by Pierce Smith
Table of Contents
Copyright
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Author’s Info
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Copyright
Conflict: The Queen
June 2019
COPYRIGHT ©2019 Pierce Smith
Editing by Ann Attwood
Cover Art by Kimberly Cortez
Cover content is for illustrative only and the person depicted on the cover is a model.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission from the author, excerpt for use in any review. This book cannot be copied in any format, sold, or otherwise transferred from your computer to another through upload to a file sharing peer-to-peer program, for free or for a fee apart from small extracts used for the purpose of a review of the book. Such action is illegal and in violation of Copyright Law.
This book is for adults (18 +) only. The contents may offend some readers. It contains explicit sexual content and graphic language. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are used in a fictitious way and any resemblance to actual people is purely coincidental.
Dedication
A special thanks to Shona for standing with for the entire write up and helping with her bubbling plot bunnies. Kisses.
My PA Kimberly Cortez for all your awesome marketing efforts, and keeping me on track!
My editor Ann Attwood, who works so hard trying to untangle my thoughts.
Amy and Julie, for taking out precious time for beta and proofing this work.
And, readers always standing by me.
You, and everyone else who consistently motivate and support me, ROCK!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Kisses XXX
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INDEX
COPYRIGHT
Dedication
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INDEX
Character names and details:
What happened until here
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Epilogue
Author’s Info
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Character names and details:
1. DRAGON CROWN PRINCE: Kyghinth, The Mysterious
2. Transgender: DP’s Half-brother, shadow and friend: Xeghen, Braveheart
3. Kyghinth’s Father: Edrontar, Protector Of Life
4. Kyghinth’s Mother: Cezzot, Lady Of The Red
Name of the Planet: Byndra
List of Characters:
Kyghinth (Kyg), The Mysterious: the Crown Prince of Byndra. Tall dark and handsome, a black dragon shifter of the House of Edrontar, the Protector of life. Waiting for his right mate to become alpha, so far living a life with confused sexuality, he finally falls in love with a human male.
Xeghen (Xeg) the Braveheart, half-brother of Kyg, a trans, General of the Elite warriors that guard the palace and it inhabitants.
Edrontar the Protector of Life, Ruling King of the Byndra, married to a woman he does not love, but was duty bound to marry from royalty. The real father of Xeghen.
Queen Cezzot (Cezz) the Lady of the Red, willingly married Edrontar, but soon learns she was not his bonded mate. Love turns to hate as she seeks to destroy all around her.
Hysse the Gentle, the true love of Edrontar’s life, mother of Xeghen and Edrontar’s true bonded mate.
Other characters:
Samin Pershing, an Earth astronaut who crashed landed on Byndra and falls in love with Kyg.
Thydin a mercenary warrior known for his assassination expertise.
Solomon one of the oldest Elders on the planet, hired to assassinate the crown prince, his brother and their father.
Nilandra, a mercenary warrior hired for his assassination expertise. Also the cousin of one of the palace’s maids, Alge.
What happened until here
At the Moon Festival Célébration de Luna, la déEsse de la lune, Celebration of Luna the moon Goddess, the Crown Prince of Byndra, the planet of the dragons, Kyg was attacked. In the whirlwind he finds both his mother and the Byndranian queen, Cezzot, hate him.
In the midst of all this, a mysterious human spacecraft crashes on the planet and a human finds love for the first time in the form of a ferocious dragon shifter Kyg. They fall in love, Samin, the human, becomes pregnant. But the night of their marriage Queen Cezzot attacks the kingdom with her team and the king is almost killed. Kyg and Xeg protect the kingdom and Sam, but Cezzot was able to escape...
Thereafter in this book
Things hadn’t settled down since Queen Cezzot tried to kill Sam and his husband. The Crown Prince Kyg, took his rightful place on the throne and things at the palace seemed to go back to normal.
Erga became a permanent healer for the palace. He had designed a new up-to-date medical center with thoughts about Kyg and Sam’s baby. Xeg beefed up his Elite Warrior,. had a meeting with Kyg, and they both tried to make amends.
Life on Byndra had returned to normal since Cezzot’s departure and at least one of the culprits that had conspired with Cezzot to kill her husband and her son, the Crown Prince. Xeg’s Elite warriors had made quick work of thwarting those that who sought to kill those in the house of Byndra.
Prologue
UNMARKED IN THE LONELIEST part of space was Kasandra, a hidden dungeon planet under the reign of Byndra. Located three light years away from Byndra, it remained a secret to all but a few elite guards.
Kasandra, once a thriving planet was destroyed by their enemy using new weaponry. Byndraian dragons created this new Kasandra from the remnants of the planet, the newly formed asteroids. They put their scientists to work to keep the bigger land masses firmly in orbit and let the dust scatter in the universe. In this way they saved a lot of resources which they used to build prisons and homes for their soldiers. For the rest of the universe that planet had been totally destroyed in the war.
