Ash Princess Read online

  Contents

  Introduction

  Prologue

  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

  Epilogue

  Copyright © 2019/2020 Eve Langlais

  Yocla Designs © 2019

  Produced in Canada

  Published by Eve Langlais ~ www.EveLanglais.com

  eBook ISBN: 978 177 384 119 9

  Print ISBN: 978 177 384 120 5

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  This is a work of fiction and the characters, events and dialogue found within the story are of the author's imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, either living or deceased, is completely coincidental.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or shared in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including but not limited to digital copying, file sharing, audio recording, email, photocopying, and printing without permission in writing from the author.

  Introduction

  From the ashes rises a fiery love.

  * * *

  An old crone has a prophecy for Cam. Travel to the Diamond Kingdom and prepare to sacrifice yourself.

  Sounds like a suicide mission to him, but what else is he going to do? Everyone he loves is in grave danger, and he might be the only one who can save them.

  What he doesn’t expect was to find any people still alive. It’s been over twenty years since anyone was last seen coming out of Diamond. A long time for a small group of people to survive. And now they’re looking at him for help.

  How can he say no? Especially to a princess who’s already suffered so much. Because of her, he finds a reason to fight. A reason to live.

  What a shame he has to die.

  Prologue

  When humanity first emerged from the ground, poking their heads out of the tunnels they’d lived in for generations, they discovered the Earth had changed. Gone were the civilized cities and towns. Wiped out were all the forests and lakes and rivers. New Earth was a harsh land, scoured by fierce storms, the very air dangerous to breathe. Not a conducive place for mankind.

  But humans are good at adapting. They built domes around habitats to protect themselves from the worst, and they flourished. They thrived under the rule of the Enclave, the government that formed when everything else failed. It went on for many generations, the blossoming population expanding across an entire continent named Ozz. The domes they erected rose like determined pustules on the surface and fought back against the death that awaited outside the protected walls.

  As New Earth recovered from the Fall—the meteor shower that pulverized the world—the conditions above ground improved. Eventually some areas discovered they no longer needed the bubbles over their towns.

  The Sapphire Kingdom rid itself of its domes first. They lived within the lushest of lands. They had the most freedom, too. Most recently, the Sapphire Kingdom split into two because a Marshland upstart who styled himself king claimed the swamps.

  The Sapphire court had no interest in the swaps. Ensconced in their fiefdom overlooking Port City and the Ocean, they didn’t protest much when Roark, a nobody, stated he was taking them. Let someone else deal with the uncivilized savages that were nothing like the city citizens.

  A recent peace was achieved between the two kingdoms. The daughter of the murdered Sapphire king took power. She was betrothed to the brother of the new Marshland king. It all worked out very well.

  But moving onward…

  To the south of the continent, the Lazuli once thrived. They were the ones still closely attuned to the old sciences. Especially that of medicine. In their quest to improve mankind, they took things too far and were now on the path to extinction.

  Rumor had it a monster they created had done severe damage to their capital. Add in the tragedy at the Red Keep and they were a people in danger of dying out. Perhaps for the best given what they’d done.

  Toward the center of Ozz, past the massive mountain ranges, were the ever-harsh lands of Emerald, where most citizens still lived inside domes because the outside—the Wasteland as they called it—had more than a thousand ways to kill a human.

  Soon to be one thousand and one. Just when a person thought they knew them all, something killed them by fluke.

  The world was not a nice place, and in Emerald, it actually hated humans.

  Moving from there, that left two more kingdoms. Ruby existed on a mix of barren wasteland and rolling grasslands. The grasses were long and lush, always swaying, the edges sharp like scythes. A wind rustling the grassy blades or the predator hiding in them, both could end up being deadly. Ruby kept to itself, more occupied with the pleasures of the flesh and mind than what happened elsewhere.

  Finally, there was the Diamond Kingdom, a place with only a week here and there of temperate days, a frozen wasteland the rest of the time. A powerful kingdom with its famous Cloudring city and a king that eschewed most modern conveniences. They were one of the few who welcomed those willing to work for the privilege of living within their cold lands.

  Until a generation ago when a disaster befell the kingdom. No one knew for sure what happened only that the air turned poisonous and a deadly ash covered the land.

  All trade immediately grounded to a halt, mostly because those who entered Diamond never returned. Not one person emerged from the kingdom after calamity struck, and given the deadly nature of the problem, no one dared to search for survivors.

  Where was a hero when you needed one?

  Chapter 1

  Around the time the Iron Pirate became the pirate king…

  * * *

  “You will soon embark on a dangerous journey to a place none ever return from.”

  Good thing those words weren’t directed at Cam because they sounded awfully ominous. What idiot went on a one-way trip? Life was too precious to toss.

