Crown of One Hundred Kings (Nine Kingdoms Trilogy Book 1)

by Rachel Higginson

  Two hands raised in surrender. “And if I don’t?”

  The voice was familiar, but panic kept me from recognizing it. “I’ll slit your throat from ear to ear.” I peered around the wall. “Obviously.”

  “You’re a true terror,” Gunter Creshnika announced. “I nearly wet myself just now.”

  I stepped back so he could face me, but I never dropped my sword. His hands remained in the air, a smug smile tilting his mouth.

  “Are you here to kill me then?” I asked. “Because it will not be easy. I promise you that.”

  He stepped through the open window and onto the window seat. I was forced to move back so that I could keep my position. Although now that he towered over me, I felt less in control, even if he had not pulled his sword.

  “I believe you,” Gunter replied. He took a step off the frilly seat and landed on the ground with a loud thump.

  Gunter was dressed in black leather from head to toe. His hair was wild, his hands dirty, and his face menacing. I did not know what to make of him or his sudden reappearance. I hadn’t known Gunter knew to look for me here. Or why he would.

  “I’ll scream,” I threatened. “The guards will rush in. You’ll be outnumbered.”

  He glanced at Shiksa who had moved to the edge of the bed, her coat bristled and her ears perked. “I am already outnumbered.”

  “Why are you here, Gunter Creshnika? How did you find me?”

  His gaze moved back to mine. “It is not a secret you are here. The entire realm is talking about the Lost Princess found at last.”

  “Not here in Sarasonet,” I growled. “I mean here.” I swung my free arm toward the bed. “In this room?”

  “Oh.” He smiled at me. “That is not a secret either.”

  I took a deep breath and tried to calm my frantic nerves. “Did my uncle pay you then? How much is the reward for assassinating me? How much am I worth?”

  His smile disappeared. “Quite a lot, I’m afraid. The bounty for your head is the highest I have ever seen.”

  Dread punched through me. I had not thought to be afraid of assassins yet.

  “So, you are here to kill me. Truly?”

  “Tess,” he said instead. “If I meant to kill you, you would have been dead long ago. It was obvious enough. My people knew who you were the second they saw you. Arrick’s army wasn’t quite as fast, but they never are.”

  I stared at him, my sword wavering. “Wait, are you telling me you knew who I was from Tenovia? You knew I was a princess?”

  He clicked his tongue. “Not just any princess, Tessana Allisand. The princess. And I knew before we ever stood face to face. Before I ever laid eyes on you. It was only confirmed when we met.”

  “But… but how?”

  “Arrick Westnovian of course. He sent a rider asking a simple enough favor of me. We have contacts all over the realm, you see. Word travels quickly when you are a Cavolian. Arrick asked me to check your story, find out if a girl and a novice monk had left a monastery en route for Elysia. So I did exactly that. I found out the truth. Your Brotherhood might not speak, but the villages in the Rolling Hills of Gane do not shut up. But by the time we caught up with you in Tenovia, Arrick already had his truth.”

  I took a deep breath and caught the scent of those exotic Cavolian spices that had somehow infiltrated my dream the other night. My gaze sharpened and a new sense of distrust spiraled through me.

  “You have still not answered my question. Why are you here? Now? Arrick knows very well where I am.”

  He shook his head slowly, as if surprised that I hadn’t put all these pieces together myself. “That is exactly why. While Arrick cannot be here, I must. Someone has to protect the princess.”

  “You’re here to protect me?”

  He shrugged. “Another favor for Arrick. I like collecting them. It will serve me well one day.”

  “Where is he? Why can’t he be here himself?”

  Gunter, sensing that whatever threat I posed had passed, walked to the fire and turned his back on me. “I cannot say.”

  I found that my sword had dropped to my side without my permission. Apparently, I no longer believed Gunter to be a danger. “Cannot or will not?”

  He glanced back at me. “Both.”

  I made a sound in the back of my throat. “Who are you protecting me from then? Have there been many assassins lurking outside the palace tonight?”

