The Hidden Princess (Mages and Kingdoms Book 1)

by Cara Coe

  A soft knock roused her from her perch on the marble bench and she wrapped a lounge cloak around her body before woodenly opening the door.

  “Sir Duncan.”

  She nodded slightly and turned, leaving him with a half-hearted invitation to enter. He closed the door behind him.

  “I am sorry,” was all he said.

  Amelie shrugged. “It shall be no different. Different land, different palace, different king in name only. Same expectations. I will uncover threats to the throne and dodge their advances. I’ve done it for years, I shall do it for more.”

  “I also knew Queen Elmeda.”

  Amelie started. She’d expected a lecture from Sir Duncan. Or a positive twist on her situation. Or a reminder to her duty to the kingdom. But not this admission.

  Sir Duncan settled himself in her sitting area and continued speaking.

  “Your mother informed me of your question when you mentioned you knew she was friends with Queen Elmeda. She cannot speak of their connection, but I can. Queen Elmeda sent me to Candor. The White Forest is not all myth. I’ve been there. I used to live there. With Queen Elmeda and…and your mother.”

  He had Amelie’s full attention now. She sat in the chair beside him slowly, her eyes never leaving his face.

  “A long time ago, mages and humans lived together. Mages were the royalty and had several kingdoms throughout these lands. They lived mostly in peace, but there was imbalance in power and some mages took advantage of humans. Seducing them, robbing them, tricking them with their powers to get what they wanted. There was one mage who had the power of immortality. It’s so rare, she is the only known mage with the power. She hated what living with the humans reduced the mages to and she gained a following, mage and humans alike, in trying to stop it. A great war ensued between this mage and the royals and she crushed them with her army of supporters. She decided to separate the two races and receded with her followers into the White Forest. Silver root grows in abundance there as well as other magical plants I haven’t taught you about because I have no access to them.

  “All mages that refused to join her in isolation from the humans were hunted down and killed. The White Forest became home to the magical and she reigned as the White Queen. She still reigns there today. Humans no longer know of the forest’s presence because the mages fogged the memory of most humans. Those humans that did not feel the effects of the spell insisted on its existence but after several hundred years, they are only the mythological stories you know now. The leftover, confused humans fought each other in large tribes for several years until the Treaty of the Great Divide was created. The mages we have now scattered throughout the kingdoms are remnants from the time when mages and humans produced. But their powers are weak and watered down. They are of no interest to the White Queen. They are not true mages. Like you.”

  Amelie could barely get out the words. “What is a true mage?”

  “A mage with at least one full mage parent.”

  Amelie swallowed a lump in her throat, almost dreading the next question. “How is it that I’m a true mage, Sir Duncan?”

  “Your mother. She is a full mage.”

  Amelie shut her eyes slowly and let out a long breath.

  “What are her powers? Is she like me?”

  Sir Duncan reached out and covered her hands with his. “Sacrifice. She can restore a soul to the recently deceased at the cost of her own. It is a powerful magic that can only be used once. In her lesser power, she is like you. She can heal.”

  “She never told me any of this.”

  “No. She couldn’t. She is magically bound to silence. Queen Elmeda was the White Queen’s daughter. Princess of the White Forest. Your mother was her Soulguard. Every mage royal has one. If something happens to a Soulguard’s royal, the mage is expected to use his or her power of sacrifice. If you remember, your power emerged when you were thirteen. Your emergence was late by mage standards. When she was not yet ten, Elmeda’s power emerged. The power of resistance to magic.”

  “Like Seth. He is unaffected by my magic. He’s a mage.”

  Sir Duncan nodded. “It was passed to her younger son, yes. Resistance is a rare power as well, almost as rare as immortality. When it was discovered Elmeda carried that power, she needed to go into hiding. I do not need to tell you what it would mean for a mage to have the power of resistance and possibly inherit immortality from her mother.”

  “She would be indestructible.”

