Heart of the Dragon's Realm

by Karalynn Lee

  Heart of the Dragon’s Realm

  By Karalynn Lee

  Princess Kimri is used to betrayal. Her brother sold her to a king in exchange for swords to defend his lands. King Tathan’s reputation is as fierce as that of his mountain kingdom—where dragons are said to guard the castle walls—but the realms are unstable enough without angering the mountain-king, so Kimri reluctantly agrees to the union.

  When she arrives in Helsmont, the king promises her a year of courtship before marrying—or parting ways. Before long, Kimri thinks she may find comfort, and perhaps eventually love, with the stoic king.

  But the realms are more unsettled than Kimri realizes, and she soon finds herself caught in the middle of a war between the kingdoms. Can she count on her betrothed to take her side? Or will his loyalty to his kingdom come before his loyalty to her?

  50,000 words

  Dear Reader,

  I love October because it’s the perfect month for my favorite season: fall. I adore the sights, sounds, smells and feel of the fall season. Pumpkins and straw bales, colorful mums and burning woodsmoke. And the crisp, cool weather that’s perfect for sitting on the porch and reading a book while sipping hot apple cider.

  This month, we have an excellent variety of books perfectly suited to this very thing, starting with All He Ever Desired, Shannon Stacey’s latest Kowalski family contemporary romance. As always, Shannon delivers a captivating romance with just the right touch of light humor. Joining her in the contemporary romance category is HelenKay Dimon with Lean on Me, the second book in her trilogy. Make sure to check out her first Carina Press title, It’s Not Christmas Without You, and look for We’ll Be Home for Christmas, coming in December 2012.

  If you’re gearing up for Halloween and are in the paranormal mood, check out Regan Summers’s newest novel, Running in the Dark. Debut author Bryn Donovan offers a wonderful paranormal romance in Sole Possession, while Diana Copland’s male/male paranormal romance A Reason to Believe will haunt you long after you’ve read the last page. And joining Diana with a male/male release is L.B. Gregg and her rerelease Men of Smithfield: Seth and David.

  Fans of steampunk romance will be thrilled to see new releases from two of our favorite steampunk authors: Cindy Spencer Pape and Jenny Schwartz. Look for Moonlight & Mechanicals and Courting Trouble to release in mid-October. And as an aside, can I tell you how much I love Jenny’s series name of The Bustlepunk Chronicles? It’s a perfect fit for this series about a spunky young woman in steampunk Australia.

  I’m thrilled to welcome Val Roberts to Carina Press with her newest science-fiction romance novel, The Valmont Contingency. Val and I worked together in the past and I love her voice! And returning to us with another release in the fantasy romance genre is Karalynn Lee. If you’ve never had the pleasure of immersing yourself in one of Karalynn’s worlds, now’s the time to check out Heart of the Dragon’s Realm.

  My team is especially excited about this next book from Julie Rowe. As fans of Downton Abbey, they fell in love with the first book in her new historical romance series set during World War I, Saving the Rifleman.

  If you’re wondering where the romantic suspense is, not to worry, Kate Sherwood offers up a spine-tingling suspense, Shadow Valley. And mystery author Janis Patterson returns with her newest novel, Beaded to Death.

  To round out the month of October, we have two spicy erotic romances to tempt you. With No Reservations, Lilly Cain kicks off her new erotic series, Bad Girls Know. Last, but definitely not least, the book from Christine d’Abo’s Long Shots series I’ve been waiting for. Mouthwatering sex club owner Josh is finally going to get his own happily ever after and you don’t want to miss the mind-blowing chemistry Christine has written to get him there in Calling the Shots.

  We love to hear from readers, and you can email us your thoughts, comments and questions to generalinquiries@carinapress.com. You can also interact with Carina Press staff and authors on our blog, Twitter stream and Facebook fan page.

  Happy reading!

