Prisoner of the Crown

by Cheryl Oblon

  Prisoner of the Crown

  All the Queen’s Heirs, Book 1

  Cheryl Oblon

  Published: 2016

  ISBN: 978-1-62210-399-7

  Published by Blue Swan Publishing. Copyright © 2016, Cheryl Oblon.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the author.

  This is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is completely coincidental.

  Manufactured in the USA

  Email support@blueswanpublishing.com with questions, or inquiries about Blue Swan Publishing or Ten West Publishing.

  Blurb

  Sixteen-year-old Lady Kimess is expected to one day inherit the role of Royal Seer. But when her mother dies under mysterious circumstances, Kimess steps up now. Untrained and ill-prepared, she doesn’t have a choice. Her remaining family’s safety, as well as her life, rests in the hands of the Queen of Lazrel. Kimess isn’t without allies—even royal ones. Both of the queen’s sons have shown support. If she’s not careful, a friendship with either prince could prove deadly.

  Kimess’ telepathic and prophetic abilities are called into action when a delegation from the bordering empire arrives to renegotiate a treaty. Mistrust and rumors from every corner of the kingdom swirl around her. Under constant guard in the castle, the only way Kimess can keep her life and one day earn her freedom is by giving the queen everything she requires—no matter the risks.

  Chapter 1

  Earth, 2450

  Royal or not, school could be boring. Only children of the five magical families attended school at the castle. There were added duties and perks for royals that the rest of the Lazrel population didn’t enjoy, but we were still teens stuck in class.

  The room was painted soft green, like the dome that shielded the country from outside attacks. The seats cushioned and lunches catered, none of the students lacked for much.

  The monarch wanted to make sure those who might eventually sit on the counsel with her, or her daughters, had a proper education—etiquette included. Also the men who might serve in the monarch’s personal guard needed to be properly vetted.

  “You’ll all be attending the welcome reception for the representatives of the Bachal nation to the north. Needless to say, your behavior, dress, and conversation must be appropriate.” Norela, the main instructor, belonged to the first family. A distant cousin of the queen, Norela possessed both main gifts of her family—fire throwing and ice conjuring. Both deadly powers, yet she was a serene example of royal duty. Each of the five families had magical abilities.

  Dadnit, a sorcerer from the third family, sneered. “Will your dad attend the reception, Kimess?”

  I straightened my spine. After six months, it should be old news. I’d gotten over my father leaving my mother, but the shock still rippled through the other families. He hadn’t visited me once, which caused more whispers. He’d gone to live among the commoners. My mother was still ashamed. She’d barely left our estate since.

  “That’ll do, Dadnit,” Norela scolded.

  I glared at him. He’d end up a solider like so many other royal males. If I put him down too hard, I’d look petty and cruel. Women inherited and ruled, while men commanded the armed forces and worked on maintaining the country. Men had been primarily responsible for the horrible wars of the 2200s that had redefined all the borders on Earth.

  Now, the world was orderly and safe. The only life I’d ever known centered around keeping the Lazrel nation fed, secure, and out of wars. We all had roles to play in that, even rude, immature males.

  The class was limited to sixteen-through eighteen-year-olds. Preparing to take their places in the court world took primary focus. Some would train for the Queen’s Guard, and some would have jobs in the castle. Some would become rulers of their families when their mothers passed away. I would apprentice with my mother, the Royal Seer, and, one day, sit on the monarch’s counsel and advise the queen.

  “It is odd, a seer choosing the wrong husband.” Treena, a girl from the fourth family, known for their healing powers, chuckled.

  LeFawn shot from her seat. “The five families didn’t build a new country from the rubble of wars by sniping at each other. We trusted each other, banded together and protected the non-magical population. If we can’t maintain that, we aren’t worthy of their sacrifice.”

  I wanted to crawl under a table and hide, but that wouldn’t help. Being strong was the only way to keep the family’s reputation respected.

  My mother had spent more time in bed and napping than leading, lately. The queen’s own healers had assured me it was a temporary reaction to the divorce my father wanted. Divorce was rare among the five. People had affairs, of course, but the families had to appear stable and united. Marriages for the top family members were normally approved by the queen.

  For seers with gifts of telepathy, telekinesis, and precognition, divorce was unheard of. However, the hardest predictions they could make revolved around their own lives. My gifts were powerful. Some family members got only one gift; LeFawn could throw fire. In my family, I had them all.

  The mocking really didn’t hurt anymore, but anyone hopping to my defense embarrassed me. LeFawn was a good friend, we’d been close all of our lives, but she was also the queen’s daughter—second in line to the throne behind Minnette, who no longer attended school.

  I didn’t want special treatment, but LeFawn was acting emotionally now, not like a princess. No one else would see it that way, though. She’d basically just pulled rank on the room for my benefit. The look on her two brothers’ faces said it all. She was the youngest child of the monarch and got away with more. Not likely to rule, LeFawn focused on the harmony of the families so they’d be good leaders.

  “Good thing you have friends,” Dadnit said just loud enough for me to hear.

