Free A Dance of Dragons: Series Starter Bundle by Kaitlyn Davis Page A

horse.
    He dropped the reins, trusting Ember to keep
the pace, and reached into his saddlebag to grab the plain brown
tunic resting inside. Stripping off the bright red silks of the
crown, he let his bare chest soak in the sun before donning the
less noticeable, but also less comfortable, common shirt. His boots
and pants were still of the noble variety, but he wouldn't be able
to fully hide his station without leaving Ember—and that just
wasn't an option.
    She neighed.
    "Alright, alright," he said, grabbing hold
of the leather straps again. "I suppose you deserve it." He pulled
back, bringing Ember to a slow halt, and jumped from the
saddle.
    "Here you go," he said, slipping an apple
from his bag. She greedily stole it away from his hand in one bite.
A minute later, she stomped her foot, twisting her neck to look at
him with distinctly pouting eyes. Rhen rolled his own eyes and
reached for another.
    Stroking her neck, he felt a sigh rumble
down her nerves and knew she was satisfied.
    "Okay, Cal, what did you find?" He muttered
to himself, unrolling the parchment he had stashed in his belt just
before sneaking out of the castle.
    Whylrhen , the note began. Rhen
sneered at the use of his formal name before continuing . I feel
it is my duty as your friend and loyal servant to first advise you
on the idiocy of your current plan to pursue…
    Rhen sighed, skimming over the rest of the
first paragraph. Irresponsible. Dangerous. Foolhardy. Blah.
Blah. Blah. Did his best friend write this or the king? The
similarities in the phrasing were almost uncanny.
    He ran a hand through his hair, looking up
at the endless sky for a brief moment, disregarding the paper in
his hands.
    All Rhen had ever wanted to do was protect
his family. His father always said there were more than enough men
who wished to be king. What a kingdom really needed were less
people looking for glory and more people looking for honor.
    Well, his eldest brother would be king and
his other brother would be the right hand of the king. But what few
people knew was that Rhen planned to become the left hand of the
king—the unseen hand, the one that lived in the shadows, catching
secrets on the wind.
    To the world, Rhen would always be the third
son—the useless son, the extra son, the afterthought. He was known
as a womanizer, a gambler, and a fool—a reputation he did nothing
to stop. No, quite the opposite. It was a reputation he was usually
proud to build and strengthen. Better they think that than know the
truth. That he was smart. That he was always listening. And that he
was creating something his father had forbid, something he had
banished after—
    Rhen shook his head, blinked, stopped his
mind from finishing those dark thoughts. That was history. And
there were more important things happening here and now that
required his absolute attention. Awenine, wife of his eldest
brother Whyltarin and future Queen of Whylkin, was with child.
There would be a new royal heir soon, a royal heir who needed
Rhen's protection.
    And for the first time since Rhen had chosen
this path, there was something stirring, something waiting to be
heard. There were no coincidences. Secrets were being whispered on
the winds, if only he could just reach out far enough to catch
them…
    Ember pressed her forehead against his arm,
nudging him into action as though she had felt his mood shift. He
patted the white patch between her eyes, thanking her, and then
lifted his body back into the saddle.
    "Follow the road," he whispered into her
alert ear and lightly kicked her belly to emphasize the command.
She kept walking, and Rhen turned back to the letter, skipping down
farther until Cal's words finally grew interesting.
    I asked my father about your information,
and he said he has heard nothing of the sort. His squire, however,
said differently. Just as you described, the merchants and their
crews are talking. Rumors of the spotting of unflagged ships on the
horizon have begun to spread