Eternal Palace (Sexcraft Chronicles Book 4) Read online

  Eternal Palace

  Edmund Hughes

  This digital book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this title with another person, please purchase an additional copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. All other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual events or persons is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 by Edmund Hughes

  Kindle Edition

  Contents

  Eternal Palace

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  CHAPTER 13

  CHAPTER 14

  CHAPTER 15

  CHAPTER 16

  CHAPTER 17

  CHAPTER 18

  CHAPTER 19

  CHAPTER 20

  CHAPTER 21

  CHAPTER 22

  CHAPTER 23

  CHAPTER 24

  CHAPTER 25

  CHAPTER 26

  CHAPTER 27

  CHAPTER 28

  CHAPTER 29

  CHAPTER 30

  CHAPTER 31

  CHAPTER 32

  CHAPTER 33

  CHAPTER 34

  CHAPTER 35

  CHAPTER 36

  CHAPTER 37

  CHAPTER 38

  CHAPTER 39

  CHAPTER 40

  CHAPTER 41

  CHAPTER 42

  CHAPTER 43

  CHAPTER 44

  CHAPTER 45

  CHAPTER 46

  CHAPTER 47

  CHAPTER 48

  CHAPTER 49

  CHAPTER 50

  CHAPTER 51

  CHAPTER 52

  CHAPTER 53

  CHAPTER 54

  CHAPTER 1

  The leaves meandered through the air as they fell, almost hovering in place. Hal watched the closest one, waiting until it was about to land on his shoulder before executing a clean spin to the left. He moved past another, letting himself focus on the pattern, rather than each one individually, and then lunged forward through a gap in their formation.

  His heartgem hung in its familiar place around his neck. Hal reached into it, sensing what was left of the ruby and sapphire essence and reaching beyond them. He’d only been able to channel diamond essence for a few weeks, but it had been enough time for him to put together a basic thesis spell. Wind Dash.

  Channeling the diamond essence, Hal focused on what he needed to do. He exhaled sharply, the movement of his breath serving as the catalyst for the spell. At the same time, he let the diamond essence become the spell’s fuel, creating a strong surge of wind which he set against his own back.

  The first few times Hal had played around with diamond magic, he’d done little more than manage to knock himself over. He’d figured it out, however, at least on a basic level. Wind wasn’t powerful as an offensive weapon in the traditional sense. Using a diamond spell was more like applying a soft, insistent force to the world, in this case, to himself.

  With the wind at his back, Hal moved faster than he ever would have been able to unaided. He covered a good twenty feet in two easy, loping strides. The leaves moved to reflect his passage, a small trail forming in the crumpled, brown layer that coated the grass in the empty clearing.

  Wind Dash was all about speed and mobility. It was fitting, given the essence the spell drew from, and exactly the type of new spell Hal needed. He had offensive abilities, with Flame Shot and Flame Strike, Wave Blast, and he could defend himself from certain kinds of attacks with Flame Shield. There’d been a hole in his repertoire concerning movement and utility, which Wind Dash filled.

  And I could always take it further…

  Hal cast Wind Dash again, moving back through the screen of falling leaves. He wondered what would happen if he kept training his diamond magic. Would the heartgem allow him to reach a point where he could enter a Diamond Trance, alongside his Ruby Trance? And if he could eventually do it, what types of spells would he be able to manage through concentrating wind magic for extended amounts of time, instead of brief instants? Would he eventually be able to fly?

  It wasn’t a moot point. Storing diamond essence was much easier than he’d expected it to be. Diamond essence was derived from curiosity, which he had in spades after the way the past half year had played out for him. It was the only type of essence that he’d been able to store for most of the last month, alone on the homestead and lacking for anything that triggered his passion or sorrow.

  Hal tightened his grip on his sword, swinging it through a series of blocks and slashes that Cadrian had taught him. He was training in the same clearing she’d brought him to for their first sessions. There was something a little tragic about that, but he hadn’t let the anger and pain he harbored for her keep him from using the training grounds for his own purposes.

  He leapt into the air, keeping his sword outstretched safely to the side as he twisted through a Kye Lornis flip. Instead of letting himself move on a normal path through the air, Hal cast Wind Dash midway through the motion. It launched him forward through the air, and he had to rush to spot his landing as he completed the flip and came back around. He found himself hoping that it would be as disorienting for his future opponents as it was for him.

  Having a third element of magic to draw from was a huge boon, and it had made Hal wonder about what his limits were. Topaz and emerald, the magic of earth and the magic of nature, respectively, were still inaccessible to him. He wasn’t sure if it was just because he hadn’t spent enough time trying, or rather, if it was a case of stunted potential. Would Cadrian’s teachings have eventually revealed those elements to him?

  Hal winced at the thought. He couldn’t let himself think about her. Not while he was training. The hole went too deep and burrowed too close to old wounds.

  He practiced more with Wind Dash, using it to enhance his speed and the range of his dodges. It fit his style well, and he could sense that there was depth to the spell that would take time for him to master.

