The Eclipsed Throne (Book 1 of Throne of Magic Series)

After a moment, she slowly forced her eyes open, her eyes taking a moment to focus before she could recognize where she was or what had happened. All she could remember was spending the day training and with her grandmother, and –

Ilaria.

Despite her protesting limbs she forced herself up to take in her surroundings. She could hear the hoofbeats of a horse pulling whatever she was locked in, presumably a carriage, boxes of wheat and cotton scattered around her.

She pulled at her hands to no avail. Her wrists were tightly bound behind her back and no amount of strength loosened them. Aurelia attempted to summon her magic, but her brain was too fuzzy to even find the golden thread she needed, never mind conjure fire to burn the rope.

She groaned in frustration, trying not to panic as her current situation settled upon her shoulders like a heavy weight.

Where was Ilaria bringing her?

“Hello?” She called groggily. “Ilaria, I know it was you. What the hell are you thinking? Where are you taking me?”

It was all she could do not to panic as she considered her options. If need be, she could fight, if only whatever they had drugged her with wore off by the time they arrived.

How could she betray Elowyn like this?

At the sound of Aurelia’s voice, the carriage suddenly stopped and the curtains that had tied the back of the carriage shut opened wide to reveal Ilaria dressed in much too heavy clothing for Calathis nor anywhere south. A bitter wind whipped through the carriage, biting at Aurelia’s exposed skin.

From the small glimpse outside Aurelia could see, she knew well enough that they were not heading in any direction she was familiar with. All she could see outside was heavy snow, a stark contrast to the thick but warm forest near Calathis.

She’s got to be taking me north, to the snowy mountains. Aurelia froze. Damaris.

“Will you shut up?” Ilaria said coldly as she pulled herself up into the carriage, peeking through the boxes before she found a peach and took a large bite out of it.

Aurelia shot her a glare and struggled against her restraints. “Let me go,” She snarled. “We don’t have time for this.”

Ilaria smirked. “Oh, I beg to differ. We have all of the time in the world now.” She took another bite of her peach. “We crossed Calathis’ borders hours ago. They no longer have jurisdiction to come tearing the world open for their beloved little princess.” She chuckled to herself.

“Why are you doing this?” Aurelia said angrily. “Why would you do this to Elowyn? All she’s ever done is welcome you into her home.”

Ilaria rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. As a lowly servant to an idiot princess who knows nothing of our world.” Ilaria gave a harsh look to Aurelia. “Now, look at her. Couldn’t fight off the only real attacker she’s ever had.”

Aurelia spat at her feet. “You never deserved admittance to Calathis.”

Ilaria laughed. “Oh, dear. You have no idea what’s to come.” She made her way to the back of the carriage, and hopped out, her smile fading and turning dark. “If I hear another word, I’ll knock you out until we get there.”

There.

“Where are you taking me?” Aurelia commanded coldly, a shiver going down her spine at the cold wafting from the outdoors.

Ilaria winked. “I guess you’ll find out.” She tied the carriage back shut and a few moments later they began moving again. Aurelia remained silent only because she knew the only hope she had left was her magic and her hidden dagger, but with her hands tied, weapons were useless to her.

She shuddered as she thought of what would happen now – not just to her, but to Calathis. With war on the brink of the horizon and their heir gone, they were now a target more than ever – distracted and virtually defenseless.

Aurelia’s stomach twisted and she thought she was going to be sick, leaning over to the side and gagging at the thought. She couldn’t lose her grandmother again, and not because of some damn Fae servant that wanted to be more important in the world. She took a deep breath, but it did little for the growing pit in her stomach.

Hours and hours went by and Aurelia lost track of time. She could hardly tell how long she was stuck in the carriage, her mind fading in and out from the substance Ilaria had given her.

Despite her best efforts, her magic refused to be summoned, and thus she remained tightly bound for what felt like days on end, the bumps the carriage flew over beginning to leave bruises all over Aurelia’s body.

