The Royal Her Read online

  What she’s done with them.

  “Your mates?” She laughs. “Locked away, love. Soon you will be, too. I might not be able to kill you, Ruby, but I don’t have to. I’ve unlocked the dormire spell.”

  “Who the fuck do you think you are?” I ask her. “Sleeping Beauty? Why the hell would you unlock the dormire spell? It puts everyone to sleep!”

  “Not everyone,” she shrugs. “Just your mates.”

  “Where are they?” I whisper. If they’re locked in an enchanted sleep, she has to have them somewhere they won’t be disturbed or touched or healed.

  One last chance.

  One last shot.

  “You’re never going to see them again, Sapphire. They’re locked in the dungeon, honey, and at the end of a year, I’ll be able to wake them up just in time to celebrate my first anniversary as queen.” She pauses, and I know what she’s going to say. “Killing them after I’ve been queen for a year is going to be so much fun. The whole country will get to watch.”

  “Fuck you,” I spit out. My heart is breaking for my country, for my mates, and for myself.

  My sister has betrayed us all, but if she needs a year to ready the kingdom and herself for whatever evil empire she’s planning on running, then that means I have 364 days to come up with a counter-plan.

  My sister is evil, but I’m clever.

  I’m not going to let her get away with this.

  “You aren’t going to kill my mates,” I tell her.

  “What the fuck do you think you’re going to be able to do about it?” She says, leaning in close to my face.

  Bad choice, princess.

  I spit in her eyes, and when she jumps back, screaming and reaching for them, her mates are momentarily distracted. They turn to see what’s wrong with her and if she’s all right, and then I have my chance. I don’t hesitate. I don’t wait. I just move.

  Diving behind the throne, I press the stone that opens the tiny spot in the wall, and I sliver through, closing the door behind me.

  “Find her!” I hear Ruby scream, but they won’t. Even if they manage to find the exact stone to press to open this tunnel, Ruby’s dragon mates won’t be able to fit their huge, oversized bodies in here.

  No, this tunnel was made for a child, for a princess.

  It was made for me.

  “See you soon, little sister,” I murmur, and I start crawling through the darkness that leads to my freedom.

  I’ll be back.

  I’ll save my mates.

  I’ll defeat her.

  Then I’ll be the queen Draco Patriam needs.

  The queen it deserves.

  Everything is going to be all right.

  365 days.

  That’s all I need.

  Chapter One

  Sapphire

  Eighty-seven dollars is too much to pay for a shitty pair of shoes, but I’ll do it if it means getting out of the ones I’m wearing. I growl as I hand over a wad of cash to the little old lady whose sly grin tells me she knows exactly what she’s doing. She’s ripping me off and she doesn’t care, but honestly, I don’t have much of a choice right now. The shoes I had on are worn paper-thin and have holes in sprinkled throughout them.

  If I’m going to finish my journey, I’m going to need something new.

  I’ve come too far to let something as little as a price tag hold me back.

  I take the shoes, shove my feet into them, and walk out of the store and back into the rain.

  “Feels like summer,” I groan, opening my umbrella. Then I start walking down the wet cobblestone road that’s lined with dozens of tiny shops. They’re probably all just as overpriced as the one I just walked out of, but I’m not here to shop. I’m here to find something.

  Someone.

  The Wizard of Mount Draconess is a legend. At least, that’s what I thought until recently. I’ve been in the human world for almost an entire year. A whole year of seeking out different magic users, learning spells, and readying myself to defeat my evil bitch of a sister, and still, I need this one last spell.

  After I escaped from Draco Patriam, Ruby locked the borders of the country. I don’t know how she did it. I had just stepped beyond the bounds of Draco Patriam when I felt the shields go up. I tested them, and they were strong enough to keep me out. I’ve returned three times since then and still, I can’t break through.

  One year seems to be the settling time when it comes to spells like this. One year and everything becomes permanent. There are only a few more days left until Ruby plans to kill my mates – if she hasn’t already – and I need to break through the borders around Draco Patriam if I’m going to save them.

  The Wizard of Mount Draconess is my last chance.

  It’s taken searching high and low, but last night, a gentleman in a bar who’d had a little too much to drink, courtesy of me, told me where I can find him.

  The wizard.

  The one who’s going to help me break through the border to Draco Patriam.

  The magical shield shouldn’t be so completely impenetrable, but Ruby is nothing if not resourceful. I’ve always been better at magic than my sister, but she’s always been just a little bit meaner. Apparently, she’ll do anything if it means getting what she wants, and what she wants is to watch me suffer.

  I’ve been gone for a year.

  I don’t know what lies she’s told the people of our country in that time. I don’t know what she’s said about my disappearance. Maybe they all think I’m dead. Maybe they thought I couldn’t handle the pressure of being queen. I’m not sure.

  What I do know is that right now, I have one shot at getting through that fucking magical barrier, and that shot is from a cranky old man who doesn’t take kindly to strangers.

  As I near the end of the little mountain street, I continue up the path. It’s cold out here and the drizzling rain bites my skin, but I’m so close. I’m almost there. Just a little bit longer, and then I’ll be there. Just a little bit more and I’ll be able to talk to him, to plead with him. I’ll be able to convince this guy that hey, yeah, I’m worth helping.

