Order of Royals

Book 2: Blue Swan

by Jude Deveraux

Genres: Fantasy action & adventure; Romantic Fantasy; Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Legends & Mythology; Women's Fiction; Fantasy Romance; Royalty Romance

Synopsis

“Jude Deveraux’s writing is enchanting and exquisite.” —BookPage

The second book in Jude Deveraux’s spellbinding and unforgettable Blue Swan series weaves an intricate tapestry of fantasy and intrigue on the enigmatic planet of Bellis. 

Princess Aradella is trapped in the iron grip of her evil and powerful aunt, Queen Olina. Navigating the treacherous waters of political machinations and familial duties, Aradella discovers allies in unexpected places, including Tanek, a swansman with his own mysterious connections. Set in a world where royalty, magic, and mythical beings coexist, Aradella’s path is intertwined with that of Kaley Arens, an Earthling who becomes deeply entangled in the planet’s intricate social hierarchy, as she is faced with a choice between her homeland and newfound love. As Aradella and her companions uncover dark secrets and hidden agendas, they embark on an adventure filled with loyalty, romance, and courage, where the lines between magic and reality blur, but where love has the power to transform destinies.

Aradella’s heart finds a beacon in Mekos, the son of Tanek, whose distinct heritage and protective nature captivate her. As their bond deepens amidst political intricacies, their love story unfolds through secret plans and whispered promises. But in this world, nothing is as it seems and destiny can’t be denied…

Release date: January 6, 2026

Publisher: MIRA Books

Print pages: 320

Sample

Princess Aradella

Crown princess of Pithan Island on the planet of Bellis

“They are coming for you,” Hale said. She was a large, muscular woman, and it wasn’t easy for her to get through the small doorway that led into Princess Aradella’s secret library. Hale waited for the young woman to look up. Open on her lap was one of the many books from Earth that had been illegally sent to her. Hale thought that since the books were in the incomprehensible English language, they should be allowed—but she didn’t voice that opinion.

“My aunt-queen?” the princess asked, keeping her head down. When Hale didn’t reply, Aradella looked up at her. “Not her witchy mother?” There was exasperation in her voice. When Hale still didn’t answer, Aradella said, “My three spies?”

One side of Hale’s mouth twitched. It was the closest she came to a smile. “No, but they did order new clothes. Larger ones.”

Since she and Hale had engineered the plan to keep those snooping women occupied, Aradella smiled at the image. No one would think of the crown princess as “pretty,” but when her colorless brows and lashes joined her smile, she was passable. Her blue eyes lit up—something few people saw. “Is Jobi here?”

With a grimace, Hale shook her head and said, “It’s the worst of them all.”

Aradella groaned. “Please no. Not my cousins! What did I do this time to deserve them? Did I read something that’s not approved by the ever-watchful Queen Olina?” She gasped. “Did I dare look at a person not of royal blood?”

Hale was used to her charge’s sense of humor. Usually, truth was the basis for it. She moved her hand to indicate the narrow room, letting Aradella know that she needed to leave. They had to prepare for her cousins’ unexpected and unwanted visit.

Reluctantly, Aradella stood up. The room had once been a hallway that led to a private door into the palace. But immediately after Aradella was orphaned and Olina was crowned queen, the princess was moved into the small apartment and access was sealed off. “It’s to protect the princess,” the queen told people. Olina wanted to look good to her subjects. The truth was that she didn’t want the residents of Pithan seeing the young woman who was often called “the true princess.” Too many people believed that Aradella should be sitting on the throne. Also, Olina didn’t want her niece-by-marriage snooping around and hearing what she shouldn’t. Or worse, befriending people who might be amenable to a regime change. In the end, the young princess was “protected” to the point that she was allowed few visitors and watched at all times. There were some who said Princess Aradella had been imprisoned—but they didn’t say that too loudly.

In spite of the adversity, Aradella had used the isolation to create something good. She’d worked with one of her few friends, Jobi, to make the sealed-off hall space into a library. Under cover of darkness, shelving had been put in, and Jobi sent her books from Earth to fill them. To protect Aradella in case she was discovered, all the books were about plants on the faraway planet. There was certainly nothing like How to Overthrow an Evil Usurper Queen. Others might have found the nonfiction books boring, but Aradella was so starved for knowledge that any books were worth the danger they put her in.