  He strode past a vendor table, not paying it much mind, when the same voice that uttered the sinister fortune said his name. “Camden, I am talking to you.”

  He almost groaned. Now what? He’d read enough adventure stories by now to know what happened if he acknowledged the old woman. She’d say something ridiculous and wise sounding.

  He’d end up agreeing to an impossible quest and—

  I’d get out of here. Suddenly, that sounded like the best idea in the world.

  Cam pivoted and eyed the speaker, who turned out to be a crone, sitting behind a table in the marketplace. Unlike some of the stalls scattered throughout the space, she had no sign. No flashy wares. Just her, the simple wooden table, and the oddly shaped stones spread out before her.

  “How do you know my name?” Because Cam didn’t recall meeting her before, and rarely used his full name. Not to mention, he did not think she could actually see him. The orbs of her eyes shone milky white in a wrinkled face framed by the frizziest of gray hair.

  “The bones tell me many things.” The old woman waved her hands over the bits, and they rattled even though she never touched them. “They told me you are the son born of no woman, a boy with no father, an exile from his homeland, the brother of a queen.”

  He snorted. “You obviously know who I am.” Meaning she wasn’t actually blind. She’d probably seen him before at some stupid court function his sister made
him attend and now thought him an easy mark to ply her tricks on.

  “I know you, Camden the Lonely. I’ve seen you in the bones. The child who used to hold in his cries of pain when they tortured him. The boy who suffered alone when he allowed himself to be hurt to spare his sister. The man who drifts aimlessly because he doesn’t belong anywhere.”

  How did she know?

  Intrigued despite himself, Cam sat on the stool in front of the fortune teller. “What else do you see?”

  The opaque gaze fixed in his direction, as if staring at him and elsewhere at the same time. The wrinkled hand waved over the bones. The yellowed pieces rattled and shifted, some rolling, others twisting. The use of power brought an acrid chill to the air. He could see his breath puffing as he waited for an answer.

  “You are adrift now that your womb mate has found the other half to her soul. You are unsatisfied. You seek fulfillment.”

  Uncanny how she pinpointed his discontent.

  The crone continued. “You crave a real adventure. A purpose. Are desperate for love. A family. Children…”

  The very suggestion he was desperate peeved him. “Like fuck I am.” He snorted as he rose. He shouldn’t have wasted time with the charlatan who did petty magic tricks to try and seem real.

  “You can’t lie to the bones,” the fortune teller replied.

  Cam wanted to refute her accusation. How dare she accuse him of not telling the truth?

  Except he did lie and had been for a while. On the surface, what did he have to complain about? He’d gone from being one of the Emerald Kingdom’s most wanted to advisor to a king, living in a palace with delicious meals any time of day and a bed with the softest of sheets. He had a purpose as the lead hunter, keeping the city of Eden safe from the shit that liked to crawl out of the swamp. With everything he’d ever wanted now in his grasp, why did he feel incomplete?

  “What else is there for me? I’m needed here.” Another lie. He was easily replaced.

  “You are needed more urgently elsewhere.”

  “Elsewhere?” He frowned. “You mean leave Eden?” Definitely doable. The Marshlands were extensive. And he’d been pondering leaving for a while. He needed a change.

  “You will travel farther than you’ve ever travelled before, to the northwest reaches and the lands that have been forgotten.”

  “Hold up.” He shook his head. “You’re talking about the Diamond Kingdom. Even I’m not stupid enough to agree to go there. It’s a death sentence.” People who entered the Diamond Kingdom didn’t return. Some claimed the very air was poisoned. Others that there were monsters. Either way, it was not a place anyone chose to visit, and no one had exited it in a long, long time.

  “Let’s not be melodramatic. We both know it might cause death to most, but you are not like most people, Camden.”

  There she went again, using a name he never heard anymore. A name she shouldn’t have known. He’d left it behind when he and his sister, Casey, escaped the Enclave’s grip.

  “I can’t leave. I have responsibilities here. My sister needs me.” Another lie. He was on a roll today. Casey didn’t need him anymore. Not now that she had her king. Even in his head that sounded whiny and pathetic.

  “You can’t defy the fates,” the seer barked. Her head tilted back, and the air turned downright frigid. The voice that emerged from her stiff lips had a deepness to it, a resonance that brushed coldly against his skin. “From the land of melted ice, the toxin shall spread, sowing death and an end to the living. He of no father shall journey to the heart and do battle. But to prevail he must relinquish himself to the fury of the ice.”

  “I don’t relinquish,” he muttered, feeling a need to say something to break the strange spell this crone had on him.

  “If you don’t cede, then all of Ozz will die.”

  The wind that suddenly slammed through the marketplace had him shielding his eyes. Merchants shouted, their panic sharp as they worried about their wares. More shrieks came from citizens as they took cover from the sudden storm.