  He reached out to the fire, letting his hands hover in the warmth. “It is not always the assassin from without that we need to worry about.”

  “Now that is something I already know. There are plenty within this palace that would love to have my head. How will you protect me from those?”

  Gunter spun around, anger radiating off him. I had offended his sense of duty. “In the very short time you have made yourself known you have managed to collect a great number of enemies, Princess. I will do my best to protect you from those that I can see. But you must do your part as well. There are those I cannot see. There are those that can reach you before I can. You are not helpless. Or rather, you cannot be helpless. Understand what you have done in making your identity known and the price you must pay for the kingdom you want to rule.”

  I huffed. “I am prepared. Do not doubt me.”

  His gaze flickered to my sword. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

  A tense silence stretched between us. Not knowing what else to say, I asked, “Will you be out there every night, then?”

  He nodded. “As long as you remain in residence. Unless I am called elsewhere.”

  I supposed that was as much as I could ask of him. I didn’t know Gunter and I most certainly didn’t trust him, but I could not deny that I felt safer with him keeping watch from the balcony.

  “Thank you,” I told him. “For looking out for me.”

  “Like I said, it is only a favor for Arrick.” He dipped his head. “I should thank you as well.”

  “For what?”

  “For returning to Elysia. For bringing the Crown of Nine with you. For being brave enough to face Conandra.”

  I couldn’t find words to reply. I didn’t know what to think about Gunter’s gratitude, or if I deserved it. “We shall see where it gets me,” I finally admitted. “I might spend the rest of my life in prison.”

  “They will believe you,” he answered quickly. “They already believe you.”

  I watched him for a long moment before I asked, “How do you know?”

  His smile was full of mischief and charm. “Because so many people want you dead. If you were an imposter nobody would care whether you lived or died. But someone is willing to spend an exceptionally large sum of money to see that your life is ended. That’s as much of a verdict as I’ve ever heard.”

  “Is it my uncle?” I rushed to ask. “Is he the one offering the bounty?”

  Gunter shook his head. “No. From what I’ve learned, the money has no royal ties.”

  I didn’t know whether to feel relief or more fear. I glanced back at Shiksa. Without a threat present, she had stretched out on the end of my bed and started snoring again.

  When I looked back to Gunter, he was retreating through the window. “Goodnight, Tess of Heprin and Elysia and the Crown of Nine. We will meet again no doubt.”

  I nodded. “No doubt.”

  “Leave the window unlocked,” he ordered. “Just in case you need me.”

  “Alright.”

  He disappeared, turning into cloaked shadow against the wall where I could no longer see him. I walked over to the window, not sure what to do about the lock.

  My fingers itched to reach up and latch the windows, but instinct whispered that Gunter wasn’t here to harm me. He was telling the truth.

  So I left the window unlocked but closed the drapes. I jumped back into bed, scooping up Shiksa on my way. I returned my sword to its hiding place and buried myself and my foxling beneath the covers.

  It was hours before I finally found sleep. I couldn’t help but fret o
ver the new information Gunter had shared.

  People wanted me dead.

  Taelon had asked Gunter to watch over me.

  I found myself smiling despite my circumstances. When I closed my eyes, it was Taelon I pictured.

  For the first time in as long as I could remember, I did not dream of the dead. Instead, I dreamt of Taelon and our time on the cliffs.

  29

  “What would you do if you were allowed to be queen?” The question came from the Aramore king, Henrik Garstone.

  It was the first time it had been acknowledged that I might be who I said I was. Henrik was about the age my father would have been. My uncle seemed to favor him, which made me instantly distrust him. But his question seemed honest. Open.

  A good answer eluded me, so I let instinct guide me. “I would strive to rule as my father did. And his father before that. Like all the one hundred kings that came before me. I would rule justly. Fairly. With a firm hand but a listening ear. I would work to bring prosperity back to the realm and unite the nine kingdoms in single-minded purpose once again. Finally, I would eradicate the threat of the Ring of Shadows.”

