Contents
Guide
The Seod Croi Chronicles
Book 1
S. Usher Evans
Pensacola, FL
2022 S. Usher Evans
ISBN: 978-1945438493
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CHAPTER
ONE
Ayla
"Three fae were arrested yesterday in Croch."
"Three?" I tried to hide my concern, but Eoghan would see through it anyway. My wizard advisor kept his tone light, but that was perhaps to keep me from worrying. "How many is that?"
"Ten in the past few weeks."
"The Erlking is getting bold," I said, flexing my fingers to keep from worrying my thumbnail. "Why do you think they've started crossing?"
"Perhaps testing you prior to your coronation," he said. "But don't worry, we've put them in Caecarcem. The iron will hold them until we can interrogate them."
"Then what?"
"We'll dispose of them."
I exhaled softly. Three fewer fae in the world would certainly help me sleep better at night.
Eoghan cast a warm smile in my direction, as if sensing my unease. "You're safe here, I promise."
"What about everyone else?" I asked, more to myself. "What are we doing to stop them from crossing?"
"That we caught them is a testament to the commander's strategy there," Eoghan said.
"You trust he's doing a good job?"
"I do."
I nodded. "Then I do as well."
"Speaking of Croch," Eoghan said as we turned the corner in the castle, "have you been down to see Captain Gabhann lately?"
I shook my head. "Why?"
"She's found herself another new recruitthis one from Croch, actually. I believe his name is Ward."
"He must be impressive if he captured the captain's attention." The commander of my most elite forces regularly toured the country in search of new recruits for the most prestigious position protecting Pennlan and the sovereign.
"He's young, too. Around your age. I think he will flourish here."
My heart lightened at the thought of someone else in this castle younger than middle age. Every other guard Gabhann had found across the country was at least forty, and while they made for interesting conversation partners, young blood was definitely welcome.
"Was that intentional?" I asked, pursing my lips. "Cade leaves, you bring me a new playmate?"
"My apprentice isn't gone yet."
"But he will be."
"Of course," Eoghan said. "It's part of the wizard tradition."
Considering Eoghan and Cade were the only two wizards around, I had to take his word for it. "And you won't give me any hint about what this trial will entail? Or when you'll send him away?"
"No." He smiled. "But the mystery will be revealed soon enough."
I pouted. Cade was almost of age, and per Eoghan, would have one final challenge to overcome before he was officially a full-fledged wizard. And once he washe would be sent to one of the other four kingdoms. I was excited for him to step into a new phase of his life, but inconsolable at the thought of losing my best friend for good.
"Are you still thinking you'll send him to Driwania?" I asked, a little desolately.
"That or Nesuria," he said. "But my mind changes with the breeze. It could be Konevell, too. I want to ensure that wherever we send him is the most strategically advantageous for Pennlan." His gaze landed on me again. "Of course, you could also assist in that effort."
"Not this again"
"It's important to the kingdom that you forge alliances. No better way to do that than to marry a close ally of the throne in one of the other four kingdoms. You should seriously"
"Consider marrying shortly after my coronation," I parroted with a hearty roll of my eyes. "Or marrying at my coronation. Or marrying before. I hear you, Eoghan."
I would become Pennlan's queen in six short weeks; it was hard to avoid counting the days on the calendar every time I passed it. Time seemed to be moving ever faster, like a runaway horse toward a cliff. To add the choice of a lifetime partner when I hadn't even reached my eighteenth birthday It seemed too much to handle all at once.
"The merchant from Sudaemor is looking forward to our dinner tonight," he said. "I hope you'll be on your best behavior."
"Aren't I always?"
He pursed his lips. "You have a tendency to let your tongue get away from you."
Perhaps because Eoghan's choices of dinner companions weren't all that great latelyand I was growing increasingly worried that he was bringing them here as potential marriage options.
"I'll be good," I said.
"And on time?"
"And on time." I cast my gaze at him. "And when do I get to schedule my own dinners and with the guests of my choosing?"
"As soon as you can prove to me that you can make decisions that are in the best interests of the country, and not merely the ones you want."
I deflated. I'd started asking him to include me in more of the day-to-day running of the kingdom, but his answer was always the same. "In six weeks, you won't have a choice. I'll be queen and all the decisions will fall to me."
He lifted his shoulder in a shrug that somehow made me feel worse about myself. I decided to change the subject. "What should we do about the fae? Could they be planning something? Perhaps wanting to disrupt the coronation?"
"I wouldn't put it past them," Eoghan said as we walked into the throne room. "We have given our guards at Caecarcem instructions to extract information, but the fae probably won't betray their kind. So in the interim, I havewith your blessingasked Captain Gabhann to double our store of iron-tipped arrows and the number of scouts patrolling the castle border."
"Thank you," I said with a nod. I stopped as we passed a plaque behind the thronea shield with the Pennlan crest and a place for a large gemstone. Perhaps with that stone around my neck, I might not have felt so hopeless against the fae. It had been gifted to my ancestor hundreds of years ago, allowing anyone in the king's bloodline to wield unbelievable magicmore than any wizard, fae, or other magical creature.
But when I was barely a toddler, the fae had sent an envoyLeandrato Pennlan. She'd bewitched and befuddled my father, who was vulnerable and still mourning the death of my mother. Leandra's aim wasn't just to become queen; she wanted the stone. She killed my father in pursuit of the stone, but once the last breath left his body, ownership of the stone came to me. If it hadn't been for Eoghan, she would've killed me as well. But he'd intervened, and she escaped, taking the stone with her.
"You don't think they still have it, do you?" I asked, staring at the empty slot where the stone had been.
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