Cryos & Jade: Secrets: Cryos & Jade, #4

By Luke T Barnett

Beverly is on the verge of breaking, and her past is catching up to her.

 

It has been over a week since the Princess of Thoral Island has given up the moniker of Jade as well as her nightly escapades. The doldrums of her courtly life are pressing on her once again as her conscience continually assaults her for neglecting her duties.

 

When a flood of refugees arrives fleeing the ravaging orcs of a distant land, she must find a way to fulfill her duty to them without going mad. But in order to do so, she may have to defy her father the king yet again.

 

In the midst of everything, a mysterious girl appears who knows some secret of her  gargoyle servant Cryos. But the girl has a secret of her own which may be more dangerous to Beverly and her kingdom than she realizes.

 

Can Beverly unravel the mystery of the girl's revelation? Can she escape her conscience and find a way to fulfill her role as Princess of the Greys? And what will happen when all goes wrong and her secret is exposed?

 

Find out in the fourth tale of the Cryos & Jade saga, Secrets.

 

Nothing stays a hidden forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Luke T Barnett
• Release date: Jul 18, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393862536

Luke T Barnett

Luke T. Barnett grew up playing RPGs (both pen & paper and video game) and watching any fantasy movies he could get his hands on. All those sessions inspired him to write a series based on his gargoyle character Cryos and his favorite RPG class, the rogue. Writing since childhood, he has grown his craft over the years and continues to do so even to this day. He is kept very busy living on the shores of Lake Erie with his awesome, beautiful writer wife, his two story-loving sons, and his dragon-slaying, princess-loving daughter.

Book preview

Cryos & Jade

Secrets

http://luketbarnett.com

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Secrets

Beverly?

Beverly blinked her eyes open to her father’s searching gaze.

Forgive me, Father, she said, rubbing her face. I am awake.

Her father set down the paper he had been holding on the desk before her.

I dare say you are not, he said. Sir Merrik has told me of your slipping focus at swordplay. You are not sleeping well. Is there something troubling you?

His eyes were full of compassion. What would he say if she were to tell him she had defied his wishes and entered the keep of the necromancer? That she brought home a living gargoyle to be her protector? That they had gone out every other night for a fortnight exploring the island that was their kingdom? Would he be furious? Patient? Stern?

You know that you can tell me anything, he said, a hand on her shoulder.

She lowered her head to stare at the legal document in front of her, her fingers fiddling with its edges.

He trusts me. I'll only disappoint him, anger him.

Another voice inside her spoke up.

You’re already doing that by neglecting your duties. So what’s the difference? Just tell him and be done with it.

She turned her face to him and opened her mouth to speak. His smile was trusting. Shame and guilt covered her. She closed her mouth and looked back to the document.

I’m all right, Father, she said. My thoughts have just been...occupied...with the kingdom.

That much is true, she thought.

What of the kingdom, my daughter?

Beverly bit her lip, and she chanced a test.

Father, she said, turning on her stool to face him. Have you thought about...expanding our kingdom, into the forest, I mean.

His smile faded and Beverly’s heart sank.

Beverly, our kingdom is at peace. We have room to spare for the commoners in the village. There is no need to expand. We are stable.

We are stagnant.

Her eyes went wide and she clamped her mouth shut. She must truly be exhausted. She would never have let her mouth slip like that before the king.

Her father stood straighter and crossed his arms, his face questioning.

What do you mean by this?

No going back now, she told herself. Might as well push for it.

Since I was a child, our kingdom has not advanced in any way. Our laws, our economy, and especially our territory. I’ve seen it in my studies and I’ve watched as the forest is kept at a strict border.

You know why the forest is off limits.

Ixtus is dead! He has been for a hundred years. What are you so afraid of?

"Mind your tongue, young lady. I am not afraid of anything. I know what evil lies in that forest. I’ll not have you nor any other soul lost in its branches."

Beverly fumed.

Why won’t he listen to me?

She did her best to remain calm. It took all of her will to keep from blurting out what she had done.

We need to grow, she said, to expand, to explore.

We need no such thing!

Beverly started. The king took a moment to compose himself and then replied in a calm tone.

Think about this, Beverly. What is so wrong with maintaining what we have? We are safe. We are comfortable.

We are dying!

This time her father started.

If you don’t grow, you shrink. You shrivel up until you’re reduced to nothing but a shell; a shadow of who you were so numb with routine that you don’t even know who you are anymore!

She hadn’t noticed until then the hot tears rolling down her cheeks. Her hands were shaking and balled into tight fists. Her breaths were tight. She tried