  Ravanna of Blackthorne leaned forward, resting her slender elbow on her knee. Her lipstick was black today. So black that it distorted the color of her teeth and skin. “Those are very big words for such a tiny thing.” I held her gaze. “But what if the Ring of Shadows aren’t inclined to leave? What if instead of allowing you to win a war you haven’t the first clue how to fight, they destroy your armies instead? They take your united kingdom and all the well-intentioned men that put their hope and trust in a child and burn them to ash? What then, Queen of the Realm? When you have no armies left to fight your bloody battles, how will you protect the nine kingdoms?”

  “My armies will not fall,” I declared, but my words felt hollow and weak. Her questions were cruel, but fair. And I could not help but feel her same doubts. Still, with as much bravado as I could muster, I said, “The armies of the realm fight with honor and dignity. I have seen the Ring of Shadows. I have seen how they torment women and children and attack helpless villages that cannot protect themselves. If they are as skilled in combat as they claim, why do they not bring this war to Elysia? They are not as strong as they appear. And yet every day that we do nothing to stop them, they grow in numbers. We must step in soon or it will be too late. We must end this now before our armies are outnumbered and our villages are nothing but corpses and ash.”

  “Where have you seen them?” King Maksim from Barstus demanded. “How have you witnessed their destruction and lived to tell about it?”

  I had walked myself into a trap and realized it too late. Keeping my voice strong, I attempted to avoid the holes in my story. “As I already explained, I journeyed from Heprin. Over the last couple months, I saw a great deal of the eastern realm. Enough to understand the danger the Ring of Shadows poses.”

  Tyrn made a sound in the back of his throat. “Yet you still have not explained how you witnessed the Ring of Shadows’ danger and stand here today. Alive. The details of your journey are still vague. Confess all or we shall be forced to conclude Conandra without the sum of the facts.” He gave me a pointed look. “Which does not bode well for you.”

  I wanted to roll my eyes but I didn’t. Conandra had been called first thing this morning. Matilda had rushed into my room in a flurry of panic. I had been exhausted from my lack of sleep the last two nights.

  Tyrn had changed the time every day. Either I wasn’t prepared for it to start, or the day had dragged and dragged before they escorted me from my rooms.

  I hadn’t seen Taelon, either, since he’d saved my life. He was supposed to present the Crown of Nine yesterday, but they hadn’t called him to witness. Despite my uncle’s claims that yesterday would be the last day of trial, we had resumed this morning.

  Today, Tyrn had announced Conandra would conclude no matter what—that the sovereigns would make their final decisions. I would have my answer, one way or the other, by supper.

  So maybe Tyrn was right. The more information they collected, the better chance I had. I cleared my throat and held my head high. “During my journey, I accidentally ran into the rebel army. We established a truce of sorts. They aided my journey and protected me from the Ring of Shadows.”

  Cries of, “The rebel army!” echoed around the room. The royals and their courtiers assumed the rebels were as bad as the Shadows.

  Part of me wanted to denounce the rebels at once. If I took the council’s opinion, then the conversation about the rebel army could be short. I could exaggerate the parts of the story where they’d imprisoned me and paint the Tenovian and Soravalian armies as though they’d saved me from great harm. Except integrity would never let me get away with that.

  I had to be honest with them while maintaining Taelon’s secret identity. “They saved my life,” I swore to the council. “And I watched them save a village from fires that would have killed a hundred Tenovians. Fires set by the Ring of Shadows. I witnessed as they rescued a merchant family. Despite what you think about the Rebel Army, they are doing good things in the realm. Often, they step in when the royal army has been commanded to do nothing. They fight for the kingdom when no one else will.”

  Vorestra’s king, Akio Bayani, laughed. “Are you standing up for the Rebel Army?”

  “I’m merely suggesting that they are not as bad as the Ring of Shadows and that my time with them was not compromised by any misdeeds. In fact, they took me as far west as they could before the Soravalian army intervened.”

  Tyrn’s head snapped toward Hugo. “The Soravalian army knew you were on the road? With the Crown?”