Aradella gave a wistful look to the book she’d been studying. It was one of several about poisonous plants. Jobi had told her that she might someday need that knowledge. Since he was one of the three people in the Order of 

Sight, meaning he could see into the future, she took his advice seriously. She often had Hale quiz her on what to look for in the plants that were not for consumption. Aradella didn’t say so, but she wanted to recognize them in case her aunt-queen decided to use one.

Hale crouched through the door and held it open for Aradella, then carefully closed it and checked that nothing was showing. It looked like a wall panel, not hinting that it would open to the little library.

They went to Aradella’s bedroom. Since her apartment had once been the housekeeper’s quarters, it was very plain. Originally, there had been just two bedrooms, but after the death of Aradella’s royal parents, another suite had been tacked onto the side. Installed in it were three women who reported to Queen Olina every day on whatever Aradella did.

The original two bedrooms and bath were for Aradella and her guard, Hale. It wasn’t easy to hide that the women had become friends. “My savior,” as Aradella called her since Hale had changed her life.

Spread out on the bed were the pads that Hale had made, with a big, flowing dress beside them. Aradella groaned.

“They won’t stay long,” Hale said. “I’ll insist they have something to eat and that’ll make them leave.”

Aradella gave a smirk of agreement. “I hope it’s those cherry pies. I know Shay likes them. It will hurt her to turn them down.” She picked up the hip roll pad, tied it about her waist, then lifted her arms for Hale to tie on the upper pad. Over this went the big dress with voluminous sleeves. When they were done, Aradella looked at herself in the full-length mirror. She was nearly as wide as she was tall. “This should please them,” she whispered, then looked back at Hale. “So help me, if Shay says how good I look, I’ll . . . I’ll . . .” She couldn’t finish because they both knew she couldn’t expose herself to anyone. If Olina found out that Aradella was lying about anything at all, her life would be in jeopardy. She motioned to the side. “They’re out of the way?” She meant the spies that Olina had put in the house with the princess.

“Dead to the world,” Hale assured her. Over a year ago, Hale had asked Queen Olina for a medicine that would calm the princess down. It was quickly given to her. That it was fed to the spies was never known, and the women

didn’t dare tell the queen that they spent their days drowsy, if not fully asleep. Olina’s rage was so quickly aroused that the women might forfeit their lives.

Aradella, now fully disguised with her padding, waddled out to the large room at the front. The sprawling palace with its many smaller buildings for workers was in a cold volcanic crater called the Cauldron. The high protrusions that had once been molten lava encircled the space, making an excellent barrier to keep out intruders.

Most of the windows that looked out the front of the quarters had been covered. Olina said it was to give the princess “privacy.” Everyone knew it was to keep people in the compound from seeing her. But the side windows that opened to a walled courtyard were still there. Aradella stretched to look through a slit in the wall and she could see her cousins coming toward them.

Princesses Shay and Bree Varlon were beautiful. Like a princess should look, Aradella thought yet again. Their father, a soldier, Sojee, had married the king’s sister, Aradella’s aunt, and they’d produced these beautiful young women, identical twins, the year after Aradella was born. The contrast had been noted. Aradella had always been too plump, too plain. The only thing remarkable about her was her brain. “Too bad you can’t see that,” someone said and others agreed. Aradella was sure that beautifulprincess was supposed to be one word—and she had never lived up to that ideal.

But the twins fulfilled the requirements lavishly. From birth, they were divine, glorious. They made the silk that was imported from Earth look rough. The way they walked, moved, spoke, was beautiful. They were adored by everyone who met them.

Except Aradella. She couldn’t abide either of them, even though their personalities weren’t alike. Shay had no heart while Bree’s heart bled for everyone. She felt so very sorry for Aradella! When Aradella was younger, she’d let the sisters know what she felt about them, but not now. They were always so very kind to her. On the rare times when the three of them strolled about the Cauldron together and Aradella had trouble keeping up with them, they waited for her. They did it while pretending to fix a shoe or retie a hair ribbon. They complimented everything Aradella wore, said, noticed, anything that she knew. Kindness needed a higher definition to describe the twins.

