Everealm: Book One of the Everealm Series Read online

  Bree narrowed her eyes at the word “Queen,” which he had now said for the second time and both times with a hint of rudeness.

  “You don’t have to say it with such disdain,” she said, without thinking.

  Dagan simply smirked at her, then turned to ask Sir Nicholas what path they intended to travel back to Junacave.

  Bree didn’t care for her new acquaintance’s attitude toward her, but she knew this trip could pose some difficulties and she was grateful he had agreed to accompany them. She decided to let it go.

  Just then, the ground beneath them began to shake. It was all Bree could do to keep her balance, and one of the guards grabbed ahold of her arm. She glanced around at Rowan and Nick, neither of which seemed to know what was going on. After several moments, the shaking stopped.

  “You fools!” Dagan shouted. “What have you done? Didn’t you close the portal behind you when you came through?”

  Dagan could tell that the group had no idea what he was asking about. Then the shaking started once more, this time much more violently, and every one of them lost their balance. Only when they landed, they were not inside Dagan’s home any longer. Instead, they had fallen to the ground in the forest, just outside of the tree.

  Bree was dizzy from the fall and looked around, trying to bring her surroundings into focus. She heard Rowan, just a few feet away from her, say, “Holy hell.”

  When her eyes finally stopped spinning, Bree froze, noticing the sharp tip of a spear pointed directly at her face, just inches from the end of her nose. Without moving her head, Bree glanced around at her companions, all of which were now being pulled to standing, with spears pointed at them, as well. The tree that they had all passed through a short while ago was now in several pieces, laying on the ground.

  What have we done?

  ~*~

  They had been walking in absolute silence, with their hands bound behind them with twine and spears pointed at their heads the entire time. With Bree’s focus finally restored, she could see that their captors were all women, dressed in strange outfits that were far more revealing than any she had seen before, tight and baring their midriffs. Their clothes were mostly leather and animal skins though one woman looked to be wearing a garment made of leaves, sewn together. Their hair was messy, dirty even. There were at least four women in front of her though Bree had no idea how many more were behind her because she was first in line. They were being led into what looked to be a very small village, surrounded by a tall fence made of logs.

  Once they reached a clearing in the middle of the village, one woman grabbed Bree by the arm and led her to a bench, next to a large fire pit, big enough to roast a horse. Surely these people do not plan to eat us, Bree thought.

  After Bree had sat on the bench, another woman sat Dagan down beside her and one of their guards on her other side. Rowan, Nick, and the other guard were sitting across from them. Rowan was watching the women though he didn’t seem to be scared of them. Perhaps he has met people like this during his travels before? Bree wondered. Or maybe the fact that they are half naked is keeping his attention.

  After a few moments, the women had all wandered off in different directions, leaving Bree and the others alone, in the middle of the village. They were surrounded by small log huts, most of which were no larger than the size of her bed.

  “Do you know these people?” Bree whispered to Dagan.

  “Yes, and no,” he replied. “I know of them, but I have never had the pleasure.”

  Bree had given a small snort at the word “pleasure”.

  “Can’t you do something?” she asked him.

  “What would you have me do?”

  “I don’t know, magic maybe! Get us out of here? You are a wizard, after all!” Bree was talking much louder than a whisper at this point, frustrated at being tied and manhandled by a group of savage women.

  “I don’t think that would be wise,” Dagan answered.

  Bree gave him a blank look, clearly unbelieving at what she was hearing, then glanced over at Rowan, who was watching her. He just shrugged. Do they know something I don’t? She asked herself. Why aren’t any of them trying to fight back, to escape? Perhaps they are too busy ogling the women’s assets to care that they have been abducted!

  But before Bree could interrogate either of them, she felt her ties being cut apart and her hands were free once again. Confused, Bree turned behind her to see a woman standing there, knife in hand. This woman looked similar to the others with an outfit that was just as revealing, but she had a pelt of fur hanging around her neck, which Bree thought was strange for this time of year. She was also wearing boots made with fur, a leather top that barely covered her breasts, and a leather skirt with slits on the sides, showing her thighs.

