by Rin Grey
The king nodded. “I’ll leave you to arrange things. Let me know if there is anything I can do. For now though, I think I shall return to my bed.”
Sean nodded, suddenly more confident. Yes, it was best to give Elizabeth a week or two to get over her boyfriend arriving. Hopefully by then the excitement would have worn off and she would be more receptive to his arrival.
She’d never refused him before. This time would not be any different. He said his goodbyes to Hugo, and teleported back home.
The End
Prophecy Unravelled
Divided Heir
Rin Grey
Divided Heir Table of Contents
Prophecy Unravelled Blurb
Map of Linarra
Title Page
Elusive Heir
Contested Heir
Divided Heir Divided Heir Blurb
Chapter 1 - A Prince
Chapter 2 - Sparring
Chapter 3 - Regret
Chapter 4 - Promises
Chapter 5 - Conception
Chapter 6 - Waiting
Chapter 7 - Late
Chapter 8 - Assignment
Chapter 9 - Seekers
Chapter 10 - Hail
Chapter 11 - Reunion
Chapter 12 - Plans
Chapter 13 - Secrets
Chapter 14 - Searching
Chapter 15 - Reporting
Chapter 16 - Loyalty
Chapter 17 - Choices
Chapter 18 - Confrontation
Chapter 19 - Explanations
Chapter 20 - Sprung!
Wayward Heir
About the Author
Divided Heir Blurb
With her grandson’s magical studies well underway, it’s time for Elizabeth’s family to uphold their end of the bargain for his return. The powerful mage king sends one of his princes to help her family retrieve some mysterious magic items in return for a share of the bounty.
The mission is fraught with risks, but it isn’t the dangerous mercenaries guarding the ancient ruined city that cause Elizabeth concern. If her family attempt to double cross the mages, she could be accused of treason.
On top of that, her turbulent past with the prince and the presence of her estranged adult son distract her from the real danger.
When everything goes wrong, her trust in the mage kingdom throws her family’s suspicion back on her.
Chapter 1 - A Prince
Ms Salinga,
One of my princes shall be in Asherad tomorrow afternoon at three o’clock to discuss arrangements for the retrieval of the items at Anyir. I request that Mage Elizabeth Salinga be included in the discussion and retrieval, to facilitate relations between your team and mine, along with any of your team members who will be participating.
Yours Sincerely,
King Hugo Lisanna.
Elizabeth stared wordlessly at the piece of paper Jocelyn had handed her, trying to read between the lines. She’d only met the king once and though he knew her history did he really have any reason, other than the one he had stated, to request her inclusion in this meeting?
He didn’t name the ‘prince’, was there any chance it could be Sean?
She was torn between hope that it might be, her stomach tying itself in knots at the thought of seeing him again, and concern for how she would explain it to Jocelyn if he showed any hint of recognition.
Not to mention Gemma and Digger, who were both watching her in concern.
All of them already had more than enough reasons to doubt her loyalty, if they found out that Elizabeth knew one of the princes…
“Well?” Jocelyn interrupted her frantic thoughts.
“It is the king’s seal, yes,” Elizabeth confirmed. “There is no doubt about that.”
“It looks like this is going ahead then. Can you have things sorted out with Mitch by then? I know Gemma doesn’t want you to leave until it is settled, but this is urgent.”
It had been just over a week since the interrupted wedding and Digger’s arrival in Asherad, and things had been surprisingly quiet. With Amily out of the way, there had been no further attacks of any kind.
By tacit agreement, Elizabeth and Digger had avoided talking about their relationship in any more depth. Digger was fitting into the household surprisingly well, even his sharing a room with Elizabeth not causing any strain.
Elizabeth looked over at Gemma, who was handing out cups of tea. “How do you feel about it, Gemma? I think Mitch has more than enough control to get along without me for a couple of days, provided he doesn’t try to practice on his own while I’m gone.”
Gemma hesitated, placing a cup of tea in front of Digger. “I’m not sure,” she said reluctantly. “I suppose, if you’re sure he’ll be all right…”
Elizabeth nodded. “I’ll have a talk to him before I go, but I’m sure he’ll be fine. He’s progressing very quickly really.”
She would never forgive herself if she didn’t go. What if it was Sean?
Not to mention the fact that she had been the one to make this deal with the king. He’d allowed her to bring Mitch home because he’d trusted her to uphold her family’s side of the bargain. If anything went wrong, if Jocelyn tried to double cross the Dome mages, it would be on her head.
She felt Digger’s eyes on her and suppressed a fleeting moment of guilt at making excuses, even to herself, as to why she should go. In reality, just the possibility that Sean might be there was enough.
But how likely was it that the prince would be Sean? Knowing her luck, it would be another prince and be quite boring. Sean had certainly made it quite clear he didn’t want to see her again. The chances it would be him weren’t high.
“I’ll be around too, Gemma, if you don’t mind if I stay. I can help keep an eye on Mitch,” Digger spoke up.
Elizabeth gave him a grateful smile.