But Aradella knew it was all fake. She fantasized about slicing off their heads with a sword. In fact, she had Hale set up pumpkins on two

straw bodies, one pink, one blue, just so Aradella could whack them off. The plop of the pumpkins, then the explosion when they hit the ground, was deeply satisfying.

“They look like they have news,” Hale said from beside her.

“I’m sure they do. Did someone find a new shade of pink for them? Or maybe Shay has decided to wear purple. Wouldn’t that be monumental news? I can hardly wait to hear what they have to tell me.” Aradella drew herself up, shoulders back, preparing to face her cousins. The girls opened the gate, then stopped and talked excitedly, but they kept their voices down.

“I’ve never seen them like this,” Hale said. Like her charge, she was suspicious of everyone. “What are they up to? Has someone sent them?”

Aradella was much less interested in what they had to say than Hale was. She couldn’t imagine anything of importance being entrusted to them.

“They’re coming.” Hale stepped away from the window. She’d set a platter full of folded cherry pies on the table. They had to keep up Aradella’s false façade about what she ate and wore, and most of all, what she did every day. When the knock came, Hale opened the door, and Aradella looked up from her seat, an embroidery hoop in her hand.

Politely, the twins waited for an invitation to sit down. Their excitement filled the air so strongly that the old, worn furniture seemed to vibrate.

“Would you like something to eat?” Aradella asked, pretending not to notice that they were nearly on fire with whatever they had to tell.

“No, thank you.” Bree’s voice gave a little jump as they sat down.

Hale was standing by the wall, her guard uniform stiff, unwrinkled. She was formidable looking.

Bree, the quieter, more gentle of the two, turned to her sister. “Go on.” She sounded urgent. “Tell her.”

Shay looked like a kettle about to blow its top. If she didn’t tell immediately, she would explode. She took a deep breath. “Remember five years ago when we went to Eren?” She was referring to an island that was not divided between men and women. “We were guests of King Aramus?”

Aradella bit her tongue to stop a sarcastic retort. Of course she remembered! That trip was the highlight of her life. But she wasn’t going to 

tell them that. “Yes, I do.”

Bree leaned forward. “Remember the swan show?”

Aradella’s heart did a little skip. “It was a nice display.”

“Nice?” Shay said with enthusiasm. “It was magnificent! Those men with their birds were resplendent! I’ll never forget it. We—”

Bree put her hand on her sister’s arm to keep her from being overcome by the memory. “You know that our father has been gone for some time.”

Aradella nodded as though she couldn’t be bothered with such unimportant information.

“All this time, he was with Tanek Beyhan,” Shay said.

At that name, Aradella’s needle jammed against her thumb, but she’d die before she let them see she was affected by anything they had to say. “He was one of the swansmen, wasn’t he?”

“Yes!” Shay leaned forward. “It has been revealed that his mother is one of the Seven.”

It took all of Aradella’s years of hiding what she felt to not show her shock. The Seven lived on the forbidden island of Empyrea and they ruled . . . well, everything. They had much more power than Queen Olina with her little island. “Is that so?” she said blandly.

Shay squinted her eyes at Aradella, trying to ascertain if she was as blasé as she appeared to be. “You danced with him.” There was accusation in her voice.

“Did I?” Aradella asked. Like she would forget that night! Soaring with that glorious man. Gliding across the floor. “Yes, I do believe I remember that. Prince Nessa was there.”

The twins stared at her in wide-eyed disbelief. How could she remind them of what she said to Nessa that night? And all because of the swansman. In unison, they glanced at Hale standing rigid by the wall. The awful thing Aradella had said to the young man she was to marry had changed everything. As punishment for that night, Aradella’s beloved nanny was taken from her and the formidable Hale had been assigned in her place. “What you said . . .” Shay whispered.

“We were children,” Aradella said in dismissal. “What does it matter now?”

“You were fourteen,” Shay said. “Nessa and we were thirteen. That’s old enough to—”

Bree spoke up loudly. “You’re to marry the swansman

Tanek.”

Aradella gave up her pretense of sewing, put the hoop down, and stared at her cousins.

Shay was annoyed that her sister had taken over the glory-announcement. “Queen Olina has to agree, but of course she will. She can’t go against a Seven.”

“But what about King Aramus?” Aradella asked. “I’m to marry his son. It was arranged years ago.”

