Wildfire: Book Two of the Everealm Series

by J. D. Wright

  ~*~

  Xavier had never done this before. Returning home once the sun rose in the sky was new to him. He didn’t realize just how many people were up and about this early in the morning, readying the castle for the day. He tried to slip in unnoticed, but that idea quickly disappeared when his brother spotted him heading up the stairs.

  “Do I really want to know why you are just returning home?”

  Xavier stopped and shook his head. Then he turned to face his brother who was standing at the bottom of the stairs in his usual royal attire. Xavier found it far too formal for everyday wear, but Tristan would never be caught in clothing similar to what Xavier was wearing. He found it beneath a prince to dress as a commoner.

  “How do you know I’m just returning home?”

  “Because I’ve already been to your room. Your bed was untouched and there was a lack of naked women on top of it.” Tristan wished he were joking, but that was exactly what he had expected to find. “Did you pass out drunk in the town square?”

  “I slept in a bed,” Xavier said. “And I didn’t drink last night.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  Xavier crossed his arms. “I don’t expect you would. But I promised you I wouldn’t drink and I didn’t.”

  Tristan narrowed his eyes at his brother, trying to decide if he should believe him. Xavier’s eyes were clear, with no dark circles around them. He looked like he may have actually gotten a good night’s rest. For once.

  “Then where were you?”

  “That isn’t any of your business…”

  “You were with someone. Please tell me it wasn’t Ingrid. She is married now, Xavier. You can’t—“

  “It wasn’t Ingrid.” He could honestly say that for the first time in many months, he hadn’t even thought of Ingrid for the entire night. He was surprised to admit it, even to himself. He had, though, thought about the blonde bard during the long walk back to the castle. He replayed the evening in his mind, smiling to himself when he remembered the best parts. But even though he enjoyed every bit of it, he couldn’t help but dwell on the moment he realized he woke alone.

  Tristan was confused. “Then who was it?”

  Xavier sighed. He knew his brother would continue to pester him until he relented. So he gestured toward the door and they walked outside to the terrace. Then Xavier told him about his night in the tavern and the beautiful bard with a voice as sweet as honey. He shared the majority of the story, but he kept a few intimate morsels for himself.

  “I don’t understand how you can treat women that way. Using them to get what you want and tossing them aside. You didn’t even learn her name.”

  “I get the feeling she used me every bit as much as I used her.”

  “Good. You deserve it.”

  “Regardless,” he said, shaking his head. He couldn’t believe he was about to say this, “I want to see her again.”

  “Of course you do.”

  Xavier squinted at Tristan. “What does that mean?”

  “Isn’t it obvious? She’s you, only female. And the fact that she’s the one who snuck out and left you all alone is eating away at you isn’t it? She bested you and you can’t stand it.”

  Xavier scowled. Tristan was right, but he sure as hell wasn’t about to tell him that.

  ~*~

  Tristan could hear his sister shouting when he walked back into the castle. He was fairly certain he knew what she was angry about. Her betrothal to King Carneath. When their father, King Nolan, made the announcement, Princess Rianne had done everything she could to convince him to change his mind. However, her pleas fell on deaf ears as the king had already agreed to Carneath’s proposal. Carneath would marry Rianne and the kingdom of Labara would receive a large plot of land just to the north of them.

  The wildfire that destroyed a quarter of their famed mulberry orchard had left the ground scorched and unsuitable for anything to grow, naturally. Eon, the Royal Mage, had done everything in his power to restore the land, to no avail. The only thing that could heal the land would be magic from the fairies and that was not a possibility. The fae had refused to aid men for several decades now.

  Nolan was left with little choice but to accept Carneath’s offer. They would need to plant seedlings as soon as possible, so the wedding between the Princess of Labara and King Carneath would need to take place in early spring, which was only one month from now.

  Every day since Rianne learned of her fate, she had come downstairs at breakfast and begged her father to end the proposal. It usually led to shouting, followed by crying. King Nolan was a tough man when it came to matters of the kingdom. In regards to his only daughter, who was still seventeen for three more months, he couldn’t bring himself to punish her for her outbursts. He couldn’t entirely blame her for being upset, either. King Carneath was quite a bit older than she was, with three daughters of his own, already. The oldest daughter was only two years younger than Rianne. And she made it a point to remind her father of this fact every morning. She was almost to the point of tears when Tristan walked in.

  “I know that we need the land. I understand that, Father. But maybe I can go to the fairies and convince them to assist us.”

