Nine Dragons Gold

by Katy Haye

  He leaned closer, his lips warm on mine. Any chance that I could tear away and nurse my grievances fled. I wanted this man. By the maker, I might be a fool, but I wanted the life he was offering me. He was honest with me: a virtue not all husbands possessed. We might not be head over ears in love, but I liked him better than I could ever have expected to like a husband chosen for me. My lips parted beneath his and I sank into the moment. Only he and I existed. The whole world, filled with lies and grief and treachery, could burn for all I cared: we would be true to each other.

  34 – Different Place

  The entire court was summoned. As the prince’s chosen bride, I sat on a grand seat on a dais at the front as everyone assembled. Subdued chatter filled the room, rumours and questions flitting around the room as fast as people could speak. Some in the room already knew the prince’s choice, and that information rolled around the room like wildfire, whispers causing all eyes to turn to me. I let my gaze unfocus as I looked over the crowd, my heart beating rapidly. I wasn’t used to being the centre of attention, but now I must get used to it. I would be the princess, and eventually the queen. All eyes would be on me from this moment onwards.

  Rannyl sat on a stool beside me, her presence offering a sense of solidarity that I dearly needed. The carved throne on my other side was empty. Jaran, as was his habit, would be the last to arrive.

  My half-brother stepped onto the dais to stand behind me, his face drawn. I had spoken to him privately, after the prince had spoken to him and communicated how massively his life had changed. He barely knew whether to be shamed by father’s treachery, or proud to take on the role of council lord earlier than he might ever have supposed. I hoped he would make a better Lord of the Isles – or just of his own family – than our father had done.

  “I suppose I had better take care to stay on your good side,” Martyn muttered as his fingers curled around the ornamented top of my throne. It seemed he had decided to blame me for father’s punishment. I hoped that would change once he had time to think matters through. With Redmor gone, there was one less malign influence to twist his actions into treason the way Redmor had manipulated our father.

  “It is the prince who demands your loyalty,” I whispered back.

  He huffed and I ignored him. I had thought myself weak when I’d come to court, but that wasn’t true. I had much still to learn, but I was determined to become the princess Jaran needed. And I cared not what my family thought of me; they were no longer the most important thing in my life.

  Silence fell. Martyn stiffened and I turned to watch Jaran stride into sight. My heart lifted. I was reminded again of the sense I’d had when I’d first seen him, that he was the sun the court revolved around. I now knew that there was so much more to him than that sense of expectant optimism. Jaran had been through a great deal in the last week, too. His father and the crown were safe, as was the country. He had more reason than ever before to love his life.

  He didn’t sit on his throne, but stood at the front of the dais. A herald blew a blast on a horn and absolute silence gripped the court.

  “Thank you for assembling,” the prince said, his voice travelling easily to all the corners of the room. “I have made my choice and I am delighted to announce the name of my bride-to-be.” He turned, his gaze resting on me with a smile that melted my heart. “Muirland’s new princess will be Lady Hanna Bal.” He extended his hand to me. I rose, took his hand and nodded at the crowd, who broke into applause with an abruptness that made me twitch.

  Jaran lifted my hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to my knuckles before helping me back to my seat.

  He held up a hand and the crowd quietened. “Thank you. I am sure many happy years lie ahead of us.” The smile fell from his face. “Today’s happiness, however, has been tempered by the discovery of a plot against the crown. “Mage Redmor, Muirland’s most senior mage, was using potions to harm my father, the king, who is already ill. And I recently discovered that he was seeking to influence my choice of bride. His plot was foiled, but I am further sorry to report that Redmor died attempting to evade justice.”

  A gasp of shock ran around the room. I supposed the mages had made themselves seem so untouchable, the idea of Redmor dying in his prime was hard to comprehend. My fingers tightened on my lap and I relaxed them intentionally. I watched Jaran, whose expression gave no clue as to his feelings about the mages, but my heart lifted at knowing that he trusted them as little as I did.

  Change might be slow to come to Muirland, but it had arrived in a sudden rush. The country that lay ahead of me was a very different place to the Muirland of my childhood. The idea was unnerving, yet exhilarating. Jaran met my gaze and I smiled. We would achieve great things, I was sure of it.

  Prince Jaran

  Hanna was especially beautiful on their wedding day, although he found her more beautiful every day he spent with her. She was still learning her way around palace life, but she had grown so much since the first day she’d arrived and Jaran’s heart swelled with pride to watch her walk with confidence where once she had crept like a mouse. The most perfect princess he could have found for so imperfect a prince.

  Sweeping the room, filled with happy guests, dancing or drinking, his gaze settled on his father. The king had not been present at the ceremony, but he had pride of place for the feast that followed, Jaran and his new bride beside him. The prince had kept a smile on his face throughout the feast, although he wasn’t sure how much the king understood of what was happening. Perhaps it would have been kinder to have let him keep to his bed, but the wedding of the heir needed King Haran’s obvious blessing.

  He was pleased to have dealt with the threat mage Redmor posed, but the damage had been done. The king got no better, his mind wandering for more and more of the time. The cares of the kingdom were firmly on his shoulders now.

  But tonight was no time for cares; tonight, the court celebrated, despite the bemused silence at its centre. The old was fading, but the new was young and strong and everyone was pleased to join the happy couple and celebrate the possibilities the court could see unfolding ahead.

  Jaran made his way through the crowd, watching the dancers. His wife was on the far side of the room, not dancing but speaking with his mother. He enjoyed the glint of light on her hair, the curve of her shoulder as she leaned to listen to something the queen said. His heart swelled in the surety that he’d made the right choice. Together, he and Hanna would lead Muirland to a future of peace and prosperity. With her by his side, he knew he was capable of anything.

