The Lost Prince (The Nihryst Book 2)

  Contents

  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

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  The Lost Prince: The Nihryst Book Two

  Copyright © November 2020 by Cait Marie

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons is entirely coincidental.

  This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Printed in the United States of America

  Edited by – Melissa @BooklyStyle

  Interior Design by— Melissa @BooklyStyle

  Proofread by – Leah Miller

  Cover Design by – Maria Spada

  To the K1 gang. You were there the day the Tangled obsession was born, and many of you have now put up with it for a decade. Thank you for sticking with me as I found my new dream.

  “Loxley ran through the enemy forces, slashing at the soldiers,” Shane yelled, swinging his wooden sword, “cutting down anyone who stood in his path!”

  Phillip stood beside him with his own practice blade as they faced their invisible foe in an empty hall. They moved back to back, working together. The sublevel hall reminded Shane more of a tunnel. It sat empty, hidden beneath the main floor of the castle. Its stone walls left the air cool while torches lit the space in set intervals.

  “Shane,” Adalina called out, breaking their focus.

  He sighed and lowered his sword as he turned to face his sister.

  A small foot stamped the ground as she crossed her arms over her chest with a huff. “This isn’t fair. I want to play too.”

  Shane bit back a laugh as he took in her exaggerated pout. He looked to Phillip and saw that his best friend was failing at hiding his own amusement.

  “Ada, you are playing.” Shane pointed the end of his sword toward her. “You’re the witch who cursed us. You are a very important part of the story.”

  “The witch isn’t in this part of the story,” she argued. “She wasn’t in Rayerna during the war.”

  Phillip let out a soft laugh then whispered, “She’s not wrong.”

  “Of course I’m not,” Adalina replied, putting her hands on her hips. “I know the story better than either of you. So, I should get to play a bigger role.”

  They stared at her, knowing she wasn’t finished. When it came to the Nihryst, seven-year-old Adalina knew more than just about anyone. And she was well aware of that. Their mother had read her the stories nearly every day her entire life. For the past two years though, after his mother’s death, he and Phillip had taken over. Thankfully, she could at least read her special story book version on her own now. Shane was spending more and more time shadowing their father and learning about the kingdom, which meant less time with her.

  After a moment, Adalina added, “I want to be the queen.”

  “No,” Shane groaned. It was always the same argument. “I’m Loxley. That’s weird.”

  “So let Phillip be Loxley for once.” Her argument caught him off guard. A stab of guilt went through Shane at his friend’s stillness. Oblivious, Ada went on, “We can play from the beginning, and I’ll be Queen Mariella in love with him.”

  Phillip’s chuckle broke the tension. Shane glared at him, and Phillip cleared his throat.

  Looking back to his sister, Shane said, “How about we just go exploring instead?”

  Adalina’s shoulders drooped, but she nodded and stomped toward them. Phillip draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her down the tunnel. “Come on, Princess. You can pretend to be in love with me another day.”

  Shane saw her blush. Her crush on his best friend wasn’t a secret. They never acknowledged it, hoping she would grow out of it, eventually. Ever since their mother died and Phillip had carried her away, she was practically attached to the boy.

  Shane could still hear her cries from that awful night in his nightmares. She had been lying in her bed with their mother, listening to her usual bedtime story when the queen fell asleep. Adalina’s screams had alerted Shane and Phillip across the hall. They’d ran in and found her trying to wake the queen unsuccessfully. Shane had gone to his mother and shook her shoulder. When she didn’t stir, he’d looked to his friend, unsure of what to do. Without needing to be asked, Phillip had lifted Adalina and carried her away. She’d sobbed as she kicked and hit him, trying to get back to their mother. Phillip took her across the hall while Shane went to get help, knowing it was too late.

  Adalina’s giggle brought him back to the present. Shane watched his two favorite people walking ahead of him. Their laughter echoed along the stone walls. He was grateful Phillip could make his sister smile. Her joy was absent too often these days. Something Shane understood all too well. He tried to keep the darkness from showing though, for Adalina’s sake. That night had changed all of their lives in many ways, but for her, he needed to keep up the brave façade. She was far too young to deal with a lost mother and a frequently absent, angry father.

  They turned the corner and walked down an incline. The air grew chillier, and Shane pulled his sleeves down farther, still gripping his fake sword in one hand. Nobody used the tunnels anymore. They had wandered the lower levels frequently over the years and never came across others. Adalina always wanted to visit the dungeons that, according to the stories, once held the Nihryst.