  ~Angela James

  Executive Editor, Carina Press

  www.carinapress.com

  www.twitter.com/carinapress

  www.facebook.com/carinapress

  Dedication

  For the J’s in my life who never disparaged the dream.

  Acknowledgements

  Eternal gratitude to my brother, who tended the fires in the lighthouse of writerly sanity while I worked on this. And thanks to my hardworking editor, Alissa, for finding the shapes in the marble and telling me where to put the chisel.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  About the Author

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Her brother traded her for peace, a hundred swords and ten thousand arrows. She didn’t speak to him the day the guards came to escort her through the mountain pass and to her new home, for she was too furious with him.

  “Kimri,” he said, “won’t you even give me a proper farewell?”

  She patted her sorrel’s neck and swung herself up into the saddle. They wouldn’t need a farewell if he hadn’t given her away to the mountain-king like market goods. With her heels she told her horse to move on.

  Her brother stood squarely in the way. “I had no choice, you know.”

  She spared him a disdainful glance. It was true no one dared challenge Helsmont. The small mountain kingdom conducted its affairs as it saw fit—but in the past it had always done so quietly, involving no others. It had been her brother’s messenger who had gone there first, asking what it would take for an alliance between their realms.

  She was, frankly, impressed she was worth such a price. But it was one thing for the mountain-king to offer it, and another for her brother to take it.

  Dereth sighed and stroked Redwing’s face. “Just don’t try to run away. Ride safely.” He stepped aside.

  Her escort waited in the yard outside the stable: half a dozen guards in leathers, standing by their mountain-bred horses. Such a small band from anywhere else would have been an insult, but Helsmont guards were famed as the deadliest fighting force in five kingdoms. Her brother’s warning had been unnecessary. She wouldn’t try to escape these men—

  —and woman. One rode among them, but she didn’t seem out of place, not with her short-cropped hair, a scar on her cheek, a sword on her hip and a quiver slung over her shoulder. Helsmont, unlike Anagard, must allow female soldiers.

  Kimri rode up to her. “Surety for my virginity?”

  The woman fixed her with a steady look. “Any good commandant could ensure that, Princess. King Tathan trusts all of his commandants, and each of them has the obedience of his troop. You would be as safe with any of them.”

  “An iron fist.”

  The commandant shrugged. “He is the mountain-king.”

  “And you?”

  “I?” Her demeanor turned formal. “Commandant Beatris. I am charged with your safety until we reach Helsmont and I deliver you into the hands of my king.”

  “An onerous duty indeed.” The hint of a smile crossed Beatris’s face.

  Kimri relaxed at this evidence of the other woman’s sense of humor.

  “The sooner started, the sooner finished,” Beatris said. “You’re ready?”

  Kimri patted her saddlebags.

  Beatris bowed to Dereth. “By your leave, King.”

  “Guard her well,” he said from behind Kimri.

  Beatris nodded and th
en mounted her steed. Her men followed suit, falling into a guard formation as they headed for the gate. The horses’ hooves sounded unnaturally loud in the silence that shrouded the courtyard.

  She’d already traded farewells with her few friends and forbidden them to watch her leave. She wanted to maintain her dignity. But as they rode out and their pace quickened, she couldn’t help twisting around. She spied her brother standing by the gate, watching her. It might be a long time before she saw him again. She lifted a hand and breathed a sigh of relief when he echoed the movement. He kept his hand raised even as the distance stretched between them, pulling her heartstrings more taut with every stride of her horse. Then she could make him out no more.

  “You should watch your path,” Beatris said, falling back to Kimri’s side. “Your horse could stumble while you look backward.”

  “I didn’t tell him goodbye.” But she faced forward again, trying to ignore the pang inside her. She patted her mare’s neck. “Sorry, Redwing.” She’d gotten into the habit of talking to her horse ever since Dereth had become king and had less time for her.

  “Apologies aren’t worth much to a broken-legged horse,” Beatris said.

