CHAPTER ONE
The crops were dying.
Kassin didn't have much, only a smallholding, but for years now it had been enough to keep her fed, to give her a chance to live as well as any peasant in the kingdom of Lytos could. Every day, she woke early, worked hard, and scraped enough from the dirt to survive.
Today, beneath the shadows that covered the sky, the crops were withering. Those shadows roiled above like dark clouds, shifting and billowing, as if they were moving to intercept the light that might come through otherwise. They rendered everything beneath them a kind of perpetual half-light, like a heavily overcast day. Only every day was like that.
Kassin didn't know if it was the lack of light, or the cold that was starting to seep through everything without the sun's warmth to counter it, but no crops could survive like that.
She surveyed her smallholding with a heavy heart, knowing that if the crops didn't survive, she would have nothing left. She had no family, no other means of income; if her harvest failed, she would simply starve to death. She guessed that she wouldn't be the only one. Since the shadows had appeared over the kingdom, things had been hard for everyone.
They said it was because Princess Meredith had been kidnapped by King Zander of the Kingdom Beneath, that these were his shadows, cast over the kingdom with his dark gifts. Kassin didn't know much about that; she only knew that her plants were dying.
Kassin ran a hand through her dark, tangled hair and let out a deep sigh. She had to do something. She couldn't sit around and wait for things to get better. Gathering up the hem of her woolen dress, she ran back towards the small stone cottage that she called home and gathered up a fishing net.
She cursed as she realized that it was torn. Now, she had a choice. She could spend her time fixing it and hope that there would be fish, or she could spend her time on her dying crops. Either way, she was gambling with starvation.
Kassin had always been better at farming than fishing, but right now it seemed like her best option. Taking up the net, she headed for the shore. She would fix it there.
It helped that her village was close to the sea. It meant that a short walk down a stony path would take her to the shoreline, where she could try casting her net and hope that it came up with enough to keep her fed. There would be kelp or wild herbs down by the shore too. It wouldn't be enough to sustain Kassin for long, but at least it would be something.
She hurried along the
path, carrying the net bunched under her arm. She tried not to look up at the sky, the swirling shadows there unnerving in a way that normal dark clouds would not have been. What was more unnerving was that out on the edge of the horizon, she could see an end to those shadows, as if they hung only over Lytos, targeting it, constricting it in a death grip.
As the sea came into view, Kassin could see that several people had had the same idea as her. They were scattered across the shoreline, casting their nets out into the choppy water. Kassin recognized almost all of them, and most of them wouldn't have thought of themselves as fisherfolk if their crops weren't failing.
Kassin sat by the shore, trying to fix the net. It seemed to take an age, her stomach rumbling with hunger. Finally, she was ready. She joined the others there, wading out into the frigid sea and casting her own net. She felt the cold water seep into her boots, the chill creeping into her bones, but she pushed on. She had to catch something.
Kassin could see a few folks piling their belongings into small fishing vessels. Were they really leaving, abandoning all they'd built here in the kingdom? Maybe it was the best option, the only course open to any of them, given the shadows. The light in the far distance promised that there was a chance of a life under the sun somewhere else, perhaps in the city states in the south, beyond the Knife Tongue Straits. Worse, there were rumors that a leader of the Janden had risen in the south, and that one day soon he might head towards Lytos.
Perhaps Kassin should join those fleeing to the south, but what would she do there? She was a farmer; she didn't know how to do anything else. Her hands were rough, her muscles made strong from years of backbreaking work. She didn't have any money, and she didn't have any family to help her get started.
Even if she did travel south, what then? Days, perhaps weeks of traveling through the wilds of the south to reach one of the city-states, in which it was said that the barbarous Janden hunted caravans for sport, killing or enslaving those they came across. All to reach a city that wouldn't want her and didn't have a place for her.
She thought about leaving in a different direction, heading for Destarra, the capital of Lytos. Maybe they would have food there, and work. Maybe she should
go.
Kassin's stomach rumbled, a reminder of why she was here. She pulled in her net, hoping for a catch. The net felt heavy, and she could feel the thrashing of fish inside. She grinned, relief washing over her. Maybe she wouldn't starve today, after all.
That sent a wave of relief flooding through Kassin. Maybe she would be able to get through this. The rumors said that they'd sent the knights of the king's guard to recover the princess from the Kingdom Beneath, so maybe that would be enough to make the shadows above fade away. All she had to do was survive until then.
Kassin felt her relief fading as she looked out over the ocean, though. Because something had appeared on the horizon. A dark line that she peered out at, trying to make sense of it.
It seemed to take forever before she could pick out what was there, the line resolving into dots, the dots slowly moving closer.
To her horror, Kassin realized that they were ships. There were ships approaching, a whole flotilla of them, far more than there would have been for a merchant fleet or an expedition to the Mist Isles passing along the coast.
No, there was only one thing this could be: an invasion fleet.
Kassin hurried back out of the water, abandoning her catch. She knew that nowhere would be safe here on the coast once that fleet landed. She had to get back to her farm, grab what she could, and head for the capital, Destarra. She would warn them about what was coming. Maybe someone there would know what to do.
CHAPTER TWO
Goblin kin surrounded Lance, and he knew that he'd chosen wrongly.
He was in a cavern, dimly lit by luminescence that seemed to come from patches of moss around the walls. Almost instantly, Lance regretted that, because it let him see the creatures that stood around him in a rough circle. They were humanoid in shape, but their skin was a sickly shade of green, and their eyes glowed red with malevolence. They were armed with crude weapons, axes and spears. Lance recognized goblin-kin when he saw them. He'd even fought them before, but that had been with the rest of the king's guard at his back. Even then, the numbers had almost been overwhelming. Now... now he had no chance.
He and fifty knights had set out from Destarra, searching for Princess Meredith, the princess who had been kidnapped by King Zander of the Kingdom Beneath. Lance had gone because it was Meredith, because even if he’d only spent one night dancing with her at her birthday ball, he’d been unable to stop thinking about her.
Perhaps twenty of them had survived to reach the cave where there were chutes leading downwards, most leading to death in different forms, only one with a safe path. One by one, they’d chosen.
It was clear that Lance had chosen incorrectly.
Sorrow gripped Lance then, along with the knowledge that he was going to die here. Sorrow that he wouldn't be the one to find Princess Meredith. That she might be trapped down here forever. His only hope was that one of the others who had not been immediately killed had found the correct route, perhaps Justin or even Dorian, Lord Antonio's son. Dorian might hate Lance, but Lance suspected that he would do all that he could to get Meredith back safely, if only because he so clearly had designs upon her heart, and upon the power that would come from becoming her husband.
No, Lance wouldn't think like that. He wouldn't abandon Meredith down here. He would find a way through this, even though it seemed impossible.
Lance drew his sword and held it at the ready, trying to gauge their numbers. He counted at least two dozen of them, maybe more lurking in the shadows. He knew he couldn't take them all on at once, but he had to try.
The creatures howled a war cry and charged at him. ...
We hope you are enjoying the book so far. To continue reading...
Copyright © 2024 All Rights Reserved
Please log in to recommend or discuss...
