Chosen: Curse of the Draekon Book One Read online

  Chosen

  Curse of the Draekon Book One

  Samantha Britt

  Chosen: Curse of the Draekon Book One

  Copyright © 2018 by Samantha Britt

  Cover Design by Covers by Combs

  ASIN: B07BN9P4H4

  All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction.

  Any resemblance between actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental or used fictitiously.

  To Robby and Dean,

  For showing me what a sibling bond looks like.

  Contents

  The Draekon Kingdom

  I. Caldiri

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  II. Recruit

  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

  III. Royal Healer

  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

  Possession: Curse of the Draekon Book Two

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Samantha Britt

  I

  Caldiri

  1

  A faint wind blew through my hair, whipping the blonde strands against my face. Using my fingers, I pried the ends from my lips and tucked them behind my ear. I stared up at the sky, noting the early morning clouds had all but dissipated. It wasn’t yet eight in the morning, but I knew the day would be warm. I needed to hurry and check on my patients before the heat made my work unbearable, but I couldn’t deny myself the chance to revel in the sun’s rays. I rarely got the chance to enjoy peace and quiet. The world around me was too busy moving—too busy worrying about when and where they would get their next meal.

  Closing my eyes, I tipped my head back. The gentle breeze blew around me, raising goose bumps on my arms.

  I sighed.

  Okay. I was ready to begin the day.

  Opening my eyes, I saw a large, dark mass coming into view. I squinted to try and identify the immense object. With a sharp inhale, I quickly stared at the ground.

  Adrenaline pumped through my veins, but I forced myself to remain still. Running would only make me easier to see. The last thing I wanted was to draw the scout’s attention as he surveyed the region. The creatures terrified me.

  The sound of beating wings grew louder as I waited like a statue, barely breathing.

  Gods, save me.

  The logical side of my brain told me my worries were foolish. Draekon scouts never landed in the regions they monitored. If the shape-shifting scouts saw anything suspicious, they reported it back to their superiors. Then, those draekon would investigate. I knew I had nothing to fear from the creature flying overhead.

  But the practical side of me—the side that knew the draekon could tear me apart with its sharp talons or burn me to a crisp with one, flame-filled breath—could not resist fearing the creature.

  Time passed at a torturously slow pace. My gruesome imagination painted several unsavory scenarios, each one focused around the unthinkable nightmare of coming face to face with the winged creature. No one I knew had ever encountered the creatures in their beast form, but stories of their violence and short-tempers were well known, and that only heightened the draekon’s terrifying reputation.

  Gradually, the sound of wings faded. I dared a glance up, confirming the sky was full of nothing but sunshine. Despite the clear view, I picked up my pace and hurried into town.

  I arrived at my destination in record time.

  With a steadying breath, I shook the dust out of my long skirt and made sure my billowing tunic was tucked into the waistline before ducking into my best friend’s cottage.

  “Hello?” I placed my satchel of herbs and ointments on the wobbly table, retrieving what I needed from its pockets. “Jem?”

  “In here,” he called from the back of the cottage. His voice echoed through the nearly empty home. I followed the sound and arrived outside of the bedroom he shared with his younger sister. I glanced inside and saw my patient. All thoughts of the draekon scout disappeared.

  I didn’t waste time with a casual greeting. “How is she?” Even as I asked, I could see the agony spread across the young girl’s face.

  “Not good,” Jem answered with pinched lips. “She hasn’t been able to rest since she fell last night. She says her arm hurts too much.” On cue, Jem’s sister released a pain-filled moan.

  I bit my lip. He should have called for me sooner.

  Nearing the bed, I lowered myself onto the thin mattress, careful to not disturb her. “Jane? Can you hear me?”

  The thirteen-year-old girl’s glassy eyes met mine. “Lissa?”

  I nodded, noting the sheen of sweat covering her brow. I prayed she didn’t have a fever. “Jem told me you hurt your arm. May I see?”

  Jane’s eyes watered as she tried to move her arm. She cried out, ceasing the movement. “It hurts too much.”

  “That’s okay. I can help you.” I turned and waved my best friend forward.

  His face pinched with worry and unease. Jem had never been fond of witnessing injuries. He was squeamish, but I needed him to be strong for his sister’s sake. I couldn’t do what needed to be done by myself.

  “Lift her back while I try to move her arm away from her body,” I instructed. “Don’t put her down until I say.”

  I watched him swallow the lump in his throat. He nodded. “Alright.”

  We took our positions.

  I stared at him, my eyes encouraging. “On the count of three... One, two, three.”

  Jane shouted in protest, objecting to the agonizing movement. I made quick work of the task and allowed Jem to lower her back down within seconds.

