Identity Revealed
The Tue-Rah Chronicles
J.M. Butler
Copyright © 2018 by J.M. Butler.
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
J.M. Butler/Enchanting Chimera Publishing
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Editor: Mary Iamandi
Cover Art: Mirela Barbu
Identity Revealed/J.M. Butler - 1st ed.
Paperback ISBN 978-1-948601-01-6
Hardback ISBN 978-1-948601-00-9
Created with Vellum
Dedicated to my father, Rob Butler, who sat through countless hours of discussion and musing over the years and yet somehow always believed I could create this universe and write this series. His questions annoyed me tremendously sometimes, but he helped me grow and make this story exceptionally stronger.
* * *
Dad, I kept all the dragons and took out the unicorn. For now. Oh, I added more romance.
* * *
Yup. There's a big love story in here. Actually, a few. Including the one you wanted.
* * *
Lots of monsters, intrigue, and death too.
* * *
Thank you for everything, and for helping me make it better in every respect. I can't imagine this series without you.
Contents
1. A New Friend
2. The Attempted Escape
3. Preparations
4. The Sleeping Palace
5. Vawtrians in the Palace
6. Escape
7. Becoming Amelia
8. Vet
9. The Palace
10. Plans
11. A Very Strange Machat
12. The Bear
13. Shon’s Discovery
14. To Valne’s Peak
15. Unease
16. Change of Plan
17. Interrogation
18. Plaohi
19. On the Road to Polfradon
20. The Kolagro
21. Conversations with a Dying Brother
22. Family
23. Captured
24. Spiders
25. A Matter of Pronunciation
26. Wounded
27. A Shocking Development
28. Weighed and Measured
29. A Discussion at Breakfast
30. So It Begins
31. Naatos’s Error
32. Salvation of the Third Nalenth
33. A Strange Illness
34. Cohsaw
35. Trouble
36. Attacked
37. Judgment
38. The Mallakish Passage
39. Conflict Within
40. Amelia’s Offer
41. A Devastating Choice
42. A Wounded Man
43. A Machat Rescue
44. Kepsalon
45. Another Way
46. Cursed
47. The Unwitting Creation
48. Troubling Developments
49. The Conduits
50. Strange Meetings
51. The Girl Who Said No
52. A Matter of Time
53. The Real Filled Heart
54. Battling the Crudon
55. Enemy, Brother, Friend
56. Teaser: Enemy Known
Acknowledgments
Glossary
About the Author
Also by J.M. Butler
1
A New Friend
Laughter sounded in the distance, breaking the quiet summer afternoon. "Ready or not, here I come!" Josiah, Libysha's crown prince, sang out. Giggles and taunts followed.
Inale hesitated at the sound. She stood beneath the arch of the only gate in or out. More laughter came. They were having lots of fun.
As Vorec had escorted her to her own enclosed garden, she had glimpsed her brother and his friends from a distance, chasing one another over fragrant close-cut grass, sliding under flowering lilacs, and shimmying up coarse-barked trees. She wished she could join them even though she could no longer see them.
"Don't just stand there," Vorec said with an impatient sigh. He pushed her through the gate, his grasp on the back of her neck firm but not cruel. As the elder commander of the Ayamin and a warrior himself, he had many important things to do, things far more important than escorting a five-year-old.
"Can I play with Josiah? I promise I'll be good." Inale cast her gaze back to him, hoping perhaps Vorec would surprise her and relent.
"No." Vorec pulled the golden gate shut with a sharp clang, locking her in the hedge labyrinth. "You're a blood child. If you want to be outside, you must stay in here. Otherwise, it's back to your room. Which will it be?"
"I'll stay here."
"Good." Vorec's slate-grey eyes didn't soften even a little. He adjusted his well-tailored blue jacket and gave her a chastising glance as if he could see something in her she would have otherwise wanted to hide. "You should be grateful you have what you do," he said, then turned.
Inale fiddled with the loops on her woven ball, watching as he left. He muttered under his breath, shaking his head. "The king and queen should never have adopted that cursed child to begin with."
Vorec always spoke harsher when her adopted parents were gone or when Joseph wasn't there. So did some of the others if they thought she couldn't hear them. But she always did.
More laughter flowed from the southern garden. It stung, even though she was grateful to have this secret garden to play in. Like many others, Vorec insisted she was lucky to even be allowed outside. She was, regardless of what she intended, a monster. A monster who would one day serve a good purpose, but a monster nevertheless. No matter how much she promised to be good, she had to be kept in isolation. I like being by myself, she thought. It's better that way.