  “Dadnit, why don’t you quit whining? You have no sisters. The only way for you to raise your station is to marry well. Offending the next seer and her friends isn’t the best way to do that.” Zoma rolled her eyes. My redheaded friend was brilliant with spells and technology.

  I smiled at her, grateful for an ally who worked with her wits. Having a princess jump to your defense didn’t seem as fair as a regular friend. The princes and princesses could play favorites but shouldn’t. There was enough scrutiny of my family lately.

  I wanted to verbally spar with Dadnit and put him down; I had to resist. He wasn’t the type to give up when put down.

  “She can defend herself, Zoma. I heard Kimess’ father ran off and moved in with his sister. Rumors are she’s crazy. Affiliated with rebels who hate the monarchy,” Dadnit said.

  “My aunt is eccentric, but we do have freedom of speech. That doesn’t mean she hates the monarchy.” My father’s family wasn’t part of the five families. My mother always told me it made our line stronger to include fresh blood and new ideas. In royal circles, it made me a target, but my rank usually kept others quiet.

  Dadnit leaned over and glanced down the neckline of my silver, empire waist gown. “You’re sixteen. Glad you’re finally grown up enough to defend yourself.”

  “I am.” I bit my tongue to keep from spilling all his dirty secrets. They weren’t interesting beyond a little teenage humiliation.

  I had to prove I could control myself. Each family member had to use their gifts appropriately, or the spell casters would bind their powers to protect the general pop
ulation. Humans without magic had good lives. A few humans were even born with minor magical gifts but weren’t part of the founding families.

  However, the fifth family had to show especially good judgment and self-control. Spells worked on my family to a point, but seers couldn’t be bound by anyone.

  Dadnit’s breath on my neck made my skin crawl. I couldn’t show myself as untrustworthy with people’s thoughts, but I could defend myself. He was too close. Leaders had to be strong. I engaged my telekinetic side, shoving him back into his chair with force.

  LeFawn grinned. Prince Nemal, one year older than me and already training for the Queen’s Guard, nodded approvingly. My gut tightened. I didn’t want or need his approval. The lack of correction from the instructor was sufficient to confirm I’d been within my rights.

  Still, Nemal held my gaze. He was handsome, smart, and his form made all the girls dream. Black hair and light eyes, he was full of opinions but was loyal, and many expected him to take over the Queen’s Guard as commander one day. He featured in my dreams too much, but it was simply attraction. His older brother, Remmy, was kinder and calmer.

  Some of the young men, like Dadnit and even Nemal, to an extent, wanted ruling positions. They wanted to be in line by birth order. But the devastating wars on Earth had been propagated by men. King of the World had become a title, and armies fought over it for any cause—religion, money, power, or pride.

  From the ashes came hope. The population reorganized; the matriarchs of the five strongest and wealthiest families founded a new country based on sustainability, peace, and order. Humans flocked to the dome created by the five families for magical protection. The families no longer had to keep their powers secret from the judgmental eyes of the world. They made the rules. Harmony, with hard work, had prevailed. Men who wanted to change the order made the rulers nervous. The rebels were rumored to be few, but was that the truth?

  Unsatisfied men could always cross the border and join the shifter country, Bachal. The shifters also had nothing to fear from humans and, in the wake of the wars, formed their own country from the remains. They were our neighbors to the north. The rebels might prefer that country because Bachal was run by men. Far more primitive, we were taught. Some humans had banded with the shifters, but life with griffin, dragon, unicorn, and other such shifters was harsher than in Lazrel.

  Bachal wanted to conquer our lands. We could use theirs. War had been averted for centuries because neither had the armies and weaponry to easily triumph. In fact, we traded and had a treaty to avoid the stress of surprises. Hopefully, nothing had changed there, and the rulers only needed to meet and work out another treaty update.

  Diplomacy mattered, but some shifters had defected to Lazrel, and rumblings couldn’t be ignored. The Bachal lacked food and had too many people. They were focused on army building and taking what they needed. Things seemed worse there.

  As the instructor droned on about the protocol for the welcome ceremony and dress requirements, I started to cough. I hadn’t been sick, but I couldn’t stop gasping for air. This wasn’t normal or natural.

  A healer girl touched my shoulder, but it didn’t help. I felt like I was drowning or choking. I tried to stand and leave the room, but I fell back in my chair. A crowd formed around me, and I wanted to crawl into a hole. In a blink, the spell passed as suddenly as it came. Taking a deep breath, I was fine.

  I glared at Dadnit. “How dare you!”

  “I didn’t,” he said with shock in his eyes.

  “A sorcerer with nothing to lose.” I mentally shoved him against the wall.

  Nemal stepped between us. “Did you cast a spell on her?”

  “I swear I didn’t. I’m not that strong,” Dadnit answered Nemal.

  “Then why couldn’t the healer help her?” Nemal demanded.

  “I don’t know. It wasn’t me. Maybe she had a vision of her dad choking on his new girlfriend’s common cooking.” Dadnit smirked at me.

  I lunged for the bastard, but Prince Remmy, Nemal’s older brother, grabbed me by the waist. Remmy was nearly done with his time in school. He was also the tallest and strongest male in the room. He’d always been nice to me and a peacemaker by nature.

