Serpent: Book II of the Asterian Trilogy

by Sarah Olson

  I gulped and turned toward the window. The rain was heavier now, and the winds had picked up.

  "That was the next part I was going to tell you. As it just so happens, my birth father lives on the island we washed up on . . . and this is his house. You probably already know that King James is not my father—everyone in Asteria and Malan knows that."

  Roy nodded slowly. "I did hear that. Your father was the former prince of Asteria."

  "That would be him . . . Prince Richard."

  "And this is his house?" he asked; his eyebrows rose in surprise.

  "Yes. Regina and her sister, Vivien, found us."

  Roy shook his head disbelievingly.

  "I know it’s a lot to take in, especially since you just found out who I am," I said. "I apologize for that, but I don’t want to lie to you anymore."

  Despite an odd torn look in his eyes, Roy smiled. "You don’t need to apologize, Aria."

  My heart swelled at the sound of my name on his lips, and I immediately forgot the strange look in his eyes. Roy knew my name now—he knew who I was and still wanted me. He even claimed to love me. Now I could only hope that it was the truth.

  ☐☐☐☐

  By the time breakfast was brought up for Roy and me, the winds of the storm had picked up and whistled through the lush trees outside. Lightning flashed across the sky, and thunder rumbled through the air. I shuddered as I thought back to waking to the storm that had left us deserted here.

  "That doesn’t sound good," Roy said in between bites.

  "We always get bad storms in the summer," Regina said from her chair near the bed. Now that Roy was awake and she had taken to me being her older sister, she didn’t want to leave the room.

  The door opened, and Richard walked in followed by Francis.

  "Good morning, everyone," Richard greeted. He walked over to the bed and stretched his hand out to Roy. "It’s good to see you awake. I’m—"

  "Richard," Roy finished for him. "Aria told me."

  Richard raised an eyebrow. "I see . . . and she has also told you who she is as well it would seem."

  He nodded. "It was quite a surprise, but I’d always known she was keeping something from me."

  I blushed and turned away to look at Francis who was standing tensely behind his father.

  Francis eyed me carefully as if he didn’t know what to do or say. I was his sister by blood, but we had no connection to one another. Regina had taken it all in stride, and I hadn’t seen Vivien or Lucas. Rebecca had told me Francis had been furious when he learned about me before, and I could feel it in his sharp gaze.

  "I’m certain it was quite the surprise," Richard said. "Well, I see you met Regina and my wife, Rebecca. This is my son Francis."

  Francis gave Roy a slight nod but remained silent.

  "Anyway," Richard continued, "as you can tell, we’ve got a nasty storm coming in and need to move everyone downstairs."

  "That bad?" I asked fearfully, glancing at the window just as lightning lit the forest.

  Richard nodded. "And it could last a day or two if it's one of the worse ones. But no need to worry, this house has been through many, though we still take precautions and set up beds downstairs for everyone.

  As he spoke, Francis went to the window and opened it. It swung inward, and the wind howled into the room as he reached out and pulled the shutters closed and latched them. Regina began to light some candles as he closed the window again. Everyone seemed so calm, but the last time I had been in a storm, the Enigma wrecked.

  "Do you think you can stand?" Richard asked Roy as Francis proceeded to do the same to the other window.

  "I think so," Roy said, pushing the tray of food off his lap and shifting, so his legs hung over the side of the bed. He groaned in pain, and I rushed to his side. Roy put his hand up to stop me and slowly pushed himself from the bed.

  Richard came over to his side so Roy could lean on him. "I’ve got him."

  "Thanks," Roy said.

  I stood beside him, hands at the ready to catch him if he stumbled.

  Downstairs, a couple of maids were at work setting up beds for everyone. Richard led Roy to one in a small sitting room in the back of the house. It was cozy with a fireplace and overstuffed chairs. The room was dim since the shutters had been latched over the windows, but there was enough candlelight to illuminate the room. The maids had set up a mattress on the floor with pillows and blankets near the cold fireplace.