  “Impatient for tonight, eh?” Lord Clofe nudged his shoulder, jolting him out of his thoughts.

  All Jaran’s pleasure in observing his wife drained away. A royal marriage wasn’t just the union of two people. There were expectations, and clearly it was never too soon for those expectations to be pushed at the couple.

  Yes, he wanted to be alone with his new wife. It would be a relief to leave the crowd behind and be just the two of them, so he might kiss Hanna, talk with her, recount all the day’s absurdities to make her laugh. He loved to make her laugh. But the rest of it... It was hard to know since there was no one but Hanna he could be truthful with, but he didn’t seem to experience desire the way other men did, the desperate, rutting need to possess a woman’s body.

  But that was how babies were made, the princes and princesses they were expected to create to follow in his footsteps; his duty as the heir to sire the next heir.

  “I’m sure she’ll be worth waiting for,” he murmured, since Clofe was watching him as though he needed a reply.

  The other man laughed and slapped his shoulder again. It was fortunate he was expecting the move or he might have stumbled. “You’re a lucky man, I wish the both of you all happiness.”

  Thankfully, he moved on, finding a servant to refill his wine glass. It was tradition to provide food and drink for guests. Jaran wondered whether it was a benefit that most grew too drunk to converse sensibly, or a drawback because the
y felt emboldened to say all kinds of things they would never speak in other circumstances.

  His eyes were drawn once more to his bride, as though something invisible linked the two of them. While nodding politely to the queen, Hanna widened her eyes at him in a clear appeal.

  Jaran ambled towards her, batting off well-wishers and dodging dancers as he went.

  “Hanna, please, dance with me.” He held out his hand with a courtly bow when he reached her side.

  “My pleasure, husband,” she replied demurely, hiding her smile.

  He nodded at his mother. “You will excuse us, I’m sure.”

  The queen waved them away with a smile.

  “Thank you.” Relief was evident in her tone.

  “You looked as though you needed rescue.” He took one hand and slipped his other arm around her waist as they joined the dance, enjoying the warmth of her and the scent of rohannan blossoms that rose from her skin.

  “She took it upon herself to educate me on what will be expected of me ... tonight.” Her skin flushed delightfully.

  “Ah.”

  “I was trying to tell her that I’ve helped the sisters birth babies. I know ... the principles, at the very least.”

  Her face was scarlet, while Jaran suspected his own might be drained of colour. “I need to speak to you about that.”

  Keeping her steps in perfect time, Hanna glanced at him. “Whatever is the matter? Do you know the principles?”

  He cracked a laugh, while something painful twisted in his chest. The question was closer to the truth than Hanna could have imagined. “You have seen me naked,” he whispered in her ear. His tone was neither seductive nor teasing.

  “Ah. You think the mechanics may be ... difficult.”

  You learned something every day of married life. Today, he was learning that his wife was a master of understatement. “I’m not sure whether I can give you babies,” he admitted, getting the worst of it over with.

  Her smile was gentle. “I don’t care for that. You are enough on your own, Jaran.”

  Understatement and naivety. “I don’t care, either, but you can be sure the kingdom will.”

  She bit her lip as understanding dawned. “Of course; there must be an heir.” They trod a few steps in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. “But that isn’t something that needs to be solved tonight, is it?” she asked reasonably. “We have time to find a solution – if we need a solution.”

  Understatement, naivety, and pragmatism. What a combination! “True enough.” He smiled and spun her around. “Tonight, I can simply enjoy spending time with my wife.”

  He lowered his head to kiss her, ignoring the whoops that echoed around them. Hanna alone was enough for today. They would deal with tomorrow when it came.

  THE END

  Thank you so much for reading Nine Dragons Gold. If you enjoyed it, a brief review at the retailer you bought it from would be incredibly useful.

  If you want to find out what Jaran and Hanna do when the need for an heir becomes pressing, grab a copy of The River Queen’s Spell to discover what happens when “tomorrow” arrives.

  And if you’d like to spend more time in the Firethorn Kingdoms, sign-up for my newsletter. As well as my news and special offers, you can download a free copy of Queen of Rubies, a collection of folklore stories set in the Firethorn Kingdoms.

  Acknowledgements

  Huge thanks to my tribe: the 10k Angels who have kept me sane during the writing and launch of a new book.

  Thanks to my beta readers who provided wonderful insight that made Nine Dragons Gold a stronger story than I could have made it alone. Shout out to: Ami, Kay, Lenka, Lara, Stephanie, Ezgi, Coral, Millie, Megan, Lisa, Elizabeth, Molly, Amanda and Jacky.

  Thank you enormously, reader. A story is only a half-formed thing when it is written. It needs a reader to truly come to life. Thank you for picking up Hanna’s story and allowing her and all the other characters to come alive in your imagination.

  Finally, thank you to Gabe, whose patience, good sense and enthusiasm are unbounded. Love you, darling.

  What would you like to read next?

  The Princess Witch (Firethorn Kingdoms fantasy)

  Dragon Thief

  Dragon Flight

  Dragon Fury

  Dragon Stone

  The Four Kings series (fantasy)

  Awakened by Magic

  Inspired by Magic

  Shattered by Magic

  Drenched by Magic

  Ignited by Magic

  Courted by Magic

  A Clockwork War series (steampunk)

  The Clockwork War

  An Airship from Ashes

  The Tinker Queen

  The Immortality Device

  The Crown of Fane duology (fantasy)

  The Last Gatekeeper

  The Last Dreamseer

  Standalone (post-apocalyptic)

  Rising Tides

  ###