Legacy of the Curse

by Deborah Grace White

  Legacy of the Curse

  The Kyona Chronicles Book Four

  Deborah Grace White

  Luminant Publications

  Contents

  Legacy of the Curse

  Map of Kyona and Beyond

  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

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Note from the Author

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Legacy of the Curse

  By Deborah Grace White

  The Kyona Chronicles Book Four

  Copyright © 2020 by Deborah Grace White

  First edition (v1.0) published in 2020

  by Luminant Publications

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, stored in, or introduced into a database or retrieval system, in any form, or by any means, without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  ISBN: 978-1-925898-33-0

  Luminant Publications

  PO Box 201

  Burnside, South Australia 5066

  http://www.deborahgracewhite.com

  Cover Design by Karri Klawiter

  Map illustration by Rebecca E. Paavo

  For Cressida

  You’ve never been afraid to use your voice.

  I hope that never changes.

  Map of Kyona and Beyond

  Chapter One

  “I don’t like it, Elnora, and I don’t understand why you’re so positive about the idea.”

  Jocelyn paused outside her mother’s private receiving room, her hand on the doorknob. She was surprised by her father’s tone of voice. It was highly unusual to hear her parents arguing. Whether because they never fought, or because they had the discretion to only do so in private, she’d never figured out.

  Of course, as a princess, she’d been drilled in all matters of good etiquette, including the impoliteness of eavesdropping. But still…it was a tantalizingly rare opportunity.

  “Jocelyn can handle this, Cal. You don’t need to be so worried for her.”

  They were arguing about her? Now there was no way she was going to resist the temptation to eavesdrop.

  “It’s not about being worried,” returned her father, obstinately. “You read the missive. Do I really have to explain to you why I’m not eager for either of my children to be pushed—or even prompted—into a marriage alliance? Or have you forgotten how hard we had to fight? I don’t want her to go through the same—”

  “Of course I haven’t forgotten,” interrupted the queen, calmly. “But no one has proposed a marriage alliance.”

  In spite of her raging curiosity, Jocelyn couldn’t help but smile at her father’s snort. It wasn’t a very kingly sound.

  “Are we reading the same letter?”

  Jocelyn heard a rustling of paper, then her father spoke again, clearly reading aloud. “We would be delighted for Her Royal Highness Princess Jocelyn to have the opportunity to become acquainted with our son and heir, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Ormond.” There was a pointed silence. “Tell me again that they’re not thinking of a marriage alliance?”

  “I didn’t say they’re not thinking of it,” her mother said patiently. “Of course they are. But they haven’t said as much. My point is that it’s not a formal proposal of any kind, and if she goes on this visit, it won’t commit us—or her—to anything.”

  “The whole thing is outrageous.” Her father clearly wasn’t listening. “She’s far too young to be a marriage prospect. Isn’t their crown prince twenty-five or twenty-six?”

  “I’ll admit, she’s a little young,” said her mother, and Jocelyn could picture just the way her forehead was creasing.

  “A little young?” her father repeated. “She’s seventeen!”

  “And I was barely eighteen when we were married.” The queen sounded amused now.

  “But that’s—”

  “Let me guess, that’s different?” Jocelyn’s mother was definitely amused.

  “It is different,” persisted the king stubbornly. “Because we chose each other.”

  “Tut, tut, listening at keyholes, are we? That’s not very princessly.”

  The whisper made Jocelyn start, the speaker unexpectedly close to her ear. But she didn’t feel embarrassed to be caught eavesdropping. She knew that voice as well as her own, and there wasn’t much she’d be ashamed for him to know about her. She’d caught him in plenty of worse exploits, after all.

  “Quiet, Eamon,” she shushed, gesturing for her twin to drop his voice still lower. “They’re arguing.” His eyes lit with interest, and she pushed on. “About me.”

  “I see,” he whispered back. “Fair game, then.” And he placed his ear against the door.

  “It’s not just that she’s young,” their father was saying. “She’s not ready for something like this. She’d be all alone over there…if this alliance happened, she’d be their queen eventually, and…I don’t know, I just don’t like it.”

  Eamon raised his eyebrows at Jocelyn, his expression saying as clearly as words, “What have I missed?”

  She just grimaced, her heart sinking inexplicably at her father’s words. It was no surprise that he didn’t think her up to the job of being anyone’s queen, given her detachment from everything of substance in their own court. And he wasn’t wrong—she would bring disaster on anyone under her care, more likely than not. But still, it stung that he had so little faith in her.

