Wyvern's Prince (The Dragons of Incendium Book 2) Read Free Page B

station, here in their northern hemisphere, near the queen’s palace in their capital city.”
    The image showed a very small star station beside an extensive palace. A large dark shuttle was parked there, with loading doors of a size suitable for loading freight. There were only three more ships, all sleek and small personal vehicles. They seemed to have the royal insignia, though it was difficult to be certain. The palace was made of silvery stone that glittered in the sunlight and there were banners flying from its highest towers.
    It was quite a contrast with Incendium’s star station, where parking was always at a premium. There were dozens, if not hundreds, of small ships there at any given time, in addition to the regularly scheduled shuttles to the orbiting starport and the larger ships docked there.
    “Their single shuttle leaves Regalia monthly and is an older model, somewhat prone to disrepair. They use Incendium’s starport to arrange transport of their goods to off-world markets.” He paused to look at Gemma. “Without us, they would have no interplanetary access.”
    She arched a brow. “Our marital alliance could have practical benefits for Regalia.”
    “Of course.” Kraw continued. “Their communication systems and general technology would be considered grossly inadequate by our standards. I fear you may have a difficult adjustment to make in your new home, Highness.”
    “But they have magic, don’t they?”
    “Magic.” Kraw sighed. “Yes, that is their claim. The origin of the sorcery is the royal family, specifically Queen Arcana, whose abilities are said to be extraordinary. The power to cast spells, to glean the future, to enchant others against their will into doing her desire, to inflict different forms upon others, to read thoughts, to kill with a glance—all these abilities and more are attributed to the queen by rumor and gossip. It is said that she has given individual magical talents to her sons, allowing only one per offspring in order that they would have to band together to defeat her. It is also said that she deliberately fosters dissent between them.” Kraw spread his hands. “These are the recurring rumors. There is no way to affirm which, if any, are true, and which might be either illusion or utterly without foundation.” He cleared his throat. “What we do know is that Queen Arcana has lived a very long time for a mortal woman and has not appeared to age for the past fifty Regalian years. She has borne twelve sons, and did so in rapid succession between twenty-five and forty Regalian years ago.”
    “And Regalian years are only a little longer than our own, I believe?”
    “Yes, Highness. Their orbit is slightly larger than ours, giving us a warmer climate, too. The discrepancy between Incendian years and Regalian years is rounded to four per cent, and beyond the notice of most.” Kraw bowed. “Certainly to an individual of your longevity, Highness, it is of little consequence.”
    Gemma nodded understanding.
    The display changed to show images of men. Some of them were official holograms and familiar to Gemma, while others, she had never seen before. She recognized Canto, for example, before Kraw gestured dismissively to Queen Arcana’s oldest and now deceased son. “It is unknown what magical power Canto might have had, at least here on Incendium.”
    “Whatever it was, it doesn’t seem to have helped him much.”
    “Indeed, Majesty. You are familiar with Urbanus, of course,” he continued and Gemma considered the official hologram of her betrothed. He was handsome, with his dark hair and blue eyes, his confident smile. “You may not be aware that he had a twin brother, Venero.”
    There was a roguish quality about Venero, whose hair was lighter than that of his brother. He had hazel eyes that looked almost golden. The image was a candid one, far more appealing than an official one. He looked to be on the verge of laughter as if he had been caught at some