A Prince in Exile: The Kingdom of Korin, #2

By Melody J. Bremen

The vizzen war is over but the palace is far from peaceful. Lord Gavindro, a foreign diplomat, arrives unexpectedly at the palace, his motives unclear. Endomer suspects something sinister lurks behind Lord Gavindro's supposed negotiations for trade, but Krollis refuses to listen to his concerns. When the contention between the two brothers escalates to the breaking point, Endomer leaves Korin and sails to Lord Gavindro's country to unearth the truth.

Across the sea, he discovers the threat goes far deeper than he imagined. A new enemy is on the rise, possessing weapons unlike anything seen before. Alone and far from home, Endomer is the only one who can stop the threat. To save his kingdom, he must face a dark villain determined to vanquish his people and all he's ever known.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Melody J. Bremen
• Release date: Aug 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393401162

Book preview

A_Prince_in_Exile_ebook.jpg

Melody J. Bremen

Copyright © 2019 Melody J. Bremen

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Printed in the United States of America.

www.melodyjbremen.com

For Dad

Map of Korin

and Surrounding Areas

Chapter 1

We stood on a balcony just outside of the council room, my brother and I, the wind whipping at our hair and clothing. I was shivering, perhaps from the cold, perhaps from anger. I wasn’t sure which. I was so out of sorts, it was hard to be sure of anything.

The balcony was made for one, at best. In fact, it was more likely for décor. Yet here we were, nose to nose, yelling in whispers.

Only a half-wit could come up with a law like this, Krollis hissed at me.

Only a half-wit would oppose it, I hissed back. This law could change everything. Why couldn’t he understand this was for the good of our country?

At Krollis’ coronation four months prior, I believed he and I could rule the country of Korin together, hand-in-hand, arm-in-arm. Though Krollis and I had never worked on a task as enormous and daunting as ruling a kingdom, that seemed inconsequential at the time. I had been confident things would work out for us. My twin brother and I were respectful of each other’s strengths and shared the same goal – to strengthen our country after the war with the vizzens. The future had looked so bright.

I no longer held onto that illusion. This ruling-the-kingdom business was rather difficult. These days, it seemed we did nothing but argue. We were becoming quite good at it.

Of course it could change everything, Krollis whispered fiercely. It will make our subjects question our sanity.

Krollis had dragged me to the balcony so we could have this conversation in private. The councilmembers, who sat at the long table inside, pretending not to eavesdrop, couldn’t possibly miss a word of what we were saying. I glanced over the railing of the balcony and saw a cluster of grooms in the courtyard below, openly gaping at us. Oh, bother. I could only imagine what the palace staff was saying about us. About me. Somehow, Krollis always came out on top, the hero who did no wrong. Presumably because he went around smiling at everyone.

I blew out a slow breath and made an effort to speak calmly, to give the impression that I did not want to take Krollis by the shoulders and shake him until his teeth rattled and knocked some sense into his brain. You’re blowing this out of proportion, dear brother.

‘All children between the ages of five and seven must attend school during the winter months?’ Krollis read off the paper in his hand, his expression a combination of bewilderment and disdain. Really? Endomer, we’re recovering from a war. This is hardly the time for reading and writing.

It’s not time to educate our country’s children? When will be the time? I said. When our country holds nothing but ignorant citizens?

Parents need their children to help at home, Krollis spoke over me. Not everyone has the luxury of sending their children to sit in a classroom all day to learn about dead people who did things everyone’s forgotten about. Besides, who’s paying for the teachers and the schoolhouses and the books? Us?

Don’t be so shortsighted, Your Majesty. You need to think ahead. If we educate the children, our country will be more productive and will have more recourses and skilled citizens. Eventually, our society will have more doctors, more apothecaries, more teachers, more builders. And, pray tell, why are we whispering about this proposal out here? Why aren’t we discussing these points at the table, with our council? I could feel myself growing more heated as I spoke. I gave up the pretense of speaking calmly and snatched the paper out of his hand. "The whole point of bringing up these laws in a council meeting is so we can discuss them with our advisors so they can advise us."

This, he snatched the paper back, is not worth discussing with the council. No one wants to talk about this. It’s drivel. I’ve saved you from embarrassment. You’re welcome.

