The Healing Empress: The New Realms Saga, #3

By R. E. Steele

The Kalarian Empire has finally called for an end to hostilities between itself, and the Kingdoms of Oreias and Achlys. But there are suspicions that these overtures are not sincere. Princess Celena of Oreias hopes that peace will be achieved, but her family is more skeptical. At the peace talks, she once again comes face to face with Emperor Nikolos. She fears him, but she begins to think he may be more than just a ruthless tyrant. Is he really as evil as everyone makes him out to be?

 

Emperor Nikolos has called for an end to the war between his empire, and the two enemy kingdoms. But this call is a ruse. He actually intends to use the peace talks, as an excuse to get the Achlysian and Oreiasan royal families together in one place, so they are easier to capture. He wants to force an unconditional surrender, so the two kingdoms can be absorbed into his empire. But when he meets Celena again, suddenly, his path isn't so clearcut. He finds himself attracted to her like no one else. But he can't have her as a wife, and the two kingdoms, can he?

 

Celena and Nikolos slowly begin to develop feelings for each other, but neither is sure it is wise to act on them. Celena doesn't entirely trust Nikolos, and Nikolos feels he still needs to conquer Achlys and Oreias, to protect the planet from a mysterious foe. Will they be able to be together? Will God use their relationship to bring peace between the two sides?

• Language: English
• Publisher: R. E. Steele
• Release date: Jul 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201960797

R. E. Steele

R. E. Steele loved reading when she was a kid. As she grew older, she began to enjoy intriguing storylines that left her thinking about them long after she finished reading or watching them. When she felt God calling her to write, she answered, and wrote The Temporan Chronicles series. R. E. Steele is a former homeschooler and college graduate. She currently lives in Idaho.

Book preview

By long forbearing is a prince persuaded, and a soft tongue breaketh the bone.

Proverbs 25:15

Chapter 1

And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

~ Philippians 4:7

Celena quietly watched the cart of luggage roll by, as the servants pushed it away to be packed in a transport. She, her two sisters, and their two husbands, were going to the large city of Kipos, known for its neutrality, its vast wealth acquired through trade, and its lovely vistas. The cart was extra full, because a lot of luggage had to be packed for two reasons. One, they didn’t know how long they would be at Kipos, since they were going to be negotiating a peace treaty with their enemies, the Kalarians. Theodoros, the husband of Celena’s second eldest sister, Estella, estimated it would take a least a good month, but even he didn’t know if that would be sufficient, and rather doubted it would be. Therefore, it was necessary to pack heavy for that reason alone. It was better to keep the servants at Kipos, for protection, should the need arise, than to send them back to Achlys or Oreias to bring more. The servants might have to go anyway if the negotiations dragged out for too long, but it was best to be prepared as much as was reasonably possible.

That brought Celena’s thoughts to the other reason why her sisters and brothers-in-laws insisted on packing heavy. They needed extra weapons in case the negotiations took a violent turn. Roxanna, Celena’s oldest sister, also felt that dressing with a certain amount of splendor might aid them in the peace talks, since it would show they were wealthy. While it wouldn’t exactly intimidate the Kalarians, they were too daunting and rich themselves to be easily awed by a show of wealth. It might help Oreias and Achlys gain more favorable terms, if the Kalarians thought they weren’t pushovers. So, Roxanna insisted on packing their best clothes, and Estella made sure it happened.

Celena rather regretted that her two nephews, Andreas and Leander, Roxanna and Estella’s sons respectively, weren’t coming along as well, even if it meant more luggage. She adored the two little boys, and had great enjoyment in caring for them. She would have liked their company while her sisters and brothers-in-law worked on the treaty. But it was for the best the two little boys stayed behind. It was safer, for no one was certain the Kalarians would hold to the ceasefire, even though they were the ones to ask for it. It would be bad enough if the five adults got captured. The two boys needed to stay behind, where they were more likely to remain free. Oreias and Achlys would still stand a chance of remaining independent if the two were out of the Kalarians’ clutches.

