Read an Excerpt
A Dragon's Passion
By Sandra Enriquez
iUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2012 Sandra Enriquez
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4759-2559-3
Chapter One
First Kiss
Land of Miradel, Petroset Kingdom New Kingdom Year 445
"Father, I do not care that I am nineteen and well beyond the age considered traditional for marriage. That ship sailed more than several years ago. Nor do I care about the curse that has bound me to the other five princes of Miradel. I will only marry a man that I love and who loves me in return. That is the very least I should be entitled to, given it is your fault the curse even exists!"
My father, King Claude, rose from his seat and strode toward me with an angry scowl on his face. I knew what was going to happen before the blow even hit me on my cheek. I was pretty sure it was going to bruise this time, but I just did not care anymore.
"Annaliessa, you will spend time with the five princes, and you will choose one of them as your husband before your next birthday! Given that we royals are only allowed to be with child once, you must produce an heir. For the other four princes you do not choose, let us hope you have a girl, or they will have to leave Miradel and travel to far off lands to find another princess to marry, or be forced to marry a cousin."
"That wicked witch somehow managed to make a disproportionate number of males be born, limiting our ability to maintain our Kingdom's lineage and security," my father huffed.
"I am not sure why you are complaining, father, it has benefited you greatly these past eighteen years. You hold their very hope of existence in your hands through me. Your scourge of having a daughter rather than a son has, in the end, made you very wealthy and powerful indeed. So, do not forget that I am the one controlling the future of this kingdom the next time you want to strike me. I could easily disappear, and then what will you have?" With that I turned and stomped out of the room. As soon as the door was closed behind me, I ran.
I found myself in the forest on the mountain slopes behind our castle which is in the eastern kingdom of Miradel. The mountain separates us from other lands to the east.
The land of Miradel is a temperate rain forest, rich in resources that other kingdoms long to have access to. However, most were afraid to invade as they did not want to risk being subject to the curse. This also made them reluctant to form covenants with us and allow us to intermarry with them.
* * *
I never asked for any of this. You would think I would be happy about five very handsome young men being physically and emotionally attached to me. The fact that they cannot even choose another mate until I have made my selection is only another festering sore to my heart. I have grown up with these men and have been friends with them my whole life, how can anyone expect me to choose one over the other. If they were not bound to me, would they even like me? With so many thoughts going through my head, I did not hear him come up behind me.
"What has you so troubled, Annaliessa?" Prince Jordan asked. I jumped at the sound of his voice, and he started to laugh. Jordan was the prince of the southwest kingdom, Vulterrian, which bordered the enormously wide river to the south and the ocean to the west. He was eighteen years, six feet tall, and had light blond hair which he kept short, rather than shoulder length (which was more common), welcoming hazel eyes, and a strong chin and cheekbones. Of course, one of his more alluring features was his well-muscled body. He was rock hard with muscle, and he had the confidence to carry it all, yet without seeming conceited. Out of all the princes, he was by far, my favorite, as he was so easy to talk to. I had always felt comfortable and safe around him. Not that the other princes were unfriendly or reckless, it was just something I could not explain.
"My father is on a rampage again about me getting married."
"Is that why you have a bruise forming on your cheek? I swear, Annaliessa, if he was not your father, and one of the kings, I would have him arrested and beaten for striking you."
"Jordan, believe me, if he was not my father, I would have him arrested and beat him myself."
This garnered a hearty laugh from Jordan. "Remind me to never get on your bad side."
Now it was my turn to laugh. He was good at taking a tense situation and making me smile in spite of it. He was indeed going to make some woman very happy one day. Then the thought that his happiness was dependent on me wiped the smile from my face.
He saw the look of depression and hopelessness descend, and he positioned himself directly in front of me. He took my chin in his hand and brought my head up to look into his eyes. "What is troubling you now, my princess?"
My eyebrow raised in curiosity, "Since when am I your princess?"
"You have always been mine; the others just do not know it yet."
"You really are quite full of yourself." I could tell he was playing with me, and was really enjoying himself, too.
He took another step, closing the small gap that had been between us, and wrapped his other arm around my waist, and taking his hand that had been holding my chin and sliding it behind my neck, tangled his fingers in my long blond hair. His mouth closed in on mine and I felt a tingling sensation start from my lips and run down my body. I was receiving my first kiss, and I was not prepared to feel the things he was doing to my body with that kiss. His tongue brushed against my lips and I opened to him, surprising myself with the desire to surrender to his advances. I had not expected to want more of him, and I had to fight back the heat that was coursing through my body, so that I could finally break his hold on me.