  “He’s not worth it,” Remmy whispered to me.

  “Go home. You might be coming down with something,” Norela said.

  We all knew it was a lie. If I was becoming sick, a healer could cure me. We’d brought the best of technology and natural healing. Add magic to the mix, and we lived quite comfortably. Disease was now very rare. The stress of today made my head ache, but otherwise, I felt fine.

  “Maybe it was a vision of some sort.” Nemal had Dadnit pinned to the wall, but both men were looking at me. Nemal watched me a lot. I’d simply assumed he was being protective of his sister, and I was her friend. Nemal kept his face neutral, but in those moments when he smiled, his handsome features became endearing. A soldier, he had to look tough, but as a prince, he had to maintain self-control.

  I studied Dadnit and dipped into his mind for a second. It was exactly what I thought. He feared the history of the fifth family. It was true; a few of our members had gone insane. They couldn’t handle the voices in their heads or the visions of the future. My powers were very strong, and Dadnit envied me and feared me. I couldn’t fault him there. If one didn’t learn to control their powers, the gifts controlled the person.

  All the families had a risk, but it was harder to detect and impossible to control with the fifth family. The only people able to block my powers were my parents. They’d been doing it since I was little. My emotions could mess with my accuracy in reading minds, but the strength of my gifts wasn’t in question.

  So much went on in your mind that others couldn’t see. Some people simply couldn’t handle it. They ended up sedated and locked up in the care of healers or dead.

  All the more reason not to show any weakness. To hide the pain pulsing in my temple, I smiled as I gathered my things. I had three of the queen’s heirs, her children, protecting me. It was their duty to keep the families united. Only LeFawn and I were truly close, but Nemal still stared. Maybe he thought I’d go crazy?

  Part of me hoped to find a man who truly loved me, but I was in no rush. My parents splitting ruined romance for me. Besides, I had a lot to learn from my mother once I left school. Until now, most of my training was control. How to use my powers but mostly how to resist using them for petty things. Another full year of classes, and I’d shadow my mother as she worked with the queen. It sounded dull, but my stomach knotted whenever I thought about it.

  Others would watch me carefully. Any signs of instability, and rumors started. People feared the fifth family because no one could truly control us. Nemal had no doubt been instructed to monitor me already.

  Romance was for others. Making a play for a prince was bad form, anyway. Lesser girls could do it, but I would be ruler of the fifth, someday, and forming romantic attachments now would only complicate matters.

  Plus, becoming involved with the queen’s son would be begging for trouble.

  Stepping on the relocator pad, I touched the controls, and it sent me home. I’d only be an hour early. On the pad in my home, near the front door, I breathed the free air of my own estate. Hundreds of acres were farmed by droids overseen by some human managers and farming engineers.

  As I stepped off the pad, I reached out with my mind. Since my father had moved out, my mother had invited a cousin of hers, who was also a dear friend and a widow, to stay. Julianne had a little daughter, only nine years old. She cheered up the house so much, but would be in her own school still. Julianne was an instructor for the middle level of school, ages ten through fifteen, so she’d be at work. I didn’t expect their minds to greet me.

  My mother was always home, but I couldn’t read her since the separation. She blocked everyone out. But her energy was completely undetectable. Had she gone out?

  Perhaps she was feeling better. My
mother and I had few secrets, but she’d withdrawn a lot lately. I’d put up my own wall about anything to do with my father since the divorce. Some things were private, and I didn’t want to know it all. At sixteen, I knew my own mind.

  “Mother?” I called with my voice and my thoughts. There was no reply.

  A matronly female android came out from the kitchens and took my bag. “You’re early, Lady Kimess.”

  “Yes, a headache. Where did my mother go, Housekeeper?” I asked.

  “Nowhere. She’s taking a nap. Probably took some of her herbs to help her sleep. She was restless last night. Lamb is for dinner. Do you need anything?”

  Droids didn’t joke. They didn’t have names, only roles. They did as programmed and kept to their routine. The manor house was always spotless, the food on time, and the orders followed. They never questioned.

  Normally, I loved having droids around because I didn’t have to contend with their thoughts. They required zero effort, but they also lacked curiosity and initiative. No one would disturb my mother if she was napping for an hour or a day. She was the ruler, and unless the droids were programmed otherwise, her word was law.

  A chill washed over me.

  “Call the healers, now!” I ran up the stone steps covered in plush carpeting to the bedchambers on the second floor. Pushing on her door, I found it was locked. The heavy wood and metal wouldn’t give way for me.

  I began to panic. I felt nothing from inside. “I need you up here, Housekeeper!”

  Chapter 2

  Pushing down the panic, I stepped back and let my powers take over. Mentally, I flipped the lock and forced open the doors. The housekeeper reached me as I rushed into the room. Mother’s huge canopy bed with carved pillars and lilac silk bedding was empty. I ran into her marbled bathroom. The gray and pink swirls in the stone gleamed, as always. I rushed straight for the huge tub in the middle of the room that was filled to the brim.