  Anyone wearing clothing that revealed this much skin in Junacave, or any kingdom that Bree could think of, would easily be labeled a whore, working men for money. However, none of these women carried themselves like whores, so Bree was certain that these women were anything but. They seemed tough, and were obviously strong enough to wrangle five grown men: one who was a wizard (though he now seemed useless), one that was the First Knight of Junacave, two trained guards, and Rowan, a trained killer. Perhaps they were smart not to fight back, after all.

  “I am sorry for your mistreatment, Queen Breestlin,” the woman said, taking Bree’s arm and pulling her to stand. Bree looked around and saw the others were being released as well, except for Dagan. Once Rowan was cut loose, he walked around to stand behind Bree but stayed silent.

  “You know who I am?” Bree asked her.

  “Well, of course! We know all of the rulers in Everealm, just as I assume you do.”

  “Then how is it that I have no idea who you are?”

  “Because that is the way we desire it to be. Tis the Sabra way, after all.”

  Bree didn’t try to hide her confusion. She had never heard of a Sabra and was wishing she still hadn’t.

  “I am Adelphie, leader of the Sabras, and this is our home. I welcome you, Queen Breestlin, the ruler of Junacave, as our guest. We are preparing dinner and a place for you to rest.”

  “Guest? And this is how you treat your guests, Adelphie? By tying them up?” Bree pointed at Dagan, sitting quietly, whose hands were still bound. She was furious at how the leader of this group could be so calm and polite after her subjects had abducted six people for no reason at all.

  “We have released all of our guests,” Adelphie replied. “This one is our prisoner,” she added, pointing at Dagan. “I am sorry that you and your companions were taken. It was only the wizard that we were after.”

  “Your prisoner? And what crime has he been charged with?”

  “Magic,” a voice answered, stepping out from behind Adelphie. This one was about the same age as Bree and had a small round face and long brown hair with a single braid on one side. Other than being a bit dirty around her feet, which were bare, she was very attractive. “He has been charged with performing magic,” she said.

  “Yes,” Adelphie replied. “Queen Breestlin, this is my younger sister, Sidonie.”

  Adelphie made a signal to three women standing nearby, and they came over and pulled Dagan to standing. He was silent and didn’t fight back. Bree watched as the women led Dagan away. He glanced back at Bree, who had a dumbfounded look on her face. He couldn’t help but laugh.

  Bree was speechless at everything she was hearing. Why would anyone want to punish a wizard for performing magic? The magic was in their blood. It came as easy to a wizard as breathing did to a human. To punish one for it, made no sense to Bree. However, she was growing hungry and tired, as she assumed her companions were as well and decided it would be best to discuss Dagan’s apparent crime after a meal and some rest. Perhaps everyone would come to their senses then.

  ~*~

  It had taken some convincing from Bree and Sir Nicholas to persuade Adelphie to release Dagan. Even after Bree expla
ined that her kingdom was under the threat of Sire, and Nick described the brutal message left by King Silas, Adelphie still was not convinced. After considering it for most of the evening, Adelphie agreed to set Dagan free. However, it came with two conditions. One, Dagan would agree to never set foot near the Sabras home again, which Dagan was happy to oblige. And the second condition was that Bree must take Adelphie’s sister, Sidonie, back to Junacave with her. Adelphie wished for Sidonie to learn the behaviors of a proper lady, to have a chance of finding a husband. It was a noble gesture for her sister to make, obviously caring deeply for her future, though Sidonie did not seem thrilled at the prospect of finding a husband, scrunching up her nose at the suggestion. Even though Bree didn’t want to be responsible for another person in the castle, she accepted, seeing it as the only way to free Dagan.

  Sometime during the night, the Sabras had returned to Dagan’s home and brought the horses back with them, except for Rowan’s horse, who wasn’t there. When Bree and the others woke, the horses were fed and ready for the trip back to Junacave, along with a few baskets of food and blankets for the ride. Sidonie was also ready, dressed in the most conservative outfit that Bree had seen so far with the Sabras, a cotton dress, covering her entire chest, but still only reaching her knees, with a rope belt cinching the middle in at the waist. Sidonie had one medium sized leather bag, hanging over her shoulder, and a small basket on her arm.