  I helped guide Roy onto the mattress with Richard’s help.

  "That wasn’t too bad," Roy joked as he sat up against some of the pillows.

  I rolled my eyes but was happy we had him down the stairs in one piece.

  The wind howled on outside, sending a series of creaks through the house. My heart sped up at the sound. I had been through rough storms before, but I also lived in a stone castle that felt much safer.

  "Don’t worry," Richard said as my eyes darted around the room for a weakness. "This house has been through many storms like this."

  "And yet, the second floor is unsafe," I mumbled.

  Richard laughed. "It’s called taking precautions."

  "I’m assuming this means we won’t be hearing from any of the other islands as to whether or not they found any shipwrecked sailors," Roy said solemnly. I could hear the worry for his friends.

  Richard shook his head. "There’s nothing I can do until the storm passes. I’m sorry."

  "It’s not your fault," Roy said, as Regina walked into the room carrying a box.

  "Do you know how to play chess, Roy?" she asked, interrupting the conversation. "It’s my favorite game when there’s a storm."

  Roy smiled at her, all traces of his worry gone. "I love chess."

  "Wonderful!" she exclaimed. She skipped over to the mattress and plopped down with her box.

  "Regina—" Richard began.

  "It’s fine," Roy said with a smile.

  Richard shook his head. "Regina, do not become a nuisance."

  She stuck her bottom lip out in a slight pout. "I won’t, Papa, I promise."

  He sighed and looked at Roy. "Don’t feel bad if you have to send her out."

  Roy laughed and Regina began to set up her game.

  "We can take turns after I beat Roy," she said happily.

  "After you beat me?" Roy asked, raising an eyebrow.

  She gave him a sly smile. "I’m very good."

  Richard spoke softly beside me so as to not interrupt Regina and Roy’s bantering. "If he becomes tired, just send her out." He placed a friendly hand on my shoulder and then left the room.

  Regina was all smiles as she put the chess pieces on the board. I may have wanted more time to speak to Roy in private, but the silliness of the moment was good enough to get my mind off the thundering rain outside.

  Chapter 28

  T HE STORM BATTERED the house for days, though it felt like weeks. Just like Richard reassured me each day, the house held against the harsh winds that terrorized the islands. I'd heard of storms like this hitting the southern part of Asteria but had never experienced one—at least not one I could remember as I was only five at the time one raged its war on the castle.

  When I woke one morning to sunlight seeping in through the shutters, I breathed a sigh of relief. Vivien and Regina still slept soundly on the mats beside me as I rose, stretching my aching body from the unforgiving floor. The mats that had been set up with blankets and pillows had done little to soften the wood beneath them. I crept quietly from the room that I was sharing with the two girls and made my way to the front door, desperate for fresh air and sunshine. I unlocked the door and opened it into the morning.

  The broken trees and branches strewn across the grass were the only sign that a storm had occurred. The sky was a breathtaking blue without a single cloud in sight. The dense forest was teeming with life as birds sung their relief into the damp air that clung to my skin.

  I hadn’t taken much time to look around Richard’s home since I didn�
�t want to leave Roy’s side and only now realized just how beautiful this island was. Everything was thick and green like the tropical islands I had read about during my studies. The air was warm but not uncomfortably hot with a wonderfully soft breeze that brushed my exposed skin.

  I stepped off the porch, not caring that I was barefoot, and walked through the wet grass, the earth spongy beneath my feet. For that moment, I felt free from everything. My mind didn’t wander to the uncertainty of Ethelyn’s fate or my family sitting in the castle worried about me—I was just at peace. I closed my eyes and listened to the birds—so many different calls floated through the air that I had never heard before. Richard had found himself a paradise.

  It was another two days before a messenger came to the house with news of the wreck. The ship had been spotted off the most southern isle smashed up against a large reef. A search of the ship had found three dead sailors but nothing more. Search parties had been dispatched to the surrounding uninhabited islands with orders to bring any survivors to Blue Isle.

