Fantasy Romance: Defiance Box Set (Belstrom Chronicles)

by T. K. Chapin

  Kneeling beside his sister, Nejik hugged her. “I love you sister,” he said with tears welling up in his eyes. Looking over to Amon, he said, “Take care of her.”

  “I love you too Nejik!” Katlynn said with tears streaming down her face as she hyperventilated from the anticipation of the ritual completing.

  “I will take care of her,” Amon said grabbing her hand firmly.

  Nejik stood up and backed away as Ada began to finalize the ritual spell.

  **

  Gasping for air, Katlynn sat up and grabbed at her throat as she leapt out of a bed. Jumping up in the bedroom, she tried to get her breathing to work. Rushing out of bed, Amon joined her side patting her on the back.

  “Are you okay?” Amon asked worried. Katlynn caught her breath and began to breathe easily.

  “I’m okay now,” Katlynn said looking around the room. “The ritual worked?”

  “I suppose so,” Amon said looking out the window, he could see the town of Silvermeer just outside their bedroom window. “Come look,” Amon said to Katlynn as he held back the cloth curtain. Katlynn came over to the window and looked to see people flooding the streets of Silvermeer.

  “Wow… Look at that guy!” Katlynn said pointing to a giant looking guy with a broadsword over his shoulder.

  “That’s a Warrior,” Amon said. “See that one over there,” Amon said pointing to a woman casting ice bolts up into the air. “That’s a wizard. Silvermeer is the resting grounds for adventurers.”

  “What do adventures do?” Katlynn asked.

  “They… well… you know… go on adventures,” Amon said chuckling. Katlynn socked him in the shoulder and just then a knock came from the door. Looking startled at one another they looked at the door as another knock could be heard.

  “Remember, you’re Tessla and I’m Illadari,” Amon said in a whisper. Walking out of their room and into the kitchen to the front door, Amon answered the door.

  “Master Priest Oren would like for you to meet him in the Halls of the Living at once,” a small Dwarven man said, in white robes, only a few feet tall. Looking down at him Amon tried to act like he knew what he was talking about.

  “Okay, tell him I’ll meet him in a few minutes,” Amon said as he began to close the door. Slamming a hand against the door, the dwarf looked up at Amon.

  “What do you mean? You know I can’t just go walking in there.” Stepping in towards Amon the dwarf poked him in the leg causing him to back up more. “You feeling alright, Illadari?”

  “I’m fine, I’m fine… you just woke me up,” Amon said looking towards the bedroom. The dwarf leaned over looking through the door and spotted Katlynn in the bedroom.

  “Ahh I see what’s going on here… tell the Mrs. Hello,” the dwarf said with a wink as he opened the door to leave. “Get over to Oren soon; you know how impatient he is.” The dwarf slammed the door shut quickly.

  Katlynn was relieved to see the dwarf had left. Coming back into the bedroom Amon shook his head. “I have to go meet some Oren dude I don’t even know; somewhere I don’t even know how to get too…” Amon said sitting on the edge of the bed. “This is going to be more difficult than I thought.”

  Katlynn joined his side and rubbed his shoulders, “It’s going to be okay honey. We had to do this; it was the only option to keep us from being killed. We can get through anything together.”

  **

  Kissing Amon as he headed off into the unknown city, Katlynn felt a smudge of fear creep into her mind as she watched him fumble down the street heading for the town square. Standing outside on the edge of the step into their home, she watched as he made it to town square and then looked around confusedly.

  Oh please figure it out… Katlynn thought to herself as she watched Amon look around senselessly. Seeing Amon follow a priest as he went by Amon in the town square, relief rushed over Katlynn.

  Chapter 20

  “Tessla,” a women’s voice said from behind her. Turning around, she was greeted by a blonde girl giving her a warm embrace. Katlynn played along with it hugging her back awkwardly. “Did Illadari get the position?” The woman asked.

  With not the slightest idea of what the woman was talking about, Katlynn looked around worried and invited her in. “Come in for some thistle tea,” Katlynn said quickly opening her door. The young woman sat down at the table while Katlynn opened cupboards looking for tea.

  “Did you forget where your tea is?” Laughed the woman. Standing up, she came over to Katlynn and opened the drawer with the tea. “You seem off today, everything okay?” the mysterious woman asked. What’s off? I have no clue who you are! Katlynn smiled and rubbed her forehead.

  “I’m just so lost today, I don’t know if Illadari got the position or not and I’m all out of sorts,” Katlynn said glancing at the woman to see if she bought it. The sigh and sad look on her face told Katlynn she did.

  “I’m so sorry!” the woman said coming back over and hugging her. Guess I have a very affectionate friend. “You and Illadari should come over after he meets with Oren, is he doing that today?”

  Sweet, a question I know the answer to! “Yes, he just left a bit ago to go meet with him.”