  Seeing Dagan had been released, Bree walked over to him, standing in the shade of a tree. She stood there for a moment, unsure if she should apologize or not. It was their fault that Dagan had been captured, having left the portal, as Dagan had called it, wide open for anyone to see.

  Dagan took a deep breath. “I guess I should thank you for arguing my release. You certainly didn’t have to.”

  “You are welcome,” she replied. “However, if you have decided not to accompany us back to Junacave, I will understand. It was never my intention to destroy your home and get you captured. Why do they dislike you so much, anyway?”

  “It isn’t me, really, that they fear. It’s magic in itself. Not everyone grew up with a wizard living in their home, Queen. And I will return to Junacave with you, as I agreed.”

  Bree could tell the others were anxious to get going. There was one slight problem, however, as the carriage was nowhere in sight. She was looking around, trying to count the horses, when unfamiliar with the rough terrain, the back of her foot hit a root sticking up from the ground and she fell backwards with a thump, hitting her head on the hard dirt. She looked up to see Rowan, standing over her. He put his arm under her elbow and lifted her up, once again. This has got to stop happening, she thought but was distracted by the way his brown hair shined in the sunlight peeking through the trees behind him, making it a shade lighter than his eyes. He reached his hand out and plucked something from her hair. She hadn’t meant to, but she flinched slightly when reached out to her, causing him to grin.

  “Twig,” he said, holding it up for her to see, then tossed it to the ground.

  Trying to distract herself, Bree turned back toward the horses.

  “Dagan and Sidonie are my guests, therefore, I insist that they have their own horses,” Bree said, looking around to figure out how everyone else would ride.

  “The queen will ride with Rowan,” Sir Nicholas said. “It will be the safest option, given that the carriage is missing.”

  “But he hasn’t a horse. His is missing, too,” Bree replied.

  Rowan raised an eyebrow then let out a loud whistle. Dragon came running into the clearing, out of nowhere. Bree gaped at the horse, then at Rowan, who was laughing now. He rubbed the horse’s nose and fed it a handful of what appeared to be cubes of sugar he had just pulled out of his pocket.

  Nick walked around his horse and gave Rowan a playful slap on the back.

  “You’ve trained him well, I see. Proved me wrong when I said that horse could never be broken. Then it’s settled,” Nick nodded at Bree, then continued, “The queen will ride with Rowan. We will ride with one guard in the front, and one in the back,” he said while pointing. “Her Majesty will ride in the center with our guests and I will ride ahead, to secure the path for a bit.”

  There was no point in arguing now, as everyone had already begun to mount their horses, included Rowan, who held a hand out to Bree. She hesitated before taking it. Finally, she rolled her eyes, took his hand, and climbed onto Dragon’s saddle.

  ~*~

  The ride back to Junacave was probably the most fun that Rowan had had in years. He made small talk with Dagan and found his company to be quite entertaining. Even Sidonie had started to warm up to everyone on the second day, opening up about life as a Sabra, which was actually kind of fascinating. It had also been a great opportunity to talk with his father though most of their conversations involved war strategies or drunken fights the two of them had witnessed or participated in. The two guards took turns telling stories and jokes. One even sang a tune now and then.

  But the highlight of the trip had been sharing his horse with Breestlin, with his arm wrapped around her to grip the reins, the warmth of her body against his. He loved the smell of her hair and the fact that when she fell asleep, she nestled backward into his arms without realizing it, only to wake up later, embarrassed and blushing. More than once, her body had rubbed against his groin, making it hard to concentrate on where he was leading the horse. And he was forced to casually rearrange his trousers to cover up his excitement caused by it.

  Even Dragon was becoming friendly with Bree, when he nipped at her hand so she would pet him during one of their stops, even letting her feed him a few carrots. Rowan wasn’t sure if he was more impressed or annoyed at this, seeing as it had taken months of wrangling Dragon before he allowed Rowan to feed him by hand.