  “You’ll notice I was apologizing to a steed who’s walking perfectly well.” She addressed her mare again. “Don’t mind her. I doubt she’s used to having moping princesses under her care.”

  “I thought you two spoke in the stables.”

  It took her a moment to realize the commandant referred to Dereth. “He spoke. I was angry.” She still couldn’t believe how high-handed he’d been, marrying her off like this. “I miss the time when he was just my brother.”

  “He’s young to be king.”

  “Our father wed late,” Kimri said, suddenly defensive. “And Dereth has already grown so much older since he first took rule of Anagard. Wasn’t the mountain-king young once?”

  “Never,” Beatris said.

  Kimri laughed, but a little uneasily. There were many tales of Helsmont’s ruler, but none she could recall of the time before him. Her betrothed must be an older man. She’d never seen him or known anyone who had, as he never strayed from his realm. Presumably Beatris could describe him, but Kimri refused to shame herself by revealing any anxiety about her future husband and asking questions about him. The kingdom, though, seemed a fair target for her curiosity—everyone wondered about the reclusive realm.

  “Will you tell me about Helsmont?”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “They say it’s guarded by the dragon who lives in the mountains.” They said the mountain-king had tamed it and set it to this task, but that couldn’t be true, for no man could defeat a dragon.

  Beatris quirked her brows. “It keeps other kingdoms, like yours, from invading.”

  “The dragon or the rumor?”

  Beatris smiled slightly but said nothing.

  People also said a dragon slept in the river dividing Anagard and Kenasgate. The ferrymen made propitiations before the first crossing of each morning, and it hadn’t stirred for decades, according to the stories. She didn’t know how much longer the mountain-dragon had been quiet, and what the king had done to keep it so.

  “What of the people?” Kimri asked.

  On this subject, at least, Beatris proved more forthcoming. “It’s a small kingdom. Our king knows everyone. He trains with the guards. He helps parents name newborns if they’re too addled with joy.”

  “He’s kind, then.”

  “Not in practice bouts.” Beatris fingered her shoulder as though testing a bruise. “But he does well by his people.”

  “And he lets women become guards.”

  Beatris glanced sharply at her. “He lets them follow their paths.”

  Except the odd princess of another realm, apparently. He’d demanded her as bride and not even paid her the courtesy of a courtship visit. Where was his vaunted tolerance when it came to her? But she bit back those words. Kings did strange things in hopes of heirs. Hadn’t Dereth mentioned he was considering courting that widow, some noblewoman who had already borne two children?

  Instead she asked, “Can I talk to your men? I’d like to get to know them.” Perhaps one of them would let something slip about their king.

  Beatris gave her a measuring look, then nodded. For the first time Kimri felt she had won the other woman’s approval. “If you want to speak with the rear guard, tell me and I’ll switch his position.”

  The guards were all flawlessly polite and answered questions easily, although they asked few themselves, making their conversations rather one-sided and difficult to nudge toward her intended topic without asking outright. She ended up learning more about them than about the mountain-king: Borhin of the scarred hand and quick smile, Cheyrit with his easy balance in the saddle but stammered words, mild-eyed Damano who wore his hair in a single long braid…

  By nightfall, when Beatris called a halt so they could set up camp, she still knew next to nothing about her betrothed.

  They saw to their horses, ate a simple meal of pottage and then bedded down. They were taking the most direct route to Helsmont instead of wending their way through villages, and no one seemed to expect that she might prefer an actual bed to a bedroll on the hard ground, especially after a full day’s travel. Was this how it would be in Helsmont? Not a care for her comfort or wishes.

  Despite the chill of the autumn night, her weariness let her slip quickly into the oblivion of slumber. Only when they reached Helsmont’s border several days later did her dreams become restless, while the mountain and the future it held loomed over her.