  “Rianne, that is by far the most ridiculous argument that you have come up with yet. It simply isn’t going to happen. The sooner you come to terms with my decision, the easier all of this will be.” Nolan’s voice may have sounded firm, but his heart broke for his daughter at the same time.

  “But Father—” she began.

  “That is enough, Rianne,” her mother said. Rianne stopped speaking. When Queen Isabelle said it time to stop, Rianne knew to listen.

  But that didn’t cool the raging fire burning inside her mind. She was angry and heartbroken. It wasn’t like she expected to marry for love. She knew better than that, deep down. She was a princess. Princesses rarely married for love. But she hoped to at least be wed to someone she could perchance learn to love. And that wasn’t possible with King Carneath.

  She knew there was no use in trying to change their minds, anymore. That plan had failed. Now it was time for the second plan. She turned on her heels and left the room.

  Tristan watched Rianne leave then looked at his parents. Neither of them looked happy about the situation. But sometimes people must make sacrifices for the better of the kingdom. He understood this.

  “Ah, Tristan,” Nolan said, just realizing his oldest son was in the room. “I’ve been looking for you.”

  “My apologies, Father.”

  “I have news about your engagement to Princess Seraphina.”

  Tristan braced himself. He had been betrothed to Taten’s princess since her birth when he was six years old. She was now nineteen. Their engagement had been placed on hold for three years now.

  “In light of the recent attacks in Everealm, King Leonard and I have decided to set aside our disagreements and continue with the marriage. It will strengthen our ties with Taten. Which combined with having Carneath as a more solid ally soon, will reinforce our position in the realm, in case of another attack.”

  Tristan once hated the way his father spoke of marriage as if it were a chore, but he had grown used to it over the years. Nolan and Isabelle were wed under the same circumstances and had grown to genuinely love each other. Tristan wondered if, perhaps, his parents’ fortunate situation had wrongly convinced them to believe that every couple could have the same fate. That simply wasn’t the case.

  “Yes, Father.”

  “The girl will be coming here in two weeks’ time. The wedding is planned for this summer. I expect there to be no complications with this arrangement.”

  Tristan knew that his father’s words were more of a warning than a statement. But it didn’t matter. He didn’t intend to fight his fate the same way Rianne did. Tristan had accepted a long time ago that this would be his future.

  ~*~

  Rianne watched two men loading empty barrel
s onto a wagon. She had been observing the routines of the servants for over a month now, looking for a good opportunity to escape unnoticed. This had seemed to be her best path to getting out of the kingdom.

  The bag over her shoulder was heavy so she slipped the strap over her head and wore it across her chest. She hoped that would help make it more comfortable to wear. It was as full as she could get it and still be able to close. It mostly contained food and clothes that she stole from the servant’s quarters. If she wore one of her gowns, she would run the risk of someone recognizing her. Or at the very least becoming suspicious as to why a noble’s daughter was traveling alone.

  She also had to carry the weight of her knives, which were tied to her thigh and belt. She even had a small dagger tucked into each of her boots. Convincing her brothers to teach her how to use them had been easy and she spent almost every free moment in her room, practicing on a makeshift target hidden behind her armoire.

  When the last barrel was placed inside the wagon, one of the men tied a thick rope across the back. Then he joined the other man in the drivers’ seat. Rianne quickly snuck up behind the wagon and climbed into the back. She was careful not to allow her head or bag to be seen. The sun set in the sky and she rode away.

  She turned her head and watched her home continue to get smaller in the distance as the wagon rolled along. She took a deep breath and said farewell to Labara.

  About Me

  Writing has always been a hobby of mine, beginning as a young child. It was a way to cope with losing my father at seven years of age. I started with poetry and was featured several times on the amazing poetry blog, Autumn Leaves, by Sondra Ball. My love for poetry soon led to writing songs in middle school and beyond, which I still do, occasionally. Music has always been an important part of my existence, so writing songs was a natural transition from poetry. In high school, I started my own novel. However, life got in the way and I never finished it.

  Fast forward many years later and I found myself married with three children, absorbed in my busy life with commitments to my family, work, school, church, and charities, among other things. One day I came across my old binder, with notes from my first novel, and it was with those notes that I conjured up the elusive Everealm.

  I write to please readers such as myself, who have a love for fantasy and romance, but like a little danger and sex in their reading. I wrote the book with a mature audience in mind, who can appreciate a hearty imaginary world with magic and the unknown, but want more than fluffy love stories with wizards in them. They want the romance, magic, and danger, all wrapped into one.

  ~J.D. Wright

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