Chapter One – The Princess’s Necklace

  Grayson Fade finished dressing and prayed his heart wouldn’t fail him. He had the necklace in a pocket sewed into the inside of his tunic. If he managed to get it out of the palace without getting caught, he would be able to buy a new life. He wasn’t too worried about the guards. He only needed to get it past the princess.

  She smiled at him as she slowly pulled her gown back on. She was taking her time, since it was a warm day. The air was heavy with the scent of the distant ocean. Her palace was at the center of the island, and yet, the sea was always with them.

  Princess Lilian Everbright sat on the edge of the bed with her legs and feet exposed. Did she know he’d gone into her jewelry box? It didn’t seem like it.

  Gray’s heart had never been good, and now, it was pounding painfully like dying bird in his chest. He couldn’t show her he was nervous. The next five minutes would determine his entire future.

  Then the question came. “What’s wrong, Gray?”

  Grayson allowed himself to wince. “Oh, nothing, you know. It is just a normal day for a slave boy visiting a princess for a bit of pleasure.”

  Lilian rolled her eyes again. “Not that again. I didn’t choose to become a princess. Just like you didn’t choose to work in the Games.”

  It was a joke to call them Games. Most Games didn’t shed that much blood. To call what he did work was also laughable because he was never paid. He slept on stone and foraged for food, eating the leftovers of the gladiators. The only reason why he was alive was because of his wits. He couldn’t very well fight, not with a sword. His bad heart made that impossible.

  The princess got off the bed. “No, something is wrong, other than the roles fate has given us. Yes, your life is not what you want it to be, but at least you are handsome.”

  He grinned. “A handsome man doesn’t mean much in the Games. I think you like me for my brain.”

  “Your brain…and other things,” Lilian’s eyes travelled down his body.

  Did she see the bulge of the necklace? Or was something else catching her eye?

  Gray needed to run, and yet, he couldn’t simply rush off, not with their history together. He needed to control himself, down to his sweat glands, because if he suddenly started sweating—again—her suspicions would grow. If he remained calm, she would kiss him and let him leave. He knew she liked that fate had brought them together, but she didn’t want to change his destiny any. It was only a matter of time before she cast him aside for another handsome face, maybe someone with more muscles. Gray was thin, painfully so.

  Gray got on the bed with her, and pushed her back. He was very careful not to let her feel the necklace.

  He kissed her plump lips, so pink, and full, a bit bruised from their love play. Her hair gleamed gold. Her eyes were an inquisitive blue. He had to play this next part perfectly, and then, he would walk out of the palace, make his way through town, and when he reached the Far Docks, he would give the necklace to his buyer and walk away with a fortune in gold.

  “Oh, Lilian,” he said with a sigh, breathing in her sweet breath. “I’m just thinking of the hours ahead, of the work that I have to do, and I miss you already so much.”

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  She touched his face. “You say very pretty things, Grayson Fade, and yet, I know you. I can guess that something troubles your already troubled heart.” She touched his chest, and her skin felt good on his.

  She was a clever one.

  Gray needed to lie. Luckily, he was good a lying. As a swordless slave in the Games, it had become a necessarily skill. And here he was, lying to a girl he genuinely liked, and yet, they had to keep their affair of secret. She’d be punished. He would most likely be killed, but not directly. The Sea King would merely request to see Gray fight one of the more bloodthirsty gladiators. The end would be over quickly.

  Gray put on his best frown. “I’ll never get to see the world. I will live my life and then die, never having seen the wonders of faraway lands, the Belly down at the bottom of the world, nor the cold Crown at the top. I would be lucky to leave Cradleport to see the other Nursery Islands. Even the Crumblelands are beyond me. But you have better things to do than listen to the sorrows of a slave boy.”

  “Don’t call yourself that,” Lilian murmured. “We don’t have slaves in the Nursery Islands. My great grandfather outlawed slavery. You are a Games worker, which is honorable. They still speak of the Battle Royale, and your gambit. It was that victory that made me fall in love with you. How noble and strong you were.”

  Gray felt the pain keenly. What he’d done during his Battle Royale had been the opposite of noble. He sometimes still woke up, screaming at nightmares of his one and only fight in the arena. The best way to sleep well was to find a woman to share a bed with. Luckily, he was good at that. All it took was a little courage and a lot of listening. His face helped, but it was his ears and mind that got the job done.

  He wasn’t going to argue with the princess, not with the fortune in his pocket. “And yet, my fate is to live and die on this island. Can you remedy that situation, princess?”

  “Don’t call me that.” Lilian closed her eyes. “I didn’t choose this. I can’t leave either, Gray. We wouldn’t be welcome in the Belly or the Crown. We don’t have magic. And the Crumblelands are dangerous. Only pirates are there.”

  Gray smiled. “Do you really believe that there are sorcerers down at the Belly, stopping demons from pouring out of the hole there?”

  Lilian blushed. “I find that more believable than angels at the Crown, ruling over a cold, icy kingdom. They have tattoos, tracking their power. The skin burns from their raw power. We’ve spoken to merchants who witnessed any number of miracles. Supposedly, these sorcerers can enchant objects with sorcery. The angel magic is cultivated in some way, by embracing virtues. But the Belly mages, no, they use sinfire, and it’s only through their depravity and greed that they gain power.”

  “It’s a pretty story,” Gray said, purposefully going a little cold. He couldn’t spend forever talking with her, in her lavish room, of marble, lace, and real glass windows. Around them were the riches of the palace—oil lamps and dressing tables and bowls of fruit. He’d have to grab an apple on his way out.

  “You don’t think it’s true?” the princess asked.

  “I’d have to see for myself. That shall never happen. And here we are. Don’t worry, Lilian, I will find a way out of my sad fog, .and be your sunshine again.”

  Lilian smiled. “Such pretty things you say! I love that about you! You are more than you think you are, Gray. You do not know what fate has in store for you.”

  He gave her a last kiss and got off her, turning, so she wouldn’t see the hidden necklace. He quoted some bit of poetry he had overheard in the market. “Caught between heaven and hell, in Midmere, the souls cry out with need, and they are given what they most desire.”

  Lilian was back to sitting on the edge of her bed. “How do you know that? You don’t have access to books, do you?”

  “I have access to Blind John, who has access to book.” Gray said.

  The princess blew hair out of her face. “Blind John has access to everything. His reach is long, even here in the palace.”

  Gray knew he’d given the princess enough of his time for it to seem normal. It was now or never.

  “Speaking of which, I have some business with him. I must take my leave, but know this, Lilian, you have been a bright spot in my life, a jewel, a ruby if you will, that I will always find precious.”

  “We’ll see each other again, Gray. You make this parting sound so final.”

  He tipped his head. “If you still wish to see me, princess. I hope that will never change, for I find such joy in your face.” He blew her a kiss, and then crept out of the room. Heart pounding, he made it down the hallway to a window, out onto the wall, and then down to the ground below.

  Wincing he touched his chest, hoping that the broken bird fluttering around inside of him didn’t die. Not yet. He wanted to be rich first.