  I sat on a mossy boulder overlooking a beautiful spring with a cascading waterfall. I pulled my knees to my chest and rested my chin. It had been a day since the news, and we’d heard nothing from the search. I yearned to be out there with them but couldn’t leave Roy behind.

  He was walking on his own now and seemed to be getting back to his usual self. I spent most of my time with him. He wanted to know everything about me, so I told him about my family, my friends, my favorite pastime, and the first time I ever attended a ball. Roy’s eyes were bright as he listened to my every story with an intensity that not even Thomas had when I shared something with him. Moments like those made me forget about the shipwreck.

  Footsteps through the thick underbrush sounded behind me, and I turned around to see Roy step into the clearing around the spring.

  "What are you doing out here?" I gasped, jumping down from the boulder. "You shouldn’t be out this far."

  Roy gave me a mocking smile. "I’m much better if you hadn’t noticed." He wore a loose-fitting shirt over the bandages and a pair of trousers and boots Richard had given him. "It really doesn’t hurt that much anymore."

  I sighed and leaned against the boulder.

  "And you’ve been gone for over an hour; I wanted to check on you," he added, stepping closer.

  "Has it been that long?" I asked, letting my eyes drift back to the sparkling spring.

  "Yes, I was getting worried. What are you doing out here?"

  "Thinking," I replied. I moved to the edge of the spring and sat down, not caring about the dirt that would end up on my dress.

  Roy slowly lowered himself beside me. "What about?"

  I drew in a breath. "What if we’re the only ones who survived? They found bodies on that ship and we don’t even know whose they were. What are we going to do?"

  He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "Well, first, we’re going to wait and see what the search parties turn up. Then we’ll buy passage on the next ship that comes through and get back to your family in Asteria. After all, they could be scouring the seas for you right now and end up on this island. You don’t know."

  "If they’ve figured out where I've gone," I said, resting my head on his shoulder.

  "Your parents have a reputation for being very resourceful when it comes to getting what they want."

  I laughed. "That would be the truth."

  "Don’t worry," Roy said softly.

  "I just hope Ethelyn made it, and Stephen, the captain and—"

  "I know," he whispered, tightening his arm around me. "I hope so too."

  We sat in silence watching the waterfall cascade into the spring as birds sung in the trees above.

  Roy broke the silence suddenly with a laugh. "You want to know what I was thinking about today?"

  "What?" I asked.

  "Out of everything I’ve learned about you, I don’t know how old you are."

  "Such a trivial matter," I chuckled. "How ever did we miss it?"

  "Tell me."

  I laughed. "If you must know—I’ll be twenty in a couple of months."

  "I probably should have been able to guess since most people know everything about the Asterian monarchy," he teased.

  "Except it’s not something I would’ve thought a Surman would care much about."

  He shook his head and smiled.

  "How about you?" I asked.

  "Twenty-four," he replied. "I suppose I have a couple of years on you then."

  I raised an eyebrow. "Are you claiming that those years make you wiser?"

  He smirked. "Of course they do. After all, I’m not the one that ran away from my parents and got on the first ship that would let me board."

  "Don’t be cruel!" I exclaimed, playfully shoving him. "You know I needed to get away."

  He held his hands up in surrender. "I know, I know—but it still wasn’t the wisest decision."

  "But if I hadn’t made it, I would have never met you." The words slipped out before I could register them.

  Roy stared out at the spring. "Are you happy that you’ve met me then?" he asked after a moment, his face growing serious.

  I nodded. "Did you think I wasn’t?"

  He shrugged. "I’ve told you I love you, but you never said it to me. I thought that perhaps I was just a distraction from your real life until you return to Asteria."

  "How could you think I’d be so shallow?" I whispered, his words piercing my heart. "I would never use anyone in such a way."

  "But you don’t love me," he tested.

  Tears welled up in my eyes. "Do you have any idea how difficult it is for me to speak those words after Thomas?" I pushed myself up and turned my back to him.