“Not anymore,” Shay said. “Too bad, as Prince Nessa was charming.” She hesitated. “Well, maybe not to you, but he was to us. Which proves that he can be nice.”

“That’s not what Papá said about him,” Bree muttered, and both young women looked at Aradella, waiting for her to say something.

But she was silent. She put on the face she used when she didn’t want anyone to know what she was thinking. The twins looked at Hale. Her chin was up and she was staring straight ahead, her face also unreadable.

When the twins didn’t take the silence as a sign that they were to leave, Aradella knew they had more information. She just had to wait for them to get around to telling it.

Shay got a faraway look. “I vividly remember him with the swans. We were sitting by the lake and he was diving with them. The swans wrapped their necks around him in a way that made all of us sigh.” She looked at her sister to back her up.

“And then he rose out of the water,” Bree said. “His wet shirt was clinging to him. We were so young and we’d never seen anything like it.”

“And we haven’t since!” Shay said.

At that, the sisters emitted giggles, but Aradella was still staring at them in stony silence.

Bree said, “When we got home, we told Papá how much we admired the man. We made huge hints for him to arrange a meeting.”

“Ha!” Shay said. “You wanted him to arrange a marriage. With you.”

“I was too young then, but now . . .”

The twins looked at Aradella. It was hitting them that she was to get the prize man. Not mean-spirited, scrawny Prince Nessa, but an actual man.

When it was obvious that Aradella wasn’t going to join them in giggling lust, Shay said, “Papá is with Tanek now. I think your marriage is to be quite soon.”

Bree gave an encouraging smile. “I’ve heard that swansmen are very fertile. You’ll be with child the morning after you marry him.” There was

longing and envy in her voice.

Shay groaned. “That’s your dream, to have a dozen brats.”

“And you don’t want children?” Bree shot back.

“Two at most. But I haven’t seen anyone who is husband material.”

At last, Aradella spoke. “We live on an island that’s nearly all women. None of us have seen many men—and certainly none equal to our status. We take what we are given.”

When the sisters looked at each other, Aradella braced herself for what more they were to dump on her.

“There’s to be a celebration at your wedding.” Bree looked at Shay to continue. It seemed that she was stepping back and letting her more aggressive sister tell.

“With men,” Shay whispered. “Men.” There was so much emotion in her voice that she could hardly speak.

“Men?” Aradella asked and the sisters nodded. Many years ago, the Empyreans had separated men from women. Empyreans called it “The Righting of Ancient Wrongs.” The men were sent to the island of Selkan while the women stayed on Pithan. There were some men on Pithan, such as the twins’ father, Sojee, but he was needed to head the security of Queen Olina. There was some fraternization as there were a few precious children, but boys were sent to Selkan when they reached seven years old. Young people, like Aradella and the twins, had grown up in a world that was nearly all female. “We are to go to Selkan?” For all Aradella’s self-control, she couldn’t keep the shock out of her voice.

“No,” Shay said. “Men are to come here. To us. Many men. They’ll be here for two days.”

“She won’t like that,” Aradella whispered.

They knew she meant Queen Olina.

“It’s not her choice,” Bree said. “The Seven have declared it. But you are right. The queen will not like it.”

Aradella looked at her sharply. Sometimes Bree seemed to have a brain, but that couldn’t be true. “There will be violence.”

“Papá will stop it,” Shay said confidently. The other women, including Hale, looked at her, seeming to ask how one man could control “many” men. Shay didn’t like the way they were looking at her. “Perhaps they’re coming here

so we can choose husbands. King Aramus’s brother has a walled estate on Selkan. We could live there and . . .” She trailed off. It was obvious that she’d thought about this and she appeared to be looking forward to it. She got control of herself and gave Aradella a hard look. “You need to plan what you’re going to say to the swansman.” Her tone was of warning. “Papá is coming with several people, even an Earth woman, and he’s bringing your husband-to-be. They’ll be here soon.”

Bree said, “There will be a presentation ceremony where you and he will be formally introduced to the people. Then you’ll need to—”

Hale stepped forward, cutting her off, and said loudly, “Would you girls like some cherry pies to take with you?”

The girls knew they were being dismissed and they stood up.

