Pieces of Jade

  Copyright

  The characters in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the authors. This is a work of fiction; characters, names, places, and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or if real, are used fictitiously.

  Scanning, uploading, copying or distributing this book via the internet or via any other means without permission of the authors is illegal and punishable by law. Your support of author rights is appreciated.

  Published by Geek Girl Publishing

  Text copyright © 2013 by Michele Tolley and Melonie Piper. All right reserved, including the rights to distribute, transmit, reproduce in any form or by any means. For information regarding subsidiary rights, please contact the Authors.

  Cover photography ©2011 Sweet Expressions Photography

  Cover Design Chersti Nieveen

  Text font Georgia

  First Edition December 2013

  Lani

  This book is dedicated to Sheridan,

  who saw a lonely autistic boy and chose to be his friend.

  Melonie

  This book is dedicated to my little girl, Adelyn

  who donated her precious mommy time so

  I could write this book, who has been there

  for me during the entire writing process,

  and has encouraged her mommy to keep going.

  I love you, Boo!

  Chapter 1

  The engagement ring encircling my finger felt like a hangman’s noose. Sometimes—just sometimes—the gallows seemed preferable to my upcoming marriage to a man I didn’t love. Today, on the day before my wedding, hanging definitely sounded more appealing. Candlelight flickered off the row of encrusted diamonds embedded in the band and I concentrated on their shine rather than the blade poised to cut across my left palm.

  Gabrielle brought the knife down, slicing along the sinuous scar to reopen the old wound. For centuries, every Emmía before me had knelt in this same room of the castle with this same spelled knife. Each and every one had willingly bled for her people. I shifted on my knees, but the stone floor still carried the early morning chill into my bones and the fire sputtering in the hearth did little as a draft crept down the chimney.

  A rivulet of blood warmed my palm as it ran down my fingers, cascading over the gold of my ring and coating the diamonds, hiding the gleam of the gems. Prince August insisted I wear it at all times, even now during the blood-letting, as if he needed the constant claim of ownership. Like the collar on a favored hound.

  How appropriate that the blood would envelop the symbol of my engagement to him.

  And tomorrow I will be a wife. His wife. Tied to the handsome Crown Prince. Girls throughout the land would envy me—I’d heard the jealous comments often enough. Strange how one person’s dream could be another’s nightmare.

  Despite being lined by age, Gabrielle stood tall as she motioned for me to extend my right hand. Her auburn hair was pulled into a tight bun, adding to the severity of her angular face and accentuating her willowy figure, and the way she frowned made it seem like my now stinging left hand hadn’t given enough blood. I bit my lip, prepared for the pain as I stared at my favorite tapestry in the corner. After years of such ceremonies, I should be used to the sting—the parting of my flesh. But when Gabrielle milked the cuts for better flow, I gritted my teeth to keep from whimpering.

  The tapestry was of Princess Dawn. Older than all the others, with their heroic depictions of battles won and enemies defeated, this ancestor of mine was the only woman to grace any within the castle. Princess Dawn—the original Emmía. The first to bleed for her people, the first to save them from starvation. Seeing her image—the violet eyes, the blonde hair, the crimson streaks dripping from her hands—gave me strength.

  On the dais sat three thrones. At the center, the largest throne was empty. Beside it sat my fiancé, August, his eyes trained on the bowl collecting my blood. I tried to ignore the small smile on his lips. Instead, my eyes moved to his brother, James, who sat in the throne on the other side, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose and his eyes averted.

  I could feel my strength leaving my body with every heartbeat, the loss of blood taking its toll. Beneath me, the ridges of the etching on the stone floor dug into my knees. After each ceremony, parts of the king’s coat of arms—an edict medallion set over a bloody dagger, the necklace’s chain wrapped around the dagger’s hilt, and a small shoot of plant pushing through fertile soil—were almost branded into my skin where I knelt. Even the layer of skirts didn’t cushion the unforgiving floor.

  As soon as the sacred container was full, Gabrielle and her two assistant Guardians held it aloft and began to sing in unison.

  “Blood collected in candlelight, may you fertilize the kingdom’s soil and feed the people. May the blood loss that weakens the Emmía empower the Kingdom of Orea.”

  Every blood ceremony ended with the Guardians, our magical protectors, chanting over my sacrifice. It’d been done this way since Princess Dawn had been brought from her island home to marry the Orean prince.

  When the chanting ended, Gabrielle sealed the bowl and moved away. I longed to follow them—to actually see the kingdom’s cursed soil drink up my healing blood. Maybe if I saw that, I wouldn’t despise letting them open my veins twice a month.

  But instead of leaving, Gabrielle returned with another bowl cupped in her palms. An empty one. She poised the knife above my wrist and I pulled back, startled.

  “What’s this?” James demanded, rising from his throne. “You can’t seriously expect her to give more?”

  Gabrielle’s eyes were fixed on August, the blade held motionless as she awaited his verdict.

  “The king approved it.” August waved his hand in the air. “Continue.”

  James turned toward his brother. “But the wrist—once cut, it’s hard to stop the bleeding.”

  “Stop being so daft, James. They’ll use magic.”