His assurance seemed to help. Gemma nodded with more confidence. “If the mages have requested you be there, Mamma, I suppose you’d better go.”
Jocelyn drank the last of her tea, and stood up. “Good, that’s settled then. If you don’t mind coming by about lunchtime tomorrow, Elizabeth, we can discuss any plans and you can answer any questions we might have ahead of time.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Sure, Jocelyn. I’ll see you then.”
Once Jocelyn was gone though, Elizabeth found it hard to meet Digger’s eyes. She scolded herself for her stupidity. It wasn’t like she was planning an affair. She wasn’t even sure that it would be Sean, for freck’s sake.
But somehow, the feeling of guilt lingered.
To distract herself, she focused on considering how Mitch would fare in her absence. She berated herself for procrastinating this long about the next step in his training. She could easily have had Mitch ready for the control exercises by now. He had learnt even more quickly than she had expected, eager to absorb all she could teach him. He would have worked tirelessly all day if she had not called for regular breaks to their lessons.
She was the one who had held back, nervous and uncertain about her own part in the process.
It had been fifty years since she’d gone through the ordeal herself, yet she remembered it clearly. Perhaps that was the problem. The process itself would be easy enough to replicate, even though she had never done so before, it was her reluctance to put her young grandson through that experience that held her back.
She had been much older, harder and stronger than he was. Would he handle it?
Did he have a choice?
While he’d learned quickly and well, there was never any knowing how a mage would react under pressure until they were there. The control exercises would make sure he could trust his own reactions.
Make sure those around him could.
That, Elizabeth didn’t doubt. Mitch was a good kid, and he’d make the right choices.
What worried her was a fear that he wouldn’t forgive her. The process was harsh and terrifying, but there was no other way. They did things differently a
t the Academy of course, the long way. Months of talking and rationalising. Studying ethics and philosophy.
But she had neither the time nor the ability to do it that way. Leading her back to the fact that much as she might not like it, she had little choice.
Elizabeth took a deep breath. Her fears were absurd. Though she had been furious at Sean at the time, she had forgiven him almost immediately when it was over.
As would Mitch. She could put if off no longer. As soon as she returned from this trip, she would begin.
With that thought in mind, she spent the next few hours reviewing all they had covered so far with Mitch, almost as if testing him to confirm her suspicions.
He performed flawlessly of course. He knew all the basics now, how to bend light to appear invisible, to change his appearance, or to create illusions. How to use his energy to move objects, and how to explore and manipulate their structure.
So much underlying knowledge, and very little application yet. There was so much more she could teach him, so much more she would teach him.
Even if Jocelyn found a better candidate for heir quickly, a few years here with Gemma and Mitch, teaching him about his magic, would be but a blip on her lifespan.
Even so, the thought of remaining lay heavily in Elizabeth’s stomach. She couldn’t help thinking of George next door, who likely only had a few more years to live. How many more grey hairs would Gemma have in a few years?
The longer she stayed, the harder it would be to leave. But staying here and watching them all age and die wouldn’t be easy either.
There was no answer to that quandary. There never would be. So Elizabeth put it aside, instead focusing on making sure Mitch was ready for her absence.
Many hours later, they were both exhausted, and Mitch was more than happy to go off to the bath and dinner his mother had prepared for him.
Elizabeth hoped he’d remember the warnings she had given him of what not to do or try while she was gone, and what practice he should continue.
When the day was finally over and she and Digger were alone in their room, she had one more favour to ask of him.
“Digger?” She realised she had barely spoken to him since Jocelyn’s visit, and the nagging feeling of guilt tormented her again. “Thanks for offering to help Gemma out with Mitch while I’m away.”
“It’s nothing, Liz, don’t mention it,” Digger said shortly, undressing.
Elizabeth began to undress as well. “He has a good control over his magic now, I highly doubt things will get out of hand.”
Digger’s back was to her as he sat on the edge of his bed, so she couldn’t see his expression as he said, “And if they do?”
Elizabeth hesitated. If they did, Digger could have few options. He had no magic to contain anything Mitch tried. His only option would be to try to knock him unconscious. Unless Mitch was actually trying to harm him, he’d probably be able to manage it.
She hoped.
“Try not to hurt him,” she said softly.
Digger nodded acceptingly, and she had no doubt of his ability to defuse the situation if it came up.
She watched him climb into bed, and slid in beside him, still unable to shake the feeling of guilt. He was a good man, and their years together had been full of fun. Yes, when she’d first met him, she’d never intended to let things go this far, but despite the fact that she could see his face ageing too, she found it hard to regret staying.
She reached for Digger, thinking to submerge the guilt and fears with the physical act of sex, but though he held her close, and groaned as she pressed her body up against his, he didn’t return her caresses.
She sighed heavily and stopped her advances. She almost asked him what was wrong, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to know.
“Liz, what happened with you and the mages?” he asked after a long silence.
“What do you mean?” Elizabeth asked, buying time. She knew no matter what he meant, she wasn’t going to want to answer.
