The Mysterious Soldier: Part II

By Tina Silvens

The castle burns.

The prince has gone bad, and it's only Selunia's fault.

As she tries to temper Soris' dark side and awaken her true powers, Selunia finds about the old castle's mysteries and its curse upon the royal family.

And then the fire spirit comes to challenge her skills...

The second part of the Mysterious Soldier is packed with magical action, fantasy romance, and enthralling mysteries. Carry on your fantastic journey in the Arid Kingdom with Selunia and Soris as your travel guides.

Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tina Silvens
• Release date: Feb 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9781370231423

Tina Silvens

Tina Silvens is an author dedicated to the fantasy genre. Although she has been writing since school days, her first book was published in 2017. “The Mysterious Soldier – Part I” is the first book in the Arid Kingdom series, a story she kept working on for more than 10 years before finally reaching out into the world of published books.The story of the Arid Kingdom revolves around the complicated and mysterious lives of the main characters: Selunia and Soris.Although Silvens has other fantasy books in store, waiting to be written and published, she will be focusing mainly on the “Arid Kingdom” series.Salutare!Sunt Tina Silvens, autoarea cartii "Soldatul Misterios", seria "Regatul Arid". Sunt dedicata genului fantastic ("fantasy" imi place mie sa-i spun), deoarece sunt o fire romantica, deci o persoana careia ii place sa evadeze din realitate si sa exploreze lumea imaginatiei.Sunt legata sufleteste de aceasta prima serie a mea de carti. Aceasta m-a ajutat sa trec mai usor peste evenimentele dificile din viata mea. De aceea am decis sa o public. Are o poveste (foarte) complexa, insa, datorita partilor amuzante, creeaza buna dispozitie.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Outside, before the gates of the courtyard, General Waltario was watching how his soldiers—previously put down by an invisible force—were lifting back to their exact positions before they’d fainted, like puppets moved by invisible strings. They were now on their feet normally, as if nothing had happened. All the guards, soldiers, and palace servants returned to normal and, in a couple of seconds, regained consciousness. Everyone was in the same place as before their fainting; but not everything remained the same, starting with the time the clocks were showing.

Waltario and his three loyal fellows sat puzzled, with their jaws dropped. When those who had investigated the gates returned to them, confused, the general woke up from his numbness, and urgently beckoned the others to follow him into the palace.

*

In the main hall, the magical mace blew a last resonating noise; then it turned off and fell flat on the floor, like a mere iron stick.

The Bardanians came to their senses. They foolishly looked around, as if they had fallen from a tree. Leido, with one hand propped on the golden banister of the central stairs while he sustained his injured leg with the other, shouted, Quick! Get the king and the queen!

The Bardanians didn’t seem to understand what he was telling them. They spun in place and looked bewildered at the broken wall, then at Vittria, then at some comrades of theirs sprawled on the floor, and lastly, at the soldier with the weird gloves. They found it hard to make a logical connection between these elements.

*

Selunia opened her eyes. She breathed in deeply, as if she had surfaced from a long dive into water, then gazed at the grand high ceiling of the room. For a moment, she didn’t know anything about herself. Recovering, she shut her eyes tight and remembered the last events, especially the one when her heart had stopped. It seemed that in a matter of seconds, she had traveled to the other world then returned to the living world. Her eyes flew open with shock, and a surge of energy went through her veins. She wanted to beat herself up for what had happened, but, alas, there was no time for that. There was so much strange movement around her.

She quickly got on her feet and analyzed the current situation.

Leido retrieved his gun from the ground and prepared to shoot at her.

Curse you! he yelled.

Selunia, merely out of instinct, ran immediately to the royal family zone. She drew out from her activated gloves a chain of rings shining like gold. She warned the Bardanians, who were still in a stunned state, Don’t you dare get close to them! I’ll kill you all if you come here!

Her voice sounded hoarse, and her hands, chain, and legs were visibly trembling. She would have liked someone to help her.

*

Leido hissed and lowered his gun. He knew he couldn’t risk shooting at the royal family. Now he was the one who didn’t know what to do. Should he still shoot and kill them, or should he try to capture them again? Had he killed them, then Waltario’s army couldn’t have been stopped from capturing their group. Trying to regain their domination didn’t seem a better option. His subordinates were dizzy, and the mysterious soldier looked as if he had many other hidden weapons. Leido couldn’t predict his whole capabilities. Moreover, the spell had been broken. Backups were about to come in no time.