  “I don’t want her to be far away, either, Cal,” her mother was saying, so quietly that Jocelyn had to resort to pressing her ear against the door, like her brother. “But I think that this could be a good opportunity for her to stretch her wings, explore something outside of Kynton. She’s not happy here. You know I’m right.”

  “Yes, I know.” The king sounded subdued. “But I don’t know why.”

  “Neither do I, to be honest,” his wife admitted. “But she gets more withdrawn with every year that passes. And I don’t know how to help her. Maybe a change of scenery—just a temporary one—will bring her out of herself.”

  “I don’t understand it.” King Calinnae sounded frustrated again. “She used to be so ene
rgetic as a child, so witty and funny and…now it’s hard to get her to say two words in front of anyone outside the family. I feel like I’m failing her somehow, but I don’t know what to do.”

  Jocelyn lowered her gaze and stepped back slightly, suddenly not wanting to hear any more. She had heard it all before, from others as well as her parents. Eamon sent her a look that was so full of sympathetic understanding that she was tempted to lean her head against his shoulder for comfort. But for all they were closer than most siblings, Eamon was still a seventeen year old boy—even he didn’t want to have his shoulder cried on by his sister. If it had been Luciana looking for his affection on the other hand…

  Jocelyn sighed, thoughts of her best friend just making her feel more lonely. Even Lucy didn’t know the cause of Jocelyn’s reserve. Maybe they had been too cautious—maybe they should have confided in their parents at least. But somehow it had been too intimate—and too frightening—a thing to share with anyone but her twin.

  “Don’t be too hard on her,” came her mother’s voice. “Or too hard on yourself, Cal. Like you said, she’s young, and she’s facing all kinds of pressures we don’t really understand. You were raised in a tiny fishing village, and I was raised in a street gang. Neither one of us has any idea what it would be like to actually grow up royal. We’re both out of our depth, if we’re honest.”

  Come on, Eamon mouthed, clearly having heard enough. Jocelyn nodded, in total agreement. Once their mother started being hard on herself, it was time to steer the conversation in a new direction.

  “Why do you think they wanted us to meet them before the meal?” Eamon asked at full volume, sending her a wink as he rattled the door handle unnecessarily loudly in the process of turning it.

  She just rolled her eyes as she followed him in. Somehow, while she was willing to eavesdrop on her parents, it seemed beneath her dignity to participate in her brother’s show of covering their indiscretion.

  “Come in and you’ll find out,” said their father placidly, regarding his son with a fond eye.

  Jocelyn suppressed another sigh. She knew her father loved her, but he never looked at her with such pride. He spoke to her just as warmly, but it was impossible to miss the underlying concern in his expression whenever he watched her.

  “Joss,” he said now, greeting her with a hug, a rare indulgence reserved for the privacy of the family.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” said their mother, gesturing to the paper still held in her husband’s hand. “We wanted to tell you about a communication we’ve just received from the king and queen of Valoria.” Her eyes settled on her daughter as she named the kingdom that neighbored Kyona to the east. “It’s about you, Jocelyn.”

  Jocelyn looked an inquiry, but said nothing. It was Eamon who spoke up, once again more willing to feign ignorance.

  “About Joss? What do they say?”

  “You may be aware that we are sending a delegation to Bryford to renegotiate our trade agreement,” said the queen, her eyes still lingering on Jocelyn. “It’s a routine visit. But the royal family has issued a formal invitation for Jocelyn to accompany the delegation, and to spend the summer at their castle.”

  “A state visit?” asked Jocelyn, her forehead slightly creased.

  “Yes,” cut in King Calinnae, before his wife could answer. “It would be a formal state visit.”

  “For what purpose?” Jocelyn pursued.

  “For no specified purpose,” said the queen. Jocelyn didn’t miss her father’s pointed look, and her mother added, “But it seems likely that they have a marriage alliance in mind, with their oldest son, Prince Ormond. Nothing official, of course. You wouldn’t be agreeing to anything. Just an opportunity to meet him, and to see something of Valoria.”

  Jocelyn nodded slowly, turning it over in her mind. As unexpected as the sudden invitation was, the concept that as Kyona’s only princess she might be sought after by other kingdoms for a marriage alliance was not exactly new to her. She had no idea what Valoria was like, other than that they were at peace with Kyona. She could feel curiosity building alongside her nerves. Would life in the Valorian capital of Bryford be significantly different from life in Kynton?