“All of it. How did you leave the Dome? How do you know the king? Freck, I don’t even know what questions to ask, but there is more going on than you’re telling everyone, isn’t there?”
Elizabeth’s heart skipped a beat. Was she that obvious?
She took a slow, deep breath, trying to find some calm. Digger could have no idea what he was asking. He knew nothing about the Dome. He certainly knew nothing about Sean. It made sense that he was curious about it, and about her place there.
“Nothing is going on,” she said quietly. “You already knew I’d been there before. I met the king when I went to get Mitch back. I’d never seen him before in my life, and I wouldn’t have then except it was plea day. But you already know all this.” She tried to keep the tone of annoyance out of her voice, but knew she wasn’t quite successful.
“Why do the Dome mages let you come and go as you wish?” Digger persisted. “That isn’t normal, right?”
Of course that would be what he’d ask. The one thing that was connected to Sean. The one thing she didn’t want to talk about. Especially not now.
She swore. “Look, I don’t want to talk about it. Can we just drop it?”
Digger fell silent, and then sighed heavily, but didn’t ask the question again.
Inwardly, Elizabeth berated herself. This wasn’t the first time. Digger rarely pushed her for explanations that she clearly didn’t want to give. He’d tried a few times, and it had ended in arguments. She’d made it clear she’d sooner walk away than give up her secrets.
So he’d given up asking.
She’d learnt from the best, hadn’t she? How many times had Sean done that to her, and how many times had she been the one lying there frustrated and insecure.
“I’m sorry, Digger,” she apologised. “It was a very long time ago, and it doesn’t reflect very well on me. I did the wrong thing by someone, and I was basically asked to leave.”
It wasn’t so very far from the truth, really.
Digger said nothing for a moment, then nodded, and pulled her close.
Neither of them said anything, but after a while, she could feel Digger relax, and before long his breathing settled into the slow rhythm that indicated sleep.
It was much longer before Elizabeth, her mind racing with possibilities and memories, drifted into an uneasy slumber.
Chapter 2 - Sparring
“So, Elizabeth, what information can you give us about what to expect from the mages?” Jocelyn began, once Elizabeth was seated at the large oval table with the three men who she’d met when she’d come to find Mitch.
Elizabeth hid a wince. Jocelyn had requested she come early to answer questions, but she’d been so busy wondering if Sean was going to be present today, that it hadn’t even occurred to her to wonder what sort of questions.
Jocelyn stared at her expectantly, not even considering that Elizabeth might hesitate. Why would she?
It never occurred to Jocelyn that Elizabeth might be loyal to anyone other than her. Somehow, Elizabeth was pretty sure she wouldn’t be happy when she found out.
“What exactly do you want to know?” she asked cautiously.
Hopefully Jocelyn wouldn’t ask for anything that might be difficult to answer.
“Well, what is the deal with the king and the princes for starters? How does a country that’s less than fifty years old have such a complex social structure?” Jocelyn asked.
Elizabeth leaned back in her chair, trying to hide her relief. That question was easy enough. Not even approaching a state secret.
“The princes are the king’s formal advisors. I have no idea why they were chosen, though I would guess it’s probably due to their magical strength, which is far above that of anyone else in the Dome.”
“They’re stronger than you then?” Jocelyn interrupted.
Elizabeth laughed. “They make my magical ability look like child’s play,” she said bluntly.
She was sure she saw Jocelyn blanch, but her niece said nothing.
Not that she could see how it mattered. From what she’d seen of their magical ability, a mage of almost any strength was going to be a threat to the Salingas. Even Amily couldn’t hold a candle to most mages in the Dome.
“So what is their role then?” Jocelyn prompted.
Elizabeth hesitated, but she’d already said too much to pretend she didn’t know now. And she suspected Jocelyn wouldn’t believe it, even if she’d opened with that.
“Aside from offering general advice, each prince, or princess, of which there are two, has a specific role for the king,” she explained.
She had everyone’s attention and it wasn’t just on the off chance that something she said could be useful to them. In her time spent outside the Dome she had quickly realised that the land of the mages was both fascinating and frightening to those who lived outside.
She was pleased to note she could sense no fear from the three men, who simply listened curiously.
Jocelyn’s face was cold and calculating. Was she hoping for some information that would allow her to take advantage of the mages?
She’d known she was taking a risk when she’d agreed to arrange this deal between Jocelyn and the king. But up until now, it hadn’t occurred to her that the arrangement might put her right in the middle. She hadn’t expected to be quizzed on Linarra.
“So which prince would be responsible for a task such as this?” Jocelyn asked.
What was her goal with the question? Could anything Elizabeth said be used against Linarra?
The mood of the whole interview felt different. Elizabeth had thought the only thing she had to hide was her relationship to Sean, Suddenly there was a whole new problem to deal with.
She considered her answers carefully.
“Princess Einara is the logical choice. Her responsibilities include management of the Academy where the mages are trained and magical research is carried out. It stands to reason if they are looking for an item which has historical or magical significance, then she would be the one who would be interested in it.”
