Drake and Marissa exchanged a dark look he didn’t understand.
“Marcus,” Marissa said tentatively. “We know why he wanted the Tri-Gard now.”
The king flicked his eyes between his wife and his brother. “Tell me.”
Marissa closed her eyes and sucked in a strangled breath. “He took it all. Our magic. The power that lets us thrive. Calis made the Tri-Gard drain the land of Dreach-Sciene.”
Marcus’ heart clenched as the true meaning of her words set in. The magic kept their crops growing, their weather in balance. It fed them, gave them life. Without it, Dreach-Sciene was surely doomed.
“There is a benefit.” Caution tinged Drake’s words. “The war is over. Calis will surely not set foot across the border because then he, too, would be without magic.”
Marcus rubbed his eyes. His brother was right. There’d be no more people dying in a senseless fight.
Drake put a hand on his shoulder. “And this is where we part, brother.”
“You’re leaving?”
“I cannot stay at the palace and serve when I was meant for more.”
“Where will you go?”
He shrugged. “When this war begins anew- as it always does - you’ll be able to find me. Call upon me then.”
Without another word, he left his brother, his life, behind. The prince of Dreach-Sciene would be a prince no longer.
Marissa reached across their beds and grabbed his hand. “Did you feel it? The earth shook. I think it was in pain. It felt like I was dying.”
But he wasn’t. He was alive and with his wife. But there was a hole inside of him that only magic could fill.
He held up his hand and tried to call it forth, but there was nothing there.
The dark depths of emptiness closed in around him until a cry reached his ears and it was all pushed away. A servant walked in carrying a squirming bundle. Dark hair peeked up around the blanket. As the servant walked forward, his heart thundered in his ears. He was thankful it still beat even without the magic flowing through it.
A heartbeat was magic that could never be taken away.
Marcus’ son was laid in his arms. His eyes barely opened, but his warmth flowed into his father. Marcus pressed his lips to the boy’s head in wonder.
Magic may have been gone, but for a little while, they could live in peace.
“I don’t want you to have the fight the war of your ancestors,” Marcus whispered. “But I’m afraid that is your destiny.”
Against the protest of the healer, Marcus rose to his feet slowly and shifted to sit on Marissa’s bed with Trystan between them.
Marissa was still as she looked down upon the child. “Marcus, I think I’m cursed.”
“Why on earth would you think that?”
“A woman – a seer – told me I would not live to see my children grown, and I’m so very afraid she was right.”
He gripped her hand. “I’m no seer. I can’t tell you what our future holds, but right now, you have a son, and you can’t fear that.”
“He needs a name.” Marissa rested her chin on Marcus’ shoulder, wanting to change the subject.
Marcus didn’t even have to consider it. “Trystan. His name is Trystan. Because only Trystan would be brave enough to be born on such a day.”
“To be born into a kingdom without magic,” she agreed.
Moans from injured soldiers around them tainted the moment, but they faded into the background as he looked into his son’s sweet face.
“One day,” he whispered. “You may need to save us all.” A tear slid down his cheek. “Because I failed, my son.” As he leaned forward to rest his forehead against the child’s, Marissa wrapped an arm around his shoulders and buried her tear-stained face in his back.
“I’m so sorry, Trystan.” His back shook as he cried for all the people they’d lost in the battles. The future that looked so much darker now. A tear dropped onto the fresh cheek of his son and he wiped it away. “You deserve a better world.”
Everyone in Dreach-Sciene did. But it was done now.
King Marcus Renauld had failed his people, but he would continue to fight for their survival until his dying day.
He had to get the magic back. For his son and all the ones who came after him.
-THE END-
This isn’t the end to the story. Join Marcus and Marissa’s son as he tries to regain what his parents lost.
Prophecy of Darkness is available here.
Their kingdom is dying. Their magic is gone. Their enemy is preparing for war.
Trystan - Stubborn and arrogant, he is a prince on the edge of losing his throne.
Rissa - Sarcastic and loyal, she knows something the others don’t. They need her. If they won’t see it, she’ll make them.
Davion - Smooth and lethal, he’s nothing more than an orphan ward of the King. No family name or fortune. No future other than one at Trystan’s side. No chance of being with the woman he loves.
Some in the kingdom have lost all hope as the darkness descends. As their borders are invaded and their land fails to thrive.
But hope won’t save them.
Only magic will.
And they’re going to get it back.
A quest to save the realm. A forbidden love. A tragedy none of them are prepared for. Even if they succeed, will there be anything left to protect?
See more here.
About M. Lynn
M. Lynn has a brain that won’t seem to quiet down, forcing her into many different genres to suit her various sides. Under the name Michelle Lynn, she writes romance and dystopian as well as upcoming fantasies. Running on Diet Coke and toddler hugs, she sleeps little - not due to overworking or important tasks - but only because she refuses to come back from the worlds in the books she reads. Reading, writing, aunting ... repeat.
Learn more here.
MichelleLynnAuthor.com
Also by M. Lynn
Legends of the Tri-Gard
Prophecy of Darkness
Legacy of Light
Mastery of Earth (2018)
The True Story of Rapunzel
Golden Curse (2018)
Golden Chains (2018)
Golden Crown (2018)
Dawn of Rebellion Trilogy
Dawn of Rebellion
Day of Reckoning
Eve of Tomorrow
The New Beginnings series
Choices
Promises
Dreams
The Invincible series
We Thought We Were Invincible
We Thought We Knew it All
Standalone
Lesson Plan
Memory of War Page 9