  “Yes. Impervious to any magic, no physical deterioration, a timeless existence. Nothing could stop her. The temptation to subdue her as a weaker, innocent child would have been a threat to the royal family. So I was charged with her safety and she went into hiding among the humans.”

  “But she wasn’t immortal! She died in the plague.”

  Sir Duncan sighed. “That power of immortality is the only one a reader cannot detect. It does not manifest or reveal itself until one suffers a mortal injury or illness. Queen Elmeda dying could mean that she did not have it or it had not yet matured when the illness struck. There’s no way to know. The second power does not emerge until much later.”

  “Several years,” Amelie whispered to herself.

  Sir Duncan nodded. “Yes. As you can see. Your healing power is still fresh.”

  “But if my mother was Queen Elmeda’s soulguard, how did she end up in Candor?”

  Sir Duncan’s eyes clouded over. “This is where the story takes a heartbreaking turn. I found quarters for the women in the castle. I wanted them in comfort, but I didn’t want notoriety. I came on as a tutor for some nobles on castle grounds. Though they were not nobility, the king, though at the time he was Prince Armiss, used my position as a tutor for nobles to make her an acceptable consideration for marriage. He was smitten with her from his brief encounters on the castle grounds. She married him and was moved into the palace. Your mother remained with me. Angry at being left behind. The queen had sired two sons before your mother and I left Draeden.”

  “Why did you leave?” Amelie was frozen to her perch, rapt with the revelations spilling from Sir Duncan’s mouth.

  “A foolish fling with a kitchen boy that left her with child. You.” He took a break and rose from his seat. He stared out the balcony at the horizon that Amelie had all but memorized in her own musings from that very spot.

  “She felt your power in the womb. Persuasion. She could wield it to some extent. She used it on the nobles. It angered Queen Elmeda. She didn’t like what your mother was doing. It was reminiscent of why mages separated from humans in the first place. Magic had ruled her life, had made decisions for her, had driven her out of the White Forest. She forbade magic of any kind. She ordered your mother to stop using it.

  “Instead, your mother found someone to enhance your power while you were in the womb. That was the breaking straw between them. Queen Elmeda released your mother as her soulguard and ordered her back to the White Forest. Instead, your mother went to the neighboring kingdom of Candor and used your powers to ensnare and marry King Byron. Queen Elmeda released me as well to go to Candor and try to reign in your mother best I could. Womb enhancements often meant an earlier emergence of magic. I needed to assess your power of persuasion and teach you responsibility in wielding it. Instead of your power manifesting early, however, it manifested late.

  “They saw each other each year at the Kings Meeting until Queen Elmeda’s passing. With her gone, I saw no reason to return to Draeden and I instead stayed behind to serve you. Seth does not know about his mage heritage and for now his power is latent. Yours needed more tending to.” He stopped talking for a moment to compose his next thought. “Is there something going on between you and Prince Seth?”

  His change in subject socked Amelie in the gut. She didn’t know how to answer him. Was there? Was a king’s decree sufficient in squashing whatever had been developing between them? She couldn’t answer Sir Duncan even if she wanted to.

  A knock at the door carried both their gaz
es to the wooden entrance, releasing Amelie from answering that question. Queen Gala entered without summons.

  “Is it done?” she asked coldly. Sir Duncan rose.

  “I have told her all I can for now.” His pause filled the room. Amelie sat. Expectant. Fearful. Overwhelmed.

  Queen Gala held out her hand and a pendant tumbled from it until the weight of it pulled it to a sharp stop. It hung on a gold chain. The pendant itself was large, about the size of a walnut and dark blue. Edges sharp as glass formed it into a crystal and the point looked like a dagger. Queen Gala swiped it across her finger and a line of red welled in its wake.

  “For you,” she said, holding it out to her daughter.