Shay didn’t hide her disappointment in Aradella’s cool reaction to the mass of news she’d been told. Shouldn’t she be pleased? Certainly excited. But no, Aradella just sat there, her face unreadable. Several times over the years, Shay had said that Aradella wasn’t real, that she was something created by the Empyreans. Shay remembered the time she’d stood behind a big, round barrel, put her arms and a leg out, and waved them. “I am Aradella and I think I am the smartest person on the planet. No one matches even half my brilliance!” Bree had laughed but then covered her mouth because she knew she shouldn’t.

When Hale opened the door, the sisters hurried out. She was too big and frightening for them to disobey.

Aradella sat on the wide chair in silence, hearing and seeing nothing.

Hale made sure the girls were out of the courtyard, locked the gate behind them, then went back inside the house. She knew her charge needed time alone so she could digest what she’d been told.

Slowly, Aradella stood up, then began removing her many pounds of clothing. When she fumbled with the ties, Hale helped her, but they didn’t speak.

Had she been something other than a royal princess who was destined to inherit a throne, Aradella would have walked about Pithan. She would have passed farms and seen the entrances to the other craters. But she didn’t have

such freedom. The only place she could go for privacy was her little library. And right now she desperately needed time to reflect on what was about to happen to her.

Hale led her to the room, handed her a ceramic bottle of cool water, then made sure the door was securely closed behind her.

Aradella collapsed into her big chair. It was covered in a blue-and-white fabric that Jobi had brought from Earth. He’d explained that it was Chinese and the buildings in the print were called “pagodas.” Right now, such a simple conversation seemed far away.

She closed her eyes and tried to remember every detail of the visit, five years ago, to the island of Eren.

It had started with a parade. Every guild on Pithan was represented by a wagon and the prettiest girls from each one had graced them.

At the end was Queen Olina’s long, flat wagon. On it was her old mother, Olina’s dazed and drugged husband, and of course the beautiful twin princesses. Their dresses sparkled, their long, thick hair was like sunlight, and they wore jewels of every color. All the residents of Eren and people from other islands came to watch and cheer as they ran after the trinkets that were thrown into the crowds.

Very few people noticed that far to the back of the queen’s wagon sat a plain-faced girl encased in a heavy robe of colors so dull they could hardly be seen. To counteract the great weight of the robe, it had been nailed to the thick chair. Aradella was put into the garment then the front was sewn shut. She could not get out without the help of other people and the use of scissors. Queen Olina’s explanation was that Aradella was “too important” to risk the harm that might come to her if she was too near the crowd.

After their flamboyant entry into the city, Aradella was told that she’d be spending time with Prince Nessa, the young man she was to marry.

In the afternoon, she was presented to her fiancé in an elaborate ceremony. She peeked around the pretty girls who were to enter ahead of her and saw him sitting in a big gold chair. At thirteen years old, he was short, very thin, and he had bad skin.

Aradella had often been told she was no prize when it came to looks, so the match seemed fair. She was told to stand to the back, behind the parade of young women entering, then her cousins, Shay and Bree. Aradella

would go last.

Scrawny Nessa loved all the attention and the pretty girls, but when he saw Aradella, he stood up, his face showing his dislike of his wife-to-be. At that time she was taller than him and much wider. The women from the Beauty Guild had asked to be allowed to apply makeup to Aradella, but Olina told them no. “He is to see her as she truly is.” No one missed the maliciousness in her tone. At the sight of her, Prince Nessa yelled “No! I will not marry her!” so loudly that he’d been ushered from the room. Everyone looked at Aradella in sympathy—but mixed with understanding.

After that first unfortunate introduction, Aradella was told she had to stay with Nessa, Bree, and Shay. As they were shown the sights of Eren and introduced to dignitaries, the twins made Nessa laugh. He didn’t so much as glance at Aradella. They were often told of a coming water show that would feature three generations of men from the Order of Swans. Afterward, there was to be a dance that was just for the young people.

In silence, Aradella dutifully followed her cousins, the prince, and his simpering entourage. She just wanted to get away from them all.

On the afternoon of the second day, they were escorted to a beautiful lake where a covered pavilion had been built. Aradella was given a seat of honor to see the swan show. It was the Beyhan men—father, son, and the young grandson. The men were heavenly to look at and the fluidity of their movements with the swans was beyond anything Aradella had ever seen. The men could “soar,” meaning lift themselves up, then glide through the air. Someone whispered that the men were descended from swans and used to have wings. She could believe it.

