Frozen Tides Read online

  An Imprint of Penguin Random House

  Penguin.com

  Copyright © 2015 Penguin Random House LLC

  Penguin Random House supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin Random House to continue to publish books for every reader.

  ISBN: 978-1-101-62323-7

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Version_1

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Map

  Cast of Characters

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER 1: MAGNUS

  CHAPTER 2: JONAS

  CHAPTER 3: CLEO

  CHAPTER 4: LUCIA

  CHAPTER 5: FELIX

  CHAPTER 6: AMARA

  CHAPTER 7: JONAS

  CHAPTER 8: MAGNUS

  CHAPTER 9: JONAS

  CHAPTER 10: FELIX

  CHAPTER 11: CLEO

  CHAPTER 12: MAGNUS

  CHAPTER 13: JONAS

  CHAPTER 14: LUCIA

  CHAPTER 15: AMARA

  CHAPTER 16: CLEO

  CHAPTER 17: LUCIA

  CHAPTER 18: JONAS

  CHAPTER 19: FELIX

  CHAPTER 20: MAGNUS

  CHAPTER 21: CLEO

  CHAPTER 22: AMARA

  CHAPTER 23: JONAS

  CHAPTER 24: FELIX

  CHAPTER 25: LUCIA

  CHAPTER 26: CLEO

  CHAPTER 27: AMARA

  CHAPTER 28: MAGNUS

  CHAPTER 29: LUCIA

  CHAPTER 30: CLEO

  CHAPTER 31: MAGNUS

  CHAPTER 32: LUCIA

  CHAPTER 33: CLEO

  CHAPTER 34: JONAS

  Acknowledgments

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  Limeros

  MAGNUS LUKAS DAMORA

  Prince

  LUCIA EVA DAMORA

  Princess and sorceress

  GAIUS DAMORA

  The king of Mytica

  FELIX GRAEBAS

  Assassin

  GARETH CIRELLO

  Grand kingsliege

  KURTIS CIRELLO

  Lord Gareth’s son

  LORD FRANCUS

  Royal council member

  LORD LOGGIS

  Royal council member

  HIGH PRIEST DANUS

  Royal council member

  MILO IAGARIS

  Palace guard

  ENZO

  Palace guard

  Paelsia

  JONAS AGALLON

  Rebel leader

  LYSANDRA BARBAS

  Rebel

  OLIVIA

  Witch

  LAELIA

  Tavern dancer

  Auranos

  CLEIONA (CLEO) AURORA BELLOS

  Princess of Auranos

  NICOLO (NIC) CASSIAN

  Cleo’s best friend

  NERISSA FLORENS

  Cleo’s attendant

  GALYN

  Tavern owner

  BRUNO

  Galyn’s father

  Kraeshia

  CYRUS CORTAS

  Emperor

  DASTAN

  Prince—first born

  ELAN

  Prince—second born

  ASHUR CORTAS

  Prince—third born

  AMARA CORTAS

  Princess—fourth born

  NEELA

  Amara’s grandmother

  MIKAH KASRO

  Kraeshian guard

  TARAN

  Revolutionary

  The Sanctuary

  TIMOTHEUS

  Elder Watcher

  KYAN

  Fire Kindred

  PROLOGUE

  35 Years Ago

  The pitch-black monster reached toward the young boy with horrible, long-fingered hands, pressing him down into his bed, smothering him. It did this every night. And every night, the boy was terrified.

  “No,” he whispered. “It’s not a monster, it’s just the darkness. It’s just the darkness!”

  He wasn’t a baby anymore, afraid of the dark. He was nearly eight years old, and he swore to the goddess he wouldn’t cry out for his mother this time.

  But this resolve lasted only a few more moments, until he couldn’t hold back his fear any longer. “Mother!” he called, and, as she always did, she came to him immediately and sat on the edge of his bed.

  “My darling.” She gathered him into her arms and, clutching her tightly and feeling like a weak little fool, he let out a shuddery sob against her shoulder. “It’s all right. I’m here now.”

  Light swelled as she lit the candle next to his bed. Though her beautiful face was cast in shadows, he could see anger in it, but he could tell it was not directed at him. “I’ve told them again and again to always have a candle burning in your room at night.”

  “The breeze may have put it out,” he reasoned, not wanting to get any of his nursemaids in trouble.

  “Perhaps.” She pressed her hand to his cheek. “Do you feel better now?”

  Now with the light returned and his mother here he only felt foolish. “I’m sorry. I should have been braver.”

  “Many fear the darkness, for very good reason,” she told him. “You’re not the only one who sees in it a horrible monster. But the only way to defeat the monster is . . . how?”

  “By making friends with it.”

  “That’s right.” She waved a hand at the lantern on the wall, lighting it with her fire magic. He watched her with awe, as he always did when she wielded elementia. She raised a brow at his reaction. “You don’t think I’m a monster, do you?”