  “Every mage family has one,” Sir Duncan explained as Amelie rose to retrieve it. Queen Gala did not speak. Apparently, the spell of silence extended to this piece of jewelry as well. “The family pendant. This one is a blue diamond. The top, the decorations there, they are the symbols that represent your family line. The rose wrapped in thorns. It is passed on through the women in your family. Now that you know of your lineage, the queen is passing it to you.”

  “I’ve seen something like this before,” Amelie said reverently, examining the piece. “A pendant with dragon claws. At Lord Lennox’s manor. He made me wear it. It burned. Will this?”

  Sir Duncan and Queen Gala exchanged a surprised look. Sir Duncan went to speak, but the queen gave an imperceptible shake of her head. He closed his mouth for a moment, then began again. “No, this one will not burn.”

  Amelie glared. “What? What are you not telling me?”

  Queen Gala cleared her throat. “There will be time enough for more when we return to Candor. Come, daughter. The time for solitude is over. We are expected at dinner. Show this court you have composed yourself and will be a willing participant in this new treaty. The lady-in-waiting will get you dressed.”

  “Her name is Henna,” Amelie stated evenly.

  The queen shifted her glance to the stone floor for a moment before setting her features in her regal form. “An hour, no more. Do not be late.”

  And she left as coldly as she came.

  Chapter 31

  Amelie

  Draeden became a flurry of dinners and socializing and talk. Talk of Rankor. Talk of how to broach the other kingdoms’ objections to the new alliance. Talk of the two kings finally crossing boundary lines and shaking hands over their newfound relationship. The only two people not talking were the ex-spy and the youngest prince. They listened. They nodded at appropriate times but did not offer their voice. They avoided each other not only in conversation but in eye contact.

  For several days. Until Amelie could not stand it any longer.

  She approached Prince Kernan one day in his study. She would have gone to King Armiss but she wasn’t speaking to him either if she could help it. The elder prince would have to do.

  “Your Highness,” she said after he allowed her entrance. He waved his hand dismissively.

  “We are equals, Amelie, and soon to be close to family. Let’s drop the formalities shall we?”

  “Kernan,” she started again, sitting before him. “I was coming to inform you that I am leaving ahead of my delegation. I have been here in the castle for several weeks and there is much to do before I am to return to Draeden. I do not wish to prolong my stay any longer and I am not accustomed to the slow pace of delegation travel.”

  “You miss the road. And the freedom of quick travel.” Kernan smiled. “I understand. But you cannot go alone. You’re under our protection now too and it is ludicrous to send a Princess by herself on such a lengthy journey.”

  “I cannot take any male escorts. It never works out well.”

  “Then wait for your delegation. They are leaving at the week’s end.”

  Amelie shuddered. A journey through two kingdoms in a carriage with her mother seemed almost unbearable.

  “I will take two of the delegation guards,” she said finally. “They can tail me to lessen the effect of the proximity.”

  Kernan was quiet for a moment, stroking the arm of the chair he was sitting in. His eyes were thoughtful like his brother’s. “I understand your need to distance yourself from my father. I understand your haste. I agree with it. Take your men and go, Amelie. I will inform the king.” He paused. “After you have left.”

  “Thank you. I will prepare to leave first thing in the morning.”

  * * *

  Amelie and her men left before daybreak, slipping out under a sky milky with fog. The conversation with Prince Kernan and a sealed note for Sir Duncan were the only communication of her departure. Still, she hadn’t traveled even five miles when a galloping black stallion overtook her party.

  Talon reared his horse to a stop, cutting her off on the road and turned to face her. He was breathless from heavy riding.

  “You must be mad,” he accused angrily.

  More horse hooves signaled additional company and Amelie shook her head in exasperation.

  “Why can’t you leave well enough alone?” she barked at Talon. “I’m already a pawn for so many. Can I not at least ride home in peace?”

  “He is under orders,” another voice spoke behind her and Amelie stilled. Prince Seth rode his brown mare into view. “I ordered them to accompany me as your guard. We will see you home. I am an appropriate escort. Your magic does not affect me.”

