Pieces of Jade (Pirates of Orea) (2 page)

“How can you talk about Jade’s death like that?” James asked, tightening his hold on my arm. “She could live for decades.”

August shrugged. “She’d be the first. She knows who she is and what purpose her life serves, just as I do.” August’s palm slapped the arm of the throne. “We aren’t granted the same freedoms as you.”

“He’s right, James.” My voice was barely a whisper, but all eyes turned to me
.

August and I were slaves to our roles. When I’d opened my eyes at birth, their violet coloring identified me as the next Emmía
and had governed the path my life would take. “The kingdom needs my blood. I’m happy—” my voice broke on the word “—to provide for the people.”

“Even if it leaves you too weak to survive the childbed like it has the other
Emmías?” Pearl asked, soft enough for only me to hear. The fire’s gleam flickered on her olive skin and delicate features, her golden hair tumbling forward and almost hiding the look of fear on her face. Fear for me—for my death. If not for my pale skin and violet eyes, we could be mirror images. Maybe that was what made her question my fate as no one else had.

“As long as I keep alive the Emmía line, I accept that for myself,” I whispered.

She dabbed the lavender to my wrists more firmly than necessary. “That’s what worries me.”

James sighed, his handsome features troubled. “You would have been better off growing up on your family’s farm, living life like a normal girl.”

August scoffed. “How else could we keep the savages from stealing her? She needs our protection. Inside this
farm girl
—” He shuddered as if my low origins were contagious. If only it repulsed him enough that he refused to tie himself to me. “—runs the kingdom’s most precious commodity. She’s all that stands between our people and starvation.”

“I know,” James said softly, sliding his fingers through my hair. His gentle ministrations distracted me from the burning in my hands. All I wanted was to curl into his lap, but the most I could do was snuggle my head against his thigh.

August noticed the movement, small as it was, his eyes instantly hardening into a glare and his hands balling into fists in his lap. I inched my head away from James and August’s fingers unclenched. No one else seemed to notice. Not even James.

“I know,”
James said again, his voice suddenly turning hard and sarcastic. “Jade is our most precious commodity.”

Of course James would see
me
as the precious commodity, not my blood. But August was right—I knew it too. Sometimes I felt my destiny involved nothing more than being a human pincushion, but the alternative, the starvation of an entire kingdom, was too horrible to stomach.

Pain twice a month was a far better choice than condemning my people to a slow, awful death by hunger. Starvation could turn even Edict-abiding people into crazed and desperate savages. Being reminded of that made me ashamed of my voiceless complaints.

I tried to sit up, but the world around me tilted so severely I collapsed back down. Luckily, James caught me before my head hit the hard ground.

“Will she be all right, Pearl?” James asked, not looking away from my eyes.

“Eventually,” my sister answered, not sounding entirely sure.

James’s face turned hopeful, ever the optimist. “Maybe she needs an extra week to heal.”

Pearl nodded. “That would help.”

August gave James a level stare and stood. “She’ll get the same two weeks as always.”

“Surely the kingdom can allow—” James began, but I touched
his arm.

“August is right,” I said, watching my fiancé draw near. “I’ll be ready by then.”

The corner of August’s lips turned up in a grin, obviously smug that I had sided with him for once, then frowned as his eyes dropped to where my fingers still rested on James’s arm. “And tomorrow she’ll be my wife.” August bent and trailed one finger down my cheek, leaving a fissure of cold where he touched, marking his claim.

I couldn’t help myself—I flinched at the contact.

August noticed and grinned. “That’s right. This time tomorrow, I’ll be a married man. Won’t you wish me happy, brother?” August paused then cocked his head to the side, glancing toward my hand again “No? Oh, well. I have to meet with father. We have some security issues to go over before the wedding.” Without another word August turned and left.

We all stared until long after he was gone. James’s shoulders slumped as he absently began stroking my hair. His fingers beat back the frigidity of
August’s lingering touch.

After tomorrow there would be no more warmth from James.

Pearl slammed her pile of herbs into her basket, her brown eyes alight with anger. “You’ve got to do something about this, James. They’re leaving her too weak. Soon she’ll be unable to leave her bed.”

James stared at me, looking as lost and hopeless as I felt. “I know.”

He was silent for a moment, thinking, but instead of sharing his thoughts with me he straightened.

“Maybe there’s something I can do.” James looked into my eyes, searching for something before nodding. And there it was—in the slant of his face, the sudden shine in his eyes—that trace of optimism that was so eternal about James. “I’ll see you soon, Jade.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips across my forehead. My breath caught at the sudden touch. “I’ll call for Stratton and Jackson to come fetch you.”

He gave me a tentative smile before hurrying from the room. Pearl watched him go, her eyes thoughtful and disapproving.

“He loves you as much as you love him.” She picked up her basket and stood.

I nodded. “I know.”

“It has to end.”

“I know.” I’d always known, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t fight it. I never wanted to. But after the ceremony tomorrow I’d
have
to. If I had to choose between the people of Orea and James, I’d pick the kingdom, even though doing so would shatter my heart.

Pearl frowned. “Every time the two of you are together, you’re tempting fate. And you’ll need to be extra careful after your wedding. All it takes is one wrong word—one careless action—to loosen the edict medallion.”

Magic connected every Orean to the edict medallion that hung around their necks. That same spell would release the medallion if one of the kingdom’s three sacred laws were broken—purity of the body, loyalty to the kingdom, and respect for human life—and the punishment was death. Loving James the way I did after my wedding would break two Edicts, causing the medallion to fall, the pure white stone turning red.