  “Of course not,” he said, shaking his head. His mother was a witch—a secret she’d shared only with him. She’d told him that some people were afraid of witches and thought them to be evil, but they were wrong. “Tell me the story again,” the boy said.

  “Which one?”

  “The one about the Kindred.” It was his favorite story, and it always helped him fall asleep on troubled nights.

  “Very well.” She smiled as she took her son’s small hand in hers. “There were once four crystal orbs that were carefully guarded by the immortals. Each orb contained pure elemental magic—the magic that makes life itself possible. It was said that their magic could be seen swirling, endlessly, inside, and that you could feel their power when you held them in your hand. In the amber orb was fire magic. In the aquamarine, water. In the moonstone, air. And the darkest obsidian orb held earth magic. When the immortal goddesses Valoria and Cleiona fled their enemies in their world and came here to ours, they each brought with them two orbs that gave them incredible powers. Which ones did Valoria possess and protect, my darling?”

  “Earth and Water.”

  “And Cleiona?”

  “Fire and Air.”

  “Yes. But soon the goddesses were not satisfied to possess only half of the elementia each. Each wanted more, so she could rule the world without anyone else standing in her way.” Whenever his mother told these stories, she would get a dreamy, faraway look in her eyes. “Alas, this lust for power transformed these two immortals, who were once sisters, into the fiercest of enemies. They fought a great and terrible war against each other. In the end, neither was victorious. They were both destroyed and the crystals were lost. Ever since, magic has been fading in this world—and it will
continue to fade until someone finds the crystals again and unlocks their magic.

  “An ancient prophecy states that one day, a mortal child will be born with the power of a sorceress, who will be able to command all four elements with a strength unseen in a thousand years.” There was no way a witch like his mother could do that. She had some fire magic abilities, enough to light candles, and a little earth magic that helped heal his cuts and scrapes, but that was all. “This prophesized child will be the key to finding the Kindred—and unlocking the magic within them.” Her face had flushed with excitement. “Of course, many believe this is only a legend.”

  “But you believe it’s real.”

  “With all my heart and all my soul.” She squeezed his hand. “And I also believe that you will be the one to find this important, magical child, and that you will claim this treasure for yourself. I knew it from the very moment you were born.”

  He felt very special whenever she told him this, but it was never long until doubt set in and that feeling fled.

  As if sensing his uncertainty, she cupped his face in her hands and stared deeply into his eyes. “You will not always be afraid of the dark. One day you will be strong and brave, growing more and more so with each year to come. Darkness will not scare you. Nothing will scare you. And without fear holding you back, you’ll take your place upon the throne and achieve your destiny.”

  “Like Father?”

  Her expression shadowed. “No. You will be much stronger than he could ever hope to be.”

  Her vision for him sounded so incredible that he wanted it to be true right now. “When will I change?”

  She kissed his forehead. “The most important changes take time and patience. But I have faith in you—more than anyone else in the whole world. You are destined for greatness, Gaius Damora. And I swear—no matter what I must do to ensure it—that greatness will be yours.”

  CHAPTER 1

  MAGNUS

  LIMEROS

  All women are deceptive, dangerous creatures. Each a spider poisonous enough to kill with a single bite. Remember that.”

  The advice Magnus’s father once gave him echoed in his memory as he stood on the Ravencrest docks and watched the Kraeshian ship disappear into the darkness. The King of Blood had never fully trusted a woman. Not his queen, not his former mistress and advisor, not even an immortal who whispered secrets to him in his dreams. Magnus usually ignored most of what his ruthless father said, but now he knew who was the most dangerous and deceptive of all.

  Amara Cortas had stolen the Kindred, an aquamarine orb which contained the essence of water magic, leaving blood and destruction in her wake.

  The driving snow bit into his skin, helping to numb the pain of his broken arm. Dawn was still hours off and the night was frigid enough to steal his life if he was careless.

  Still, he found it impossible to do anything but stare out at the black waters and the stolen treasure that was supposed to be his.

  “Now what?” Cleo’s voice finally interrupted his dark thoughts.

  For a moment, he’d forgotten that he wasn’t alone.

  “Now what, princess?” he hissed, frozen clouds forming before his mouth with each word he spoke. “Well, I suppose we should enjoy the short time we have left before my father’s men arrive to execute us on sight.”

  The penalty for treason was death, even for the heir to the throne. And he had, most certainly, committed treason when he helped the princess currently standing behind him escape execution.

  Next it was Nic’s voice that sliced through the cold night. “I have a suggestion, your highness,” he said. “If you’re finished inspecting the water for clues, why don’t you jump in and swim after that murderous bitch’s ship?”

  As usual, Cleo’s favorite minion spoke to Magnus with unvarnished contempt. “If I thought I could catch her, I would,” he replied with matching venom.

  “We’ll get the water Kindred back,” Cleo said. “And Amara will pay for what she’s done.”

  “I’m not sure I share your confidence,” Magnus said. Finally, he glanced at her over his shoulder: Princess Cleiona Bellos, her familiar beauty lit only by the moon and a few lanterns set along the docks.