  James slumped back in his throne, his lips pressed tight.

  One of the assistant Guardians grabbed my hand while Gabrielle slid the edge of the blade down my wrist, the pain quick and intense. The blood flowed faster than it had from my palm. I watched, fascinated at the pattern it created on my pale skin. Before the bowl was half full, the room around me grew dim, my eyes unable to focus. Pinpricks of yellow exploded in my vision, and my head swayed. I tried to kneel nobly for my kingdom, but I felt myself slump forward onto the cool stone of the altar, my edict medallion pressing against my chest as darkness overcame me.

  Two angry voices dragged me back from unconsciousness. I was lying on my back on a thick rug, but my eyes were too heavy to open. James and August argued above me.

  “They took too much!” James shouted.

  “It was hardly a significant increase,” August said calmly. “She accepts it. Why can’t you?”

  “How can you accept it? Jade just fainted.”

  “You care too much. She’s my fiancée.”

  “As if you’d let me forget.” James huffed as his footsteps retreated and the antechamber doors swung open. “Someone send for Pearl,” James ordered. “Tell her that her sister needs her.”

  Pearl. She was only a few years older than I was, but somehow she felt wiser, more mature. She always knew the right thing to say, and exactly how far she could push her opinions with August, stopping just before he could have reason to punish her.

  I forced my eyes open. The gilded ceiling swung in and out of focus. A chandelier with flickering candles hung from the beam that arched the ceiling. Even though the sun had risen an hour ago, the room was darkened from the thick drapes that were always shut during the ceremony.

  I closed my eyes again and the g
entle rustle of fabric alerted me that someone knelt beside me. James. I recognized the smell of his clove scented shoe polish.

  “Jade? Can you hear me?”

  Despite how faint I felt, I smiled. “I hear you, James.”

  “See, she’s perfectly fine,” August said.

  James’s coat brushed my cheek as he moved closer to me. “Your definition of ‘fine’ is very different than mine.”

  Light, hurried footsteps and the sound of jostling jars drifted from across the room. My eyes slitted open enough to see my sister taking out her healing materials from her traveling kit.

  Pearl gasped. “They cut the wrist? I can’t believe . . . James, how could you let them?”

  “The cuts are already closed over,” August said. “Really, why is everyone making such a fuss?”

  Pearl’s touch was gentle and the burning in my palms lessened as she applied lavender oil, and I was finally able to focus on those in the room.

  Pearl shook her head. “They didn’t seal these properly.”

  “I was afraid of that,” James said. “After she fainted, they hurried through the rest of the ceremony, spending very little time on the healing magic.”

  Pearl took a deep breath. “She fainted? And they didn’t stop?”

  “It wasn’t the first time.” August clasped his hands behind his back, a lock of his curled brown hair falling into his eyes and his thin face resolute. “She’ll be fine.”

  “The more blood you take, the more dangerous it becomes for her.” Pearl brought a glass to my lips and urged me to swallow. “If you take that much, she’ll need longer than two weeks to recover between ceremonies.”

  August’s lips twisted into a smile that could freeze fire. “Are you giving me an order?”

  Pearl dropped her head. “Of course not, my Lord. It is merely my recommendation as her healer that she needs longer to rest.”

  “I’m sure I could find other healers that would disagree with you.”

  The corner of Pearl’s lips pinched together before she nodded. “I’m sure you’re correct, your Majesty.”

  James held my arm, careful to avoid my injured wrist and palm. My heart skipped at the feel of his fingers and the way they caressed me through the material of my dress. It felt wonderful to have him close. He’d been distant this week and I’d feared he’d been angry.

  James’s other hand twisted in my hair. “Surely we have enough of her blood stockpiled until the birth of the next Emmía.”

  “Two hundred years is a long time, little brother.” August sounded exasperated as he settled back onto his throne.

  James gritted his teeth. “I’m not daft.”

  “But you haven’t been raised to rule. I can’t afford to worry about the individual. I have to consider what’s best for the kingdom as a whole.” August leaned forward. “You can take comfort that she only has a few more years of bloodletting left.”

  “How can you talk about Jade’s death like that?” James asked, tightening his hold on my arm. “She could live for decades.”

  August shrugged. “She’d be the first. She knows who she is and what purpose her life serves, just as I do.” August’s palm slapped the arm of the throne. “We aren’t granted the same freedoms as you.”

  “He’s right, James.” My voice was barely a whisper, but all eyes turned to me.

  August and I were slaves to our roles. When I’d opened my eyes at birth, their violet coloring identified me as the next Emmía and had governed the path my life would take. “The kingdom needs my blood. I’m happy—” my voice broke on the word “—to provide for the people.”

  “Even if it leaves you too weak to survive the childbed like it has the other Emmías?” Pearl asked, soft enough for only me to hear. The fire’s gleam flickered on her olive skin and delicate features, her golden hair tumbling forward and almost hiding the look of fear on her face. Fear for me—for my death. If not for my pale skin and violet eyes, we could be mirror images. Maybe that was what made her question my fate as no one else had.

  “As long as I keep alive the Emmía line, I accept that for myself,” I whispered.

