Panther's Crown: Panther Protector Series, #2

By T. M. Caruana

 

Sadie only got three years of peace until the rebel leader - Elgort's brother Yuda, seeks his revenge.

Dealing with enemies in her own ranks when trying to plan her defence, whilst blamed for causing death to royal panthers and accused of being too weak to rule, Sadie must now prove her worth.

Tiring enough to remain in power, she also have to ensure she holds her private life together before it breaks. 
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Marvellous Magics
• Release date: Sep 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215237151

Book preview

T. M. Caruana

Panther’s Crown

Copyright © 2021 by T. M. Caruana

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

T. M. Caruana asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

T. M. Caruana has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.

First edition

This book was professionally typeset on Reedsy

Find out more at reedsy.com

Contents

Preface

1. Sadie

2. Sadie

3. Sebastian

4. Sadie

5. Sebastian

6. Sadie

7. Sebastian

8. Sadie

9. Sebastian

10. Sadie

11. Sebastian

12. Sadie

13. Sebastian

14. Sadie

15. Sebastian

16. Sadie

17. Sebastian

18. Sadie

19. Sadie

About the Author

Preface

A strong gust of wind whipped through the air as the skies were darkened with the looming threat of rain about to burst from the heavens. Trees swayed, bowing shamelessly to the raging wind. Branches were torn from the trees, flying around in the squall for a while before settling on the ground and sinking into the mud. The entire forest swayed endlessly. Howls from wild animals echoed in the far distance. The entire atmosphere was redolent with the tension of something sinister about to happen.

The gothic-looking woman with her half-shaved head and cunning expression wasn’t bothered by the storm. She stood in the forest, peering at the sinking sun on the horizon, patiently waiting for something, or someone. Behind her she carried her bow with a sling full of arrows.

Soon she would have her revenge, she thought to herself. The storm might raging all around her but her guests should be here any moment now. She’d been patient for as long as it took.

And she was right. A carriage drawn by two sturdy black horses appeared not far away, driving fast as if it was trying to beat the weather. She put a pair of binoculars to her eyes to get a closer look. Ah, yes, her guests were finally arriving. She straightened the shorts that she was wearing; she had fought hard to get to this moment. This was all she had dreamed about for three years now.

A wolfish smile crept to her face as the carriage pulled to a stop in front of her. Two men jumped out, rushing around the horses and opened the door for another man. The woman’s head was bent low so she saw the man’s boots first.

He walked toward her, stopped and cleared his throat. People usually bow when they meet me, he said, his voice croaky. A small intimated threat.

The woman contemplated falling to her knees, he was quite menacing, and she had heard countless tales of his conquests. But no, she didn’t want to show him any sign of weakness. He needed her almost as much as she needed him. She had made this happen; she was the one who had set the ball rolling. Besides, she was powerful now; she could take him on and probably defeat him. He should know this; he must have heard of her reputation too, hence the reason he’d agreed to this little arrangement.

The woman’s fears began to dissipate. These days, she struggled to remember that she was no longer the whimpering youngster she had been years ago. She was powerful now, strong, brave, and ruthless.

She looked up to meet his eyes and had to stop herself from flinching. Half of the man’s face was scarred, a remnant of a poison that had eaten through it a long time ago. His eyes had a reddish hue with slits that crisscrossed around his white pupils. He was completely bald and an indecipherable tattoo covered his head.

I am not most people, the woman spat firmly.

In the three years that she had been a fugitive, she had picked up a few lessons in the department of bravery and fearlessness. She knew that men like him will always like to be worshipped and when they meet women like her who refused to indulge them, they either became enraged or intrigued.

She stepped back, and resolutely readied herself for his reaction. He stared at her with something that looked like awe in his eyes before bursting into a resounding peal of laughter. A deafening bout of thunder and lightning erupted from the skies, the light penetrating the blanket of darkness that was starting to settle over the entire forest. The woman didn’t jump; nothing could faze her anymore. She had already been through the worst and survived. Even if death came to her right now, she was unafraid to die. But even death needed to steer clear of her path until she was done with her mission.

I have a feeling that you and I are going to get along famously, Lucinda, the man said.

Lucinda stepped close to him. He smelt faintly of men’s cologne and she was instantly reminded of the men she used to date. That felt like almost a lifetime away, so much had changed with her in three years. It didn’t matter anyway; now was not the time to reminisce. Light rain began to patter down on them. Soon, she reflected, her mascara would be running down her face, ruining her image.

She gestured at the coach. Shall we?

