Heir of Amber and Fire by Rachanee Lumayno (non fiction books to read TXT) 📗

away, and we both sat starting at the bounty left by the bandits. They had apparently robbed other camps before ours, as their bags were full of money, small valuables, and food. Knowing that others may have died in their nighttime ambushes, I felt a little better about what had happened.

Rhyss let out a slow whistle. “Nice,” he commented. “Raises for everyone?” He raised his eyebrows at Beyan.

Beyan shook his head. “It’s blood money. I’d feel bad keeping it.”

“It’s not like we can give it back,” Farrah pointed out.

“True,” Beyan said. He sighed. “We needed some supplies anyway. We’re running low on food, but I don’t necessarily trust what’s in the bandits’ bags. And we should probably outfit ourselves better before facing Joichan. I suppose we could use the money that way.”

“It’s a gift from the gods, I say,” Rhyss said. “We shouldn’t deny their bounty. It would only make them mad.”

Farrah snorted. “Superstitious nonsense.” Her Faerie heritage didn’t easily lend itself to religious beliefs, as some humans actually revered the Fae and practiced rituals to either appease or entice them.

Farrah had once commented, during one of our conversations on magic and heritage, that it was hard to believe in a deity of any sort when she was, in theory, supposedly part deity herself. “It’s kind of weird to believe in yourself,” she had told me.

“Say what you will,” Rhyss said loftily. “It’s a sign. We should use it to bribe the dragon.”

“Maybe,” Beyan said. “But from the stories I’ve heard, I don’t think Joichan is so easily swayed.”

Now that everything was in order, Rhyss and Farrah settled back into their bedrolls. I made no move to go to sleep. Beyan looked at me curiously.

“I’m still too jittery to sleep,” I said. “I can keep watch, if you like.”

Beyan laughed. “Somehow, I don’t think they’ll be coming back, but we should keep a watch anyway.”

He kindly didn’t say that it was because of my leaving, and him coming after me, that the camp had been left undefended in the first place. Still, I felt the shame of it acutely.

Farrah yawned. “Fighting always makes me sleepy. Or hungry,” she said. “Wake me up after a few hours, I’d be happy to take over.”

“Okay,” I said, knowing I probably would let her sleep through the night. Rhyss was already lightly snoring.

Beyan moved closer to me and threw a twig into the fire, although it was still burning brightly from Farrah’s magic. It sparked and crackled, becoming charred within seconds. The ash from the burned twig wafted into the air, reminding me of the fight with the bandit again.

To distract myself, I said, “I believe, before all the excitement, we were discussing something. Why you wanted to find Joichan.”

“Oh, yes,” Beyan said. He threw another twig into the fire pit, staring at the dancing flames as if they held the answers to all of my questions. Or, perhaps, his. “Let’s see. Where do I begin.”

Chapter Nineteen

BEYAN’S STORY RIGHTLY began with Kye, around the time Beyan was born. As Kye had told me, their family had a strong legacy of dragon seeking, going back five generations or more. Because of this, by the time Kye started his career, their family was firmly established as the premier seekers in their field, and were very wealthy as a result. It was a big legacy to live up to, but every seeker in their line had proven themselves up to the task.

When Joichan (supposedly) imprisoned my mother, Kye was in Orchwell. His wife had just given birth to a baby boy and Kye was looking forward to taking some time off to spend time with his growing family. In the nearby kingdom of Calia, the king (or, my grandfather) was desperately seeking knights, princes, or other nobles who were willing to face the dragon and save Princess Melandria.

Over the next two years, while the Calian king threw whoever-was-willing at the dragon, Kye stayed close to Orchwell and his family, taking small, local commissions and proudly watching Beyan grow.

And then the knight Hendon rescued the princess and drove Joichan from the kingdom and everyone was supposed to live happily ever after.

Except that it didn’t work out that way.

Three more years passed. The knight and the princess were married shortly after she was rescued, and had a baby girl (me). The king of Calia died peacefully, happy that his beloved daughter was safe and the kingdom’s future was secure. Sir Hendon and Princess Melandria became the new king and queen of Calia, and the baby princess (well, I) was a chubby toddler, getting into all sorts of mischief.

It was around this time that Kye received an interesting visitor, a man who claimed to represent King Hendon of Calia. Kye, the famed dragon seeker of Orchwell, was being summoned to an audience with the king. Kye saddled his horse and rode back with the Calian ambassador, where he met with King Hendon — in private.

Things were, for the most part, going well in Calia. The king and queen were beloved of their people, the kingdom was relatively peaceful, and everyone loved the little princess.

But as the princess grew, King Hendon had noticed something strange about her. Random, unexplained things happened in her presence. She’d be crying fiercely but suddenly quiet down. When her parents looked in on her she was playing with a new doll, but they could have sworn her hands were empty. Or, another odd event: The princess would refuse to eat her dinner, no matter how much her nursemaid would try to cajole her. The nursemaid would turn away for a second, and when she turned back, the princess was happily eating her meal — which had changed from watery porridge to a sweet custard.

And, finally, the most disturbing thing of all: King Hendon swore that the young princess’s eyes gleamed with a golden metallic sheen. But when he looked again, all he would see staring back at him were the innocent, big dark brown