The Keeper of The Kingdoms (Flyers Of The First Kingdom Book 2), page 1
THE KEEPER OF THE KINGDOMS
EDEN EAVES
CONTENTS
Prologue
1. Kiera
2. Kiera
3. Jaxus
4. Kiera
5. Jaxus
6. Kiera
7. Jaxus
8. Jaxus
9. Jaxus
10. Kiera
11. Jaxus
12. Kiera
13. Kiera
14. Kiera
15. Jaxus
16. Jaxus
17. Kiera
18. Kiera
19. Jaxus
20. Kiera
21. Kiera
22. Kiera
23. Jaxus
24. Jaxus
25. Kiera
26. Jaxus
27. Jaxus
28. Kiera
29. Kiera
30. Kiera
31. Kiera
32. Jaxus
33. Jaxus
34. Kiera
35. Jaxus
36. Kiera
37. Jaxus
38. Kiera
39. Jaxus
40. Kiera
41. Kiera
42. Jaxus
43. Kiera
44. Jaxus
45. Jaxus
46. Kiera
47. Jaxus
48. Kiera
49. Kiera
50. Jaxus
51. Jaxus
52. Kiera
53. Jaxus
54. Kiera
55. Jaxus
56. Kiera
57. Jaxus
58. Kiera
59. Kiera
60. Jaxus
61. Kiera
Epilogue
About the Authors
Acknowledgments
ABOUT KEEPER OF THE KINGDOM
My life has a plan.
And not one that involves a dragon.
I have work to do. Obligations. I’m a healer and my duty is to the Forest Kingdom.
I absolutely don’t have time for diversions, or to learn to be a dragon ryder.
I already have magic, I don't need to learn more. I do not have time for the complications he brings to my life.
But I’m losing my best friend to madness and without him the Twelve Kingdoms will fall to the undead. And the only one who can help me find a way to help him is the irresistibly, frustratingly, attractive dragon who is knocking my life off course.
Only I find I need Jaxus more than I thought possible, and maybe he is the key to unlock the parts of me that can cure Nyx and save us all.
Because he knows a lot more than your average flyer.
And in my world, knowledge is power.
Welcome to the Forest Kingdom.
Copyright © 2024 by Eden Eaves
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
No AI was used in the making of this novel or cover. This work may not be used to train AI.
Who doesn’t want to ryde a dragon… both ways?
PROLOGUE
The sliver of the waxing moon was at the highest point in the night sky and the time for my task began.
The weather would soon turn, but the fire engulfing Octavian’s body burned on as it crackled and illuminated several feet into the sky. It was the only light this side of the palace walls, where the city ended and plains rolled into hills beyond.
He’d been given a traitor’s funeral. No rites or prayers, only dragon fire to make sure he couldn’t return to haunt the living.
My goal lay with his remains. A simple mission but an important one. I could not fail. The Goddess counted on our success.
I kept to the gloom cast by the palace walls, covering my approach with shadows of my own. Cloaked in darkness the way we worked best. Our mission existed in the dark.
The stench of charred flesh was thick in my nostrils. A complicated magic, but a nice effect .
My guardians were stationed close to thwart any threat to my mission, searching for any risk of being seen or errant flyer hanging above.
I listened for warnings, but the silence kept.
I thanked the Goddess and approached the pyre. The fire around Octavian’s body burned hot, but I was immune. I almost laughed at the ease of carrying out this illusion. The arrogance of the King and his new general would be their downfall.
Passing unharmed and unseen through the three rings of fire, I found what I was here for and what should long be ash, lay fully intact. Octavian’s body, even devoid of the ritual cloth of funeral rites, was barely singed. I ran my fingers down his sternum, checking for the spark there.
Threads curled up out of his chest like snakes around my fingers, gripping onto anything they could hold. I pulled back sharply, shaking them off.
“Patience, my Lord.”
I took the crystal from around my neck and slipped it around his.
His remains were anointed by the crystal, and my work was half done. I pressed it into his unmoving chest, feeding it to the hungry tendrils, willing themselves from his flesh. The magic curled around the offering, probing and exploring before accepting it. It began melting into his skin. Absorbed to be used.
A smile pulled at my mouth.
Right on time, as the Goddess predicted.
I busied myself with the rest of my work, tying crystals to his wrists and ankles, then stepped back and raised my palms up. The body lifted, hovering above the scorched ground, and I covered it the same way I had myself with my shadow magic, keeping us from prying eyes.
I then waited for the bells to ring the change of hour. At last came one chime, then two. My moment had arrived. I moved Octavian forward, turning to cast a final illusion in his place. A body that would turn to ash and become nothing more than fertilizer for the land it burned upon.
With my charge in hand, I moved through the fire and vanished into the darkness beyond. I only had moments to reach my rendezvous point and disappear beneath the city whilst the guards changed. But the Goddess was watching over us and I passed silently under the guard tower, finding the tunnel entrance without incident.