Large masses of asteroids stayed firmly at their positions in that space - neither rotating nor circling. Varying in sizes and shapes, they all shared the same grey surface. They appeared like small planets that have been molded into unregulated spheres. Soldier dragons patroled the dungeon in a circle. A guard of ten dragons per shift flew in timed loops so no part of the dungeon was left unguarded.
Byndraian soldiers escorted to Kasandra had no connection with any other planet in the universe; they had to swear an oath to abide by the strict rules laid down by the king. They had to remain loyal to Byndra or face imprisonment. Th
ey had to swear to keep Kasandra hidden from the rest of the universe and always kept it under their custody.
Each asteroid was numbered. They were technically known as JE346, OP897 and so on but the guards used their own names for them, mostly named after the prisoners occupying the prisons. Only the very hardcore prisoners ended up on Kasandra; universally famous culprits were held there, too dangerous to lock away on an inhabited planet. If they were to escape, then the universe would be in great danger.
JE346 was a big prison holding hundreds of felons but GH095 had a single dungeon located deep underground. One of the asteroids had a mammoth-sized ruby. They placed it before the sun’s direction in a way that any light falling in the region of Kasandra would reflect the light away from the planet affording the dungeon to keep its secret location. Now Kasandra was all safe, according to the scientists who created it.
Hydra a four-headed dragon was the Jailor of Kasandra. A strict dragon who would behead his soldiers if, he found any not following the strict disciplinary code .
All in all, no one had ever escaped Kasandra.
But who said what had never happened would not happen in the future either?
GH095 prison had a special soul, Zamza. A warlock who was exiled from Yao, a peaceful planet of warlocks. Yaoians surrendered Zamza to the Byndraians and they kept him in Kasandra.
Today, the dungeon of GH095, deep underground, was a dark lonely prison. A shadow sat cross-legged in the air, upside down, defying the law of gravity, his hair masked his face. It appeared he had been meditating for ages and had never moved from his place; his eyes closed tight with a white sticky substance gluing them together, as though sleep had formed over a number of months. Insects and worms had made their homes all over his body and the cage smelled foul. Despite the dirt of the prison there was a faint aura coming from Zamza’s body.
Everything was normal until a billion volt thunderbolt stuck the asteroid GH095. Hydra was alerted immediately. Zamza too was alerted . His body turned to a normal posture. His eyes shone yellow as he slowly blinked them open behind his hair and his third eye gleamed too as he peered around his cell to ascertain what was happening. It was no natural phenomena occurring in this region. No clouds. No rain. And definitely, no thunder. Soldiers rushed to cover GH095, but they were late, another billion volt thunderbolt stuck the GH095 and it turned to ash.
In all the dust, Zamza, binding himself in a thick burst of light flew away like a spaceship.
Chapter One
Spring Equinox is planned
AMIDST ALL THE TREACHERY and investigations following the destruction of GH095, the Spring Equinox Annual Ball preparation was underway. It was usually Cezzot who coordinated the groups needed to get things set up and in order, but after she had left the duties fell to Sam who relished the thought of being in charge of such a large event. Sam knew he was the Consort of the kingdom so he would carry all the responsibility of Cezzot and he thought he would do so in a much better way. He recalled the Spring Equinox was celebrated back on Earth as marking the time when the sun passed over the celestial equator. The day when Earth enjoyed equal night and day. Many also celebrated this day as a festival, the season’s change from dark winter to brightening spring. When flowers bloomed, ice melted and the sun passed closer to Earth, heralding warmer and longer days. Those were times when he sat on his beachside house in boxers enjoying wild waves. But now the times had changed. He was pregnant with his baby, which would only be a dream on Earth.
Though, his curious mind was intrigued whether there was a difference between the Spring Equinox on Earth and on Byndra. Therefore Sam had asked Shemne and Uro to bring him every old book which mentioned all the customs and traditions of this planet. Sam wanted to learn each and every nook involved in their customs. If he would fail at any point, his contemporaries would get a chance to raise a finger at him. And that in turn would be a question of Kyg too. So he would never dare anyone to question Kyg because of him. He was also slowly gathering his supporters.
Shemne took this charge, bringing all of Cezzot’s notes, books, and guest lists to Sam and Uro. Together, the three worked hard to create the best Spring Equinox Ball they could.
As the trio sat around the table in Kyg’s bunker they chatted. “Uro, I think you should be in charge of designing the invitations and then bring the proof here for us to decide as a team if that is what we want.” Sam smiled as Uro’s eyes lit up.
“Shemne, you are in charge of the food and staffing for the ball.” He smiled at her when she clapped her hands.
“Thank you, Your Highness. Cezzot never let me do anything like this before, so thank you again.”
“You are most welcome. When you have the menu decided, please bring it here so we can look at it as well. I will be in charge of the decorations in the Banqueting Hall and around the outside of the palace. I do hope this issue of finding the traitors will not interfere with our plans.”