  Because the wizard really is my last chance.

  I haven’t seen Garnet, Emerald, Moonstone, and Chrysoberyl in almost a year. An entire year without my boys, and my heart hurts so much. They’ve been asleep during this time. They won’t have missed me at all once they wake up, but me? Something tells me that time isn’t going to heal this wound.

  I round a bend and see the little shop up ahead. I already know what it’s called. Loud Mouth at the bar last night was perfectly descriptive when he was telling me where to find this wizard. As I approach the Twice as Nice bakery, my mouth suddenly feels dry. Could this really be it? Could it really be that easy?

  I scoff at the thought. Nothing about this year has been “easy.” As if trying to find and free my mates was hard enough, Ruby had to throw in that damn barrier spell as one last “fuck you.” The only good thing about the spell is that while I can’t get in to Draco Patriam, Ruby can’t come out. Know your enemy, and all that. At least I know where she is.

  There are going to be no surprises.

  There can’t be.

  I only have a few more days before she plans to slaughter my mates in cold blood and as far as I’m concerned, I’ll die before I let that happen.

  When I reach the shop, I take one last look at the sign. Yeah, this is the bakery all right. Twice as Nice: where everything has just a little something extra in it to give it that special kick, that special flavor. It’s not advertised and the humans around here might not know what that special “something” is, but I know.

  Magic.

  This shop reeks of it.

  I open the door and step inside. A little bell jingles, announcing my arrival.

  “Welcome, welcome!” An elderly voice calls out. “Have a look around! I’ll be with you in just a moment.”

  “No rush,” I say, looking around the place. I close my umbrella and drop it in the basket by the doo
r. Apparently, rain is a common problem here because there’s a floor mat, too, and I dry my feet politely before stepping forward into the little bakery.

  At first glance, this really does look like an ordinary shop. It’s the kind of place a grandmother would send her grandchildren to pick up donuts for breakfast or muffins for a mid-morning treat. There are cupcakes and cakes and all sorts of rolls for sale, but the smell of magic hangs thick in the air.

  I wonder how this wizard has managed to disguise himself for so long.

  And then I find out.

  The wizard comes out.

  “You’re a woman,” I say, surprised. In fact, she’s a small, hunched-over little woman. She looks like she’s about 90 years old.

  “As are you, my dear,” the woman smiles kindly. “How can I help you today?” She really does look like a little grandmother. If I hadn’t been warned about the wizard, I might have simply turned and walked out of the shop.

  But I’m out of time.

  “I need your help,” I say slowly.

  “Cupcakes? Muffins? What’s your pleasure, dear?”

  “I need a spell, Wizard, and you’re the only one who can help me.”

  The woman doesn’t react. Instead, she just looks at me for a long minute.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, honey. We have cakes and pies. Would you like a nice blueberry? Freshly baked this morning.”

  So we’re going to do this the hard way.

  Great.

  “A spell,” I say again, slowly. I don’t really want to reveal my identity, but I don’t have time to play games. “We’re on Mount Draoness, Wizard. I know you’re the only one who can help me. I am Sapphire, lost princess of Draco Patriam. My sister has put a barrier spell in place to prohibit me from reentering my country and claiming my rightful place as queen. I have five days left until she slaughters my mates, who are immersed in a spell-bound slumber. Please, Wizard, will you help me?”

  I drop a sack of gold on the counter.

  I haven’t come empty-handed.

  The little woman looks at the velvet sack thoughtfully for a moment. Then one claw-like nail unties the top. Gold spills out of the bag and onto the counter. Her eyes light up, just a little, and she smiles at it before her face goes neutral once more.

  “I’ve heard of the lost princess,” she says carefully. “A tragedy, that was. She lost her mother at a young age before claiming her own life. She couldn’t live without her, as the story goes. The girl’s twin sister was forced to take the throne.” She watches me, looking at my face. How am I going to react to her sharing the rumors of my disappearance?

  “We all know those are lies,” I tell her. “They’re tales spun to hide the fact that a terrible woman now sits on the throne: a woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants.”

  “And what is it that she wants?” The old woman runs her fingers over a piece of gold before picking it up and feeling its weight in her hand.

  “What does any woman want? Control. Power. Love. Adoration.”

  “It seems to me the current queen doesn’t want any of that. Well, except for power.”

  “How would you know?” I ask, raising an eyebrow. “The border has been in place for nearly a year. No one can enter or leave.”

  “Ah,” the woman raises a finger. “No dragon or human can enter or leave,” she says. “The spell had no protections against…other animals.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” I ask, clenching my fists. My sister didn’t put a provision in her spell to keep out other types of shifters? No wonder the rumors have spread so much. I’ve never been able to understand how people actually seem to know what’s happening in my country when I can’t even get close without bouncing off the border.

  The woman says nothing. Instead, she simply touches the gold once more.

  “Can you help me or not?” I ask, gritting my teeth. “I’ve come a long way, Wizard. Give it to me straight.”

