ever book drafts and told me they were good even though they were probably garbage. Your encouragement helped me not give up and to keep going.
To my sister, I would never have gone on this writing journey if it weren’t for you. I gained my first steps of confidence by writing at your side and I learned so much and had so much fun.
To Ives AKA Ivy Asher, you help me make every single book better, you let me whine to you when writing is hard, and you have my back in every facet of the book world. I am so damn lucky to have you.
To Ann Denton and CR Jane for being beta reader extraordinaires, thank you so much for helping me with Gild and giving me the confidence boost I needed. Still not gonna give you spoilers though.
Thank you to Helayna for polishing Gild (see what I did there?) and thank you to Dom for all your help behind the scenes.
And most importantly, to YOU, the reader. I know Gild is somewhat different from some of the other things I’ve written, and I’m just so thankful that you took a chance on it. All of the support, posts, reviews, and comments I receive mean the world to me, and your enthusiasm encourages me to keep going. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
—Raven
Also By Raven Kennedy
Shifter Romance:
Addie: Pack of Misfits Book 1
Reese: Pack of Misfits Book 2
Jetta: Pack of Misfits Book 3
Paranormal Reverse Harem:
Grave Mistakes: Hellgate Guardians Book 1
Grave Consequences: Hellgate Guardians Book 2
Grave Decisions: Hellgate Guardians Book 3
Grave Signs: Hellgate Guardians Book 4
Void
Wicked Webs
Fantasy Reverse Harem Romcom:
Signs of Cupidity: Book 1
Bonds of Cupidity: Book 2
Crimes of Cupidity: Book 3
For the Love of Cupidity: Book 4
Cupidity Box Set
Romantic Comedy Stand-Alones:
Can’t Fix Cupid
April’s Fools
Conveniently Convicted
Dark Romance:
The Girl Who Cries Colors
Cruel: Savannah Heirs Book 1
Tame: Savannah Heirs Book 2
Wild: Savannah Heirs Book 3
About the Author
Raven Kennedy is a tea and dark chocolate kind of girl, and can often be found binge-watching The Office. She enjoys writing all kinds of genres, because each one brings a different experience. You can find her writing anything from fantasy romcoms, to dark contemporary romance books.
When she’s not reading or writing, she’s with her family, probably messing up a recipe or going on a hike that she thinks she can do, but in reality is way too hard because she remembers that all she does is sit at a computer all day and write her heart out.
You can connect with Raven on social media at any of the sites below.
Gild (The Plated Prisoner Series Book 1) Page 26