I lifted my chin in resolve. “It won’t come to that.”

It was time to accept my destiny. The kingdom needed me. If I didn’t give up James, we’d break the Edicts and our lives would be forfeit. We needed to live; the kingdom needed him almost as much as it needed me. I ignored the way my heart throbbed in tune with my now-scarred cuts as my fingers stroked the chain that held my edict medallion.

Tomorrow I would let James go. Instead of my love, I’d choose to give the people thriving crops and full bellies. I could only hope it’d be enough to warm me through the eternal frost of a life as
August’s wife.

Chapter 2

I felt better after a large breakfast and a Pearl-ordered nap. Strong enough to get out of bed. Judging by the light coming through the windows, it was early in the day, perhaps around eleven.
Still time to try to make one last dream a reality. I pushed back the thick blanket and got to my feet, grabbing the chair beside the bed, wincing at the tenderness in my palms. More yellow dots flared in front of my eyes as darkness crept into the corner of my vision. I held still, taking slow, measured breaths until I felt steady again.

I stumbled through the door and straight into the barricade of my two favorite guards, Stratton and Jackson.

“What are you doing up?” Stratton asked, untangling my hair from his bushy beard.

I straightened my skirt. “I need to get out of my room.”

“Pearl said you need to rest.” Jackson waved toward my room. “You aren’t strong enough to be on your feet.”

“If I wait until I’m well, I’ll never leave my bed.”

They exchanged a glance that said they agreed with me, even if they didn’t like it.

Taking that for their consent, I walked around them. It only took a moment for them to follow behind me. I waved to the various servants as I passed, focusing on their faces to make them out clearly through my slight dizziness.

Garlands of roses in the kingdom’s colors were being hung throughout the castle in preparation for tomorrow’s wedding. When we walked past the elaborate gold-plated doors where the Guardians studied their spells, I paused, then pushed the doors open.

Something inside me stirred as I stood on the threshold. The room smelled of spices and herbs, of magic. I stepped inside, leaving my guards at the doors, stabilizing myself
on the long, wooden table in the middle of the room.

I pushed off the table and wandered around, my fingers trailing across the bookshelves that lined the walls. The small metal bowl used for spells rang out as I flicked it when I passed.

The door closed behind me and I spun around, nearly tripping over my skirts to see a frowning Pearl watching me. She sat down on the wooden bench. “I knew you’d be here. If only everyone practiced as hard as you do.”

“If only I had magic.” The bottles of oils and incantation ingredients rattled as my hand smoothed over them.

I stopped short and retreated the way I’d come to avoid the glass case on the far side of the room where the sacred Tome of Incantations was displayed. I purposefully avoided that enormous book. Unable to cast even the most basic spells, I was forbidden to touch it. If I moved too close, the temptation to sneak it out of its protective glass and read it would prove too great to resist. I didn’t want to break that law. Again. The first two times I hadn’t even known it
was
a law.

I finally picked up a worn copy of beginner
spells, the ones they taught to the youngest Guardians, and reviewed the words while Pearl placed the candle in its usual spot. With perfect enunciation I spoke the spell aloud and waited for the flame to appear. The wick didn’t even glow. I repeated the phrases over and over, my words growing gravelly in my parched throat. By the time I looked up again, the shadows in the room had changed, and Pearl had buried herself in a book. Sweat beaded my upper lip and a headache burrowed in my skull, but the candle remained dark. I couldn’t do it. I slumped back and dropped my chin to my chest. Something inside of me, the part that believed in miracles, withered like a leaf on a vine.

I closed the book and knew I’d never open it again.

The only magic inside me was found in my blood. The only thing I could do was produce a female heir whose own descendant—generations from now—would be the next Emmía. Unlike Dawn, who’d wielded magic as powerful as the strongest Guardian, I was like the other Emmía’s—Sophia, Vanessa, Sara, Leah, and even Elizabeth—who were magically inept.

“Taking a break?” Pearl asked with a yawn, startling me back to the moment.

“No. I’ve given up.” I could taste the bitterness of stale, unrealized dreams on my tongue.

Pearl came over and put the candle away. “Don’t despair, Jade. Some Guardians have manifested later, haven’t they?”

It felt foolish to cling to hope anymore. The oldest recorded were fifteen. “I’m seventeen, an old maid in the world of magic.” Like a young girl passed over at a dance, magic snubbed me, not deeming me worthy of its attention. This neglect aged me in a way time couldn’t, crushing the last of my youthful yearnings for a hopeful future. If only I could be as optimistic as James.

“You were able to do that one spell with your blood a few weeks ago,” Pearl said.

“I’m only good for my blood.” The rigid scars on my palms seemed to mock me.

“Don’t talk that way. We love you.” Pearl gave me a quick hug. “Mama will lift your spirits when she and father get back.”

My mother had been called away to a remote village on the edge of the kingdom. An epidemic had broken out, and her healer magic had been needed to treat the fevers running wild there. Pearl usually assisted her, but because my father and brothers were away training with the military, my sister had volunteered to stay with me.

After a single knock on the door, James walked in. The sight of him and his ever-ready smile lightened my heart.

“I thought I might find you here,” he said with a knowing glint in his eye.

“I needed to try one more time.”

“Any luck?”

I shook my head and he patted my hand. “You’ll get it eventually.”

I didn’t bother to protest.

“I know you have many things to do before the wedding.” His voice cracked on the last word. “But . . . well, I was wondering if you’d like to come sailing with me.”

“Sailing? On the water? In a boat?” I asked in a rush. I’d never been on a ship before. It’d been considered too dangerous.