Inale dropped the woven ball, struck it with her elbow, and then bounced it on her knee. The lavender-scented beans rattled inside the cloth, poofing each time she struck its exterior, but somehow it didn't make her smile.
More giggles erupted, closer this time. "No fair!" a girl shouted, laughing.
"My rules, my rules!" Josiah called back. "Now you're it. And you've got to count to one hundred while standing on one foot."
Inale rolled her eyes. I could have counted to one hundred on one foot better than her. She probably can't even count to twenty.
Catching the ball, Inale left the separating wall and walked farther into the maze. It wouldn’t hurt as much if she didn't have to hear the other children.
The garden seemed quite lonely now and exceptionally empty. Inale swallowed the knot that formed in her throat. If she went back to the gate and rang the bell, she could ask for someone to come sit with her. Her mother, Queen Alita, occasionally came when Inale asked. But she never played. She brought her sewing or embroidery and observed Inale through pensive eyes. Cautious. Fearful. When Inale asked, Alita insisted she wasn't afraid, but Inale knew better. Almost everyone feared her, at least a little bit. Sometimes a lot.
She tossed her ball again and caught it. It was a bright and clear day, the sky empty of all but sun. Even through the high mesh tent that covered her garden and hid her from sight, Inale could see some things. Sometimes she even g
limpsed hawks and eagles.
It was rather early, of course. After a few hours more, she might be able to ask some of the other Ayamin to come play with her for a bit. Maybe. Her parents had cautioned her against bothering the soldiers too much. They were the bodyguards of the royal family and the palace, meaning they had many important tasks to complete. Joseph always tried to make a little time for her when possible, but that wasn't often, and he was out on maneuvers until nightfall.
Inale flung the ball at the hedge wall, the knot in her throat growing bigger. Even if the Ayamin did come, they would keep their distance.
As the ball struck the hedge and bounced back, it hit one of the decorative grey stones marking the correct path through the labyrinth. Inale followed it, listening to the protests, shouts, and giggles. From the increased laughter and triumphant whoops, Josiah had probably pranked someone.
No one ever pranked her. It was too dangerous. On the rare occasions she did spend time with her brother, he was uneasy despite being far larger than she and a whole three years older.
She made her way to the center of the garden. On most days, this was her favorite place to play even though the air was close and breezes never blew as strong here as they did outside. During the later summer months, it could become quite stifling. But here she had a rope swing, a series of painted targets, two carved benches, a short table, and red clay for sculpting. It smelled like grass and earth and warmth. The only place she liked better was the stable yard when they let her spend time with the bruins.
Inale bent to pick up the ball when she noticed a magnificent bluebird on the ground beside the central pillar that held the mesh up. It had its back to her. How had it gotten in?
Inale's eyes widened. She loved animals! Thrusting her hands into her pockets, she searched for seeds or crumbs, then stopped.
The bird was growing. Its feathers folded down, and its form enlarged in a single smooth breath as it became a man.
Inale's mouth fell open. A Vawtrian! What was he doing here? "Who are you?" she asked, staring.
The man turned, his expression surprised. "Oh…hello, little one," he said. He looked around the garden, his brow knitting with confusion. "Are you here alone?"
Curiosity sparked within Inale. She had always wanted to see a Vawtrian. Shapeshifters hadn't lived on this world since the Tue-Rah had been broken. Should she call for help?
She glanced over her shoulder, then back at the man. He was quite tall and slender with sharp cheekbones and long, smooth black hair pulled back in a silver clasp lying low against his neck. A large silver earring covered almost the entirety of his left ear. As the sunlight filtered through, it glinted on the metal prongs that secured the earring in at least three places. And though his skin was quite pale, it was not at all unhealthy looking, and his eyes were a bright energetic blue with flushes of green and grey. He didn't look dangerous. Not compared to Vorec. And if he was, all she had to do was shout or ring the golden bell on the table. Surely it couldn't hurt to talk to him a little.
Inale stepped closer, her hands clasped in front. "What are you doing here?"
"I was searching for something." The man continued to turn around as if not entirely convinced by what he saw.
"Why here? This is my garden." Inale stopped beside him, staring up at him curiously. No one ever came to her garden unless invited. Even more surprising, he didn't seem afraid of her.
The man crouched in front of her and leaned forward, almost at her eye level. "What's your name, little girl?"
Inale scrunched her face at him, not sure if he was trying to be funny. "You know who I am."
"Actually, I don't." The man smiled.
Inale tilted her head, startled. She had never met anyone who didn't know her, but his pleasant smile made him look so kind she couldn't be annoyed. "I am Inale, Princess of Libysha…How could you not know me? Why else would I be here?"