  A loud, agonizing yell disrupted the silence of the empty tunnels. They froze in their tracks. They were close to the cells, but far enough that whoever was down there would not have heard their approach. A clanking noise, followed by a wailing, made Shane’s heart pound. His stomach twisted as he realized what they heard.

  They had seen the devices many times, but he thought they sat untouched for decades. Adalina didn’t even know what they were. He’d just brushed off her questions about them when asked.

  Shane heard her breath catch, and he knew that if she wasn’t putting it together, she at least understood the sound was of someone in pain. She took a step, but Phillip’s arm tightened around her, holding her in place. Whirling around with wide eyes, she met Shane’s gaze. He shook his head slightly, unsure what to do or say.

  “Someone is hurt.” Her words were barely more than a brea
th. When he didn’t respond, she clenched her fists and straightened to her full height. With more force, she demanded, “We have to do something!”

  Her eyes filled with tears, and she faced the other direction once more. She shrugged out of Phillip’s hold and marched toward the commotion, much braver than someone so young had the right to be. It only took a second for Shane to shake off the shock. He strode forward, his longer footsteps making it easy to catch her. Shane wrapped his free arm around her middle.

  “No,” he whispered. He dragged her back the way they came, but she dug her heels into the ground and fought his grip.

  “We have to stop it,” she hissed.

  Phillip moved around to block her. “Adalina, we can’t. You know we can’t,” he begged her to understand.

  That didn’t deter her though. She yanked and pulled away from Shane’s arms. In one swift move, as she stepped away, Phillip grabbed her by the shoulders, spun her around, and Shane hauled her over one shoulder. He had recently hit a growth spurt and stood a foot taller than her. He carried her back upstairs easily. She beat at his back, and Phillip quickly grabbed her wrists.

  No one paid them any attention on the main floor as they made their way up to the royal residences. Adalina yelled for them to let her go, but the passing maids and guards smiled at the trio and continued with their work. They were used to seeing the three of them running around the castle together, causing trouble.

  In Adalina’s room, Phillip shut the door behind them. Shane flopped his sister onto the bed and put his sword against the wall. She scrambled up, but they both stood in front of her and held her by the shoulders.

  “Ada, stop!” Shane knelt before her. She met his eyes, her own filled with tears. He raised up and wrapped his arms around her small frame. She shook with sobs as he lifted her and stood. He turned and took her spot on the bed, keeping her on his lap. She buried her face against his shoulder. Whispering that it was going to be all right, he gently held the back of her head.

  “Shane,” she hiccupped, “someone’s hurting down there. We have to tell someone. Maybe father—”

  “Father knows,” Shane said in a soft tone. Since their mother’s death, the king had changed. He’d always had an angry streak, but he had doted on his family for a time. Especially Adalina. He was no longer that man. It was why Shane tried to spend so much time with Adalina—he never wanted his sister to feel the abandonment he faced daily.

  “Was it those devices? Do you think the Nihryst were hurt down there like that?”

  Her words cracked his heart. She was too smart for her own good. Shane had never liked to see her upset, but when he stepped in as a substitute parent, he hadn’t expected it to consist of so much pain. He was only five years older—not even a teenager yet. But he was all she had. With their father locked in his study at all hours or across the sea, it was just them.

  Well, them and Phillip.

  He looked to his best friend who sat silently beside them. Phillip reached over and rubbed her shoulder. “No. Those devices don’t look old enough to have been down there when they were.”

  Adalina sniffed. Shane mouthed a thank you to Phillip, and he nodded. She would believe him—believe the lie. Shane shifted her to one side then reached for the book on her bedside table. Hoping it would distract her from the truth of the horrors happening beneath their feet, he flipped it open and pulled the cards out from the center pages before turning back to the beginning.

  As he read, she calmed down. When they reached the map in the middle once more, she whispered, “I’m going to find them one day.”

  She held Loxley’s card firmly in one hand as she traced the golden symbols with her other fingers. Shane kissed the side of her head and tightened his hold around her. “Yes, you will, sweetheart.”

  12 years later...

  A hand shot out, grabbing Ada around the waist and pulling her into a narrow alley. She didn’t question it. Instead, she grabbed the man’s hand, and they ran through the shadows without a word.

  As they reached the end of the alley, shouts rang out behind them. They turned the corner, jogged the short length of the street, and came out to a crowded market area. Melding with the people, Ada slowed to catch her breath.

  Barely pausing long enough to pay, Lee grabbed a hooded coat from a vendor and moved behind her. He helped her into the sleeves as they continued to walk.