  “And yet despite that fact, you are the least appropriate escort I can think of.”

  Amelie saw the subtle flinch her words imparted on him. She steeled herself against his hurt.

  “Orders or not, Derrick and I have your safety in mind, Amelie,” Talon broke in impatiently. “Now let’s stop pissing about and get on with it.”

  Seeing as how she couldn’t manhandle them into staying behind, Amelie kicked her horse into an open run and began her path down the road once again, her escorts following suit.

  Chapter 32

  Amelie

  The party rode at Amelie’s direction and it reflected nothing of the good natured pace of Prince Seth’s men with carefully planned routes and early evening stops. Instead, she drove her steed at a damning speed, whipping through small village farmlands and only slowing to a slower canter to preserve her horse’s energy for the next bout of angry travel. She rode on well into the evening until she knew she had to give the animals, as well as the riders, a break.

  “I will go find firewood,” Amelie announced, dismounting quickly from her horse. The brown beast took a step away from her, glad to be rid of the melancholy that sang through her rider’s muscles and into her animal awareness. Talon took the reins from the princess to save her the expense of time securing her horse and she flashed him a look of gratitude before stomping into the wildlife. She needed a quick exit and his intuitiveness never failed. Already, her eyes were brimming with salty moisture. Her checked emotions were quickly unraveling as the hurried progress the party made today left her weary and unable to expend any more energy on keeping a stoic display of logic and indifference to her plight.

  “I will accompany the princess,” she heard Seth say behind her. The protective tone in his voice mixed and swirled with the rustling of leaves as he took up the shallow path Amelie carved into the greenery. His decision warmed her ears and licked heat up the back of her neck but also spilled some of the moisture from her eyes. She had not spoken to him, had barely looked at him since the week prior in the Great Hall save for the few harsh words she hurled at him that morning.

  “Aye, it’s not best to let her wander alone in there,” she heard an unfamiliar voice agree, one of her soldiers. His heavy footfalls began into the forest after them before they were cut short by Derrick’s deep rumble.

  “Prince Seth can handle her chaperoning. Help is needed to set up camp.”

  Amelie picked up her speed, listening as Seth increased his as well to overtake her. They were covered now, shielded from the eyes of the riders and too far for their voices to carry to anything that
would take an interest in their existence. She paused a moment to turn and her look stopped him in his pursuit.

  “I wish for solitude, Prince,” she said plainly. She turned and continued ambling, not bothering to scan for firewood. After a few moments, she heard the Prince resume his movement, his pace matching hers. Following, but keeping distance. She accepted this and tilted her head into the orange speckled sunlight, trying to put warmth into her body from the last rays of the day. The forest was lush with life but quietly scared of her as she kicked along plants and rocks, enjoying the freedom from the stealthy quiet she always had to employ in her travels. It felt good to explode physical destruction on a crop of mushrooms. Beat a fern with impromptu walking stick. Exist. For so long she skulked in darkness and shrouds, for years she lived in the space of whispers and shadows.

  And when she stumbled upon a patch of silver root she sunk to the forest floor and dug her fingers around it, ripping it from the ground and crushing the delicate leaves in her fists. A sob escaped her throat as she strangled the symbol of her curse.

  Seth was by her side in an instant, kneeling beside her, hovering.

  He said nothing. His breathing was even and heavy. Amelie shivered and kept her head down. She did not want to lose what little grasp she had left on her control and looking at him would break her.

  Seth took off his riding cloak and swept it loosely on her shoulders. He slid closer to her and sat. She felt him watching her. Neither spoke, just let the sun rays bleed into the beginnings of darkness.

  Amelie didn’t know how long they sat that way, a breath apart. Time cooled around them and she let herself enjoy his nearness. She saw his fist curl and loosen at his sides in frustration. She finally looked up and met his gaze.