  Rowan kept their conversation light and simple, mostly asking about the upcoming harvest festival, trying to enjoy this alone time with Bree while it lasted. Because he knew that once they returned to the castle, she would go back to being the queen and things between them would return to the way they were before. And while he dreaded the thought of losing her for a second time, after they had just started to become familiar with each other again, he decided it was worth it. He would suffer another seven years, if he had to, just to enjoy this one moment with Bree.

  Chapter Six

  Cicilly stood at the gate of the inner castle wall, watching the group of riders headed toward her. Most she recognized, except for two of them. One of the strangers, a male, she guessed would have to be the wizard. The other, a female, looked rather peculiar to Cicilly, dressed much like a beggar, a gypsy, perhaps?

  Sir Nicholas approached first, and Cicilly’s eyes lit up when she saw him.

  “So good to have you back, Sir Nicholas!” she beamed. “I trust that the trip went well. No complications, I assume.”

  “Errr, not exactly, Queen Mother, but we did manage to secure the wizard and another guest. The queen has asked that the chambermaids prepare a room in the guest wing, with a wardrobe. She will be staying for some time, the girl that is.”

  “Very well.” Cicilly turned inside the doorway and called out to one of the servants while Nick dismounted his horse and handed it to a stableman.

  Nick turned back to Cicilly. “What about you? Has the kingdom run smoothly?” he asked her.

  “Well, yes, for the most part. Sarita, however, has been testing my patience. Upset that she was left behind. Even said she hated me, once or twice. I have tried to reason with her…” Cicilly sighed, holding her hands up as to surrender.

  “She’s young, Cici,” which was Nick and Frederick’s pet name for Cicilly, in close company. “She doesn’t understand what she’s saying. Just give it time.” He reached out to comfort her, patting her on the arm.

  Cicilly put one hand on his cheek, “Thank you, Nick. It’s nice to have someone to talk to.”

  Nick knew exactly what she meant by that. Cicilly had
confided in her husband for many years and now that he was gone, she was alone, with no one to share her thoughts, worries, or joys with. Nick had felt the same thing too after his wife had died many years ago. At least when he had lost his wife, he still had Frederick to keep him grounded and focused. But now that Frederick was also gone, both Nick and Cicilly were alone. At least they still had each other.

  “You can always confide in me, Cici. Whatever it may be. I will not judge. After all, you forgave my son, after…” he didn’t finish, but there was no need. Cicilly simply nodded and pulled her hand away, slowly. Then she turned toward the riders who were just yards from the gate and began to wave.

  “It seems my daughter has forgiven him, as well.”

  As soon as Bree and Rowan had reached the gate, Sarita came running out, heading straight for them, her light pink dress and dark blonde curls springing with every step. She couldn’t contain her excitement, bouncing up and down as Bree dismounted.

  “Tell me all about your adventure, sissy! Did you see any pirates? Were there any dragons? Ooh, ooh, or any fairies?” she asked with wide eyes.

  Bree laughed and hugged her, “No silly, and you know that dragons aren’t real.”

  Dagan snickered behind her, but she chose to ignore him.

  “But we do have a dragon right here,” Bree said, patting Dragon above the nose. Rowan had dismounted and started taking the bags off of Dragon’s saddle. Bree left them to greet her mother.

  “He looks like a horse to me,” Sarita said to Dagan, eyeing Dragon suspiciously.

  Rowan chuckled and reached into a bag to pull out a long carrot. “He is a horse. Dragon is his name,” Rowan replied as Sarita looked up at him. “I like to think that dragons exist, too. That’s why I named him after them.” Rowan winked at Sarita, handed the carrot to her, and then squatted down next to her, to help her hold it up for Dragon to eat.

  Rowan had never been this close to Sarita before. She was a beautiful little girl, bright and cheerful, with a smile just like Bree. Looking at her now, though, he noticed that there was something different about her eyes, something familiar. He studied her as she held the carrot, giggling at Dragon while he ate it. Rowan could literally feel the color draining from his face. He glanced up at Bree, who was introducing Sidonie to Cicilly, distracted in conversation. Just then, Bree turned her head, still smiling, and caught his gaze. Her smile began to fade as she noticed his stare, sharp as daggers. Rowan broke his gaze when Sarita laughed, beside him. Dragon was licking her hand.