The Enchanted Crown
GRACE HOUSE PRESS
Copyright © 2021 by Bethany Atazadeh
THE ENCHANTED CROWN
Copyright © 2019 by Bethany Atazadeh
All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Contact Info: www.bethanyatazadeh.com
Cover design : Stone Ridge Books
Editor: Enchanted Ink
Formatting Template : Derek Murphy
ISBN: 978-1-7332888-1-1 (paperback) 978-1-7332888-7-3 (hardcover)
First Edition: March 2021
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Copyright Page
ALSO BY | BETHANY ATAZADEH
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Chapter 1 | Arie
Chapter 2 | Rena
Chapter 3 | Kadin
Chapter 4 | Arie
Chapter 5 | Rena
Chapter 6 | Nesrin
Chapter 7 | Arie
Chapter 8 | Rena
Chapter 9 | Arie
Chapter 10 | Kadin
Chapter 11 | Nesrin
Chapter 12 | Rena
Chapter 13 | Nesrin
Chapter 14 | Arie
Chapter 15 | Nesrin
Chapter 16 | Kadin
Chapter 17 | Rena
Chapter 18 | Arie
Chapter 19 | Nesrin
Chapter 20 | Kadin
Chapter 21 | Arie
Chapter 22 | Nesrin
Chapter 23 | Rena
Chapter 24 | Nesrin
Chapter 25 | Rena
Chapter 26 | Arie
Chapter 27 | Kadin
Chapter 28 | Rena
Chapter 29 | Arie
Chapter 30 | Rena
Chapter 31 | Nesrin
Chapter 32 | Arie
Chapter 33 | Rena
Chapter 34 | Rena
Chapter 35 | Arie
Chapter 36 | Nesrin
Chapter 37 | Arie
Chapter 38 | Kadin
Chapter 39 | Arie
Chapter 40 | Nesrin
Chapter 41 | Rena
Chapter 42 | Arie
Chapter 43 | Kadin
Chapter 44 | Arie
Chapter 45 | Arie
Chapter 46 | Arie
Chapter 47 | Arie
Chapter 48 | Arie
Chapter 49 | Arie
Chapter 50 | Kadin
Chapter 51 | Arie
Chapter 52 | Nesrin
Chapter 53 | Arie
epilogue | Arie
GIDEON | One Year Ago
Want to read the rest of Gideon’s story?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
NOTE TO MY READERS:
GLOSSARY
ALSO BY
BETHANY ATAZADEH
THE STOLEN KINGDOM SERIES :
THE STOLEN KINGDOM
THE JINNI KEY
THE CURSED HUNTER
THE ENCHANTED CROWN
THE NUMBER SERIES :
EVALENE’S NUMBER
PEARL’S NUMBER
MARKETING FOR AUTHORS SERIES :
HOW YOUR BOOK SELLS ITSELF
GROW YOUR AUTHOR PLATFORM
BOOK SALES THAT MULTIPLY
OTHER :
THE CONFIDENT CORGI
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Chapter 1
Arie
“HAS ANYONE SEEN THE queen?” Kadin’s warm, deep voice floated through the library door from out in the hall, tense and clipped.
The servant’s response was inaudible.
I strained to hear their thoughts but was met with silence—a painful reminder of what I’d lost when my Gift was Severed a couple months ago.
Muffled footsteps grew louder, heading my way.
I’d found a dark pocket of space beneath the library stairs, which the sunlight didn’t know existed, and neither did anyone else.
There was an old rolled-up rug, left forgotten in the tiny space, which I used as a cushion to sit on. I leaned back and stared out at the small triangle of light in front of me. It revealed the last few shelves of a dusty bookcase in the corner, as well as the legs of a single chair and table. The main library door and the rest of the room were out of sight, which meant I was too.
Still, I pressed farther back into the darkness, tucking my slippered feet beneath the heavy skirts of my black mourning dress. Mourning the loss of my father. Of my Gift. Of my entire life as it had once been.
Leaning my head against the wall, my fingers idly traced the patterns of the cracks. There was a chip in the paint. I picked at it.
“Arie?” Kadin called, inside the large room now, breaking library etiquette to raise his voice. “Are you here?”
Reluctantly, I pulled my gaze from the wall.
His boots strode past my hiding place as he took the stairs to the second level.
“If you’re here, you’re needed in the dungeons.” He raised his voice to reach the entire library, which I assumed was empty, though I hadn’t checked thoroughly before crawling under the stairs.
His steps overhead grew louder, then quieter, then louder again as he paced down one row of books after another, likely hoping I’d materialize behind one of them.
It should’ve bothered me that he assumed I was ignoring him.
Instead, tears welled up as I noticed the empty space where his thoughts should’ve been.
I heard nothing.
Only a chair squeaking across the floor as he moved it in his search.
I sank back against the wall and closed my eyes.
My Severance had been incredibly effective. It’d cut me off from my abilities and myself in ways I’d never imagined.