My guardians met me there, and together, we carried our ward below, ready to begin the Goddess’ work.
ONE
KIERA
Nyx pushed into the tavern and waved at the server. “A full round. No, make that two.”
“Is the general paying? Okay.” Luka smirked, settling onto the bench seat beside Zaria.
I took the bench across from them, observing the busy tavern. The whole city was busy today. Everyone had turned out for the memorial service for our dear friend, and Nyx’s twin brother, Kol and no one seemed to feel like returning to work. It felt like a day of celebration for the whole kingdom, and I loved that for Kol. Perhaps we could make it an annual thing?
The wounds of the tragedy that befell the First Flight were still fresh, but the knowledge that the one ultimately responsible had been dealt with had eased some of the pain. Octavian had been the right hand to General Asra, Nyx’s father, and had temporarily filled the role of general after his passing until Nyx could find his ryder and assume his rightful place. Everyone had trusted him. Nyx had thought of him as family, so his treachery had cut deep.
I studied our small group, we were scarred but not broken. Nyx was still whole and that was important to me. I shuddered to think what kind of state he would be in from losing his twin if he hadn’t found his mate. I suspected Zaria was the only thing getting him through right now. Without Kol and the rest of the rowdy flyers and ryders of the First Flight at our regular table, I was sure we looked like an insignificant and somber gathering.
Luka brought some levity and I was glad of him. He and Zaria had grown up together, so he was her anchor in this new city they both found themselves in. And then there was me, the healer who scarcely left her work but wouldn’t miss this occasion for anything. Just the four of us to mark this day with a drink at the Flaming Pegasus, the way the First would have wanted.
That was when I realized Jaxus was missing. He hadn’t been at our private memorial because that was for Kol’s closest friends. But Luka had joined us since, so why not Jaxus?
“Did someone invite the new dragon you two brought home?” I asked as casually as I could. Pretending I couldn’t even remember his name so as not to seem obsessed. I was avoiding bringing him up as much as possible, but I couldn’t get him out of my thoughts. He was—I cut off the thought. He was a distraction I didn’t need, I reminded myself.
“Er—” Zaria hesitated, looking puzzled.
“The massive one I could climb like a tree,” I added so she would know who I meant. I didn’t want it to seem like I was thinking about him all the damn time, but I could admit what we could all see. The male was spectacular and if I denied it, it would have seemed more suspicious.
She cleared her throat, the picture of purity, which we all knew by now was an act.
“This innocent thing. I can’t handle it.” I shook my head. “Not when I know how loud you two are.”
“What? We are not,” she denied, aghast.
I gave her a flat look. She may have grown up in a cult, cut off from the rest of civilization
“Anyway, I thought you didn’t like flyers?” she said, diverting the focus away from her.
“You’d never catch me with a flyer. Wanting to climb one like a tree doesn’t mean I don’t know that it’s an absolute no-go.” I shuddered.
“Jaxus? He was going to come, wasn’t he?” Nyx frowned. “I wonder why he didn’t show.”
Zaria nudged Nyx, and then they had some kind of silent discourse I did not like.
I narrowed my eyes. “What are you two talking about?”
“You need to work on your poker face,” Nyx told Zaria with a laugh.
“How do you know it was me?”
“It was you,” I told her, taking my mug of ale from the server as soon as she arrived at the table. I gulped down a healthy swig, needing it, before we raised a toast to Kol. My dear friend who had left a hole in all our lives.
“I guess I’d better work on that for all these council meetings I have to go to now,” Zaria continued. Though she didn’t know how much work she still needed to do if she was going to keep her feelings from showing on her face. She was an open book.
Nyx slipped his hand into hers. “It would help, so we can discuss things through our bond in front of others, without getting caught so often.” The love in his eyes warmed me. If he could find her after all these years and love her with that intensity, even through the worst times in his life, there was hope for us all.
“She’s always had a lousy poker face. She can’t gamble to save her life,” Luka said.
Nyx looked at Zaria in surprise. “Gambling?”
“What else do you expect a group of kids growing up in a cult to do with all their free time? We bet on everything.” Luka winked.
“Don’t you start with the stories.” Zaria poked his arm.
“No, no, I want to hear the stories,” Nyx said, leaning around her to look at Luka.
“Me too,” I added, lifting my mug of ale only to find I could drain it in one mouthful. I put it down and reached for the second. It was going down too fast, but we all needed this today.
“We are not here to talk about me,” Zaria insisted.
Nyx pulled her into his lap and she squealed.
“I’d rather talk about you than anything else in the Twelve Kingdoms,” he murmured into her lips, brushing a kiss lightly there as he nuzzled his nose into hers. Goddess! I was going to die from the sweetness. I exchanged a look with Luka and we both took a drink.