A thought was telling him that he’d lost and should retreat, but his pride couldn’t accept that. Their plan had been going well. Only that soldier’s appearance had turned everything upside down. Leido wanted to retaliate, but seeing that General Waltario fiercely barged in with his soldiers, he gave up on the thought of winning. He ran to wake up Vittria and commanded the others to retreat.

At his orders, Vittria got up, retrieved her scepter, and dashed towards Waltario and his soldiers. The Bardanians, helping those too injured to walk, followed her hastily.

The witch grabbed the scepter with both her hands, keeping it vertical. A few meters before the palace guard arrived, she hit the floor with the staff. An air wave threw Waltario and his men aside, clearing their way out. Bardan’s group left the great royal building in a hurry.

Waltario got himself up, disturbed by what he had just seen: a stick that could blow air with an amazing pressure. He heard the king shouting at him, Waltario! Quickly, go after them! Try to catch them! I can deal by myself here!

Waltario immediately nodded in consent. He went after the enemies, along with his soldiers.

*

Selunia, with a late reaction, drew back the chain in her hands, and stopped the bright radiation of the gloves. She let her shoulders slump and gave a long sigh of exhaustion. The vigor she had felt after awakening had been temporary. Now she was tired to death. Deafening tinkles were piercing her ears; her hands were numb, as if there was no blood running through them; her legs sat in an uncontrolled tension; and her mind was foggy. She stared into space, without thinking, for a whole minute.

Hey! Release me, please! the prince shouted at her.

Selunia turned a drowsy face to him and took a couple of seconds to process his request in her mind. Finally, her feet responded and, with stuttered steps, started toward the prince. Arriving before him, she put her hands on the thick ropes and hopelessly tried to pull at them. They barely moved.

Soris said in a soft voice, I don’t think that’s going to work. Take a look over there; there’s a knife on the floor. It fell from the hands of a rascal you’ve fought earlier. He tilted his head, indicating the knife.

With mouth half open, as if she didn’t understand anything, Selunia looked at him, then at the knife. The sharp blade glinted on the floor invitingly.

Selunia gave a nod, went there in a staccato manner, stopped and stared at the knife for a second, then decided to take it. She fell on her knees when she bent.

When she barely got up with it in her hands, the whole building spun with her, but recovering, she managed to start walking back to the prince. As the dizziness made her wobble, she was about to fall to one side.

Hey! Watch out! shouted the prince.

His warning had some effect. Selunia came back to reality, and remained on her feet. She went to him with somewhat more stable steps, then slowly started to cut the ropes on one of his arms.

As soon as she freed his arm, Soris took the knife and told her, I’ll manage from here on, thanks! With firm and dexterous moves, he cut through the rest of the knots.

Selunia remained in place, balancing like a plant on the bottom of the sea. She was at the edge between dream and reality.

Happy to be released from any constraint, Soris looked with gratitude at his savior. Noticing her state, he grabbed her by the shoulders and leaned her with her back against the stairs’ wall. Rest here, he told her politely.

She replied with a crooked smile. Soris rushed to untie his parents while she remained there, floating in her state of inertia.

Tingles went up and down her limbs. A positive thought came timidly to her mind: she had saved the kingdom. All by herself. This idea repeated itself a few times until, finally, she regained her consciousness for real. Joy bubbled up in her chest, animating her better.

She let herself slide down, with her back rubbing against the wall, then took a seat, bringing her knees to her chest. A cheerful celebration went into her mind as she thought she’d finally found the place where she belonged. Her parents had been right all along. Here, it had been so easy to make something to be proud of. She wanted to hum a happy song, when it hit her: she’d broken her word to Waltario to stay hidden, and also after this fantastic battle, maybe the people would see her as a threat and react violently. Maybe they would imprison her.

Chapter 2

Selunia got up, swaying a little, ignoring the warm shiver that went from the top of her head to her extremities. The helmet had slid way too much on her face. She wanted to get it back into place when, all of a sudden, she felt an object hit the helmet. Flustered, she looked around her.

She realized that, in fact, it hadn’t been an object, but her numb hand. Oh, that scared me out of my wits! It was just my hand, but how awfully numb it is! I can’t feel it at all! A few minutes ago it wasn’t so bad. Could this be an aftermath of the battle?

She saw how the fingers of her hand were slightly bent, as if it lacked life. The other hand was in a similar state. Selunia bit her lower lip as she wondered whether her hands would recover. After all, she’d tried something that was outside her training. But it wasn’t the right time to worry about this now. Dragging her legs, she hurried to the exit.