  I withheld my groan as I got a better look at her injuries. Fresh bruises covered the slender limb from shoulder to wrist, but that wasn’t the main source of her pain.

  “It’s dislocated. I’ll have to guide the bone back into its socket.” Or else she would sustain irreparable damage in the days to come, which would be worse than a quick death in our poverty-stricken region. The lame did not fare well in Caldiri. Even if they had family to take care of them, it would be a tough life.

  “Are you sure?”

  I knew not to be offended by Jem’s doubt. Jane was the only family he had left, and he was the only one who looked out for her. It was his duty to ensure his sister’s wellbeing.

  “I’m sure.” Standing, I placed one hand around Jane’s wrist and the other at the top of her elbow. “Hold her other hand.”

  Jem heeded my command, kneeling beside the bed and tightly squeezing Jane’s uninjured palm.

  Jane’s glassy eyes swung to me. “W-will it hurt?”

  I didn’t lie to her. “Only for a second. It will be quick. I promise.”

  Trusting me, she nodded and turned back to face her brother.

  “Ready?” I asked Jem, trying to appear
confident. In reality, my palms grew clammy.

  Jem nodded and stared at Jane’s face. “Ready?” he asked.

  Her reply sounded weak. “Yes.”

  Exhaling, I lifted Jane’s wrist so the arm was bent at a right angle. Slowly, I pulled down on the limb, gritting my teeth as she cried out. I kept going knowing if I didn’t, her pain would last for many days to come.

  The seconds seemed to last forever. But, finally, I heard the satisfying clunk, which signaled the head of the bone had slid back into place. I held my breath, waiting for Jane’s reaction.

  Moments later, she blinked and stared at me in awe. “It barely hurts anymore.”

  I gave her a relieved smile and bent over to adjust the blankets on top of her, trying to hide my shaking hands. One wrong move and I could have injured her for life.

  “Good. Make sure you stay put and allow your muscles enough time to heal. Otherwise, you might dislocate the joint again. I’ll bring you a sling to wear.”

  The girl’s face blanched. “But what about my chores? I can’t just lay around all day. I have to take care of the garden and help Ms. Nan with her children... and take care of the cottage for us.” She added the last part with a hopeless glance at her brother.

  I prepared my objection, but Jem beat me to it.

  “You will listen to Lissa’s advice and rest. Overworking yourself is what caused you to fall off the ladder and hurt your arm in the first place.”

  She blinked drowsily. “You need my help.”

  Knowing my patient needed rest, I offered a solution. “I will come by and help with the household.”

  Both Jem and Jane frowned at me.

  “No, Lissa,” Jem said. “You have more important things to do.”

  Nothing was more important to me than helping my friend, but I decided to offer another option rather than start an argument. “Or I can send Lorie? She has nothing pressing to do with her days.”

  “Yes.” Jem turned to his sister. “Will you agree to rest if Lorie comes to help around the house?”

  Jane closed her eyes, allowing her head to sink comfortably into the thin pillow. “If you insist.”

  Almost immediately, her breathing pattern deepened, and she fell into a restful sleep. With a shared smile, Jem and I tiptoed out of the room and into the wooden cottage’s living room. The furniture was scarce, and the walls were empty, but the familiar space filled me with calm. I had practically grown up within its four walls.

  My family migrated to Caldiri thirteen years ago. We arrived just before my fifth birthday.

  I never knew why my parents would move us to the poorest region in the kingdom, and I never had the chance to ask them before they abandoned us—placing our care in the hands of a guardian while they left to do gods knew what.

  I don’t remember much of those early years, but I can clearly recall the day I had been playing alone in the field by our home when Jem stumbled across me lying on the ground.

  With a child’s wonder and lack of politeness, he had not hesitated to ask me about my foreign accent and straw-colored hair. Everyone else in Caldiri had hair in hues of brown and red with skin tanned by the sun, and Jem became fascinated with my uniqueness. With time I managed to lose my unusual accent, but my fair hair and complexion continued to mark me as a foreigner.

  I turned to my childhood friend, smiling as I realized we’d been inseparable ever since.

  The levity swiftly vanished as I observed his worried brow.

  I placed my hand on his tan forearm. “Jane will be fine. With a week or two of limited movement, her shoulder will be back to normal.”

  Jem exhaled. He placed his calloused fingers against the back of my hand. He spent most of his days working with the local smithy and carpenter, and his body showed the signs. Not that Jem would complain. I knew he felt lucky that two of our regions skilled laborers offered him jobs when they could afford to pay for the help.

  “Thank you, Lissa. Jane works harder than any child should, but she refuses to stop. I don’t know what she would do if she became lame and I wasn’t around to help her.” He swallowed thickly. An image of our regions invalid population came to mind: the unfortunates.