It was possibilities like these that made Celena look forward to the end of the war more than usual. Yes, all the fighting, death, and tragedy was reason enough. It was all horrible in her eyes. But being deprived of her nephews’ company made the war more personal. She should feel worse about all the other catastrophes that occurred, but somehow, something so close to home as leaving her two nephews behind hit harder.

Celena wished she could have remained behind with them. She had no wish to attend the negotiations, for they were full of scary people. In particular, she was afraid of Emperor Nikolos, the Kalarian ruler. He had gone after her specifically before, no doubt because she was an easy target. But he had never actually laid a finger on her. Still, she hoped she wouldn’t be often in his company. Roxanna had insisted that she come, so that she could learn about this important aspect of statecraft, in the event she needed to write a peace treaty. Celena rather doubted she would ever be in such a situation, but she wasn’t about to defy her sister. Celena wanted a quiet life, but she was reasonable enough to know that what one wanted wasn’t always what one got.

The negotiations, the hardship of leaving her nephews, and yes, even meeting the fearful Emperor Nikolos, would all be worth the trouble in the end if the treaty endured. Oreias and Achlys had been engaged in a conflict of some sort or other, with the Kalarian Empire, for hundreds of years. It was such a long time, Celena found it difficult to contemplate just how long the quarrel had been going on for. It made her feel solemn to think of all those people who came before her, who had to deal with the adversities and struggles that came with the various bouts of war. Yes, there were times of peace, during which all three nations rebuilt and recovered, but these never lasted long. Each generation had to fight. What would it be like if Andreas and Leander’s generation didn’t have to march off to war? She didn’t know exactly, but she knew it would be wonderful. To be perfectly honest, she didn’t know what a nation was like at peacetime. She was too young to remember much of the last period of peace, and by the time she could remember clearly, Oreias, her country, was fighting again. There had been that lull of a few years, when the Kalarians stopped attacking Oreias, in an effort to subdue the unruly Achlysians, whom the Kalarians had recently conquered. But it hadn’t really been a time of peace. Her father, the now late King Elias, had to prepare his kingdom for another go-around, and help the Achlysians who were either trying to flee, or push back the invaders. So peacetime, though something Celena wished for, wasn’t really something she had ever known.

She hoped the others were wrong, in suspecting the Kalarians were only using the negotiations as an opportunity, to get the royal families of Achlys and Oreias together in one place, so they were easier to capture. The idea of such a thing filled her with fear, and made her want to go hide in one of the turrets she liked to visit sometimes, the one that had a window that looked out onto the gardens and forest. But it was rather a bad time to escape to the towers when she was watching her two nephews. Their mothers were too busy preparing for the trip to tend to the boys themselves. So instead, she prayed that the Kalarians wouldn’t betray them, and that the treaty would hold. God ultimately would want peace, so He must want their success.

Chapter 2

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the call accord to his purpose.

~ Romans 8:28

Emperor Nikolos rode into Kipos with a stern look and proud demeaner. In truth, his look wasn’t much different than his personality most of the time. He was proud, and he could be quite stern. Only those who knew him well were aware that he was capable of kinder feelings. But today, he looked every inch the imposing conqueror that he wanted to be perceived as.

The people of Kipos scattered before the procession that he led. They kept a respectful distance, though they watched with interest and some grimness. They, no doubt, were flattered that their city had been chosen to be the one to hold the negotiations. Kipos was the largest city between Achlys and the Kalarian Empire, and situated right on the border. It was also an independent nation, but only remained so because it was sufficiently obedient, that conquering it was not thought necessary until Achlys and Oreias were taken care of. But the idea that their city might be destroyed in a conflict between the two sides, had probably crossed the minds of many of the inhabitants, which explained the grimness of some.

