by Kaylin Lee
Table of Contents
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Part II
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Part III
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Hidden
Rapunzel’s Story
Destined Series, Book 2
KAYLIN LEE
HIDDEN: RAPUNZEL’S STORY
Copyright © 2017 by Kaylin Lee
First Edition
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
For information contact:
Kaylin Lee
http://www.kaylinleewrites.com
Editing by Kathrese McKee of Word Marker Edits
Cover design by Victoria Cooper Designs
ISBN-13: 978-1977538444
Contents
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Part II
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Part III
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
The Destined Series
Prequel Novelette – Torn – Free on Instafreebie
Book 1 – Fated: Cinderella’s Story
Book 2 – Hidden: Rapunzel’s Story
Book 3 – Twisted: Belle’s Story – Release date TBA
For my fellow military spouses, and for anyone else whose happily ever after is taking its sweet time.
The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.
Marcus Aurelius
Part I
Chapter 1
It’s been three weeks since my last outing.
Three weeks since I last stole a life. A clan leader’s life—a guilty life—but still, a life that wasn’t mine to take.
Sixteen days since the last time the Wasp Queen’s servant brought a basket of food. Five days since I finished everything but the hunks of dried meat and the rock-hard bread rolls. I’m only grateful I don’t depend on her for water.
Has the Wasp Queen forgotten about me at last? Or has she finally lost control of her clan?
There’s no one to ask. My sole visitors to the tower are foolish birds from the garden outside, and they only twitter senselessly, more interested in worms and twigs than politics.
Would it be better to die of hunger if it means I’ll never be forced to leave this tower again?
“Rapunzel,” hissed a sharp, feminine voice from below my window.
I jolted in my cozy chair, knocking my journal and pencil to the floor. The Wasp Queen. She hadn’t abandoned me after all.
“Rapunzel, let down your ladder.”
I held my breath.
“And Rapunzel … do no harm.”
My shoulders sagged, and I sighed. Too bad she never forgot the second command.
I rose from my chair by the crowded bookshelf, scooped my journal and pencil from the floor, and tucked them behind a row of books. The merciless power of my True Name cinched around me like a leash. Before I drew my next breath, her will controlled me completely.
My feet carried me obediently to the window. I let down the fine, golden ladder and then waited with my hands folded, several polite steps from the window. The warm night air whispered against my skin, sending shivers up my arms. I inhaled the scent of early summer growth from the lush garden and woods around my tower, trying to keep my mind off the fresh nightmares tonight’s outing would bring.
The Wasp Queen swept over the windowsill with haughty grace, managing to look elegant even with her pointy, heeled boots in the air. Her sparkling, mage-craft red skirts swirled around her ankles like pools of wine as she landed on the floor and tossed her long, black hair over one shoulder. She was petite and dark-skinned, with pretty, delicate features at odds with her sharp voice and perpetual frown.
She wasn’t truly called the Wasp Queen. I called her so in my head because I had no notion of her formal title or name. That way, if another clan caught me, I could never reveal her identity. I only knew my parents had sold me to the Wasp clan when I was six, after a starving street dog had roamed into our slum and discovered that the scrawny girl with golden hair was the worst possible choice for dinner.
My parents had been delirious with joy. Their own daughter, an absorbent mage? Even better, I was a mage with the Touch, capable of draining a life in the blink of an eye.
My parents had never exhibited powers themselves. They’d never dreamed of having a child with powers who might earn them a boon from a Dracian clan. They’d rejoiced in their good fortune and promptly traded me to the Wasps for a basket of fresh vegetables and a small pouch of gold marks. They’d learned too late not to do trade with the Wasps. I’d lived in my narrow, dusty tower ever since, controlled by the Wasp Queen.
The Wasp pursed her impossibly red lips and looked me up and down. “We’ll have to get started immediately. You look like a street urchin. I don’t know why I keep you in such fine accommodations when you can’t be bothered to take care of yourself.”
Perhaps if she fed me more, I might take better care of myself. She starved me before each outing, as though hunger might make me a more willing killer.
A sniffling noise came from the window, and then a trembling young woman struggled over the windowsill. Another new appearance mage. What did the Wasp do to her mages? The last girl hadn’t survived two months.
“Work quickly, Helis. We’ve no time for your sloth tonight.” The Wasp narrowed her eyes at the shaking girl, who stumbled across the stone floor to my dusty wooden wardrobe.
Helis removed a sparse black shift from the wardrobe and held it out to me, her hand shaking like a leaf.