As the carriage drew further and further away from Calathis, the air became frigid and Aurelia began to slowly freeze in the carriage. She lost track of time, but from the light, she was sure at least days had passed, if not longer. Every hour was spent shivering nonstop, watching as her breath turned to mist with only her thoughts to distract her. Even those turned against her, with an endless reel of what Damaris might do to her upon her arrival as an obstacle in the way of domination of the Continent. She tried not to think of such gruesome occurrences, but deep in her mind, she knew she had to be prepared.

The next time they stopped, Aurelia had begun to doze off once more and she snapped herself awake as she heard Ilaria speaking to someone unfamiliar. Seizing her moment, she began shouting from the back of the carriage, desperation slipping into her voice.

“Help, please help!” She pleaded. “I need help, please...” She begged, her voice cracking. It didn’t matter if Ilaria was there – if she was buying food from a village on the road, they would hear her and come to investigate.

They had to.

The voices stopped and a man dressed in different attire than she had ever seen before flung open the back of the carriage. The second her eyes landed on his face, her hope died, the small fire sinking to embers as a tendril of fear snaked around her spine. A dark smile had settled on his face as he nodded approvingly to Ilaria.

“Ah, yes, the king will be pleased,” He said with an evil grin, looking to Ilaria. He met Aurelia’s gaze and gave her a cold stare. “You’re a long way from home, aren’t you girl?”

Aurelia gritted her teeth and gave the meanest look she could muster. “The king?”

His smile widened. “King Dorian, of course.”

Aurelia’s blood felt as if it had frozen in her veins as she took in what the man was telling her. Ilaria had gone and done it – had brought her directly to the place of nightmares. The man must’ve seen the deathly look that had crossed her face, because he laughed, taking immense enjoyment from her revulsion.

He shut the carriage once more and Aurelia could hear the pair laughing as they returned to the front of the carriage, their words indistinguishable. She couldn’t control herself as her eyes welled up with tears. In vain she attempted to summon her magic once more, but there was nothing – as if it had never been there at all.

Where was her magic?

The carriage began moving once more and this time she could hear village chatter – the sounds of people going about their day, of running water, someone cutting up food, music floating from a few streets over, the jingle of coins in one’s pocket, hooves of other horses. And – just barely – she could hear the sound of waves crashing on the beach. Her mind fixated on the sounds like a lifeline as she prepared for whatever was to happen next, forcing the lump in her throat deep, deep down. Now was not the time to be weak.

She didn’t have to wait long before the carriage came to an abrupt stop once more and Ilaria appeared, cutting the ropes that bound her feet together and pulling her out of the carriage.

The bright light reflecting off of the snow temporarily blinded Aurelia, and she stumbled forward, blinking rapidly before her eyes adjusted and she took in the kingdom around her.

Damaris.

The castle she stood in front of was on a cliff on the edge of a dark sea, a stark contrast to the vibrant blue of Oceria. Everything about Damaris was lifeless – the only colors were the green from the pine trees littering the village and the dull blue of the ocean that crashed against the cliff that the castle rested upon, the snow blanketing everything else.

The village was made out of simple wooden houses, extending far into the pine trees along the cliff and leading up to the great stone castle that seemed to engulf everything else. Its stone was a dull grey and was by far the largest castle she had seen with overwhelmingly high towers and walls of an impregnable fortress. It was vast, gothic, and dark, everything Calathis was not.

Her eyes trailed up the tall walls and met the gaze of a dark-haired man staring at her from one of the bridges’ archways, turning away the moment she noticed him.

Aurelia shivered. She was now in unfamiliar territory.

A large stone gate blocked their entryway into the castle courtyard and Ilaria dragged her forward by the rope binding her arms to the two guards flanking each side, an evil grin resting upon her dark lips.

The men were dressed in classic knight armor, the silver shining brightly as it reflected the light from the snow. They looked at each other before staring down Ilaria, their spears tall and sharp at their sides.

“Open up,” she said sweetly, pushing Aurelia forward. “Royal business.”

