Sylvanja stood in her chamber deep in Jindom’s summer castle, her brilliant silver-blue eyes clouded over as she searched the cosmos for the Sulcrum Jindom had sent to find Kael. Her white-blonde hair fell in a silken sheet to her waist, and she wore a blue gown that reached to the floor, her tiny waist enhanced by the sash at her hips. She was the most beautiful woman in all of Jindom’s kingdom. And the most feared. If she weren’t a wy’tche, Jindom would have her as his queen. But even Jindom respected the distance required of her. Sylvanja was nothing to be trifled with. She could bend a man’s will, rearrange the molecules in metal, and boil a man’s blood with just her mind. Jindom lusted after her like a welter after a bitch in heat. But he kept his distance, and he paid her the respect she deserved. She had served him well for many years, but that could change with one wrong move from him.
Sylvanja was well known in all the provinces of Trinoor, but few people knew she was the sister of Adalayna Sharelle, the ruler of the province of Sharelle. To those who even cared, Adalayna’s sister had died long ago, her body never found, no pyre, no farewell, nothing. After a long battle, Sharelle had finally fallen to Jindom. Sylvanja had prevented Jindom from killing her sister, but only just. Sharelle was now his, and Adalayna occupied the lower chambers of his capital palace, in chains, next to her royal guard and her Keeper, the priejst who had sworn to protect her, sent by none other than Kael Jai himself.
As Sylvanja refocused and pulled out of her seeking trance, her eyes changed, returned to their usual brilliant silver-blue. Jindom stood before her, gazing at her like a love-struck boy. She smiled, revealing perfect white teeth in a face so beautiful that it made men weaken when their gaze fell upon her.
Jindom was a ruggedly attractive man, tall, brutally built. He was a warrior, accustomed to battle, well-formed. Many women found him handsome, but his cruel ways were off-putting. His dark-brown hair curled around the collar of his leather coat of arms. His eyes were as black as the orbidian stones of the mountains of Jai, an endless, bottomless pool that held little emotion save anger, vengeance, and hatred of anyone who didn’t bow before him. Except for the love he had for her. Sylvanja did not fear Jindom like others did, but she knew that despite his love for her, he would kill her in whatever way he could find if she ever betrayed him. And she never would. Betray him. Unless he sought to take the life of the man she truly loved. Then vengeance would be hers and Jindom would fall.
He reached out, palm up, and offered his hand. She slipped her fingers into his grasp and allowed him to lead her to the other side of the room, away from the crynallum windows where she liked to do her seeking. The chamber was beautiful. The stone floors were polished to a high sheen, inlaid with red and green precious jewels from Mount Tyr. The walls were made of Eneet stone from the cliffs of Sharelle, the most prized stone for building. Wood beams carved from the Cyphir trees of the forests of Denagah accented the vaulted ceiling. All beautifully polished. Even the crystal windows were framed with Cyphir wood inlaid with the white pearlescent shell from the deep sea Dramagh, a crustacean found in the Andova Sea. It was a chamber fit for a queen. Jindom had spared nothing in his courtship of her. She had everything she could ever want, save for one thing. And that was far beyond her reach.
Jindom took a risk and raised her delicate, white hand to his lips to briefly kiss her long, slender fingers. “What have you seen, my beautiful wy’tche?”
“The Sulcrum has been destroyed,” she informed him.
Jindom’s mind was a wash of chaotic thoughts. She sensed rage in him, disappointment, and a deep need to kill Kael Jai with his own hands. And something else. Fear. It wasn’t the first time she’d sensed fear in him. But it was a secret she kept to herself, something to use toward her own ends in the future. Jindom liked to believe he feared no one. But he certainly feared Kael Jai. Kael Jai was the beloved ruler Jindom would never be. Kael Jai didn’t need to rule with an iron fist. He had the loyalty and love of his people. Two things Jindom could never achieve, because Jindom didn’t have the qualities Kael Jai embodied: fairness, equality, compassion. Jindom only had avarice, hate, and power on his mind.
Jindom brushed another kiss against her knuckles. Sylvanja didn’t pull away. But she didn’t encourage him either.
“Thank you. You will be well rewarded.”
She smiled, a small smile, barely discernible, but said nothing.
Jindom stood up and left her chamber. She didn’t ask where he was going. She already knew. He would never stop until Kael Jai was dead.
End Of First Chapter Sample
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