  “Oh wow, just now?” she said looking towards the door. “I bet he was nervous about heading over there.”

  “Yes, very,” Katlynn said. I can handle this, just got to figure out everyone’s names, a few details and I’m golden!

  “Have you told him?” the woman asked. And then there’s that kind of question.

  “Told him what?” Katlynn asked.

  “Don’t be stupid. You know what,” the woman laughed looking at Katlynn’s stomach area. Am I pregnant? Katlynn wondered. A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Opening the door, Katlynn found a small person.

  “Hi… is my mommy there?” the little boy asked. Looking back at the woman, Katlynn hoped it was the woman in her kitchen.

  “Hinley, you know you were supposed to stay home with your sister!” the woman stood up grabbing him by the ear. “You need to tell Illadari about the pregnancy!” the woman said as Katlynn followed after her outside, Katlynn watched as she walked down the street to a young girl.

  “Vanessa, I had no idea he’d just leave like that,” the young girl said. Vanessa smacked the little girl in the head and pulled her and the brother into the house by the arms.

  “Don’t you ever call me by my first name!” Vanessa said as she slammed the door shut behind her. I don’t mind it when you daughter does that… makes my life easier, Katlynn thought going back inside her house. Looking around the house, she saw the wood planks could use a dusting so she began searching for a broom.

  Okay… where did I put my broom? Katlynn thought as she searched every room in the house. Another knock came from the door, Great who’s this? Katlynn thought, going to the door. It was a guard. Fear shot her from head to toe as she stood silent at the door.

  “Good day Ma’am, the Mayor has requested all citizens of Silvermeer meet in the town square for a meeting. Please head there now,” The guard said with a nod, then left her door step to go to the next door. Thank goodness, she thought stepping out of her house and shutting the door behind her.

  Walking down the street into town square, she joined the crowd that was forming around a man that had a white long beard and a white hat on top of his head. That must be the mayor?

  “Citizens of Silvermeer,” The man said raising his hands to silence the crowd. The crowd quieted down. “This day, we receive word from the King of Belstrom that war has been declared between the Curo and Runic royal families.” The crowd grew loud as they talked amongst themselves.

  One man cried out, “What does that mean for us?” He said in a panicked voice.

  “We are aligned with the Curo and will begin helping supply the war efforts against King Grungar.”

  “What about the dragon egg?” Another man cried out from the crowd causing an eruption of conversation.

  “That’s
a legend. We have it on good authority that it’s a story the royal family of Belstrom has handed down through the generations to strike fear in the people.”

  Katlynn searched the crowd looking for Amon as she worried what would happen to her family. Pushing her way through the sea of people she found him and fell into his arms. Rubbing her shoulders, he kissed her head. “It’s going to be okay my love,” he said kissing her and running his hands through her hair.

  Returning to their house, as the door shut behind them Katlynn started crying. “What’s going to happen to my family? I know I hate them… but I don’t want to them to be killed! They are still my family!” Katlynn shouted at Amon as she began pacing the kitchen.

  “We can’t do anything about your family Katlynn. We have to move on and build our lives here in Silvermeer,” Amon said taking a seat at the table. “I’m Illadari and I just got a position as a High Priest. We are going to do fine here, we have each other and that’s what we wanted.”

  Katlynn calmed down and wiped her tears away. “You are right…” she said sitting down at the table and grabbing his hands. “This is our life now and I’m Tessla,” she said smiling at him. “What happens to my family… happens.” Tessla felt a kick in a stomach and grabbed it. That must be the baby… she thought to herself. Illadari looked at her grabbing her stomach.

  “Why are you grabbing like that?” Illadari asked.

  “We are pregnant,” Tessla said with a smile. “I’m not sure what kind of magic Ada used for the ritual, but we are with child!”

  “That’s interesting,” Illadari said. Raising his hand up to show his wedding ring to Tessla, he said, “We are married too!” Tessla stood up and pulled Illadari’s chair out and sat on his lap.

  “We are starting our own family,” Tessla said with a smile. Remembering Vanessa inviting them over, she figured they better go. “We are going to Vanessa’s house?” Tessla said confused. “She’s my friend a few doors down. She said we should come over.”

  “Okay, I have to go meet with Oren again, but I’ll be over there in a couple hours,” Illadari said standing up from the table.

  Chapter 21

  “Come in, come in,” Vanessa said opening the door to Tessla. “Where’s Illadari?” she asked looking over her shoulder.

  “He had to wrap a couple things up with Oren,” Tessla said, walking into her home.

  “Oh, he’s probably getting his High Priest robes,” Vanessa said leading her into the dining room area. “I remember When Ponio got his, he wouldn’t take them off for a week.”

  “That’s gross!” Tessla said laughing as she sat down at the table.

  “Yep, the white robes weren’t so white by the time he finally let me clean them,” Vanessa said letting herself drift off into a memory for a moment before shaking her whole body. “Gross. Anyways, sorry about earlier, the kids are such a pain sometimes.”