I stepped forward and swiped it from the girl’s hand without touching her, but my quick movement caused her to cringe back. If only the Wasp herself were half so frightened of me. With mechanical motions, I put on the dress, ignoring the two women who’d invaded my dark, quiet tower. My smudged wardrobe mirror reflected a gaunt, pale girl with a long, blonde braid fidgeting in a plain black dress. I’d lost weight since my last outing and the dress was far too loose, hanging away from my ribs by a hand’s breadth at least.
Helis hung back. If only I could startle her out of her fear. If
she couldn’t get a handle on herself soon, the Wasp would be done with her. Now that she knew who I was and where I was kept, I doubted she’d leave the Wasp clan alive.
“Helis …” The Wasp’s voice was ice-cold. The appearance mage wouldn’t last beyond tonight if she didn’t get moving.
Cringing, Helis lurched forward to stand behind me. We faced the mirror, and she waved a slim hand over my shoulder. The thin black shift transformed instantly into a sparkling gold dress. She wiggled her fingers, and the fabric bunched into straps over my back and shoulders, sucking in to hug my too-thin torso. This dress was practically indecent. Just where was the Wasp sending me tonight?
Helis flourished both hands near my head, and my mussed braid unraveled in the air as if she’d given it a life of its own. I fought to keep my shoulders relaxed as my hair lifted into the air, the tangled tendrils smoothing down on their own and then twisting into a high knot at the top of my head.
Once my hair was complete, the mage leaned closer, holding her breath as though afraid to inhale the same air as a killer like me. She waved one thin hand across my face and then leapt several steps back.
A warm wave of magic covered my skin, washing my face in smooth, golden light and highlighting my cheekbones with a rosy color that made me look more alive than dead for the first time in weeks. A nice illusion. My eyes were lined with dark kohl, and my lips were coated with a stark gold paint that matched the dress exactly.
I blinked. So much for a quiet night at home, and so much for being forgotten.
The Wasp strode to the mirror and paused, looking me up and down with a critical eye. “You’ll do.” And then she went to the window. “Rapunzel, come with me. And Rapunzel, speak to no one.”
My throat dried up at her command. The Wasp disappeared over the windowsill, and I followed woodenly on the high-heeled sandals Helis tossed at me before she huddled against the far wall. Her job was done. Now it was my turn to get to work.
I climbed down the ladder in the ridiculous gold dress, nearly losing a sandal with each precarious step. Even when I missed a rung and terror flooded my veins, I didn’t make a peep. Thanks to the Wasp’s command, my throat was as dry and silent as a pile of bones.
Thick trees surrounded my tower. The narrow, uneven path was difficult to navigate in the moonless night, but my feet propelled me forward under her command anyway. I had no choice but to stay close and follow her.
We broke through the trees and exited through an iron gate at the edge of the Wasp compound. A sleek, black fomecoach waited on the cobblestone street, lurking like a hungry wolf from the desolate Badlands outside the city.
A guard jumped out of the fomecoach and opened the door to help the Wasp inside. I followed at her heels, too compelled by her command to keep a reasonable distance. The guard hissed and yanked his hand back as I slid past him and onto the velvet seat beside the Wasp.
I busied myself spreading the flimsy gold skirt over my bony knees. The guard huddled against the far window of the fomecoach, his hands clasped between his knees to hide the tremors. I smiled to show I wasn’t a threat, but he flinched. My smile faded. With the strange gold paint on my lips, I probably looked more frightening than usual.
The fomecoach sped through the city streets, swinging wildly this way and that around gaping potholes and tight corners. Draicia was dark these days, even darker than when I was a starving, miserable child in the slums. The luminous streetlamps had all broken or died by now, and there was no one left from the city government to fix them. A hazy cloud of wood smoke covered the city, making it impossible to see the stars or the moon. Perhaps they no longer bothered to shine over Draicia at all.
When I curled up in my cozy chair in the tower, I read stories of smiling families and chubby, giggling toddlers in cities like Lerenia and Asylia, where mages grew vegetables with their powers and provided magical fuel so no one needed to burn wood to cook. The silly stories fueled my daydreams, but I knew they were too fantastic to be true. Draician mages only served the clans, and their magic had but two purposes—pleasure and power.
We sped past flimsy shacks interspersed among grand mage-craft villas that belonged to clansmen. Children begged on the street corners for coins from the rich, dangerous clan youths who roamed at night.
I’d hated living in Draicia as a child, never knowing what danger lurked in the shadows or where my next meal would come from. Now, I lived in an even darker shadow—now, I was the shadow myself.
I fingered the gold dress and pressed my lips together, careful not to smudge the gold paint. This was no kind of life. Impossible or not, I had to escape tonight. At least, I had to try.