Gideon had told me once that a Severance was like losing a limb or a lung, that a Gift was a part of you.
I’d scoffed at the idea then.
But the loss was more than both of those things combined. My whole body tingled, and my hands twitched restlessly, as if searching for something that wasn’t there. The absence of my ability carved out something inside of me, leaving me hollow and too light, floating along through each day without an anchor to hold me to reality.
Kadin was still calling out, although softly, as if worried the wrong ears might overhear. His voice grew closer as he came back down to the main level. “The people need their queen, Arie. Please. We need you.” His voice hitched just a bit but came back clear and strong. Maybe I’d imagined it. “There’s... someone you need to see.”
Someone.
In the dungeons.
Kadin’s effort to be discreet was a waste of time. The servants already knew the guards had caught a spy this morning. I’d overheard them whispering about it earlier when I’d hidden behind a tapestry. Is he from King Amir’s kingdom or another’s? they’d asked each other. Is there a war brewing while the kingdom of Hodafez is left defenseless?
I played with a little purple thread I’d pulled from the carpet, wrapping it around my finger, then unwrapping, then wrapping again.
I should care.
It should’ve bothered me that I didn’t.
Kadin’s sigh pu
lled me out of my dark thoughts. Leaning forward on my hands and knees, I snuck a glance at him from the depths of my hidden alcove.
There were dark circles smudged blue and purple under his golden-brown eyes. His dark hair had grown past his ears, and his beard had begun to fill in. A muscle in his jaw twitched as he gazed around the room one last time, frowning.
“Have you found her?” It was Gideon’s voice, somewhere just out of sight.
How long has he been there? Normally I’d have sensed him immediately—that tingle of another Gifting present. Not anymore. Whenever I poked at the place my Gift had been, it was like poking at a hole in the gums where a tooth had been: surprise and confusion followed swiftly by loss, and sensitive to the touch.
Kadin only shook his head, lips pursed.
I crawled backward to the rug again. Carefully, to avoid being heard, I unrolled it to lie down, lifting my heavy crown from my head and placing it at my feet so I wouldn’t have to look at it.
“I could move forward without her, but I would prefer her permission.” Gideon’s soft voice washed over me like a distant wave.
I tried to tune him out.
“The queen of Jinn uses human spies as well,” he added. “We may need to consider that possibility.” They moved toward the door and back into my line of vision. “Enoch hasn’t returned since he left to spy on the queen, so I can only assume they’ve found him and that he’s been imprisoned... or worse.”
“Do you trust him now?” Kadin asked. His back was to me. From the stiff way he stood, I guessed he didn’t.
“I do,” Gideon replied, eyes dropping to the floor. “He was controlled by the queen’s amulet, just as I was.”
“I notice you give him grace but blame yourself.” Leave it to Kadin to say what Gideon and I had danced around for months. We’d avoided each other’s presence. I knew my Severance wasn’t his fault.
It wasn’t.
Repeating it had yet to change the memory of a bitter iron taste on my tongue from biting it, or the twisting fear that spiraled up inside me in his presence.
“You speak the truth,” Gideon whispered in his way of an answer without answering anything. His usually sharp blue eyes still gazed aimlessly at the floor.
“If King Amir had forced Enoch to do the Severance instead of you, as he’d originally intended, would you have held him accountable?”
“No.” Gideon’s voice was flat.
“It was the king’s vendetta,” Kadin insisted. “You were only a tool.”
“A tool would not feel responsible.” Gideon’s expression flickered, and he straightened. “It’s neither here nor there. My focus now must be on not making the difficulties worse. To ease her burden however I can. Which means this situation must be taken care of.”
Kadin nodded, rubbing a hand across his face. Turning away from Gideon, he stared toward my section of the library.
I held my breath and didn’t move.
When he didn’t think anyone was looking, his expression grew hopeless. Where his lips normally quirked upward with a spark of mischief and adventure, they now flattened in a grim line.
Gideon continued. “While Queen Jezebel won’t declare outright war on the human world until after the Crowning Ceremony, I can only guess at what she’s doing behind the scenes.”
Kadin’s shoulders rose and fell in a heavy breath, and his eyes roamed the shelves in front of him aimlessly, crossing over my hiding spot once more. His expression didn’t change. He turned to face Gideon. “It’s been this way for three months now. If you want to act in Arie’s best interest, I’d recommend not waiting for her when you know what you need to do.”
I frowned at his back. Had it really been three months since the Severance? It felt as if it’d just happened yesterday, and at the same time as if it’d taken place years ago.
Rolling over to face the wall, I curled my legs inward and wrapped my arms around myself, closing my eyes. Two sets of footsteps made their way out of the library, and the door shut behind them.
The silence wrapped around me like a thick shell that kept everything else out. Some small part of me, as insubstantial as a shadow, whispered that I should follow, while another larger part wished they would leave me alone permanently. I wasn’t who they thought I was. I couldn’t be what they needed. It was better for everyone this way. The shadow side agreed. But another small voice wished someone would find me...