  She dabbed the lavender to my wrists more firmly than necessary. “That’s what worries me.”

  James sighed, his handsome features troubled. “You would have been better off growing up on your family’s farm, living life like a normal girl.”

  August scoffed. “How else could we keep the savages from stealing her? She needs our protection. Inside this farm girl—” He shuddered as if my low origins were contagious. If only it repulsed him enough that he refused to tie himself to me. “—runs the kingdom’s most precious commodity. She’s all that stands between our people and starvation.”

  “I know,” James said softly, sliding his fingers through my hair. His gentle ministrations distracted me from the burning in my hands. All I wanted was to curl into his lap, but the most I could do was snuggle my head against his thigh.

  August noticed the movement, small as it was, his eyes instantly hardening into a glare and his hands balling into fists in his lap. I inched my head away from James and August’s fingers unclenched. No one else seemed to notice. Not even James.

  “I know,” James said again, his voice suddenly turning hard and sarcastic. “Jade is our most precious commodity.”

  Of course James would see me as the precious commodity, not my blood. But August was right—I knew it too. Sometimes I felt my destiny involved nothing more than being a human pincushion, but the alternative, the starvation of an entire kingdom, was too horrible to stomach.

  Pain twice a month was a far better choice than condemning my people to a slow, awful death by hunger. Starvation could turn even Edict-abiding people into crazed and desperate savages. Being reminded of that made me ashamed of my voiceless complaints.

  I tried to sit up, but the world around me tilted so severely I collapsed back down. Luckily, James caught me before my head hit the hard ground.

  “Will she be all right, Pearl?” James asked, not looking away from my eyes.

  “Eventually,” my sister answered, not sounding entirely sure.

  James’s face turned hopeful, ever the optimist. “Maybe she needs an extra week to heal.”

  Pearl nodded. “That would help.”

  August gave James a level stare and stood. “She’ll get the same two weeks as always.”

  “Surely the kingdom can allow—” James began, but I touched his arm.

  “August is right,” I said, watching my fiancé draw near. “I’ll be ready by then.”

  The corner of August’s lips turned up in a grin, obviously smug that I had sided with him for once, then frowned as his eyes dropped to where my fingers still rested on James’s arm. “And tomorrow she’ll be my wife.” August bent and trailed one finger down my cheek, leaving a fissure of cold where he touched, marking his claim.

  I couldn’t help myself—I flinched at the contact.

  August noticed and grinned. “That’s right. This time tomorrow, I’ll be a married man. Won’t you wish me happy, brother?” August paused then cocked his head to the side, glancing toward my hand again “No? Oh, well. I have to meet with father. We have some security issues to go over before the wedding.” Without another word August turned and left.

  We all stared until long after he was gone. James’s shoulders slumped as he absently began stroking my hair. His fingers beat back the frigidity of August’s lingering touch.

  After tomorrow there would be no more warmth from James.

  Pearl slammed her pile of herbs into her basket, her brown eyes alight with anger. “You’ve got to do something about this, James. They’re leaving her too weak. Soon she’ll be unable to leave her bed.”

  James stared at me, looking as lost and hopeless as I felt. “I know.”

  He was silent for a moment, thinking, but instead of sharing his thoughts with me he straightened.

  “Maybe there’s something I can do.” James looked into my eyes, s
earching for something before nodding. And there it was—in the slant of his face, the sudden shine in his eyes—that trace of optimism that was so eternal about James. “I’ll see you soon, Jade.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips across my forehead. My breath caught at the sudden touch. “I’ll call for Stratton and Jackson to come fetch you.”

  He gave me a tentative smile before hurrying from the room. Pearl watched him go, her eyes thoughtful and disapproving.

  “He loves you as much as you love him.” She picked up her basket and stood.

  I nodded. “I know.”

  “It has to end.”

  “I know.” I’d always known, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t fight it. I never wanted to. But after the ceremony tomorrow I’d have to. If I had to choose between the people of Orea and James, I’d pick the kingdom, even though doing so would shatter my heart.

  Pearl frowned. “Every time the two of you are together, you’re tempting fate. And you’ll need to be extra careful after your wedding. All it takes is one wrong word—one careless action—to loosen the edict medallion.”

  Magic connected every Orean to the edict medallion that hung around their necks. That same spell would release the medallion if one of the kingdom’s three sacred laws were broken—purity of the body, loyalty to the kingdom, and respect for human life—and the punishment was death. Loving James the way I did after my wedding would break two Edicts, causing the medallion to fall, the pure white stone turning red.

  I lifted my chin in resolve. “It won’t come to that.”

  It was time to accept my destiny. The kingdom needed me. If I didn’t give up James, we’d break the Edicts and our lives would be forfeit. We needed to live; the kingdom needed him almost as much as it needed me. I ignored the way my heart throbbed in tune with my now-scarred cuts as my fingers stroked the chain that held my edict medallion.

  Tomorrow I would let James go. Instead of my love, I’d choose to give the people thriving crops and full bellies. I could only hope it’d be enough to warm me through the eternal frost of a life as August’s wife.