In the hall, the general’s soldiers inspected the place while from all directions, servants and palace clerks emerged, frightened and worried about what had happened. They hadn’t seen the spell, nor did they know they’d fainted. They just perceived something strange, something that had been going on in a period of time they weren’t aware of. The sight of the wrecked wall terrified them greatly.

Selunia, in exchange, was terrified of them. With so many people around, it seemed impossible to get out. Two guards, as if they wanted to mock her, closed the big entrance doors. Everyone watched her with suspicion. The murmur of their whispered comments echoed all over the place. It brought discomfort to her eardrums, stunning her even more. She slowed down and wobbled again.

Stay where you are! came the king’s strong voice.

The people’s discussions dwindled significantly. Selunia froze in fear.

Hey, boy! Come over here! the king shouted again at her.

Selunia shut her eyes and bit her lower lip. There was no point in trying to escape. She lowered her chin and turned to the king.

Come on, come closer! the king kindly urged her. You’re the one who today has done something worthy of all our appreciation. Come here so we can thank you properly.

Selunia’s ears tinkled greatly as the sweat poured on her. She nodded a little as a sign that she had understood, but remained in place.

The king added in a jovial tone, Come on, don’t be shy. Rest assured, I won’t blame you for the broken wall.

Ripples of chuckles were heard in the hall. Selunia glanced to her left and to her right, fear clutching at her heart. No, they shouldn’t find out her identity. Her reasoning went into fog again. Without saying a word, she made to leave.

The crowd gasped, surprised.

The king pressed, Don’t go, boy. We’ll repay you well for what you did.

Selunia stopped at once. In her mind, a new thought appeared: This is my chance! I mustn’t lose it. After all, I can’t rely on the general. He wants to keep me in the shadows here, but I... I don’t want that. I want...

She turned around and took a deep breath, made one step forward, then said in a hoarse, but firm voice: Would you allow me to participate in the contest for the prince’s personal guard?

The crowd exclaimed, surprised by her request. Even the king was startled for a moment, but then he laughed and said with open arms, Of course. You’ve the full right to participate.

But first, tell us who you are, interjected Soris, advancing toward her.

Selunia shuddered at the hearing of that. She’d spoken without thinking of the outcome.

Get your helmet off, Soris calmly commanded, stopping in front of her.

Selunia directed her hands to the helmet, but she couldn’t sense with her hands nor remember how to take off the helmet. All she could do was fumble with her hands around her head.

Soris let out an impatient sigh. He unbuckled the tie under her chin, then took off the helmet. Selunia shrank. Taken by surprise, she warily lowered her eyes to the ground. Her long hair tied into a ponytail, and initially tucked under the helmet, spread in waves down her back. Everyone stared at her.

Soris let the helmet fall from his hand. He tried to see her face. With her chin stuck on her chest, he couldn’t see but the part in her hair and the wet untidy wisps spread on her forehead.

Look at me, he urged her, resting his hands on her shoulders.

Selunia shuddered again. She didn’t have the courage to look at him. Too tired. Too emotional. She wished they had met earlier.

*

Soris, with a doctor’s patience, waited for a few moments. But seeing that she wasn’t a person to talk, he pulled her by the chin and lifted her face.

Startled, she opened her eyes widely, letting her intense irises’ color clearly be seen. She hadn’t expected him to do that, just like he didn’t expect to discover a girl’s face on such a strong soldier.

Maybe she indeed wasn’t in her best shape—pale, with untidy wet hair here and there—but her facial features were clearly feminine. It was hard to confuse her with a boy. It was just that Soris’ mind couldn’t accept this so easily.

He took his hand off her chin. She remained still with her face lifted to him. The prince started investigating each visible physical aspect: long hair, dainty eyebrows, curled eyelashes, big purple eyes, and the lips, though a bit faded in color, were still feminine. Soris sighed and scratched his head. Could he be that kind of effeminate boy? I notice he has no trace of a mustache or beard. But still, he fights so well... Would I insult him if I asked?

*

Selunia was admiring Soris’ facial features. Although she was dizzy with exhaustion, she was glad to see her good childhood friend. It was like a dream.

It’s him! It really is him—Soris! It’s just that he’s a lot taller... and, maybe, a little more handsome. I can’t believe we’re getting to meet again like this. It’s a weird situation... and a bit regretful, too. I’m probably a mess after so much running, fighting, falling... and I’m wearing this ugly soldier costume. Such an important moment, and I look like a disaster. But leave that. He doesn’t look his best either. Poor Soris, he has such dark circles... Could he be sick? Oh no! Is he suffering from an illness after the war?

While they were busy marveling at each other, the