"What was that for?" I gasped. "What made you think that it was alright for you to take advantage of me that way?"
"It hardly seemed like I was taking advantage of you. It felt like you enjoyed it as much as I did."
Just then, the other four princes came up on horseback. "There you two are," said Prince Charles, with a look of disapproval on his face. "We have been looking for you."
"We have all been sent by our kingdoms to yours so we can spend some more quality time with the princess," snickered Prince Josiah.
"It looks like Jordan has tried to ingratiate himself to the princess to get a head start on the rest of us," declared Prince Kalvin.
"Prince Samuel, do you not have a snide retort for me as well?" I inquired.
"I think Jordan understands why we would be a bit edgy with him here alone with you."
"Really! Is he someone who is likely to take advantage of a young woman's innocence? You better tell me now, so that I can take extra care when I am without a chaperone in the future."
"Why are you without a chaperone anyway?" asked Charles.
"I had another heart-to-heart talk with my father, and found myself needing to work off a little anger."
"Is the mark you bear on your cheek from your father?" asked Kalvin.
"I guess I should have stopped to grab a cold cloth before making a run for it. Is it really bruising that badly?"
"I have seen worse, but bruises do not belong on the beautiful face of a princess," said Josiah.
"How long are you all here for this time," I questioned?
"A fortnight," stated Jordan simply.
"Well, I guess we better all head back to the castle and start socializing before I end up with a matching bruise on the other cheek."
"Ride with me back to the castle?" asked Jordan.
"I think you and I have had enough one-on-one time today. Samuel, will you allow me to ride back with you?"
Samuel blushed, rendering his normally well-chiseled features to stand out even more. You would think it would take more than a ride with a princess to cause this hulking, six foot one inch man who had just entered his eighteenth year a quarter of a moon cycle ago, to blush, but it made him so endearing. He had close-cropped, brown hair which I think would feel bristly if you were to run your hand over it. I am not certain, of course, as that would be far too forward a thing for me to do, and I had already exceeded my limit in that department today. His golden brown eyes always seemed to have a sparkle to them, making me wonder what he was really thinking.
"Of course, it would be my honor."
Chapter Two
Confession
Seven days had passed since the princes had left to return to their own kingdoms. It was early in the tree blossom phase of our year, and the time appointed for romance was upon us. I was still trying to figure out how I would choose one of these men to marry. I had made lists of the pluses and minuses for each. I weighed their kingdoms and what they offered to someone like me. I certainly knew who my father favored. He was constantly hinting that Josiah would be a good match for me. In reality, he just wanted control of the river that Josiah's kingdom, Dilentis, being to the southeast provided. They were our closest neighbors, and Josiah's parents were the most pliable to manipulate. My father had sixteen years to get them to bend to his will, and they were starting to get desperate. Josiah did not have any girl cousins to marry, so he was the neediest as far as a marriage to me was concerned: a thought that made my heart ache for him. Josiah was the least "manly" of the five princes, but not in a bad way. He had a slender build, with a longer, thinner face than the other four. He and Kalvin were the shortest of the princes at five foot ten inches. Josiah had spiky brown hair and plain brown eyes. Although he was slender, he carried himself with the confidence of someone twice his size and age, even though he was the youngest of the princes at sixteen. He was an expert negotiator; I guess he made up with words, what he lacked in physical size. I am more inclined to think that he welds more power because of this than any of the other princes. It certainly intrigues me, and I think he really could be invaluable in the future, especially if we want to expand our borders. He really has a knack for turning bad situations around and making everyone feel like they got what they wanted. The only person he was not successful with in this endeavor was me.
Prince Charles fit nicely in between all the other princes. His kingdom of Marcynth was in the northeast. His kingdom was making strides with forging alliances with the kingdoms in the far north, and could be a real benefit to our land if this proved to work itself out. He had curly brown hair and chocolate colored eyes that made you feel at home. He was well-built in the muscle department, had full lips, and an easy smile for his friends. He was going to turn seventeen years at the time of the sun's zenith, just a few moon cycles before I turn twenty. His easy going nature made him fun to be around most of the time, but I was concerned he lacked the discipline to rule a kingdom, at least at this point. He could be petty upon occasion as well, and I found this trait rather irksome.