The man nodded and directed her inside. It didn’t smell as bad as she thought it would. These men were rebels, after all. She expected them to live and sleep and fuck inside these coaches as they were constantly on the move with their lives under threat but it was surprisingly clean and manageable.

The man slid into the space beside her, still clearing his throat. Lucinda was beginning to suspect that it was an unconscious habit of his.

Thank you for coming, the man said.

She hadn’t exactly pegged him as the thankful type and it made her begin to doubt if he was the best choice for this mission. The man she’d heard about was ruthless, brutal and ambitious. Lucinda didn’t want to make the same mistake she’d made three years ago when she had trusted the wrong, weak man. Elgort, despite his posing, had turned out to be a very inept man. Lucinda despised a lot of things but failing men was at the top of her list. There was no room for errors, or she would have been dead years ago, especially when she had been captured by Sadie. Her spirit was resolved, bent on revenge.

Right now, that resolve was about to pay off. She would finally avenge her mother and take back what was hers. Her enemies wouldn’t even know what had hit them.

I didn’t come for you. She owes me, too, Lucinda said, bitterly. It’s been three years. She is ready. The time is now. She was definitely going through with her plans.

The man sitting beside her just shrugged and turned his face to the other side.

Lucinda leaned back against her headrest and closed her eyes. She was tired; she had been fighting for a long time to get to this moment. She was allowed to be exhausted; she just wouldn’t allow herself to ruin her plans on account of her tiredness. The horses galloped on, and it wasn’t long before they arrived at the rebels’ hideout on the outskirts of Amithia. It was surrounded by rocky plains and steep hills. The sight triggered memories of that battle three years ago.

She was taken to the rebel’s hideout, a cave buried deep in the forest. The men stopped what they were doing and stood and stared as we pulled to a halt. Lucinda noted that they were all carrying weapons and she stared back amazed. There must have been more than a hundred of them. This was exactly what she needed.

They all fell on their knees as their leader climbed out of the coach and Lucinda swelled with pride. Now, this was more like it. She felt a new wave of confidence surging through her as she followed the man into the dimly lit cave. Flickering lanterns were hanging on the walls and the shadowy centre of the cave was filled with some sort of junk that Lucinda’s mind couldn’t process.

The man walked over to an elevated chair that apparently served as his throne. It was from there it seemed that he ruled over his little kingdom of rebels. He settled down with a slow moan and grabbed a large pitcher of what looked like mead that was waiting on a side table, gulping the liquid down thirstily.

Welcome to Amithia’s worst nightmare, Lucinda, he said, finally when the pitcher was empty.

Lucinda frowned, unimpressed. He really shouldn’t be drinking like that. The kind of revenge she’d dreamed of required full-on concentration.

So, what is your plan? I need to know every little detail.

Before he could reply, they were interrupted by the sound of the rebels dragging something into the cave. It was a fully uniformed Amithian soldier, well-beaten, bloodied and breathing heavily.

Yuda, we found him lurking around our domain, one of the rebels said, his mean looking face twisting in triumph as he gave the solider a shove forward.

The soldier fell flat on his face before the leader’s throne, gasping to catch his breath. Yuda stood up slowly from his throne, his hand on the sheath of his sword, ready to pull it out. He stepped down from the throne and stopped by the soldier.

Infidel! Yuda spat in disgust.

The cave fell silent; Lucinda hadn’t even noticed the rebels who had gathered around her. Yuda walked a few steps and turned sharply his sword drawn and cleanly sliced off the soldier’s head. It rolled on the sandy ground spurting blood that seeped slowly into the dirt. Nobody made a sound.

That is the punishment we give to infidels like him, Yuda said to Lucinda, wiping his sword clean with a cloth.

Lucinda knew he’d done that to impress her. But she wasn’t impressed. She folded her arms across her chest.

Nice. But you could have kept him alive to milk every single detail about the kingdom’s garrison. He might have known something really useful, Lucinda said, barely concealing her disapproval.

Yuda stopped for a while as if contemplating her words but he shrugged and continued to his throne to settle down with reckless abandon.

We have spies inside the palace. We don’t need that infidel to tell us anything we want to know, he said.

Now, that was impressive. Lucinda even smiled. That was a new record for her; she had not smiled in three years.

Listen! Yuda grunted. I allowed you to come here because you have an invaluable skill that I need but you have to earn your place here. You must do your bit just like the rest of us. Do you understand me?

Lucinda looked around at the rebels, assessing them before turning to face them squarely, a firm look on her face.

Get out! she barked.

The rebels were shocked, obviously unused to being ordered around by a stranger.

"Take him and get