I ignored Con’s sarcasm, concentrating on reaching through the tempest to the waters of Calanthe.
“I have to stand,” I told Con.
He huffed out a sigh, but set me down, bracing me between his bulk and the railing, one arm around my waist—and pretty much supporting my entire weight still—his other hand gripping the rail. “Whatever you’re going to do, do it now. If the ship breaks apart, it will get ugly.”
A smile stretched my lips, the dry skin cracking painfully. Being dead left a body in less than ideal condition. Layering metal into my spine, I reached out to Calanthe’s churning seas once more. They responded less sluggishly this time, and I directed the currents to calm, to follow my bidding. With a mental twist, I reversed the direction of the waves. No need to be anything they were not. They need simply do the same in the other direction.
The Last Resort lifted, shifted, then shot off the coral reef. A wave curled over us, dousing the spontaneous cheers as we hit a trough. I had the sea catch us, encircling the yacht in a pool of calmer water. Con laughed, a belly deep howl of relief and delight.
“We’re on the wrong side of the reef still!” Kara shouted over the wind as he clutched the rail on our left.
“Shut up. She knows what she’s doing,” Sondra, on our right, yelled back.
I wouldn’t put it that strongly, but I did have a plan. During my abduction and imprisonment, I’d spent so much time and effort trying to reconnect to my lost Calanthe that she roared into me now, as if I’d thrown open every portal in my seeking. The dreamthink flowed like blood, infused my lungs like air, and the coral reef spoke to me. Millions of small voices created a symphony of information, singing of their place. I let them inform the waves, who then took us around and between the crevices.
Calanthe wanted me home as much as I wanted to be there. And with the sea carrying us into the harbor, I diverted my attention to the storm, inviting it to turn its savagery on the open sea, away from land.
The fury of it lessened. Not abating entirely, but the rain no longer slanted sideways, the wind no longer howling. The Last Resort glided into the harbor without sails, more or less upright, though with a definite list to one side.
“We’re still taking on water,” Kara reported, “but we should make it before she sinks.”
Percy would never forgive me if I sank his boat, so I encouraged the sea to flow back out again. Slowly the yacht righted. Kara glanced my way but said nothing.
The harbor sat quiet in the drumming rain, the docked ships tossing in their berths, lights on in only a few houses that wended their way in spirals up the hill. No one waited to greet us. Not surprising, I supposed, as the hour was late and everyone would be hunkered down to wait out the storm. Still, returning from the dead seemed like an occasion for a bit of celebration.
“Your Highness.” Lady Ibolya stepped into the place Sondra vacated, curtseying deeply. “I brought a cloak for You, in case You wanted to return without fanfare.” The cloak had a deep cowl and long sleeves with draping cuffs that would cover my hands—and lack thereof. My nobles and courtiers often wore that sort of thing to secret assignations, and I’d worn this one before to sneak out and visit Con in the map tower, back in another lifetime, before I died.
“They don’t know, do they?” I asked Ibolya, then tipped my chin up to Con. “What did you tell everyone?”
“We kept the news as quiet as we could,” he told me gravely, a hint of doubt in his face. “I know how hard you’ve worked to keep your—our—people from panicking. Not many know you disappeared from the Battle at Cradysica.”
“What do they think happened to Me?”
“That you were injured and needed time to recover,” Con replied.
“Your other ladies went to the Temple, Your Highness,” Ibolya added. “They’ve gone into seclusion and we let everyone believe You went with them. To heal.”
The way she added that last, so tenderly and hopefully, sorely tested my precarious poise. To heal. It sounded as far beyond me as the sky.
“Lia.” Con at last let go of the rail, and gazed down at me very seriously as he ran a gentle hand over my bald scalp. “You should know—Tertulyn is with them.”
I nearly staggered. Would have, if Con hadn’t been supporting me still. “I didn’t see her,” I managed to say, “at Yekpehr. Because she was here all along.”
Con nodded, then shook his head. “It’s a long story, and you’re weaving on your feet. Let’s get you inside and take this slowly.”
I looked past him to the horizon I couldn’t see, the night and storm obscuring it all. But it seemed I felt the gazes of those wizards streaming through the distance, the hot glare of their obsession following me. I’d vanquished their wave, but they’d be back with more and better.
“I think taking things slowly isn’t an option,” I observed. Ambrose stepped into my line of sight and inclined his head. “Unfortunately,” I added with a nod to Kara, “time is what we don’t have.”
Also by Jeffe Kennedy
The Orchid Throne
Praise for the first novel in the Forgotten Empires series
The Orchid Throne
“An enchanting world awaits … With an intriguing cast of characters—especially a warrior woman and an enigmatic and amusing wizard—this captivating story will have readers holding their breath.”
—BookPage
“A captivating read that grows more engrossing with each chapter.”
—Romance Reviews Today
“I highly recommend this for lovers of fantasy romance who like intricate but not overly complicated world-building, strong characters, and exciting action-packed scenes to go along with a sexy love story.”
—Harlequin Junkie (Top Pick)
“A moving tale of choices, fate, and loss … Beautifully written and such a moving love story.”
—The Nerd Daily
“An exciting start to a new series.”
—All About Romance
“A captivating fantasy romance by a writer who knows how to lure you in and hold your attention until the very end. The Orchid Throne is a fascinating fantasy romance novel that I did not want to end!”
—Lovely Loveday
About the Author
Jeffe Kennedy is an award-winning, bestselling author who writes fantasy, fantasy romance, and contemporary romance. She serves on the Board of Directors for SFWA as a Director at Large.
Her most recent works include Prisoner of the Crown and the upcoming Exile of the Seas, from her high fantasy trilogy from Rebel Base books, The Chronicles of Dasnaria, in the same world as her award-winning fantasy series The Twelve Kingdoms and The Uncharted Realms. She is a hybrid author, and also self-publishes a fantasy series, Sorcerous Moons. Her books have won the RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Fantasy Romance of 2015, been named Best Book of June 2014, and won RWA’s prestigious RITA® Award.
She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with two Maine coon cats, plentiful free-range lizards, and a very handsome Doctor of Oriental Medicine.
Jeffe can be found online at her website: JeffeKennedy.com, every Sunday at the SFF Seven blog, on Facebook, on Goodreads, and on Twitter @jeffekennedy, or sign up for email updates here.
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Contents
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter
10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Excerpt: The Promised Queen
Also by Jeffe Kennedy
Praise for the first novel in the Forgotten Empires series: The Orchid Throne
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
First published in the United States by St. Martin’s Paperbacks, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group
THE FIERY CROWN
Copyright © 2020 by Jeffe Kennedy.
Excerpt from The Promised Queen copyright © 2020 by Jeffe Kennedy.
All rights reserved.
For information address St. Martin’s Publishing Group, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.
www.stmartins.com
eISBN: 9781250194343
Our books may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, ext. 5442, or by e-mail at [email protected].
St. Martin’s Paperbacks edition 2020
The Fiery Crown Page 35