Poison Reign

By R.A. Lee

The Heart of a Princess, The Soul of a Queen
A princess in peril. A queen on her trail. Princess Penrose has a simple wish for her 21st birthday gala - a huge party, a new dress, and many eligible bachelors admiring only the birthday girl. When the Princess finds herself being hunted down by the very men hired to protect her, Penrose's only hope lies in a former Special Forces guard living in the forbidden lands. The fragile, spoiled princess must choose between living the rest of her life as the maid to five brothers or risking everything she has ever known, even her life, in order to take back what is rightfully hers. In time, she realizes the crown cannot conquer the heart as she makes a new wish for her 21st birthday. (Short Thriller, Paranormal Fantasy)

• Language: English
• Publisher: R.A. Lee
• Release date: Nov 5, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005463366

R.A. Lee

I am a storyteller. What starts as a simple dream turns into a movie in my head and it is cathartic to put it in words. Writing is like therapy. Therapy doesn't come cheap, though, so please enjoy. I have to go, another movie is starting. YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@anovelproduction​

Book preview

POISON REIGN

by R.A. Lee

Copyright 2023/2013

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Unauthorized reproduction, in any manner, is prohibited.

Product of the U.S.A.

The following is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any living person past or present, or sleeping in my bed, is purely coincidental.

If you liked this eBook/PDF, thank you for respecting the hard work of this author by recommending it to others.

Dedicated to my mother, the love of my life, and my family.

[e-mail]

Cover image by Autumn Angel Designs trademarked and copyrighted 2023/2013

Other eBook Titles by R. A. Lee

Love Again, Love for Them: A Novel

The Beauty at the Bus Stop: A Novel

The Fountain of Truth: A Novel

My Vegas Valentine: A Novella

Desert Town Angels Trilogy

PART ONE The Last Will and Testament of Howard Thornbon

PART TWO The Kin of Ms. Honey Hallowell

PART THREE The Final Showdown in Golden Peaks

Check Website for Other New Releases!

TalesByRALee.com

The Heart of a Princess, The Soul of a Queen

A princess in peril. A queen on her trail. Princess Penrose has a simple wish for her 21st birthday gala - a huge party, a new dress, and many eligible bachelors admiring only the birthday girl. When the Princess finds herself being hunted down by the very men hired to protect her, Penrose's only hope lies in a former Special Forces guard living in the forbidden lands. The fragile, spoiled princess must choose between living the rest of her life as the maid to five brothers or risking everything she has ever known, even her life, in order to take back what is rightfully hers. In time, she realizes the crown cannot conquer the heart as she makes a new wish for her 21st birthday. (Short Adult Contemporary Paranormal Fantasy)

At some point in time, in a land similar to our own ...

It was a royal dress meant for a nice walk through the trails, not for running through the overgrown paths while ducking flarrows that whizzed by and exploded the trees to the right and left.

Keep running, Penrose, Heron yelled as he returned the fire.

Tripping over rocks hidden under the overgrown grass, Penrose grunted but maintained her balance as she ran and ran toward the sound of rushing water ahead.

There was a cliff at the end of the forest; she could see it from her tower in Castle Grenval. From her balcony, Penrose could see the entire Kingdom of Grenval, all the way to the forbidden borderlands and the Mountain of Tynun.

The weight of a very strong arm around her waist terrified the Princess as she was propelled forward toward the raging waterfall.

With each unsteady step, Penrose knew they would have to stop as the jagged rocks thrusting from the bottom of the cliff waited to impale them if they didn't change course.

A knife came up to her face and Penrose opened her mouth to scream.

I have to cut off the tracking chip, Heron grunted in her ear. With a quick snip, Heron held in his hand the necklace her aunt, Queen Veralla, had given Penrose for her 20th birthday.

What tracking chip?

When I say jump, jump, Heron said hoarsely as another tree exploded behind them. Flarrows, exploding arrows, were still a new technology and the Princess was grateful they weren't as accurate as a bow and arrow, but their hit and miss rate was deadly. Besides, they were never designed to blow up a princess.

Heron threw the necklace in the tall grass to his right.

If there was a second to think, Penrose would have declined and had the Head of the Royal Guard fired on the spot, but Heron yelled, Jump! and she went soaring over the cliff with him.

As she imagined her body being sliced through by the sharp rocks, Penrose felt the breath crushed from her chest as Heron fell near her then threw his weight on her body.

They went over, the men who had been chasing them yelled from above. Eyes closed tight, Penrose imagined what her body looked like, with the point of one of the jagged rocks poking out of her back.

Darkness engulfed her.

What happened?

Then she lost consciousness. There had been no time to think about the events that had transpired from the moment she left the castle that morning.

Now she would never know.

***

Penrose, a male voice called through the haze.

This must be the light, Penrose thought as she opened her eyes and saw a shadowy figure above calling her name.

At first she felt weightless, heard the soothing sounds of water falling. After a moment, she felt the awareness of lacerations around her feet and legs, the feeling as if she had exhausted herself on a long run. As the weight of events pressed her to the ground, Penrose realized she was not dead, she might be dying, but she wasn't dead.

Heron?

Penrose, he said, shaking her. Wake up. It's getting dark.

Groggy, Penrose rubbed her eyes and groaned.

Trembling. As Heron became clear in her vision, Penrose started trembling. Blood was running down his right arm and chest. Dizzy, Penrose concentrated on the guard and not the terrifying drop to the bottom of the raging river from the thin ledge on which they were perched.

What happened? Penrose gasped as Heron pressed himself against the rocks and hanging vines of the alcove where they had landed. Pushing her away when she tried to attend to his wounds, Heron groaned and squeezed the tourniquet he had made from pieces of his torn uniform.

You gotta run, he whispered forcefully as blood trickled from his mouth. Follow the river until it turns into a lake and look for Naython. He's my brother.

Who were those men? she asked. They were not dead and she wanted answers. We'll get back to the castle and have the Guard track them down.

The guards were the ones chasing us, Heron rasped. They were instructed to kill you.

Shaking her head, Penrose didn't grasp this explanation.

I'm going back to the castle, she whispered to comfort herself. Tell my aunt...

The Queen is the one who wanted you dead! Heron grunted with all his strength before he started coughing and leaning perilously close to the edge. Taking a deep breath, Heron pressed himself against the rock. Tears ran down Penrose's face.

A wind blew and a ray of sun dragged across rocks opposite the cliff. Lowering her head, Penrose saw the shreds of what was left of her dress and knew