I gritted my teeth. I knew when I wrote the proposal that Krollis wouldn’t be keen on it. Education had never been his priority – he was a firm believer in the sword and the sickle, as were many of our countrymen. But I had assumed he would at least allow me to present the law to the council. I had hoped some of the other councilmembers would then back me up and help sway Krollis to my side. Krollis, you don’t have the power to decide which laws are brought up in front of the council. I reached out again, but he lifted his arm, holding the paper above his head. He cocked an eyebrow.

I glared. Krollis was half a foot taller than I and very smug about it. So now you resort to juvenile tactics, I said.

I agree with His Majesty, a heavily accented voice said from the entryway into the council room.

I knew even before I turned who I would find. Lord Gavindro, our cousin from the Western Continent.

He stood with his hands folded over his round stomach, smiling and nodding, as if he hadn’t just rudely interrupted a private conversation between the king and the prince. A smoldering anger burned in my gut. This wasn’t the first time he’d done this. He pretended that he simply had no concept of social norms, but I knew better. He was manipulating us deliberately.

I glanced past him, into the council room. All eyes were on us. Some looked exasperated. Some looked embarrassed.

I blew out a slow, controlled breath and turned back to my brother. "Can we talk somewhere that’s actually priv—"

You see, Krollis interrupted. "Everyone thinks this is a waste of time. His terse expression melted away as he grinned and crumpled the paper in his big fist. Let’s put an end to this discussion."

I actually put effort into writing that, I mumbled, knowing he didn’t care.

He handed me the scrunched paper. You should keep it then. With the rest of your boring education laws.

I plan to, I said, too fed up to come up with a better comeback. I wondered if Krollis actually knew about the collection of drafted laws that I kept in the library, or if he was just being Krollis.

He put a hand on my shoulder and leaned close to my ear. So, when we go back to the table, we’re not going to talk about half-witted school laws, are we? he said, enunciating slowly, as if I were a child.

I shrugged his hand off. Don’t patronize me. And you don’t have to worry about me and my apparently unworthy ideas. I’m leaving. You can handle the rest yourself. I took a backward step into the council room.

Panic flashed through Krollis’ eyes, but he covered it quickly with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. Are you angry with me? Who’s being juvenile now?

Krollis didn’t like to be left alone with the council. He still doubted his skill to handle the questions the lords and ladies threw his way. But I saw no reason to stay by his side simply to boost his sense of security. If you run into any trouble, you know where to find me, I said over my shoulder as I walked toward the door.

Yes, in the back courtyard, Krollis said in a sing-song tone, no longer bothering to keep his voice down. You need to go to your training sessions. Don’t think I haven’t noticed that you’ve been skipping them.

I ignored his jabs and continued toward the door, staring straight ahead. I could feel the councilmembers watching me the entire way. As I walked past the table, I couldn’t help but glance at Lord Gavindro, who was wedging himself into his chair. His small eyes locked on mine, and his fat, wide lips formed a grimacing smile. He gave me a single nod.

To anyone else, it might have looked like a polite smile and a polite nod, but I knew better. He hated me. And I didn’t know why.

I pushed through the doors of the council room with unnecessary force and turned toward the princes’ tower.

You handled that very elegantly, my bodyguard said as he trailed after me. Especially the way you stomped out of the room.

I rolled my eyes. Baclen, I never stomp. And I don’t pay you to give your opinion.

No, I give them free of charge. And, by the way, you don’t pay me at all. Your brother does.

Thank you for pointing that out. It seemed everyone was out to get me today. Krollis. Baclen. And that Lord Gavindro. He had something up his sleeve. If only I knew what it was.

Lord Gavindro was our cousin on our mother’s side. Technically, he was not a blood relation since it was his wife who was related to Mother. He lived across the sea in the country of Chulateria, where he served as the king’s chamberlain. We’d met him only once before, on a trip to Chulateria with Father.

He arrived two months after Krollis’ coronation without warning. He apologized for missing it and said he hoped to secure the connection between our countries. He hadn’t done much securing. He seemed more intent on eating through our food stores. And creating a rift between Krollis and me.

I entered the library, which was quiet and smelled like home. My pet kip, Nono, stood at the edge of her basket, gnawing on a piece of charcoal, probably stolen from my box of writing tools. I tugged it away from her and wiped the black from her pale brown fur. She tried to grab the charcoal back and, in the process, bit down on my finger.