  “No,” I countered. “They came upon me quite accidentally.”

  “Then who were they looking for?” Tyrn demanded.

  “Me.” The voice broke through the chatter in the room and hit me straight in my back. Directly in my spine.

  Taelon Treskinat, Crown Prince of Soravale.

  Arrick Westnovian, the Rebel King.

  My eyes were only on Taelon as he pushed past guards and members of court. Dressed in all black, with his familiar cape clasped around his neck, he looked more like the rebel commander than royalty.

  He ran a hand through his wild hair, but it did nothing to tame the locks. My gaze fell to his mud-covered boots.

  Where had he been? Had he only just arrived?

  “Well, Hugo, your witness has finally arrived after holding up court for nearly three days.” Tyrn’s accusations only stoked my curiosity. I tore my eyes away from Taelon to witness the council’s reaction.

  “Forgive us, Your Majesty,” Taelon interjected. He swept into a low bow. “We would have been here a day earlier had we not been detained at the wall by your guards. For some reason they were under the impression that I was not to be allowed back through.”

  Tyrn’s face turned a mottled red. “And yet here you are. They must have come to their senses eventually.”

  Taelon’s smile flashed with promise. “I’m afraid they are too easily swayed by gold. For the right amount I dare say they would let anyone pass through the gates.”

  Tyrn slammed his hand down on the armrest of his throne. “My guards are not the ones on trial, Taelon Treskinat. Does your presence have a point?”

  Taelon’s gaze flickered to mine. “It most certainly does.”

  A lone butterfly glided through my chest.

  “Then out with it, prince,” my uncle demanded. “Conandra has dragged on long enough.”

  “Agreed,” Taelon said. He stepped to the side and two other men joined him. Two men that I recognized instantly—Gunter Creshnika and Eret, one of the commanders from the Rebel Army.

  What was he doing? If Taelon exposed himself as the rebel commander, Tyrn would have him hanged for anarchy and crimes against the crown.

  “My associates,” Taelon went on. “This is Eret Grimsayer, commander of the Rebel Army.” The assembled crowd exploded with outrage. Taelon spoke louder, “A
nd Gunter Creshnika, leader of the Cavolia.”

  The voices grew louder. People shouted at Taelon’s guests, calling them all manner of wicked names. Even the monarchs rose from their seats, equally afraid and furious.

  “Silence!” Tyrn bellowed. He did not wait for obedience before he said, “You’d better have a good reason for bringing these mercenaries into my palace, Soravalian prince, or I shall charge you all with crimes of sedition.”

  When it was quiet enough to be heard, Taelon explained, “Members of the council, you asked Tessana Allisand how she managed to survive from Heprin to Elysia. What you have failed to ask is why a person traveling alone across three peaceful kingdoms is not expected to live.”

  The sovereigns voiced their disagreement, but Taelon held up a hand and continued. “You’re right. That is a discussion for another time. The truth is, Tessana would have been in peril whether our highways were safe or not, simply because of her bloodline and because of the crown she carried with her. By providence of the Light, I happened to be in the Blood Woods at the same time she wandered through.

  "Without the Seat of Power’s knowledge, I have been working with the Cavolia for over a year now. Soravale believes that the Cavolia will be an invaluable asset and ally should the Ring of Shadows continue to grow. And the Cavolia have been working with the rebels in an attempt to clear the Tellekane Forest of the Ring’s presence. It was a meeting between the Cavolia and rebels that Tessana stumbled upon. I recognized her immediately. As it was already stated, she was my betrothed as a child and I helped her escape the castle on the day her family was murdered. Knowing that she wasn’t dead, I have spent the better part of eight years looking for her. Additionally, she was wearing a pendant I gave her as a child. I convinced the Rebel Army and the Cavolia to protect her until we reached Soravale. Which they did.”

  Tyrn’s gaze narrowed. “If I am to believe you at your word, then you’re telling the council, you, by proxy of Soravale, have been working with two sworn enemies of the crown in order to go against the realm’s orders not to engage the Ring of Shadows?”