  “Do you wish me to go?” she asked at last.

  “No,” said her father.

  Her mother answered at the same time. “I want you to consider it.” Queen Elnora frowned slightly at her husband. “I want to know what you think—what you want.”

  “I wouldn’t go, Joss,” said Eamon, lounging comfortably against a reclining couch. “You’ll miss our birthday if you’re gone all summer! Plus, they’re probably stiff over there, like real royals.”

  Even their normally serious father smiled at the family joke. Kyona’s sovereigns made no apologies for some of the unorthodox notions their unusual background had introduced into life at the castle. The king’s smile disappeared in an instant at his son’s next words, however.

  “They’re probably not in the habit of asking princesses what they want. Once you’re there, they might just order you to marry him, and then you’d be stuck.”

  “They certainly will not,” said their father emphatically. “Jocelyn is a princess of Kyona—not to mention my daughter—and no Valorian, royal or not, has any right to order her to do anything.”

  “It’s all right, Father,” said Jocelyn, restraining a smile. “Eamon was joking.” Her father’s protective streak was one of his most predictable qualities, and she and Eamon had often been unable to resist using it to get a reaction out of the normally difficult-to-ruffle king. Not that he had any idea of that, of course.

  “I was only sort of joking, Joss,” said her brother, his expression unusually serious. “They might push you around.”

  His eyes held an extra layer of meaning meant only for her, and she knew what he was leaving unsaid. She would be hampered, as always, from asserting herself the way she might want to.

  “As admirable as it is that both of you boys are looking out for her,” cut in Queen Elnora dryly, giving her husband and her son a look, “the whole point was to find out what Jocelyn thinks. How she’s supposed to speak for herself with the two of you in the room is beyond me.”

  Three pairs of eyes turned expectantly toward Jocelyn, and she barely refrained from sighing. How she hated being asked her opinion. Almost as much as she frequently wished she could express the many very decided opinions with which her frustrated mind was crammed.

  Eamon at least knew all this, and his look was once again sympathetic. She felt a little bad for him all of a sudden. He very heroically took their mother’s criticism on a regular basis for his supposed tendency to speak for her instead of letting her speak for herself. The queen could have no idea that he did so because she begged him to, for everyone else’s sake.

  But she pushed her self-imposed reticence aside. With her family she could afford to speak her mind, at least to an extent.

  “I’m not sure what I think,” she said slowly, staring at the back of the letter in her father’s hand as if she could read the words through the paper. “I mean, if I’m honest, I’m not exactly in a hurry to be married off for an alliance.” She saw the meaningful look her father directed at her mother. “But I suppose it could be interesting to see what Valoria is like.” She met the queen’s eye. “Do you really think that I could go without committing to marrying their prince?”

  “Absolutely,” said Queen Elnora with conviction. “There would be no obligation.”

  “It wouldn’t cause tension if they offered and we didn’t accept?”

  “That’s not an issue, Jocelyn,” said the king quickly. “We can handle tension. The question is, do you really want to find yourself away from home for the entire summer, with no support?”

  She raised her eyebrows. “I thought you said they couldn’t order me to do anything, Father. And surely I wouldn’t be going all alone.”

  “Not literally alone,” he conceded. “But none of us would be there.” He frowned. �
��I would feel better about the whole idea if I could accompany you. It’s been years since I’ve been to Bryford—not since King Gresham died, and I attended King Malcolm’s coronation. It’s probably time I paid another visit to our neighbors. But I can’t leave while the conflict over the freedmen is unresolved.”

  “Conflict?” repeated Jocelyn quickly. “That’s a strong word. Has it become as bad as that, Father?”

  “I’m afraid so,” he answered seriously. “There have even been a number of violent clashes.” He took a deep breath, his expression troubled. “If things progress on their current course, I don’t think it’s too strong to say we’re headed for a crisis.”

  Jocelyn exchanged a look with Eamon, alarmed. Things were much worse than she had realized.

  Their father shook his head, seeming to speak almost to himself. “I just wish I knew where it was coming from.”

  “It does seem to have come from nowhere,” said Eamon, frowning. “Was there no tension when the freedmen originally sailed here from Balenol, Father?”