Page 5 of The Kingdom of Eternal Ice
“I wasn’t making fun of you, King Gillean,” he retorts.
Dad just frowns and puffs his cheeks in annoyance. He and Quinn have been friends ever since they were toddlers. Our father is a good ruler, but he is a bit quirky at times. Only Quinn and Mom know how to handle him. It’s funny, sometimes, because to the outside world, Dad looks imposing: tall, muscular, with wild blonde hair and blue eyes, and he has this domineering aura.
“The thing is,” Dad continues. “I’m done sitting here being king,” he growls.
“But Dad,” Caelan blinks. “You can’t just… quit.”
“Watch me do it!” he threatens. “I’m so over it. And the worst part is that Sine is on her research expedition instead of being here with me.” He is right, it sucks that our mother isn’t here, but it’s not the first time she went on one of her trips. She is an academic, after all, and needs these months of travel to gather new knowledge. “But I have made up my mind! I’ll tell you what I’m going to do; I will quit and join my beautiful mate, then cherish her body over and over again
“Maybe another pup will be born then,” Quinn says dryly.
Dad stares at him with a glare. “Don’t jinx it, asshole! I have enough pups!”
“So, what’s the plan?” I push him. If it’s true that he doesn’t want to announce one of us as his heir… what’s he going to do, and why is Quinn so fed up?
“The plan is,” he smiles proudly, as if he truly has an awesome idea, while Quinn looks like he is about to quit his job. “The first one of you to melt a maiden’s heart within a year shall become king!”
three
The Deal
*CAELAN*
Endellion has gone completely still; his mouth dropped open. He probably mirrors my own expression. I must look equally dumb. “Melt a maiden’s heart? You mean take a chosen mate?”
I’m not going to lie and pretend the thought has never crossed my mind. I don’t think there is a mate waiting out there for us. Ever since our birth, we were a mystery, triplets that shouldn’t exist, a shared mind link we can always use, it even physically hurts us if we are arguing with each other, and we can feel each other much more than our other siblings.
Maybe we shouldn’t exist, and the goddess decided to take our fated mates from us, to make sure we don’t procreate.
“You haven’t heard it all yet,” Quinn gripes. “You truly think he would make this so easy? Goddess forbid, we would have actually been able to do this without a ton of work.”
“What does he mean?” I ask our father. “Dad?”
“Ever since my grandfather reigned, our relationship to the kingdom of the Everlasting Desert was strained,” he explains. “When I took over the Kingdom of Eternal Ice and King Naseem started his reign over the Everlasting Desert, there was a truce, in which our lands slowly blossomed. We have been negotiating for years now to find a real settlement, and finally, the King and Queen Consorts of the Everlasting Desert have agreed on a peace treaty and an alliance,” he pauses. “Under one condition.”
“And what’s that?” Flinn asks, completely dumbfounded. For one who always has a sassy remark on his lips, it’s weird to see him all shocked and confused.
“He offered us a… present,” Dad says. Something flashes in his eyes, something dark and angry, but it’s gone fast.
“A present?”
“To show his sincerity in the new-found bond between our countries, King Naseem decided to send his youngest daughter to us. The Princess is said to be beautiful, bright, intelligent and gifted with rare talents, that only very few members of the direct bloodline of the king possess,” he recites like he read it in a book.
“If she has such rare powers, why do they send her away?” I ask.
Dad looks at me thoughtfully. “Can’t you guess?”
I frown, trying to remember what I know about the Kingdom of the Everlasting Desert. It’s said that, albeit they are humans, a certain line of princes and princesses of the Everlasting Desert have specific powers, which is why the king himself has several concubines to ensure many descendants, as not every son or daughter born possesses these secret gifts. No one knows what kind of gifts they have; it’s kept as a secret, but the country worships and fears their princes and princesses as if they are deities.
Or maybe rather monsters.
“He is selling his daughter to us,” Endellion says all of a sudden, making us all turn to him in surprise. “Is that what it is? He wants to get rid of her, so he sends her to the rough North, where he probably thinks only barbarians are living?”
“We don’t have slaves. Fortunately, he doesn’t know that, or she would be sold somewhere else,” Dad says shortly. “But this is a risky political situation. Frankly, King Naseem is an annoying stuck-up shitface, and there is no use talking to him. So, whether we like it or not, his daughter will come here in a few days.”
“You want us to court her?” Endellion asks, surprised.
“What will be, will be,” he says evasively. “We all know that one of you will be my successor,” Dad continues. “However, all three of you are good men and have important strengths and talents. Over the years, it got more and more difficult to decide.”