  The old woman looks up at me once more. “Oh, bother,” she says, and snaps her fingers. A cloud of smoke surrounds her, and when it clears, she’s no longer the elderly woman. Instead, a tall, lanky, middle-aged man stands before me.

  “Well, then,” he says. “I’m not exactly pleased at Old Jed for telling you where to find me, but that can’t be helped. Can it? And I might be quite a noble man, but I’ve never been one to turn down a bribe, especially not one as lovely as this.” He motions to the gold in front of him.

  “I need a spell that will destroy the barrier,” I tell him.

  “Oh, is that all?” He says dryly.

  “Yes,” I say. “That’s all.”

  “Honey, if you think I’ve been living on the edge of that barrier for the last year and haven’t tried every which way to destroy it, then you’d be stupid. I loved trading with Draco Patriam before your bitch of a sister took the throne. Everyone on this fucking mountain did. Now look at me.” He motions around the bakery, looking disgusted. “I’m selling fucking pies just to make ends meet. I’m going to have to move soon enough, mark my words, and I’m not exactly happy about it.”

  “What is it that you’re saying?” I ask him. “Are you telling me there’s no way to break the barrier?”

  “I’m saying that until your sister dies, the barrier holds. I don’t know who put that spell together for her, but they did a pretty fine fucking job with it.”

  Is this really it, then?

  A year of searching, of fighting, of training: all for nothing.

  A year of trying to break back into my home, armed with weapons and spells, to overtake my sister.

  An entire year and all I have to show for it is a velvet sack of gold.

  And then it hits me.

  “You said other creatures can get through.”

  “That’s right,” the wizard cocks his head. “It’s no good for trading because you can’t carry shit with you through the barrier, but it’s quite fun for gathering gossip.”

  “Can you make me a potion to turn me into something else?” I ask him. “Something that can slip through? A wolf or a bear or a tiger? Anything like that?”

  “Why, princess,” he says with a sly smile. “I believe I’ve got just the thing.”

  Chapter Two

  Garnet

  I try, for the millionth time, to move my body.

  I can’t.

  Something was done to me, something terrible, and all I want is to break free. I was supposed to be getting mated to Sapphire: beautiful, too-perfect-for-her-own-good Sapphire. Emerald, Moon, Chrys, and I were ready. We were dressed and heading down to the great hall when Ruby came running up to us.

  “There’s an emergency!” She looked frighten and scared. “You have to come. Now!”

  “Is it Sapphire?” Chrys had the presence of mind to ask.

  “Yes,” Ruby said, and she took off running.

  Of course, we all followed her down one hall and then a next, never stopping to question why we were going into an unused portion of the castle. We didn’t question where she was leading us or why Sapphire might be in this place, but suddenly, it was too late for questions.

  It had been an ambush.

  Ruby and her soon-to-be-mates had cornered us in an empty part of the castle. Alexandrite’s mother had appeared and started chanting. It was a spell I hadn’t heard before, but its effects were instantaneous. A thin, nearly-invisible rope poured from her mouth and wound around us, and then we fell asleep.

  Something went wrong in the spell, though.

  Something no one could have planned for.

  We didn’t stay asleep.

  I don’t know what Alexandra did incorrectly when she chanted the spell, but if the goal was to keep us slumbering, she fucked up. I can’t move yet, but each day I can feel a little bit more of my body. Each day, I get a little bit closer to normal. The spell is wearing off, and when it does, I’m going to be ready.

  Chrys can already move. He’s been whispering to us. He can’t get
up completely yet, but he can move his legs a little. Moon can, too. Then there’s Emerald, and he’s the one I’m worried about, because he hasn’t said anything yet. Chrys saw him wiggle his fingers, though, so we have that going for us.

  Each day, someone comes to check on us to make sure we’re still asleep.

  We’re not, but we’ve got incredible shifter hearing, so we’re always listening, always ready, always waiting.

  The guards talk freely because they think no one is coming for us. They think we can’t hear them and that there’s no chance for us to escape. Over the last year, we’ve gained most of our consciousness and I know a lot of things.

  I know that the entire country thinks Sapphire killed herself and us.

  I know that she really escaped from her sister’s clutches.

  That means one thing.

  It means Sapphire has a plan and she’s coming back for us.

  Our girl is one dedicated badass and she’s not going to let a little thing like a magical barrier get in her way. Yeah, I know all about that, too.

  I also know that Ruby plans to kill us in just five more days, so the boys and I?

  We have some waking up to do.

  Chapter Three

  Sapphire

  “I don’t know about this,” I look at the potion. It took Wizard-boy, whose real name is Kyle, apparently, over three hours to concoct the damn thing.

  “It’s perfectly safe,” he says, pushing the vial of purple goo toward me.

  “You’ve tested this before?” I ask him.

  Kyle the Wizard just shrugs.

  “I thought you said you’d gone through the barrier in other forms!”

  “I’ve sent my shifter friends,” he winces. “I haven’t actually gone myself. They go get me gossip and in turn, I give them spells.”

  “I liked you better when you were an old woman,” I sigh, taking the juice.

  “Most people do, Sapphire.” Kyle shrugs. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you, what the hell is up with your name?” He wrinkles his nose as if he can’t stand the thought of my given name.