“Where did this come from?” Zaria asked him breathily.
“Just reminding you that you are all that matters.”
“Goddess, spare me,” I groaned.
“And me,” Luka added.
“Ignore them, Sol,” he said, not taking his eyes from hers. “They just wish they had their mates in their arms right now.”
“Pfft! Mates indeed,” I scoffed. “I’m lucky if I see daylight some days. Where do you think I’ll find a mate?”
Nyx turned his head toward me and grinned. “I don’t know. The Goddess moves in mysterious ways.”
“Well, she has her work cut out for her. My life is my work, so I’d need a mate who is as passionate about magical theory and history as me, who is as happy to wile away the hours in a library with me as he is to join us for an ale, and also happens to look good enough to eat. And I don’t believe such a fae exists,” I exclaimed, banishing the image of Jaxus that flashed into my mind unbidden.
Nope. That was not happening.
A throat cleared behind me and I froze.
“Excuse me, Kiera? I was wondering if I might have a word.” The deep voice was like a caress and I had to school my features.
I turned slowly to look at Jaxus and couldn’t prevent my eyes trailing over his incredible physique before finally meeting his unusually golden eyes.
“Umm, sure,” I replied after a moment’s hesitation. What did he want with me?
He inclined his head towards a quieter part of the tavern and with trepidation, I got up and followed him to an available table in the corner. I should have brought my drink with me. From the serious look on his face, perhaps I would need it.
TWO
KIERA
Two days had passed since that fateful conversation and I still had not processed what had been said.
Jaxus was my flyer.
I was his ryder.
Every time I repeated the words to myself, I rejected them.
It could not be. I’m a healer. I cannot be a ryder.
The magic was different. I knew it was different! But after forty-eight hours in the healer’s library and barely any sleep, I had found no evidence either way. No healer who’d ever been a ryder, but nothing forbidding it. It was entirely unknown. The Goddess had simply never willed it before. But the realms were hers and if she willed it now, then it would be.
I just could not begin to imagine her reasons for this turn of events. My work was vital. Aside from my career as one of the leading healers in the Twelve Kingdoms, I had a duty far more serious. My family were the caretakers of sacred knowledge mostly lost through time and conflict. An archive of old magic and healing which was outlawed during unification. Our archive of works was saved by courageous healers and priests in the fallout of the Hundred Years War and had been guarded by generations of healers from my line ever since.
We collected and preserved any surviving old knowledge at the risk of our lives because we believed in the prophecies written by the High Priests centuries ago. That a time would come in the future when only old magic could restore the balance between the Goddess and her land.
I could not stray from that duty. It was in my blood, and I had pledged my life to the honor in a vow I took on the first equinox of my adulthood. I was bound to this life. Flying was not supposed to figure into my future. How could I possibly marry these paths?
And Jaxus, of all the flyers.
Even in the chaos of Nyx and Zaria’s return to the capital, I laid eyes on him and knew in my gut he would bring change for me. I had thought it would be as simple as resisting a devastatingly beautiful male who might seek to distract me from my work, but oh no!
No, this male was not simply a distraction. He was a blinding light I could not look away from. And if I ever could tear my gaze away, I feared I would only see ghosts of him in my vision from here on out. He was too much of all the wrong things.
Too much brawn to have enough brain. Too much beauty to have enough humility. Too much skin and not nearly enough clothes. Was it too much to ask him to wear shirts? Shoes? Should I just be grateful he was willing to compromise and indulge us with the pants? Perhaps he wanted to keep all the sacred symbols and designs he had intricately inked across his bronzed muscles on full display. It wasn’t good.
I was used to flyers with no inhibitions, but this male was testing my limits. And he had far too much hair for his own damn good. I mean, what potion was he using on those sun-kissed golden locks? Something he could bottle and sell to wealthy females in the city boutiques, I was certain. Some flyers only had a casual relationship with soap if we were lucky. Jaxus took looking good and smelling fantastic to new realms. He was a dragon, it had to be some kind of spell.
It was not okay. I did not have time for that kind of disruption in my life. I needed to focus, now more than ever. A war was at our door and we had taken losses. Personal losses we would never recover from. I wasn’t sure I would ever be the same in a world without Kol and I knew Nyx and Zaria were only surviving because they had each other. Now was the time I needed to be in control.
Nyx was strategizing for a war we had not seen coming. New weapons which could destroy all the magic we had left and I could not sit by. I had access to the wisdom of our forebears and in my world, knowledge was power.
He did not know it yet, but Nyx would need to learn to wield books over swords if we were going to survive. I did not have time to become anyone’s ryder, never mind the ryder of a flyer like Jaxus.
I heard determined footsteps in the hallway and just knew what was coming, I was running out of ways to avoid this conversation and he knew it.
I held up a hand when Nyx stepped into my workspace. “I don’t have time for this.”
