The Red Crown

By Marissa Priest

With the city occupied by both a holy festival and civil war, Nisa seeks out her old friend Cayden for some assistance in stealing an ancient and powerful relic. The pair reunite after years apart while attempting to solve the puzzles hidden within the temple. Their antics involve more danger than either expected, and unlock ancient secrets.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Sep 16, 2015
• ISBN: 9781329454811

Book preview

The Red Crown

The Red Crown

By Marissa Priest

The Red Crown

Copyright © 2015 by Marissa Priest

First Printing: 2015

ISBN #: 978-1-329-45481-1

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 review.

Names, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

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***

By all the spirits the castle guard shouted seconds after stepping into his narrow room. A lean figure occupied his bed, yet did not move in response to his cry. The light of his dim lantern revealed an amber skinned woman reclining backwards. Both her head and long black hair dangled off the foot of the bed. She twirled a small dagger with one hand, and increased the speed of the fluid motion as she winked at him.

Dear Cayden, whatever will I do with you, her soft laugh filled the room until he slammed the door behind him. His empty hand moved to ruffle closely shorn blond hair.

What are you doing here? he asked once his pulse steadied. Clenching his jaw, Cayden set the lantern on the rickety table by his bed. The wobbling light illuminated the woman’s curling pink lips.

In your room, or in Meijra? she responded and then threw the knife higher into the air above her head.

An answer to both would be nice, Nisa, Cayden answered her, extending his left hand. The motion allowed him to snatch the dagger by the hilt before she could. Sitting upright, Nisa released another lengthy laugh. The sound harkened years of memories, which Cayden dispelled with a flinch. When the tremor passed, he stared directly into her pale blue eyes.

You never change, Nisa said with a wink. She proceeded to hold out her hand, not dropping the smile keeping its residence on her lips. When he did not return the blade, she withdrew a thinner and curved one from a pocket hidden in the purple sash tied around her waist. The answer is the same. The troupe has been called, and I need your help, she continued as she spun the blade between her fingers.

Do you need someone to help you with that before you cut something off? Cayden said in a droll tone. He rolled his eyes while stepping forward to stop her again. Widening her smirk, she hurled the dagger at the opposite wall seconds before his hand touched her arm. It struck a crack in the stone without wobbling.

I have made a number of adjustments to my knife dance since you left in order to come to this place, she commented, bobbing her head. Her chipper demeanor caused Cayden to cover his face with one hand.

Is that what this nonsense is all about? You intend on dragging me back to that band of misfits? I told you before, I’m finished, he scowled at her, but Nisa shook her head. Curled locks fell across her shoulder, but she pushed them away with a single flick of her hand.

I am not here asking for your help as a preforming swordsman. I’m asking for your help as a thief, Nisa steadily rose to her feet when she finished speaking, her eyes shimmering with amusement. She planted her hands on her hips once Cayden frowned.

If you have not noticed, I am attempting to live a life that won’t end with my hands chopped off and then tied to the city gates, he retorted and gestured at his tunic. Biting the corner of her lip, Nisa prodded the crest of a burning sword stitched across the light material.

You genuinely expect me to believe that? she sighed and Cayden backed away after a second poke. He used one hand to wave her away and the other to rub at his sore eyes. A life where you trek across the sea and into a foreign country. Upon arriving, you enlist in the services of a king that does not technically exist. I would have been more likely to accept this ludicrous plot if you were chasing after one of the warlords, Nisa spoke without turning her eyes away from his contorting face. After a silent pause, Cayden issued a deep groan. Incidentally, that brings us to the reason for my visit to his fair city and your lovely chambers, she added and then lightly patted his cheek.

Please, do go on, Cayden grumbled with a shake of his head. The pair sat down on the edge of the bed in unison. Nisa’s beaming smile returned.

We have been asked to steal the Red Crown, she stated as the edges of her lips curled upward with wicked pleasure. Cayden’s eyes flickered across the fine chips in her teeth and the pale scars along her jaw. For a moment, he recalled the various escapades that created each mark. One hand absent mindedly rubbed the side of his neck to feel his matching set. His mind returned to the present after a loud cry from the market place outside the palace filtered into the room.

Insane. The whole lot of you. Especially you, he pulled away from her while struggling to keep his voice lowered. Cayden alternated his gaze between the narrow window and the sealed door. He ignored Nisa rolling her eyes in favor of grinding his teeth. Thoughts of armed men rushing through the palace filled his mind until he imagined he heard footsteps in the hall. Breaking in here to let me know you are planning to steal the singular most significant relic this sand ridden country has. And to invite me along, Cayden muttered without pausing to breathe. A soft touch from Nisa interrupted his miasma of worry.

I was not going to write you a letter. That’s far too impersonal after all we have been through together, she spoke, squeezing down on his forearm. She then winked, which caused him to retract his arm.

And that is why I have not thrown you into the street, he responded and frowned once Nisa laughed at him.