A soft scuff of a footstep sounded.
My eyes flew open, and I spun around to find the object of my thoughts crouching in the little triangular opening. He’d seen me after all.
“Is there room on this rug for two?” Kadin asked softly.
I dipped my chin in a nod, averting my eyes.
He tucked himself inside the small space beside me, our knees knocking together.
I rolled onto my back to make room.
I didn’t want his pity.
What I hadn’t expected was his arm gently wrapping around my waist and arm. Holding me. His warmth seeped into me, making me aware of my icy skin. My arms drew up to cover his instinctually.
The minutes passed as we lay there without speaking, and his breathing evened out until he began to snore softly. This gave me the courage to glance over at his face, so close to mine. The worry lines relaxed in sleep, and his lips parted slightly.
I stared at the low ceiling above us as tears threatened to escape. One trickled down my cheek into my ear.
The shell was still there, but this time I wasn’t alone inside it.
Chapter 2
Rena
MUNCHING ON AN APPLE, I peered out from the kitchen at the argument breaking out in the great room. One of the noble Shahs sat on a bench, gesturing wildly as he hissed to the others at the breakfast table, “Princess Arie isn’t capable of leading this kingdom. She hasn’t even left her chambers!” His face was the color of a ripe tomato, and his fervor only increased as he continued.
I tilted my head at the way these humans carried on. Back home such talk would’ve ended with a trident through the heart from my father. But I supposed Arie’s father was dead. She had no other family to speak of, and the man was right about one thing: Arie had barely left her bed in weeks. The kingdom was light on trident-throwers at the moment.
“Watch your tongue!” An equally sweaty man slammed his drink down for emphasis. “The queen of Hodafez deserves our support. We’re not all fools like you who can’t put their pants on without someone telling them what to wear. Would you prefer King Amir return?”
“Of course not,” Tomato Face grumbled, voice nearly lost in the protests of the other Shahs. “I just think someone else should take charge of Hodafez. One of us, perhaps. The queen clearly isn’t capable of ruling.”
“She just needs time to heal from the Severance,” another Shah protested. “And between this council and Captain Navabi, Hodafez has more than enough leadership for a temporary absence.”
More arguments broke out. The way they repeated what they’d said just moments ago made me shake my head. Such strange creatures, these humans.
“Where’s Captain Navabi?” I asked one of the guards at the great hall entrance.
“The dungeon,” he replied.
Tossing my apple to one of the castle dogs, I headed for the stone staircase that led to the dungeon.
Sure enough, the captain stood with Gideon discussing something in hushed tones. Though I slowed down, careful not to kick any loose rocks in the dimly lit stone hallway, they both fell silent and turned to face me.
“What is it?” the captain asked in his gruff voice. He reminded me of my father.
“Your Shahs think they should run the kingdom,” I said bluntly.
The captain was moving past me before I’d even finished speaking, headed for the stairs.
“Great hall,” I called after him, though no doubt he’d hear the fuss.
When I turned back, Gideon shifted in front of the open cell door, blocking whatever was within.
>
Frowning up at him, I dodged to the side to peer through the cell bars before he could stop me. Inside, a prisoner stood chained to the wall. A stout human with more hair on his chin than on his head glared at Gideon’s back while pressing himself against the stone. So a Jinni scared him. That wasn’t really that unusual. Was this the spy the servants had been whispering about?
The human’s narrowed gaze turned on me as Gideon sighed. “You shouldn’t be here.”
Jinn had such trust issues. “If you can’t confide in me by now, you should have kept a lot more secrets than this,” I joked.
He didn’t even crack a smile. He just stared into the cell, where the stubby human squinted at me rudely.
“So, who’s this fellow?”
“I’m afraid I can’t say.” Gideon’s tone was polite. He crossed his arms casually, not moving out of the doorway. “Did you need something?”
“No.” I fought the urge to cross my arms as well. Just because I was sixteen and at least a century younger than him didn’t mean I liked being treated like a child. Or maybe he was distant because he still thought I had a crush on him. If so, he was being ridiculous. That was long over.
Since Gideon was blocking the door with his tall frame, I stepped up to the bars, wrapping my fingers around them, trying to figure out what was going on. Conversations that included chains and cells hinted strongly at an interrogation. “He’s the spy they’re talking about, isn’t he?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
That was a yes. If it wasn’t true, he would’ve just said no. Why wouldn’t he let me in on the fun?
“I’d like to stay.” My voice came out more girlish than I’d intended, like a little-Mere instead of my fully grown and mature sixteen—almost seventeen—years. I cleared my throat and added, “I know how to use a trident, if you’d like help.” I definitely did not. But we would cross that ocean when we came to it.
“No need,” Gideon replied, brushing his vest off as if wiping away the very mention of a spy. “I am finished for the moment.”