Grace Goodwin - Ascension Saga, Book 1

I knew of the entrance because my mother had told me of it, the knowledge passed down from queen to queen, mother to daughter, since the citadel had been built. Ages, eons ago. No one knew the exact date the ancients had erected the mighty tower, nor where the sacred energy that gave the royal heirs their power originated. But one thing was widely known—the citadel protected itself and allowed only those of royal blood to enter the building.

Many others had attempted to cross the threshold. All had met instant death.

I’d not used the hidden entrance since the day my mother had shown it to me; there had been no need for it. Until now.

“We will get you there, my queen.” My old friend looked down at me, his face grave, half covered in shadow. I was grateful for the darkness so that I did not have to look at him. I couldn’t look at him. He was covered in blood. The king’s blood and his own mixed into a dark cocktail that stained his back and side. He would need a ReGen wand to survive the night.

If the citadel was well guarded—and not by those loyal to me—as he suspected, perhaps none of us would.

But I must survive. There was more than my life at stake.

I nodded at him and stood taller, shrugging off the assistance of the young guard. The shock of seeing my mate murdered before me faded, replaced by determination. I would not fail. Not in this. I must live so Alera would not be overthrown.

I lowered my hand to my abdomen, to the new life stirring there, and covered our daughter, the future queen, with the warmth of my palm. She was new, but her heartbeat was strong. She would have a strong spirit. A will of iron. She would not be broken, and so I would not be broken either.

I would keep her safe at all costs.

“Let’s go. Get me to the river. I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Yes, my queen. This way.”

I followed silently as my old friend moved like a phantom from shadow to shadow. The young guard behind me was all but forgotten as the glistening silver spires of the citadel came into view. The ancient structure was built by a race of immortals who had long since disappeared into nothing more than myth, their secrets carried safely by the royal family generation after generation. Hidden. Protected.

The line of succession had been thinned in recent years. An accident had killed my first cousin a year before. His daughter had died a few months later. Suicide. But now, after the attempt on my life and the successful demise of my mate, I had to wonder if she’d killed herself at all. As heavy as the thought made my aching heart, I now knew, beyond a doubt, that someone was trying to end the royal line entirely.

Tonight, they’d almost succeeded, but no one knew of the child I carried. Of the successor to the throne. A direct line would pass to my daughter. I could feel her spirit within, alive with a spark so fierce and bright I would do anything to protect it, including fleeing the only planet I’d ever known. My home. A proud people that I was honored to rule. She was the light that would save this world and these fools from their own stupidity.

When the time was right, we’d return together. I’d lead and groom her to succeed me. Her daughter after her. I had faith in her, in the love that had conceived her.

And if anything happened to me? She would live and she would return to Alera to rule. She would not just return and rule, but seek vengeance for what happened today. For all who had died, her father included. I’d make sure of it.

The silver walls of the citadel sparkled from within whether it was day or night, as if the building were alive. In the front, near the main stairs and entrance, a large garden stretched out for several blocks like a fan of green grass, trees and silken blooms. This late, the moon shone down on the one closest to the entrance, the shimmering, translucent petals of the Aleran flowers so beautiful, so peaceful even as the night exploded in violence throughout the rest of the city.

My mate was dead. Other close family. The royal guard. All gone. And yet the citadel stood, a bastion of strength and promise. All I had to do was hide the royal necklace that held so much power and get my baby somewhere far, far away. Somewhere she could grow strong. Powerful.

I had to flee to a planet so small and insignificant that no one would ever think to look there for us. They would search…and know I was alive. Know the queen still reigned, even in hiding, because of the citadel’s beacon of light. The constant glow of the spire would tell Alera their queen still lived.

I tripped on the hem of my jeweled gown and my dear friend caught me as I fell, gently leaning me against the cold, silver wall. “We are here, my queen, but there is no entrance.”

I nodded my head and finally looked him in the eye, strong enough now to give him the honor he deserved. “You have served me well, served your king with honor. You are a fine warrior and I am proud to call you friend.”

His dark eyes turned grave and he blinked hard, turning away from me so I would not see his tears. “I have failed you. Failed the king.”

“No.” Grabbing his hand, I placed his palm over the small swell of my abdomen. “No. He lives on. Our daughter grows strong inside me. The family does not fall this night. As long as the spire light burns, know that we live, and we will return.”

“What can I do for you, my queen?” He dropped to his knees, swaying there as fresh blood continued to coat his side. Next to him, the young guard dropped to his knees as well.

“What can we do?”

“Tell no one that you were with me, that you saw me. Tell no one of the child I carry.” I stood as tall as I was able, held my chin high, even as I heard footsteps approach. “And survive. Survive and support my daughter when she returns to seek vengeance.”

They both bowed their heads and I used that moment to slip inside the citadel. The entrance was hidden, a field of energy that looked like any other part of the wall. But for those with royal blood, one step was all it took to cross the barrier and enter the inner sanctum.

Outside, I heard the clash of sword on sword, of men yelling. Of death cries. But I didn’t dare turn back. If the enemy had arrived, I only had minutes to hide the royal necklace and escape before one of my traitor cousins would arrive and breach the barrier.

When I was sure the gemstones were secure, hidden well and never to be found without my direction, I looked at the sacred spires one last time. Several tiers of sacred stones adorned the precious metal. By some unexplained miracle—the best physicists on the planet had tried to understand for years how the energy of the stones had chosen me and all the queens before—the citadel itself bound to me, to my life force, and the spire would glow with fire no matter where I was in the galaxy, for as long as I drew breath. As long as my body was alive, the stones and I were linked on a quantum level.

I stepped from the hidden room, looked up. Saw my spire, my proof of life, well lit. All the spires were visible for miles, the light a beacon of royal power and strength for eons. In the beginning, all nine spires would glow, the royal bloodline strong. The line of ascension unbreakable.

Over time, something had happened to us. Fewer births. Wars. And now? Now there was only me. But so long as that ray rising out of the spire stayed lit, no one could claim my throne. The spire did not lie. That light, visible for miles, could not be vanquished unless I ceased to draw breath. No one of my living cousins had been deemed worthy by whatever intelligence was buried in the walls of the ancient structure.

But I did not doubt the life force or fire my daughter would carry. When she returned, I would bring her here, place her blood in the spire next to mine, and hold her to me with joy as we watched her spire glow for all the people to see.