Prince Kalvin was my "least" favorite. Do not get me wrong, he was easy to look at. He just had the expectation that I should come to him and that he should not have to come to me. Maybe he was right. It was unfair, but a girl should not be the one to pursue a man. Kalvin was about to turn seventeen in a couple of moon cycles. He had blonde hair and blue eyes like me. He was well-toned, and had an athletic build. He was very agile and quick. He reminded me of a cat that could silently stalk its prey and strike without them even knowing he was there. This made me slightly apprehensive around him. His kingdom, Heraldin, was the most strategic of the six kingdoms, being in the center. His kingdom was the hub around which we all dispersed. From a logical standpoint, it would make the most sense for me to choose Kalvin, but I knew I would always feel a bit jumpy around him.
I often wondered if any prince would really want me, if it was not for this whole bonded thing. I was short, only five feet four inches, slender, and I was not beautiful like the queens of the other kingdoms. I was pretty, and everyone commented that my bright blue eyes were my best feature. My eyes were rimmed with long lashes that seemed to encourage people to talk and share things with me they normally would have kept to themselves. I guess I just had one of those trusting natures that people connected with. I found it difficult at times to listen to their stories of heartbreak. My heart would ache along with theirs, and often they brought tears to my eyes. I knew that this was not a good trait for a future queen, as we were to be stoic, yet pleasant. We were expected to endure whatever the king demanded of us, and do it with a pleasant attitude. I always found this impossible. I always found myself arriving at anger quickly, and I could never hide it. Everyone always knew exactly what I was feeling. I just could not shut it off.
A rumbling started under my feet. It felt like a tickle, and made me feel a bit disorientated, but it stopped quickly enough. I had never felt anything like it, and I went to inquire what was happening.
* * *
"Mother, what was that rumble in the ground just a few minutes ago?" My mother, Amanda, was in her room as always. With the entire castle to roam around in, I never understood why she always stayed confined to her room unless duty called her elsewhere.
"My darling girl, do not worry. It was just an earthquake. We have not had any of those since you were a baby. They are usually small and nothing to be concerned about."
"Mother, were you nervous when you married my father?"
"Yes, very much so, I am afraid to admit. Your father was a large man, at six foot three inches, and I am a foot shorter than him. When I first met him my eyes widened to the size of saucers in disbelief that I would be enough to satisfy a man like that, especially since I was just a year past my first blood flow. I think it was my large blue eyes and blonde hair that attracted him to me. I certainly was not strong or confident. In fact, I was the ideal description of what a female should be. I think your father liked the fact that he could control me. Maybe that was the real reason he chose me after all. He had such strongly defined facial features, and it always made him appear hard and unyielding. I guess when ruling a kingdom, this is an asset. It just left me terrified."
"In a way, I was happy about the curse. Do not ever breathe a word of this to anyone, Annaliessa, do you understand?"
"Yes, Mother, please continue."
"I was glad I would only have to bear one child. After the initial attempts at trying for a second child once the curse had been placed on the land, he seldom came to my bed at all. I stay to my room so as to not remind him I am around and that he can lay claim to his marital rights any time he chooses. I do not care if he is sharing a bed with another woman, as long as it is not mine. It keeps me happier this way."
"Mother, is sharing a bed with a man that horrible? Am I going to have to look forward to my marriage night with dread, and not anticipation?"
"My dear, if you marry for love, and not obligation, I am sure you will not suffer the same fate as me. I am sure one of the princes has to have captured your attention by now. I personally have always thought that you and Jordan would make the best match."
"Why do you say that?"
"My dear, do you not see the way he looks at you?"
"That is just the bonding, mother. I would not put to much stock in a look." My mother laughed.
"What is so humorous?"
"The bonding portion of the curse did not start until each of you reached the point of physical development that typical transpires just after you leave childhood behind. I remember the day of your first blood flow, you were horrified, as most girls are; knowing they are eligible for marriage at any point after that. Until that time, you were operating under complete free will."
"I still do not see your point."
"Annaliessa, Jordan has been looking at you like you were an angel sent from heaven since you were in your ninth year. Well before either of you had left the childhood stage."
"Is there anything else that makes you think we make a good match?"
"Jordan is a smart young man. He is generous, fair, confident, and he seems to be quite the romantic. The fact that he is extremely handsome and well-built does not hurt either."
"Hmm. What makes you say romantic?"
"Ever since that sun's zenith time, when you were nine years and he was a boy of eight years, he has been claiming that one day you would be his wife, you would not be subject to the curse, and that you would bless him with many children. He has never paid attention to any other girl or woman, and he has never made such a claim about anyone else. When he looks at you, it is with the look of a man in love, like there is no one else in the room but you. I am sure he would be a very sensitive and attentive lover."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from A Dragon's Passion by Sandra Enriquez Copyright © 2012 by Sandra Enriquez. Excerpted by permission of iUniverse, Inc.. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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