  When it subsided, Cam glanced over to check on the crone, only to do a double take. Her seat was empty. He leaned over the table to glance behind it, but she and her bones were gone as if she’d never existed. Yet her strange words repeated themselves, especially the last line. If you don’t cede, then Ozz will die.

  If taken literally, then he was expected to sacrifice himself for the greater good. How the fuck was that supposed to fix anything?

  He glared at the empty chair. Had there even been a woman here at all? Or was someone messing with his mind? He glanced around, looking to see if anyone paid him attention. The merchants were still sorting their wares, and citizens talked in excited clusters about the freak wind.

  Nothing he could hit or kill. He didn’t get a hint of anything suspicious. Disappointing. He needed a drink. But something good, not the piss in the taverns. He knew just the place.

  He headed to the castle. How nonchalantly that thought now came to him. Exiting the marketplace, he couldn’t help but ruminate on how his life had changed. Not too long ago, he’d lived in a cramped hangar that was partially buried underground with close to fifty people crammed inside. That was when they lived in the Emerald Kingdom and held the title of Wasteland Rats, among other things. Personally, he preferred marauder. It had a more dangerous ring.

  Those fifty odd rats, who wanted to live outside Enclave rules, ended up living in Haven, a place governed by a guy named Axel. A good, honest fellow who’d helped save so many. Casey and Cam met Axel because of Benny, the man who’d found the two orphans in the Wasteland and took them in to raise. Which proved to be a harder task than expected since Cam and his sister didn’t trust easily. But over time, that changed. Especially once they met Axel and the others that formed Haven. It helped to find out they had a common purpose—namely survival and doing whatever they could to harass the Enclave that hunted them.

  It was a good few years, even if they had some hard times, like when they lost someone they knew to the reality that was new Earth. Only the strongest survived.

  That was especially important in the Emerald Kingdom where the land fought the living every inch of the way. Not so much in Sapphire or the Marshlands.

  Here in the city of Eden, the people enjoyed a level of safety he could have never imagined. Walls rose more than twenty feet high to keep the predators out. Soldiers patrolled the streets. People obeyed laws that were tough but fair, rules created by a self-proclaimed king.

  Most of the time if someone decided to give themselves a rank, they’d be ridiculed or killed. Only the Enclave was supposed to elevate the worthy.

  Roark told the Enclave to fuck off and gave himself a crown. Those that followed him cheered, and those numbers just kept increasing. The citizens idolized their king and with good reason. Roark didn’t just spit in the face of the Enclave. He took care of his people. One only had to look around at the city he’d founded. Once a place of ruins with buildings long tumbled and the streets overgrown, Roark took a decaying remnant of their past back from the swamp. Even provided the means to rebuild.

  Cam admired the accomplishment and, in the same measure, wanted to escape it. Yes, it was a form of paradise with everything he thought he wanted except one thing.

  Eden didn’t need him.

  No one did.

  I’m all alone.

  The pathetic nature of his own thoughts almost had him slapping himself. The woe-is-me party had to stop. Especially since it only proved his sister right. Her voice pitying when she’d said, “I want to live my own life. And it’s time you started yours.”

  At times he wanted to scream and rage. The very fact she was right, and he didn’t want to accept it, only confirmed they required separation. No more sharing a house or a room. They now embarked on missions with other people, no more being a team.

  It should have been enough.

  Problem was, even though Cam didn’t see Casey every day anymore, he was still in the same c
ity. Hearing her name. Aware she was somewhere nearby, meaning he fought the urge to check on her.

  It was a hard habit to break. Cam had been taking care of Casey for as long as he could remember. When they were little and the people in the white coats would come and run their tests, he’d always volunteered first to try and spare her. When they escaped, he’d had to quickly learn how to fight the very land itself, not just the perils that tried to kill them but the chill at night that required them huddling for warmth.

  They’d always been together. A duo. Inseparable until she met Roark and chose him over her very own brother.

  Worst part was he couldn’t even hate the guy. Fucking asshole just had to be radioactive—a Wastelander term for fucking awesome.

  These days, Casey was off doing her own thing and Cam was hanging around moping. Maybe he should head north like the fortune teller said and fulfill his destiny.

  Upon entering the castle, a huge structure that was a mishmash of old and new, he wasn’t struck by the awe he’d experienced the first time he’d seen it. The biggest building he’d ever encountered, and most lavishly appointed, he remembered thinking how lucky people were to live inside it. Then he was given a room and realized that the large amount of space only served to make him feel more isolated and out of place.

  Striding across the gleaming floor, he paused as he heard someone shouting for him.

  “Cam, about fucking time. I’ve had people looking for you,” Titan hollered. A glance around showed the man beckoning.

  Cam shoved his hands into his pockets and sauntered over. “Why are you looking for me? Need someone to kick your tin ass?”