He was at the head of the procession, but not directly in front, for no one wished to risk him to an assassin’s blade. Though Nikolos didn’t fear an attempt in any way, the Achlysians had used such tactics before, and Nikolos wouldn’t put Vasilis past trying it. Vasilis, despite his overall incompetence, had proven himself a difficult opponent. Nikolos regretted that he and his men had never managed to permanently apprehend the slippery Achlysian Crown Prince, for if they had, Nikolos might not have to be in Kipos right now.

Yes, it was a humiliation to Nikolos that he even had attend these negotiations at all. He, the Emperor of the Kalarian Empire, having to bargain with the much smaller, weaker, and poorer kingdoms of Achlys and Oreias, was a reality that stung, though admittedly Oreias was more worthy of the attention than Achlys. He shouldn’t have to do any such thing. What would his father have thought had he lived to see his son’s mortification? Truth was, there wasn’t really in question in Nikolos’s mind as to how his father would react. He would shame Nikolos, and call him a disgrace, then force him to study the history of one of their ancestors, who all ruthlessly destroyed any nation that put Kalare on its backfoot. Nikolos always found these emperors to be rather reckless, and careless of their men’s lives. But he quickly learned not to voice such opinions. His father would accuse him of being weak, and his mother would nag at him to be more severe.

Still, the war wasn’t completely lost. Nikolos might have been pushed to ask for a ceasefire, but he wasn’t done fighting yet. Oh yes, he was about to begin a stage of the war in which, unless the Achlysians and Oreiasans were much keener than anyone gave them credit for, weren’t going to win.

His procession arrived at their destination, a castle in Kipos which he owned. Keeping a presence in the free city was advisable, not only for reasons of trade, since Kipos was a good trading partner, but also to remind the inhabitants of Kipos that they only reason they remained semi-independent, was because Kalare saw fit to let them. The effect was useful, even if it did cause some resentment. But the inhabitants were too shrewd to say much. They valued Kalarians trade and tourists, who kept their coffers full of gold.

Once settled into the castle, and assured that it was safe to occupy, Nikolos and a select number of his soldiers, went to the governor’s palace, where it was agreed the negotiations would take place. The palace had been rented for the occasion, and it was wise to inspect it, to be sure the Achlysians hadn’t done anything to it that would harm them, for the Achlysians had access to the palace too. Nikolos was cautioned not to go, for fear of his life. But he brushed aside these objections. He was not to be intimidated by such threats. He was Emperor of Kalare, and would act as such. No assassination attempt, real or suspected, would scare him away.

The arrival of his soldiers caused quite a stir. Even the native Kiposian guards looked worried when the Kalarians appeared. But his presence caused another stir entirely. Such was his intent. He wanted people to be intimidated by his presence. It wasn’t difficult. He was quite a tall man, even among the Kalarians, who were known for their height. He also had black hair and dark brown eyes set against strong, firm features. He had heard himself called handsome before, but also, when people thought he couldn’t hear him, had overheard that he was rather too fierce and proud looking to do justice to his good looks. He had shrugged this criticism off without much care. He preferred frankness to flattery, even if it did pain him a little. But he barely admitted this to himself. He didn’t want to think himself vain of his looks, so it didn’t really matter.

He glanced around the large entry and took in who was present. There was Queen Roxanna of Oreias, looking every inch the warrior queen he knew she was. She had pulled herself up to her full height, which was above average for a woman, and was wearing an elegant dress of blue and silver. He knew she normally wore red and gold, since they were her favored colors. But in an effort to show that she was the Oreiasan Queen, she must have decided to wear its national colors. Still, her Kalarian heritage was obvious. Her red hair, and the fire coming out of her eyes, were all traits of a Kalarian woman. He still felt it a pity that she chose to marry Vasilis of Achlys over him. She would have made a better empress than the queen of two nations.

Speaking of which, there was Vasilis coming up next to her, glaring at Nikolos and looking protective of his wife. Nikolos smirked a little. Vasilis was in no danger of losing Roxanna to him. She had made her choice, and Nikolos had no wish to taint his bloodline with a woman who had married an Achlysian, particularly one who had married Vasilis. But it was still pleasant to irk the Achlysian, even if he had no desire for Roxanna anymore.