~
We reached the far side of the city before the fomecoach slowed to a stop. From the armed, black-clad guards lurking on every corner, I surmised that we were in Wolf clan territory. My old tutor, Master Oliver, had taught me about the clans in my tower, and I’d learned whatever I could on my outings with the Wasp.
The Wasp Queen leaned close, her lips near my ear. “Rapunzel,” she whispered, so softly I could barely hear her. “Obey the manager of the staff in everything. You may speak only when necessary for the success of this outing. I will find you inside and give you further instruction.”
Her command washed over me, and I relished the relaxation of my throat muscles as her previous command faded. When I opened my eyes, the coach door was open, and she was glaring at me.
I climbed out, and the fomecoach sped off before the door was even fully shut. I wobbled on my high heels across the cobblestones. The alley ran along the side of a grand, fenced-off estate packed with massive stone villas—the Wolf compound.
A door in the fence swung open, and a frazzled looking man beckoned to me. “Quickly,” he hissed. “Get in here. You’re late.”
This must be the manager of the staff. My feet propelled me through the gate, and I entered the villa through the servants’ entrance.
He looked over his shoulder at me, and his expression soured even more. “You’re far too thin. It will be a miracle if you pass as one of them.”
I kept quiet. What could I say to that?
The portly manager guided me through a dim maze of hallways and staircases. At last, we reached a large, crowded anteroom with a set of tall, closed doors at one end. The room was full of women in gold shifts like mine. No one spared me a glance.
“Another one for you, Magda. She was late. I’ll dock her pay, of course.”
The tall, olive-skinned woman named Magda looked me up and down and curled her lip. “We’re so desperate to save funds, we must dress up urchins now? She’s lucky the crowd is so thick tonight. We need every pair of hands. Even the skinny ones.”
The sharp-tongued woman gestured over to the far wall, where a line of gold-clad girls balanced trays piled with overfilled wine goblets and small, piping-hot meat pies. The pies looked deliciously greasy, and my stomach ached at the sight. “Over there, girl. If you can’t carry your trays, then you’re back on the streets without pay. We only need girls who can do the work tonight.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I dipped my head in acknowledgement before scooping up two trays from the serving table and joining the line of gold girls. The trays were heavy, but my arms were stronger than they appeared. I hadn’t missed a day of old Master Oliver’s training exercises in years, even when food was scarce and my strength was waning.
The room buzzed with conversation until the manager let out a piercing whistle. The other servants fell silent as we all faced the tall, double doors.
One of the doors opened, and a tired-looking girl in a gold shift slipped into the anteroom with two empty trays. “There are more guests every minute,” she said to Magda, wiping sweat from her forehead. “Best send the fresh ones out, rather than wait.”
Magda tapped the first girl in line, and after an awkward pause, the girl tottered toward the door. “Keep your eyes open,” Magda said as we filed through the door. “No serving one clan over another. No
denying any of the guests.”
I crossed the threshold into a cacophony of noises, sights, and smells in the crowded ballroom. Wine splashed over one glass’s rim, and I nearly laughed aloud. No one would notice a bit of spilled wine in a mess like this.
Hundreds of guests filled the Wolf clan ballroom. Luminous chandeliers dripped haphazardly from the ceiling, looking like they’d fall down at any moment. Guests laughed and swayed, some dancing, some fighting, and all drinking heartily.
I kept one eye out for the Wasp Queen as I offered drinks and pies and fended off the occasional swipe at my rear.
The biggest Draician clans had gathered here tonight. I recognized the Wolf clan brothers, the hosts, by their slick, dark hair and barbaric necklaces. Draician legend held that the Wolf clan ancestors had ventured out into the Badlands to hunt during lean times and returned with the teeth of the wolves they’d killed. The clansmen still wore the teeth on straps around their necks, the frightening necklaces at odds with their crisp, black suits, handsome builds, and impeccable grooming.
Wasp clan members in their signature, deep-red garments circulated in twos and threes, but the Wasp Queen was not among them. Members of the Snake clan, with their bronze serpent necklaces, mingled tentatively with the Hawk clan members, easily identified by the feather-covered jewelry they draped on their necks, wrists, and ears. All the dominant families in Draicia were represented except the Tiger clan. Perhaps the Wolves were attempting a show of unity.
No wonder the staff manager worried about showing too much favor to one clan over the other. It was a miracle the clans were all gathered together without bloodshed.
Of course, I corrected myself, my presence ensured the evening would end in murder. Just not yet. I didn’t even know my target, but the Wasp’s command to do no harm kept everyone safe for now.