  “Let’s get that beautiful face hidden,” he said, his breath brushing her ear before he tugged the hood up. The face of the princess of Detmarya was well known in the allying kingdom of Rayerna, and she needed to stay unseen.

  Ada slipped her arm through his and moved closer as they walked across the market. Despite the crowd and the warm sun on their backs, crisp autumn air surrounded them. The noise of everyone talking over each other, of the vendors making sales, muted out any conversation she might have with Lee.

  Shouts sounded through the marketplace, and the people around them scrambled to get out of the way. Lee looked over his shoulder, cursing under his breath as he grasped Ada’s hand and began running again. The people parted, and the two quickly made their way to the far end of the busy square.

  “This way.”

  She barely heard his words but followed anyway. They turned down another alley, their feet echoing off the stone walls. As they reached a tall stack of crates, Ada yanked on his hand and pulled him behind it. She stood in the corner between Lee and the boxes. He pushed her back as far as possible, his body pressing into her.

  Footsteps quickly approached, and they held their breath as a dozen guards passed them. Looking down at Ada, Lee held a finger to his lips. She scowled at the familiar smirk, but he simply leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. When the alley grew quiet, they walked back the way they came.

  Ducking into dark coves and hiding among crowds, they made it to the open docks. Across from the ships and sailors hard at work, Lee tapped out a pattern on the side door of a warehouse they had bought. It opened, and they quickly stepped inside. With a nod to Stuart, they went upstairs.

  At the landing, Lee reached for the doorknob, but Ada grabbed his arm. She turned and pushed him up against the adjacent wall. “You agreed no more stealing. We’re trying to be inconspicuous, remember?”

  He sighed, and the bag hanging from one shoulder dropped to the floor with a thud. His hands went to her hips as he grinned. “Old habits.”

  She shook her head. “You are incredibly frustrating sometimes.”

  “You know you love it,” Lee whispered, pulling her closer.

  Rolling her eyes, she fought a smile as she looked up into the bright blue-green eyes she’d dreamed of her whole life. She raised up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck.

  “So stubborn,” he said before meeting her lips with his own. Her mouth parted, and she leaned fully into him. One of Lee’s hands threaded through her hair.

  A throat cleared.

  Ada pulled away just enough to turn and lay her head against Lee’s shoulder to look at the figure in the now-open doorway. Ada grinned as Lee sighed. His arms were still wrapped around her waist, refusing to move.

  “I was starting to get worried you were caught.”

  “You knew what he was going to do?” Ada lifted her head.

  “You didn’t?” Brienne laughed.

  Ada stepped out of his hold, crossed her arms, and narrowed her eyes at Lee. “Just an old habit, huh?”

  Before he could reply, she stormed past Brienne. She greeted the crew sitting around the open space and slammed the door to one of the bedrooms, followed by the bathing room door. At the washstand, she splashed her face with cool water. She was grateful to finally have fresh water again. It was a long two months at sea, and they’d stayed at the castle of Detmarya for only a day before leaving once more.

  When they reached Rayerna, they immediately sought out a place in the village of Senfyr to stay and got lucky. The owner of the warehouse had gone bankrupt and was desperate
to sell. The bottom floor had plenty of space among the old machinery for their supplies, as well as a place for her to practice her sword fighting with some of the crew. The upper floor consisted of a dozen makeshift bedrooms. She hadn’t asked why the living area existed. She wanted to assume the owner had lived there with his family while overseeing the work below. But that didn’t explain the number of bedrooms, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know the truth.

  Ada patted her face with a soft blue towel and looked at the mirror. She tied her hair up with a band she’d bought in the market earlier that week. Wandering the familiar streets of Senfyr as someone other than a princess was a strange experience. One she had grown to love. Without her dresses and jewelry, she went unrecognized in the busy village. Occasionally, she’d get a lingering stare, but no one had called her out so far.

  Taking a deep breath, she returned to the bedroom.

  Lee sat on the edge of the bed, waiting.

  “No more lies,” she started. “That’s what you said—we’re in this together now.”

  He stood and slowly approached. “I’m sorry.” A hand lifted to cup her cheek. “After a century, it’s hard getting used to having someone to trust outside the crew.”

  She sighed and whispered, “I know.”

  Lee pulled her into his arms. “Adalina, love, don’t. That’s not what I meant,” he said, understanding the guilt of the curse hanging over her. They’d spent most of their nights talking about the prophecy and what it could mean.