  “I understand, no need to apologize. Oh and by the way, I told Amon,” Tessla said.

  “Amon?” Vanessa asked confused. Tessla froze in fear as she realized she used the wrong name.

  “I meant, Illadari,” Tessla said laughing.

  “You cheating on Illadari?” Vanessa asked leaning in with a curious look. “You know I had that thing with dark ninja that was in town last year; you know I wouldn’t judge you.” Oh my… What is wrong with Tessla? Why do I have friends like this? Tessla wondered in the back of her mind.

  “No, no… It’s not that. I just misspoke,” Tessla insisted. Dang, I need to make sure to not slip up, Tessla thought to herself. A knock from the door broke their conversation. Vanessa got up and answered it; it was Illadari and Ponio getting back from the Halls of the Living.

  “Why’d you knock? Ponio lives here,” Vanessa said laughing at Illadari as she saw Poino over his shoulder.

  Vanessa began cutting up vegetables and Tessla helped her in the kitchen while the guys talked about the priestly duties of Silvermeer. Tessla could hear Illadari mostly agreeing to what was being said and easily fitting in which warmed her heart and made her feel secure.

  This new way of living was going to take some getting used to for the both of them, but they knew it was needed in order to keep safe from the assassin’s who sought to kill Katlynn and further the agenda of the Vul. As long as her parents were alive and the spell continues to be casted by Ada daily, Katlynn and Amon are able to survive in their new life.

  DELIVERANCE

  By:

  T.K. Chapin

  www.tkchapin.com

  Copyright © 2015 T.K. Chapin All rights reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with.

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  Version 2015.11.03

  Chapter 1

  The aroma of eggs and bacon sizzling on the wood stovetop filled the early morning air at the Vivac residents, in the housing district of Silvermeer. It had been ten years since Amon and Katlynn had arrived in the town, and they had become quite accustom to their new lives as Illadari and Tessla.

  Coming out from his room off the kitchen, the young Kessler of a mere ten years of age took his seat at the table rubbing his forehead. “Mother, my head feels strange,” he said, as he looked at Tessla, with longing eyes and a frown that she could not resist.

  “What’s the matter my dear?” she asked as she scooped the eggs and bacon onto a plate, and sat them in front of him. As she set the pan back on the stovetop, she comforted Kessler with a soft kiss on the forehead. “My poor, poor Kessler. Whatever will we do?” she asked, as she looked him in the eyes. “I guess we’ll have to take you to Alkein…” She said, with a raised eyebrow.

  “No! I’m fine, I’m fine,” Kessler said as he sat up straight and beamed. “I don’t want to go back to that mean old priest… he’s the meanest man in all Silvermeer!” Kessler exclaimed. “My head only feels strange, it doesn’t really hurt, I promise mother!”

  “Oh Kessler,” Tessla said smiling at him as she returned to the stove to prepare Illadari’s breakfast. “If you are sure you are not ill, I suppose we won’t need to take you to Alkein,” she said as she broke a couple of new eggs into the pan. Kessler nodded quickly as he began to eat his eggs and bacon.

  Coming out from his and Tessla’s bedroom, Illadari greeted Tessla with a kiss and a smile. “Good morning love,” he said wrapping his arms around her. “Breakfast smells delicious!” Illadari said as he joined Kessler at the table.

  “Father! You will never guess what Yesef found down in the sewers the other day!” Kessler said excitedly to his father.

  “The sewers?” Illadari asked with a raised brow. Glancing over at Tessla, she shook her head indicating she knew nothing of the trip Kessler had taken into the sewers. “What did your mother and I tell you about playing in the sewers young man?” Illadari asked.

  “I know… there are rats and creepy things that live down there, but I promise we were safe. We found a dagger with cool etchings! Along with it was also a pouch full of gold and a few potions.”

  “You left it all there right?” Illadari sternly asked.

  “Of course, it wasn’t ours and we didn’t want to get in trouble!”

  Smiling at Kessler, Illadari rubbed his son’s head and nodded as he said, “Good. You should never take anything that doesn’t belong to you.” Tessla brought over her pan from the stove and dished Illadari’s breakfast onto his plate in front of him. Smiling up at her, he said, “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome my love,” she said as her heart swelled with happiness. She returne
d to the stove to make herself a plate for breakfast. As she pushed the eggs in the pan with the wooden spoon, she thought back over the years of her life. Her love for Illadari had started out selfish, and now, she’d do anything she had to for the one’s she loved. Suddenly a knock came from the door, disrupting Tessla’s reminiscing. Kessler speedily ran his plate over to the counter, wiped his mouth with his sleeve and set the plate next to the sink. Tessla bent a knee down, and waited for her kiss on the cheek from Kessler. Kessler smiled and wrapped his arms around Tessla’s neck and planted a kiss on her cheek.