  It was late afternoon when Hal left the clearing and headed back down toward the homestead. He was sweaty, and there was just enough chill in the air to make his teeth chatter as soon as he stopped exerting himself. He wasn’t looking forward to bathing later. The spring had cooled off for the season, and his only alternative to hopping in for a dip was to haul and heat water for a bath.

  Hal had spent most of the past month tending to minor repairs and additions to the homestead. He’d fixed sections of the fence that had taken damage in a sand bear attack that’d taken place during his time in the Upper Realm, terrifying Laurel for an afternoon.

  He’d made sure that the interior windows fit their frames well enough to hold heat for the coming months. He’d done what he could to make Karnas’s sleeping shed more comfortable for him, given that the dragon was now big enough to be pushing the limits of what the structure could hold.

  Hal slipped through the fence’s back gate and walked past Laurel’s expansive gardens, which had been reduced to empty plots for the coming winter. The stables were empty, with Toothy having accompanied Laurel to Meldence, so he didn’t bother stopping to check inside them.

  He headed into the homestead, letting out a slow sigh
as he felt the warmth of its interior on his face. He still had most of a pot of bean and vegetable stew left over from the previous night and figured he could reheat it rather than cooking up an entire meal. Hal tossed a log on the fire, shifted the pot into position to hang over it, and then went back outside, bringing a towel with him.

  It was not a fun season to be bathing in the spring over a true bath, but much as with not opting to make a fresh dinner, Hal’s laziness prevailed. He stripped his clothes off, took a few quick breaths, and then hurled himself into the freezing water.

  The cold was enough to force half the air out of his lungs, and he felt a small, stabbing headache as he opened his eyes. He scrubbed himself clean in record time, or clean enough, anyway. His teeth were chattering by the time he was done, though the temperature of the air as he pulled himself back onto the grass made him feel even colder.

  Hal picked up his clothes and dashed across the grass, naked and shivering. He dried off back inside the warm homestead, found a bottle of apple wine in the cupboard, and took a seat at the sitting room table.

  This was his routine. He’d lived alone on the homestead for the past month, and each day had gone more or less the same. Training during the day. Making sure Karnas got plenty of attention whenever he was around. Eating supper alone each night, and sipping on apple wine until he fell asleep.

  It’s not so bad. It’s better than some of the other things I’ve been through, recently.

  His experience in the Upper Realm had left scars on him, and in a way, this was a part of his recovery. The predictability of his life made it easier for him to deal with his nightmares and the trembling that would still occasionally overtake his hands.

  Laurel had only been around for the first few days of his return. Essentially just long enough for Hal to realize how much he’d missed her. A courier had arrived with a message from Maxim Cedric, summoning her back to the capital. She’d forbidden Hal to come with her, telling him that he needed more time to rest and that she’d be fine on her own. Hal had sent Karnas along on the trip north, just in case.

  She’d sent messages to him occasionally through couriers. Maxim Cedric had asked for her help, and though she’d been vague about the details, Hal sensed that it wasn’t anything dangerous that she’d been asked to do. She was technically a gem holder, though her skills with her ruby were limited by her lack of training. Hal missed her far more than he’d expected to, and he’d expected to miss her a lot.

  He set his pistol out on the table, slowly going through the process of cleaning the barrel. It was unnecessary, now that the weapon only served as a focus for his magic, but it was an old habit. He ran his finger over the wooden handle. He’d been given the pistol by his father on his sixteenth birthday.

  As much as Hal tried to keep from thinking of her, Cadrian had been on his mind constantly over the past month. He hated her for so many different reasons. She’d lied to him. She’d brought chaos into his life, killing his family and stranding him in a foreign land. She’d taught him everything he knew of gem magic, and she’d saved him from death in the Upper Realm. It wasn’t simple, and that made him hate her even more.

  When he’d first arrived back at the homestead, Hal had planned on heading out to search for Cadrian as soon as he could. He’d taken a few days to rest, and then each time he’d had an opportunity to leave, there’d always been a reason that would pop up for him to stay.

  Sometimes it was waiting until Karnas returned from his latest hunting adventure. Other times it was to wait and see if he could finally get in touch with Marnella Ardstone, through the two-way crystal she’d given him for that purpose. The crystal hadn’t worked for him, and Karnas always operated on his own, seemingly random schedule.

  Finding Cadrian would give him closure. That was what Hal told himself. Finding her would get rid of the complacent feeling he had, as though he was one of the leaves blown loose in the clearing by his new spell. He felt as though everyone else was moving and traveling in life, while he was just sitting there, drinking apple wine, stuck where he was.

  He took another sip of the wine and sighed. Was it really about Cadrian, about revenge, anymore? Or was it about the fact that life wouldn’t wait for him to find his footing? It would continue on, with or without him.

  CHAPTER 2

  Hal left the homestead, hoping that watching the sunset might help chase off his sour mood. It was still just as cold outside as it had been, and he rubbed his hands together for warmth as he walked around the perimeter of the fence.