  * * *

  She couldn’t breathe. She floundered out of the shreds of one nightmare into another. A callused palm pressed over her nose and mouth, silencing her frantic cries. She grabbed her assailant’s wrists to pry them away and he uncovered her mouth, only to force in a wad of cloth before she could shout for help. She tried to twist away from whoever knelt by her bedroll, but he kneed her in the stomach and she went limp. He took the opportunity to wrap her in a blanket, trapping her limbs. Hands seized her, and then he swung her over his shoulder to haul her away. She bucked.

  “Damn it! Hold still,” the man hissed as he lurched.

  She threw all her weight to one side, bringing them so far off balance that her abductor cursed again and lowered her.

  The blanket had slipped, so she flung back an elbow that crunched into her assailant’s face—mostly through luck, for she could barely see in the darkness. He cursed and shoved her away. As she fell she grabbed his leg, pulling him down. Then she scrambled to her feet, yanking the cloth out of her mouth and spitting out its leftover taste. Around her men shouted and swords clashed.

  She dropped to her knees and checked for a weapon on the man she’d just taken down. When he tried to grab her, she threw her fist into his kidney. He gave a soft oof and strained for air, but still had the presence of mind to roll away just before she could pull the sword out of his scabbard.

  “Damn it, hold still—” She bit back a sudden laugh at her echo of his own words. He gave a snort too, with the little breath he had.

  She used the brief distraction to push him into another roll, bringing his sword back into reach. She snatched it up as he reached for her, but before he could grab her, she set it at his throat. They were both breathing hard, making the point of the blade waver dangerously near to nicking his skin.

  Her opponent subdued, she took the opportunity to look around. She couldn’t make out any faces, but even with only twilit silhouettes she could tell who wore full armor and who had been rousted out of a bedroll. The Helsmont guards fought well despite their disadvantage in numbers, and even as she watched the scrimmage began to subside. She saw Beatris dispatch a man. Kimri looked back at her own captive. Am I supposed to kill him too?

  He must have seen it in her face. He sucked in a breath and shouted, “Ransom!”

  As though on cue, the sounds of battle ebbed. She heard footsteps and fading c
ries as men fled.

  Beatris strode up, slicking the blood off her blade. The banked fire lay behind her, making her a looming shadow in the darkness. “And who are you to demand to be ransomed?”

  He hesitated. “Herrol of Kenasgate.”

  Kimri tightened her grip on the hilt. So Kenasgate carried the war even here. Wasn’t it enough that their relentless attacks had forced her brother into asking for arms from Helsmont, and trading her in return? Apparently not—they’d even sent the eldest living son of their king.

  Beatris eyed him. “Fortunately for you, I suspect my king will have some interest in you alive. You’ll come with us to Helsmont. I have your word you won’t try to escape or cause us any harm?”

  “Yes.”

  “The word of a man who attacks at night.”

  Herrol offered his open palms, defenseless against the accusation.

  She sighed. “Samir, watch the princeling.”

  Kimri pulled the sword away. The rush of battle had worn off, and her hands shook. “He wanted the mountain-king to believe my brother had never sent me, I suppose, and for Dereth to believe you hadn’t delivered me safely. Anagard and Helsmont at war would make things easier for Kenasgate.”

  Herrol did not deny it.

  Someone lit a lantern and brought it over to them, then took a guard position over the prince.

  Beatris turned to Kimri and took the sword from her with a brief but searching glance. “You look unharmed. I didn’t think you could take someone down like that.” She jerked her head toward Herrol.

  “I grew up with a brother,” Kimri said, still winded. “When my father was off fighting, I talked him into a few lessons by saying the Kenasgate army could arrive anytime and I’d need to protect myself. I didn’t realize how true I spoke.” She glanced at Herrol and saw blood on his face. “Did I hurt you?” She tried not to sound too viciously satisfied.

  Herrol gingerly touched his face. “I think you broke my nose.” His voice was muffled.

  “Good. As long as you can walk,” Beatris said.

  He didn’t seem put off by this callous assessment. “My men?”