When the show was over, Aradella didn’t want to leave, but she was pulled away. She had to get ready for the dance. She was to wear a heavy robe with a train, something that befitted a princess. She knew it was too heavy to walk in, let alone dance.

In a huge, sparkling room of King Aramus’s home, food and beverage and an orchestra had been set up.

The pretty girls from Pithan and some locals were invited, but Aradella and Nessa were designated as the most important. For all that the dance was supposed to be for young people, it was heavily chaperoned. The three woman who spied on Aradella were there, eating and drinking in abundance. In the shadows was King Aramus’s chief advisor, Fahir, standing to the

side and watching everyone. The purpose of the dance was for Nessa and Aradella to become “better acquainted.” But he much preferred the company of the beautiful, radiant, twin princesses, Shay and Bree. Even at thirteen, they were a sight to behold. They were dressed in starry colors of silk, with skin and hair that glowed. People were saying that when they smiled, the room became brighter.

Aradella found a chair that was as hidden as possible and tried to ignore all of them. She’d thought the parade had been bad, but the days she’d had to spend near Nessa topped that. She did her best to put her mind on the memory of the swan show. It was there that she’d seen him. He was like no one she’d ever before seen. His dark hair, the water over his body, the way he moved. All of it. She’d never seen or felt sensations such as ran through her. He—

She was pulled back to reality by the loud laughter of Prince Nessa. Her stomach seemed to turn over in revulsion as she reminded herself that Prince Nessa was the man she was to marry. The last days she’d spent in his company were more than enough to know what he was like. Others seemed to know his true nature since she’d been threatened to not say or do anything that would upset him. “You better not give a reason for this alliance to be called off!” her aunt Olina had yelled at Aradella. “Do I make myself clear to you? I’ll—”

“She understands.” Olina’s old mother, Urah, stared hard at Aradella. Everyone knew that Urah was a witch, so no one dared contradict her, not even her daughter. Aradella had done her best to be humble and subservient to Prince Nessa, but he was stupid and thoroughly unlikable. The very sight of him made her feel sick. She did her best to hide her feelings. But sometimes it seemed that old Urah saw Aradella’s true thoughts.

Sitting in her chair at the dance, she glanced at the scrawny prince. As usual, he was laughing and flirting with the twins, and they were giggling. It was a sound that Aradella was incapable of making.

Fahir, King Aramus’s formidable emissary—and some believed he was the real king—left his place in darkness to say something to Nessa. The skinny boy frowned, then dutifully stalked across the room and asked Aradella to dance. She did not want to get too near him, but she couldn’t say no. Slowly, she heaved herself up.

He was sneering as he led her onto the dance floor, then he held her as far away as his arms could extend. She wished it was farther.

you need to be told what you will be allowed to do. First of all, you must ask my permission for everything. At all times, you must remember that you are to be a wife to me. You must obey me for I will be the king!” The last was said at the volume of a man on a battlefield.

Through this list of “musts” Aradella didn’t say a word. She clamped her teeth on the sides of her tongue and said nothing.

Finally, the music ended, he abruptly dropped her hands and walked away. His walk was one of triumph. He’d won a battle; he was the ruler of all he saw.

Trying to keep her dignity, Aradella went back to her chair.

To solidify his triumph, Prince Nessa stood close enough to Aradella that she could hear him as he bragged to the twins. “I told her what was expected of her,” he said. “She must obey me in all things.”

“This must stop!” said a man’s deep voice.

Startled, Aradella looked up to see the swansman Tanek standing near her. He was wearing a long robe that she knew was woven from swan feathers. It looked like he was going to say something to Nessa. “No!” she said loudly.

Nessa whipped around to give her a look of chastisement, meaning that she was not to be so loud. As though he was protecting them from her, he escorted the twins away.

Tanek didn’t move, but looked at Aradella in question.

“It’s all right. I’m used to it. Besides, my cousins are worse than he is. They feel sorry for me.” She stood up, meaning to leave. She’d had all of the party she could take. But she stumbled over the long dress her aunt had made her wear. She would have fallen but Tanek caught her arm and held her upright.

They heard Nessa say something unintelligible, then the twins laughed in that girly way that was naughty and enticing. ...