Ouch. I yanked my hand away and gave her a sour look. No biting. Even you have something against me today?

She looked properly remorseful and I eased into my chair. I looked down at the paper Krollis had crumpled in his fist. I unfolded it and rubbed it against the edge of the desk to smooth the creases. I was going to rewrite it on a fresh piece of paper and present it at another council meeting, when Krollis was done acting like an idiot. From what I could see, that would be after Lord Gavindro left. Who knew when that would be?

I’d spent hours awake at night considering all the angles, but I couldn’t figure out what the man wanted. He hadn’t brought up any issues between his country and ours. He hadn’t approached Krollis or me for money or favors. He was simply there. Always. Undermining the peace.

At first, he came across merely as a fat, balding man who stood too close and never knew when it wasn’t his turn to speak up in a conversation. But then, I began to notice a pattern. He only wedged himself into a conversation to agree with Krollis or disagree with me. No matter what we were discussing, or what unremarkable thing came out of Krollis’ mouth, Lord Gavindro was there to back him up. After two weeks of this annoying behavior, Krollis began to assert himself more, insisting on his way even if he wasn’t making a shred of sense. The more Lord Gavindro backed him, the worse it became.

When I mentioned to Krollis that perhaps Lord Gavindro had overstayed his welcome, Krollis brushed me off.

He’s our cousin, Endomer. We’ll let him stay. He’s not hurting anybody.

But he was hurting somebody. He was hurting us.

I needed to get him out of the palace as soon as possible.

Chapter 2

I was jolted out of my brooding by a knock on the door.

Enter, I said.

The door opened and Sir Adaire, the general in charge of recruits, entered the room. Are you coming out to practice today, Your Highness?

I’m tied up at the moment, I said, shuffling papers on the table to make myself seem as busy as possible. I’ll let you know when I have time for sparring.

I sensed him approach behind me, and when I looked over my shoulder, he stood there with his arms folded and a disapproving expression on his face. Sir Adaire was an expert at disapproving expressions.

You can’t keep putting this off, he said. My four-year-old daughter is a more skilled fighter than you are.

Your daughter, I continued shuffling papers, is frighteningly adept when it comes to weapons. So, one might take that as a compliment. But your point is clear. I’ll make sure to clear time for it in my schedule.

That’s what you said last time, he muttered.

I ignored him. My attendance at daily training sessions had been far from daily, but I didn’t think he could blame me for not rushing to engage in an activity that left me battered and bruised, with a heavy dose of mortification. I preferred not to be reminded that I was the smaller, non-athletic twin.

The king isn’t going to be pleased, he added.

I continued to ignore him. I began the training sessions because of Krollis’ urgings. He insisted that I needed to know how to defend myself, and he was probably right. But lately, I found I didn’t mind doing things to annoy Krollis.

Sir Adaire left, taking his air of disapproval with him. I turned my attention to the work in front of me. I may have exaggerated how busy I was, but I actually had plenty to do. When my father was alive, I knew he was always busy, but I never fully appreciated how much work he had done in order to keep the country running smoothly.

I lost myself in paperwork on taxes for some time until the door burst open, hitting the wall with a thud.

It’s so quiet in here. Krollis sauntered into the room and tousled my hair. Are you still sulking, Endy?

Are you still bullheaded, Krollis? I ran a hand through my hair to straighten it. I shot him an annoyed look even though a part of me liked his teasing side. He’d been acting too serious lately. And my name is Endomer.

Krollis sat on the edge of the table and slid my papers away from me. Come outside and spar with me.

Is that your polite way of saying you want to pummel me to a pulp?

Krollis put a hand to his chest. I would never pummel your pulp. But yes, that’s what I’m saying. And you can’t order me away like you did with Adaire, can you?

Unfortunately not.

He grasped my upper arms and hauled me to my feet. Come. You might even enjoy yourself.

That sounded like something Mother would’ve said, and that thought spurred me on. I’ll come, I said as I brushed his hands away. Just don’t manhandle my person.

Krollis swung an arm around my shoulders and smashed me against his side with enough force to knock the wind out of my lungs. Manhandling your person is the best part.

***

I plan to go on a carriage ride around western Korin, Krollis said as we walked from the side door of the palace to the training courtyard.

When? I craned my