  I saw the unfortunates huddled in dark recesses of buildings, old and young alike, as they tried to escape our region’s harsh elements. Their clothes were tattered and full of holes. Their skin was dirty from the dusty ground, and their stomachs so empty that many perished from starvation. The group was simultaneously pitied and avoided by the general population of Caldiri.

  There was little else we could do.

  Of the five regions on the continent, ours was the one with the fewest resources. The land was positioned against the Eastern Sea, but its coast was rocky and treacherous. We had no shipping industry to speak of, nor was there an abundance of seafood. Not even fish wished to live within the borders of Caldiri.

  The rest of our region was bordered by the Royal Forest. Though, the waist-high brush and brambles hardly constituted a forest. Caldiri rested on the outskirts of the immense woods, and our environment did not sustain the lush greenery rumored to reside deeper in the woods as they traversed the center of the continent. Instead, our borders was outlined with scraggly, dry brush.

  Sometimes, villagers would venture inside the Royal Forest to try and find animals to hunt or vegetation to eat. But not only were the woods vast and difficult to navigate, they were also home to bandits and thieves. The farther you traveled into the forest, the greater the chance you would run into the criminals, and the less likely you returned home.

  Needless to say, Caldiri’s inconvenient borders made trading with and traveling to neighboring lands difficult and dangerous, and its unforgiving heat and nutrient-depleted soil made farming inefficient and troublesome.

  As a result, food and shelter were scarce in the region, as was the ability to earn coin. Despite the desire to help those less fortunate, many could not survive sharing their resources with anyone outside of their immediate family. With no other option, people who couldn’t work were forced to live a life of poverty and starvation. I shuddered to think of Jane ever being in that situation, of ever becoming an unfortunate should something happen to her brother.

  “We would never let that happen,” I told Jem, as well as myself. The poorest of our region were people without friends and family to help provide for them, and Jane was not without the support of loved ones. Even if the worst had come of her injury, she was not alone.

  Jem squeezed my hand. “I know. You’re right. Thank you again for all your help.”

  I dropped my hand. “I’ll be at the Kales’ if Jane needs anything. She isn’t in pain now, but she might feel sore when she wakes.” I swiftly gathered my bag and returned the bandages and herbal remedies to their pockets. My healer satchel wasn’t full, but I kept the items organized and stocked as best I could.

  Stepping out of the cottage, I shielded my eyes against the springtime sun. Our region was warm year-round, but the impending summer season would be the worst. Too many people suffered from dehydration each year, even though water was one of the few precious resources we had in abundance. Caldiri’s empty lake was only thirty minutes away on foot, but people often overlooked their need for the life-sustaining liquid when they were busy working to put food on the table.

  I sighed. I knew my summer days would be full of house calls to treat fainting and dizzy spells, as well as daily trips to outlying villages for the more severe cases. At eighteen years of age, I was the most well-known healer in the region. I did not begrudge my position in the community; healers were treated with the utmost respect and admiration in Caldiri but fulfilling my duties could be tiring and dull.

  I often dreamed about traveling the continent and visiting more developed regions. I wanted to learn more about the healing arts, and I yearned for a life of adventure and excitement. But leaving was next to impossible. I did not have the funds to pick up my life and start fresh somewhere else, nor did I have the desi
re to leave behind my friends and family. Working as a healer in Caldiri might not be exciting, but it was honorable.

  I shook away my thoughts, ashamed of my selfish desires. Monotonous or no, the people in Caldiri had few who truly cared for them. They deserved so much more than I could give, but I would strive to always give them my all.

  With renewed sense of purpose and a cautious look to the sky for any flying beasts, I set out to travel deeper into town. It was time to see my next patient.

  2

  “These are for you,” a deep voice said over my shoulder.

  I squeaked with surprise, whirling around and jumping back as flowers were thrust in my face. Recognizing Jem, I put my hand on my chest.

  “You scared me!”

  It was well past midday, and I had just finished checking on my latest patient in town. I was walking down the road, thinking of how I would use my family’s meager food stores to create a nourishing evening meal, when my friend showed up.

  Jem grinned. “Sorry. I just wanted to surprise you.” Again, he held out the bouquet. “Jane insisted I go into the forest and pick wildflowers for you. She threatened to go herself if I didn’t.”

  I chuckled and took the gift, smelling the blooms and their heavenly scent. My reflex had been to reprimand him for venturing so far into the dangerous forest—flowers did not grow in the brambles near the border—but I resisted. The thought was sweet, and bandits usually stayed deep within the forest to commit their crimes. Though, I’d heard tales of them venturing close to unsuspecting regions.