Aurelia gritted her teeth as their eyes fell on her and her dark auburn hair, their gazes widening and turning to nod at the archers on the top of the wall. Aurelia gave them a dark glare, trying her best to seem menacing, but she couldn’t stop shaking from the numbing cold.

Once the gates were opened, Ilaria pulled Aurelia into the courtyard where a few men were sparring. She ignored them and stomped forward confidently into the large doors, bringing them, to Aurelia’s relief, into the warmth of the castle.

To her surprise, the inside of the castle was warm and inviting. Still dark, yet paintings filled the walls and there were fires everywhere warming the castle. Above them, the ceiling was painted with immense detail of all sorts of battles and great warriors, gold borders lining the edges.

Elegant chandeliers hung along the hallway to light the passageway, and the furniture was made out of polished dark oak. Candlesticks hung along each wall, flicking in the breeze that Aurelia and Ilaria had let in. Men dressed in deep, rich-colored cloaks and robes strode around purposefully, deep in discussion with books piled in their arms. Aurelia wasn’t sure what she was expecting from a castle run by intolerable men, but something like this had never crossed her mind.

Ilaria thrust Aurelia through another set of two large doors that brought them into what could have only been the throne room. Like the others she had visited, a banner hung behind the throne, this one dark with the emblem of a moon. It was illuminated by candlesticks hung along the wall similar to the hallway, giving warm light to the cold, dark room. The throne itself was made of polished silver with small sections of gold, quite similar to the one in Calathis. Windows looked out to the winter weather outside, and Aurelia watched as snowflakes fell and gently landed on the castle lands. She attempted to think of anything possible that could distract her from the next coming moments.

Ilaria turned to face one of the guards in the room. “Go get him. He’ll want to see this,” She snapped, and the guard quickly left to fetch the king.

The room fell to silence for a few minutes and Aurelia tapped her foot impatiently, the pit in her stomach growing for each second they stood waiting.

Suddenly, the doors blew open as two men strode in, guards flanking either side, dressed in the most expensive robes and cloaks she had seen yet. They both were adorned in a deep purple, the man in front walking with such arrogance and self-confidence Aurelia had to bite her tongue to keep her face neutral. The extravagance of his clothing outdid anyone else in the room and it was clear that he found himself as important as his attire. He had curly dark brown hair and vividly violet eyes, his gaze scanning the room around him as he paused for a millisecond on Aurelia before moving to focus on the throne. A spiky, golden and silver crown sat atop his head, and he walked up the steps and sat in the throne, his dark gaze observing the scene in front of him.

The second man had to have been his brother – for he had the same dark hair, but it hung to his shoulders, his eyes instead of violet, a pale grey. Unlike his brother, he didn’t seem so rigid and narcissistic and walked with his head down to stand at the bottom of the stairs near the throne. He almost looked a bit...embarrassed. Aurelia bit her tongue to hide her expression once more.

“Ilaria?” The man on the throne – Dorian – said impatiently.

Ilaria grinned and pushed Aurelia forward. “A gift for you, my king.”

Aurelia stumbled forward, attempting to regain her balance before looking up into the eyes of the nefarious king of Damaris. His eyes were as soulless as the rumors surrounding him, and Aurelia shivered this time not from the temperature, but from the cold, dead gaze that seemed to bore into her soul.

“Aurelia, Aurelia, Aurelia,” Dorian said, a grin forming upon his face. “A bit...dirty and disheveled for a princess, don’t you think?” He gave a pointed look to Ilaria.

“I’m sorry, your Majesty, I didn’t think—“

“No, you certainly didn’t,” Dorian interrupted, waving her away. “You’re dismissed. You can go back to wherever the hell you came from. I’m done with you.”

Her mouth gaped open, but no words came out. Two guards came forward and led her out of the throne room, but not before she could give Aurelia a smirk as if she knew the untold horrors in store for her.

As the doors closed behind her, Dorian’s piercing gaze returned to Aurelia. “Aren’t you going to bow before your king?”