  It had been a few days since he’d last seen Karnas, and when something moved out of the corner of his eye, he felt a surge of hope. It wasn’t the dragon, however. The new arrival was a person on horseback, clad in a dark and heavy cloak. They were heading down the mountain path, and probably would continue on south toward Lorne. It wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, now that word of Aangavar’s death had gotten out, but for some reason, it set Hal on edge.

  He headed back inside and strapped on his sword belt and pistol. The path from the mountain pass to the desert curved around the edge of the homestead, but Hal still felt as though it was an intrusion on his and Laurel’s territory each time someone passed through without checking in with them. It was irrational, and he knew it, but it was a hard feeling to shake.

  He approached the rider slowly, trying to make out as much detail he could in the fading light. His heart pounded in his chest, and the hand he rested on his sword hilt trembled slightly. He felt like he was back in the Dragongrounds, back fighting for his life again, unable to trust in the decency of a traveling stranger.

  I’m home. People aren’t like that here, and there’s no need for me to think like that.

  Even though he knew he was being ridiculous, he still kept his hand on his sword. What if this was one of the Empress’s assassins? She knew who he was, now, and would eventually find him on the surface. She might have sent someone to kill him, to eliminate the Heart Holder and a potential threat to her rule.

  Or what if it was a random bandit? Maybe one who’d heard about Fool’s Valley and the homestead back when it had only been Laurel living on the property. Maybe he figured it would be an easy place for him to rob, with a pretty young woman to sweeten the deal.

  Hal was gritting his teeth by the time he came within hailing distance of the rider. It took all the willpower he had to loosen his grip on his sword and let his arm relax at his side. He waited for whoever it was to speak first.

  “Hello.” The voice was feminine, with a distinctly musical quality to it. “Are you the caretaker of this homestead?”

  Hal blinked. When was the last time that he’d spoken to someone? He talked with Karnas whenever he came home for an afternoon or evening, but the dragon’s vocabulary was extremely limited.

  “This is… my homestead,” said Hal. It was close to the truth. Technically, he and Laurel had agreed to be co-owners after purchasing it from Maxim Cedric. For some reason, he felt a little defensive, as though he needed to justify why he was there, and why he’d come out to confront the rider.

  “Is it, now?” asked the woman. “Well, I guess you’re the one I’ll be asking for hospitality, weary as I am.”

  She reached up and pulled down the hood of her cloak, revealing a pretty face with cheeks flushed from the cold. Her hair was light brown, with a single small braid hanging from one side adorned with a red ribbon. She smiled at Hal, and he realized that she was waiting for him to say something.

  “Right,” he said, still feeling a little rusty at conversation. “Have you been on the road long? What’s your name?”

  “A few weeks,” said the woman. “And I’m Rei Flowersong. The Rei Flowersong, renowned minstrel and harpist.”

  The name meant nothing to Hal, but he nodded anyway. “Halrin Kentar. Nice to meet you.”

  “Halrin,” repeated Rei. “It’s very cold out tonight, and as I said, I’ve been traveling for quite some time. Might you be interested in trading supper for a
song?”

  Hal hesitated, feeling a strange wariness toward the woman. He wasn’t sure if it was his instincts, or remnants of his paranoia from the Dragongrounds. She looked the part of a minstrel, from her pretty, youthful face, to the harp hanging from the side of her horse. Even her voice seemed to match what she’d told him.

  Why am I so tense right now? I don’t need to be afraid of her… do I?

  “Sure,” said Hal, after slightly too long of a pause. “You can leave your horse in my stable. There’s some hay in there, though the water trough probably needs to be refilled.”

  “Thank you, Halrin,” said Rei. She frowned at him, the expression incongruous with her words. “Are you really the owner of this homestead? I’d heard that a noblewoman had come into possession of it recently.”

  Hal suppressed a laugh. It was hard for him to picture Laurel as a noblewoman, even though technically, that’s what she was. He didn’t feel like justifying himself to his guest, however, so he only shrugged in response.

  “I have some soup warming on the hearth,” he said. “It’s not much, but I can break out some bread to go with it.”

  “It will have to do,” said Rei. There was a hint of haughtiness to her voice that Hal didn’t like.

  He showed her to the stables, and then led her inside. She carried her harp, along with a small traveling bag. Hal felt another stab of suspicion as they approached the door. It was dangerous for a young woman, even one used to traveling, to enter the home of a strange man so far out from the nearest town. Unless she had an ulterior motive, a reason for wanting to be around him while he had his guard down.

  Hal cleared his throat, trying to banish the thought. He was being paranoid, and it was doing him no favors. He needed to relax, and perhaps the song Rei had offered in exchange for dinner could help him with that.

  “You’re quiet,” said Rei. “That’s the type of thing that might make a defenseless young woman a little nervous.”

  “It’s been a while since I’ve had a guest,” said Hal. “Though, with that said, you don’t seem all that nervous.”