“Me too, Your Highness, this has been an annual event since I can remember,” Shemne said.
“Well, I suggest we go now and come back in three days to show what we have come up with for the ball.” Sam smiled at the ladies.
“See you in three days Your Highness.” Shemne and Uro said, almost in unison.
After they left, Sam suddenly felt sick and ran to the bathroom to empty the contents of his stomach. Washing his mouth out and brushing his teeth, he went to lie down. He kept turning the pages of Cezzot’s notes to learn how she used to do things, but most of the pages were empty. That showed Cezzot was doing most of the things verbally. She never bothered to note things down and keep a record of them. Maybe she was playing with the accounts to fund her wicked plots, or maybe she was a real damn smart lady who didn’t need any further planning.
Sam picked up the book, Spring Slotis & Byndra. Intrigued, he turned the pages to satisfy his curiosity. It explained the cycle of Byndra around its sun and moons. Explaining how both the moons and sun played an important role in turning the wheel of the life. The forefathers decided to dedicate a day for Mother Nature, to worship and celebrate in her honor. Royalty kept the functions high and customs low so the subjects didn’t get carried away in the do’s and don’ts, freeing them to enjoy the day and show their respect to nature.
There was a page dedicated for the King and Queen, what they had to strictly do on that day. Sam read that page carefully, pinpointing the important procedures that would be asked of him. So as not to forget he bookmarked the places he wanted to learn by heart. He wanted to read on, but nausea kept him from concentrating, the words blurring as he fought the desire to throw up.
Finally, he put the book aside, and closing his eyes, he lay down. That’s where Kyg found him later.
Kyg’s face was puzzled when he found Sam in bed. Sitting on the bed he rubbed Sam’s back. Sam rolled over and immediately regretted it as he jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom again, where for the second time that day he emptied his stomach. He heaved for at least five minutes. When he felt he was done, he again rinsed his mouth, then brushed his teeth before climbing back into bed.
Kyg stood in the doorway of the bathroom not sure what he should be doing, so he just stood helpless. When Sam pushed past Kyg and stumbled to the bed and lay down, Kyg immediately walked to the bed, “Sam, how long have you been throwing up?”
Sam groaned, “Since this morning.”
Kyg reached for the intercom and pressed for Erga. “Can you come to the bunker, Sam’s been throwing up and he looks pale. I am worried.”
Erga reassured him and was in Kyg’s bunker within ten minutes. Stepping away, Kyg let Erga do his thing. As he examined Sam, Kyg watched. The look on Erga’s face worried him. “Well?” he demanded, “What is it?”
“I am not sure,” Erga said, standing up straight from where he’d been leaning over Sam.
“You are not sure? What the fuck, Erga, why don’t you know?” Kyg was agitated.
Turning to Kyg, Erga placed his hand on hi
s arm. “Your Majesty, calm down. I am calling my staff and they will be here quickly. We’ll be taking him to the clinic where I can run some tests. Okay?”
Kyg took a deep breath and nodded. True to his word, Erga’s nurse, Shenarah, came to the bunker pushing a floating gurney ahead of her. They moved Sam onto it and then moved him to the clinic, Kyg following them. They ran several tests, but they were all inconclusive. This sent Kyg into a fit of anger. Not even Sam’s warm hand on his arm stayed him from being so angry.
Erga kept Sam in the clinic overnight just to be sure he was okay. He gave Sam an IV drip so he could rehydrate him. Kyg was there first thing the next morning to take Sam home. Sam rested all day as Kyg lay with him on the bed watching TV, then when Sam woke, Kyg made him some soup and crackers, Erga had prescribed for him to eat until he felt better.
IT WAS THREE WEEKS later when the Equinox committee met to go over and finalize the food and drink for the Equinox Ball. Sam heard the intercom and rose to let the other girls in. He waited at the elevator and secured the lock once Uro and Shemne were in. He hugged them, then led them to the kitchen table where drinks and pastries awaited them. “So, how have you been, my dear friends ?”
“We’ve been doing just great?” Uro said. “I have finally selected three invitations for you to choose from, the one you like is the one we will go with.”
“Aye, Your Highness, I have made three menus as well for us to vote on, going with the one or if you crave a certain food we can accommodate our pregnant Consort.” Shemne smiled excitedly.
“Yay, let’s look at Uro’s first, then Shemne, and then I will show you what I have samples of for the decorations.”
Uro placed three different designs in the middle of the table for them to see. The first one they looked at was eliminated unanimously, the second was kinda nice, but it was the last one that had everyone oohing and ahhing. It was printed on blue sapphire-colored paper. Around the edges was a delicate silver filigree of vines and leaves. The red font was a swirl of embellished letters in the style of old calligraphy found in ancient books. Underneath the invitation greeting was Kyg’s coat of arms.