  He had yet to think of her as a Damora. She had once asked to keep her family name, as she was the last in her line, and he’d agreed. The king had chastised him for allowing her, a princess forced into an arranged marriage to help make the conquering royals more palatable to the conquered kingdom and hopefully stifle an immediate rebellion amongst the Auranian people, any liberties at all.

  Despite the fur-lined cloak that she’d pulled over her head to shield her long golden hair from the snow, Cleo shivered. Her face was pale and she wrapped her arms tightly around herself.

  She hadn’t complained about the cold, not once on their swift journey from the Temple of Valoria to the city. They’d barely exchanged a single word until now.

  Then again, far too many words had been exchanged between them the previous night, before chaos had descended.

  “Give me one good reason why you wouldn’t let Cronus kill me,” she’d demanded when she’d finally cornered him, alone, at Lady Sophia’s villa.

  And instead of continuing to ignore or deny what he’d done—slaying the guard who’d been given the king’s command to end the imprisoned princess’s life—he’d given her an answer, the words tearing painfully from his throat as if he had no control over them.

  “You are the only light I can see anymore,” he’d whispered. “And, whatever the cost, I refuse to let that light be extinguished.”

  Magnus knew he’d given Cleo far too much power over him in that moment. He felt that weakness now—compounded by everything that had happened the night before, beginning with the earth-shattering kiss that had followed his foolish confession of her growing importance to him.

  Thankfully that kiss had been interrupted before he’d lost himself completely.

  “Magnus? Are you all right?” Cleo touched his arm, but he stiffened and pulled away from her, as if he’d been burned. Confusion fought with concern in her blue-green eyes.

  “I’m fine,” he said.

  “But your arm—”

  “I’m fine,” he repeated, more firmly.

  She pressed her lips together, her gaze hardening. “Good.”

  “We need a plan,” Nic snapped. “And we need one now before we freeze to death out here.”

  His tone tore Magnus’s attention away from the princess and straight to the red-headed, freckle-faced boy who’d always seemed weak and useless . . . at least until tonight.

  “You want a plan?” Magnus growled. “Here’s my plan. Take your precious princess and leave. Board a ship for Auranos. Hike down to Paelsia. I don’t care. I’ll tell my father you’re both dead. The only way you’ll remain alive and well is if you go into exile.”

  Nic’s eyes flashed with surprise, as if this were the last thing he’d expected Magnus to say. “You mean it? We can go?”

  “Yes, go.” It was the best decision for everyone. Cleo had become a dangerous distraction, and Nic was at best an annoyance and at worst a threat. “That is an order.”

  He looked up at Cleo, expecting to see relief in the princess’s eyes.

  Instead, all he saw was outrage.

  “An order, is it?” she hissed. “I’m sure it would make things much easier for you if we weren’t around, yes? Much easier to find your sorceress sister and get your hands on the remaining crystals.”

  The reminder of Lucia, who had eloped to Limeros with Alexius, her Watcher tutor, was an unexpected blow. There had been blood on the floor when they’d arrived at the temple—and it could have very well been Lucia’s.

  She has to be alive. He refused to think any other way. She was alive, and when he found her he was going to kill Alexius.

  “Think whatever you like, princess,” he said, returning to the more immediate issue. Of course he wanted the Kindred for himself. Did she expect he’d want
to share it with the girl who, since nearly the moment they met, has been waiting for any opportunity to reclaim her throne? The Kindred would give her the power to claim not just Auranos, but any other throne she wanted.

  He needed that power in his hands—no one else’s—and then finally he would have absolute control over his life and his future with no one to fear and no one to answer to.

  Not even whatever it was that had happened between them earlier could change that. They were two people on opposite sides who both wanted the same thing, but only one could succeed. He wouldn’t give up everything he’d ever wanted—not for anyone.

  A flush of color had returned to the princess’s cheeks, and her eyes flashed with frustration. “I’m not going anywhere. You and I will go to the palace together. And we will search for Lucia together. And when your father comes for us, we will face his wrath together.”

  He glared down at the angry princess. She stared back up at him, without intimidation. Her shoulders back, her chin up, she was a burning torch in the middle of the cold, endless night.

  How he wished he was strong enough to hate her.

  “Very well,” he said through clenched teeth. “But remember, this decision was yours alone.”

  • • •

  The carriage reached the Limerian palace grounds and passed through the guarded checkpoint shortly after the sun had risen. Perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Silver Sea, the black castle was in stark contrast to its pristinely white surroundings. Its obsidian towers rose up into the morning sky like the claws of a dark and powerful god.

  Many found this to be an intimidating sight, but to Magnus, it was home. An odd flutter of nostalgia rushed through him; memories of simpler times, of riding and swordsmanship classes with the sons of local nobles. Of roaming the grounds with Lucia at his side, a book always in her hands. Of the queen, venturing outside wrapped in furs to welcome important guests arriving for a banquet. Of his father returning with the fruits of a successful hunt, greeting his young son with a rare smile.