A few feet away were the other happy couple, Princess Estella and Theodoros. Estella looked about a fierce as her sister, and was also wearing blue, though it fit her black hair and blue eyes better than Roxanna’s warmer features. Theodoros wore green like his brother, though his darker features were more suited to the Achlysian countenance than his brother’s were. Estella’s black hair was decidedly Kalarian, though otherwise she was purely Oreiasan in appearance.

Nikolos smirked to himself. Like it or not, of the royalty gathered here, he was the best representative of his nation as far as appearance went. The others had combined the looks of two or three of the nations. He didn’t. He looked Kalarian through and through.

But someone else drew his eye. Golden hair caught the light from one of the windows. He beheld a young lady, with fine features, a fair complexion, and the deepest blue eyes he had ever seen. They were sweet eyes, but they were also the kind that seem to look right into your soul if you beheld them long enough. It could be a discomforting experience, but those eyes also had a way of drawing one in. Yes, not for the first time, Nikolos admired Princess Celena’s beauty. She looked Oreiasan, and yet, there was something else about her, something almost saintly that couldn’t really be attributed to any one kingdom. She looked angelic, and Nikolos rather wondered if she had been intentionally blessed by God to resemble one. But Nikolos soon left this pleasant train of thought. Celena was beautiful, and he dared to believe she was a good person. Damianos had said as much through the scouts that had been passing information between them. But she was still a shy, fearful girl. No, she would not replace her sister as a potential empress. She wasn’t made for that.

Chapter 3

He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.

~ Job 12:22

Celena observed Nikolos carefully. She still feared him. He looked intimidating when he came in. He seemed to draw the attention of the entire room as soon as he entered. Even the people of Kipos, who should have been on good terms with him, looked frightened in his presence. But there was something else that caught Celena’s attention.

It was the fact he seemed intent on looking intimidating. To her, it seemed as if this air didn’t come naturally to him. This was not what she had expected of him. She just thought he was scary and haughty naturally. Though to be fair, she hadn’t seen him under the best of circumstances, nor had she been in the best state of mind to guess his true character. He had been attacking the camp she was staying in, while she was trying to hide, and then flee. But looking at him now, she rather wondered if she feared him too much. Sure, she should be cautious of him. He wasn’t the sort of person that she should let her guard down around, seeing as he was the leader of an enemy nation after all. But outside of that, she began to wonder if he was truly as fearsome as he seemed to want to make other people believe. For now, she was certain he was putting on some sort of act.

This knowledge had a way of making her fears disappear. Now she was curious. Why would he feel the need to pretend to be this stern ruler, when surely the fact he was emperor was enough? Perhaps he wasn’t as sure as himself as he wanted others to think. Being forced to ask for a ceasefire, and then having to show up for negotiations, even if they were possibly a sham, had to be a blow to his pride, whether he was truly a haughty man or not. The Kalarians were more than a little proud too. Despite fearing him, Celena found herself feeling sorry for him.

This got Celena speculating on what Emperor Nikolos was truly like. Most people made him out as scarcely less than a monster, only restrained by the dignity of being a Kalarian. But those few who were close to him, Lord Damianos being the only one she knew personally, didn’t seem to view him in such a light. Yes, they still held him in awe, but they didn’t dread him like they would a ruthless tyrant. Lord Damianos even went so far as to say he was a kind man, though Celena found herself having a hard time believing it. Still, Emperor Nikolos was human, and she had difficulty believing the Kalarians would put up with him if he were as bad as he was made out to be. There must be more to him than the front he was putting on.

Celena found herself wanting to observe Nikolos further, to see if she could discover more about him. But she had a stronger wish to avoid his company. Roxanna would ensure they would be little together anyway. Roxanna couldn’t help but be present at the negotiations, and Estella scarcely less so. But Celena had little reason to be