  "I’m sorry, Aria," Roy said as I heard him stand. "I shouldn’t have said that, but you need to know that I mean it—I swear it on my life."

  I turned back to him. "You’ve only known me for a month."

  "You don’t trust me then."

  "Do you blame me?" I asked. "You can swear you love me now, but as soon as we’re out of this and back in Asteria—how do I know there is not some other woman waiting for you and I was just a pastime?"

  Roy looked wounded, but I could see he was not going to back down. "I’m not that kind of person, Aria. I realize your trust in others has been shaken, but I’m telling the truth. I’ve fallen in love with you." He walked towards me until he had me backed against a tree. "And I’m going to do everything I can to convince you of that love."

  Before I could say anything, his mouth crushed mine. I could feel the faint stubble of his cheeks against my skin as my lips parted, allowing him to delve deeper. I breathed in his scent, tasted him as I wrapped my arms around his neck. His lips traveled to my neck as he pressed me against the tree. I closed my eyes, not letting myself think but only feel him. Feel his warmth, his body against mine, his hands moving up and down my waist and hips—knowing that no one was watching from a crow’s nest or the crack though a bedroom door. It was just Roy and me.

  My body felt hot as I let the moment wash over me. Roy’s lips moved back up to my jawline, and a soft moan escaped my lips, surprising me before his mouth was back on mine. He had me at his every whim and knew it.

  Roy pulled away before I dared to think how far I would let this go—I had always been able to stop Thomas, but with Roy . . . a deep part of me didn’t want him to stop, and that was terrifying. Perhaps this adventure, this sudden romance was making me reckless. His ragged breathing matched my own, and I could see a deep longing in his eyes.

  "We should probably go back before someone comes looking for us. It will be dinner soon."

  I nodded, unable to find my voice, suddenly feeling cold and empty now that there was space between us.

  He turned and began walking away leaving me to catch my breath and straighten my thoughts.

  I had never been afraid to marry Thomas. The love I had for him was sweet, and I was excited for what our lives would be together. We’d planned it a
ll out—build an estate near the castle, have children, attend every ball and feast, grow old together. It was a beautiful dream, and while I hoped I could one day find that dream again with another, Roy offered me something else. He offered me excitement, a life to be lived day by day, void of plans for the future—a burning desire that I’d never felt for Thomas. He asked me once what I’d done to him to make him fall for me, but the real question was what had he done to me? Was this what love really felt like?

  I shook my head hoping to bring some clarity to my thoughts and followed Roy through the trees. He felt so far away, and I longed to touch him again, to hold his hand in the hope that it would chase away the emptiness. I clenched my hands to my sides and continued silently.

  When we entered the house, all was quiet except for some angry whispering in the parlor. Roy stood by the door and listened, a frown creasing his brow.

  "We need to get the money, Richard," Rebecca said, her fearful tone breaking through her harsh whisper.

  "It’s impossible," Richard said. "There’s nothing I can do. We were nearly cleaned out the last time they came and you know the number of trade ships in this area has dropped tremendously."

  "But you know what he’ll do if we don’t have it." Rebecca sounded like she was about to begin sobbing.

  I gave Roy a questioning look, and he put a finger to his lips.

  "What do you expect me to do?" Richard asked.

  I could picture him flailing his arms in exasperation.

  "Force everyone on the islands to put up all they have? I cannot bankrupt our people, Rebecca."

  "But we can’t let them take another—"

  "I will do everything I can," Richard interrupted. "I’ll make sure the village is prepared for their arrival and that they are kept satisfied. Maybe then I can talk down the amount or get them to extend our deadline to next time."

  Before Roy could stop me, I pushed the door open. Richard’s eyes widened in surprise, and Rebecca clamped a hand over her mouth.

  "Keep who satisfied?" I asked, keeping my face calm and serious.

  Richard recovered first. "It’s none of your concern, Aria."

  I raised an eyebrow. "Sounds to me like it’s everyone’s concern."