"I wasn't aware that it was customary for princesses to be kept in gardens." The man's eyes twinkled as if this was a joke, but his expression remained perplexed. "Labyrinths like this with such a broad stone wall on the outside and so many hedge layers on the inside are usually reserved for dangerous monsters, not little girls."
Inale flinched, ducking her head. "I'm not a monster," she said softly. Surely not wanting to be evil had to count for something. She had never understood why she had to be evil. She just was. "I'm not. Not really."
"I'm sure you aren't." He said the words gently, almost as if he meant them. "I did know that there was a princess somewhere around here. From the way everyone spoke about her, I thought she was much older."
Inale fiddled with the pendant of her stone necklace, not entirely certain what she was supposed to feel. "I'm all alone here. What's your name?"
The man opened his mouth to speak but paused, pressing his lips in a tight line. "You're a Neyeb…" He cocked his head as if thinking, then reached toward the cloth patch fastened to her forehead. "How strange."
Inale stepped back, not wanting him to touch her. She wanted to tell him that she didn't know how to read minds. There weren't any other Neyeb around, so who could teach her? But before she found the right words, he cleared his throat.
"Well, little Inale, my name is WroOth, but you mustn't tell anyone that or about my being a Vawtrian. In fact, you can't tell anyone that I've been here at all. That's an awful lot. Do you think you can keep it all secret?"
"Of course."
"Good." He beamed at her.
"WroOth. That's a nice name." Inale smiled back. She liked him a great deal. He was one of the nicest people she had ever met, and there was something familiar about him. That night she would write about him in her journal and draw pictures. Picking up a stick, she scratched the letters in the white sand patch to her right. This was where she practiced her letters and drawing. She spelled his name Ro Oth. "Like that?" It was important to spell names correctly, even in a personal journal.
"No. That's how it sounds. But that's not how it's spelled." WroOth swished out the R and made it a lower case. He then put a W in front of it. "And it's all one word. The O here is capitalized because it's the second syllable. A tradition of my mother's people. And this…this is your name." He brushed the letters aside and then traced her name in the fine-grained sand. "Inale is Libyshan, not Neyeb. Did the king and queen change your name when they adopted you?" WroOth rested his elbows on his knees as he continued to look around.
More laughter floated from the other garden. A light frown creased WroOth's high forehead. "Why are you here alone, little one? Shouldn't you be out playing with the other children?"
The knot was even bigger in Inale's throat now. Should I tell him the truth, she wondered. It wasn't as if he knew. She studied his face, afraid he might reject her. But there was a kindness in his eyes. Besides, he had told her a secret. It was fitting that she shared one with him. "I…I didn't tell you all the truth before."
"Oh?" His expression was only mildly surprised now.
"I'm not really a monster, but I could be. Everyone says I'm dangerous."
"Are you now?" WroOth's mouth twisted, and his eyes danced. "Well, you certainly look ferocious. Not even three feet of you, and all in yellow lace and satin."
He was laughing at her! Inale scowled. That had never happened. His reaction made her feel as if her loneliness and the horror of what she was didn't matter. She bunched her fists. "I am!"
"I'm sure you are. I imagine you could take down an entire troop of Vawtrian warriors, couldn't you?" WroOth pantomimed clawing the air. He might as well have patted her on the head and told her she was cute.
Inale narrowed her eyes at him. "You really don't know anything about me, do you?"
WroOth's grin broadened. "How old are you, little darling?"
"I'll be six soon." Inale shoved his arm, but he didn't even wobble. "And don't call me ‘little.’"
"My apologies for commenting on your size. You are most certainly a ferocious fledgling dragon. You're al
so quite advanced for your age. At least for an Awdawm. But, then again, you're a Neyeb. As I recall, you're about on track. I'm not the expert though. That would be my brother." WroOth motioned toward her neck. "Do you mind if I look at that necklace you're wearing?"
"Your brother knows about the Neyeb? How?" All of Inale's frustration evaporated. The thought of meeting someone who could help her understand herself was a prayer she thought would go forever unheard. She untied the leather thong that held her necklace in place but hesitated before she handed it to him. The pendant swung in the air, looking like a double-edged puzzle piece with deep black grooves carved into its polished surface. "You aren't going to keep it, are you?"
"Of course not." WroOth gently took the necklace away and examined it. "I just need to see what's engraved here." He focused on the necklace, the lines around his eyes crinkling. Then, for a moment, his eyes widened. His expression swiftly returned to its former smiling mask. "Well…" he said, his voice taking a more solemn tone. "This is your necklace? One you have had all your life? It's very important that you tell me the truth about this. I won't be angry if you found it or if someone gave it to you, but I need to know."
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