Conquer: A Kingdoms of Sin Novella Read online

  CONQUER

  A KINGDOMS OF SIN NOVELLA

  WILLOW ASTER

  CONTENTS

  Introduction

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Also by Willow Aster

  INTRODUCTION

  This is the prequel to Downfall, the Kingdoms of Sin series, book 1…set twenty-five years before Downfall begins…

  This novella is a romance based entirely on fictional places, where there are monarchies that don’t operate quite like ours. There are no dragons or fairies, but there is lust, greed, pride, and wrath…something that exists in any world and has since the beginning of time.

  PROLOGUE

  Neil, age 11

  I run through the halls of the castle and come to an abrupt stop when I hear my dad and his best friend, Jorges, laughing and slapping their hands in the complicated handshake they’ve always done. Jorges makes the long trek from the southeast mountains to our home on the opposite side of Farrow once a year, and this time he’s finally brought his family.

  I’ve heard about his daughters, Kathryn, Samantha, and Mari, for as long as I can remember, but this is the first time he’s ever brought them to visit. A pretty woman stands in the corner of the room, smiling wide. That must be Jorges’ wife, Jaime. My mother stands next to her and their arms are looped together.

  I watch in fascination as my dad and Jorges sign something with the tall feathered pen, the one my dad says is for important decrees and contracts and not for me to use until I am king. Believe me, I’ve tried to get my hands on that pen many times, and my father always seems to know when I’ve gone near it.

  I try to sneak closer to hear what they’re talking about as they shuffle the stack of papers.

  “This feels like a much better arrangement for me than it is for you,” Jorges says.

  Jaime dabs her eyes with a handkerchief, and my mom wraps her arm around Jaime’s shoulder as she draws her closer.

  “We’re just so grateful,” Jaime says, her voice breaking.

  I take a step closer, my curiosity getting the best of me.

  “Your father saved my father and I can never repay that debt,” my dad says. “This is the best way I can show you my gratitude. Where are they now? Shall we tell them?”

  My mom shakes her head and laughs. “Let’s wait. There’s plenty of time to talk about the future.”

  I hear a shriek down the hall behind me and decide I better check that out. I’ve wished Jorges had sons since my dad said he was bringing his kids to visit this time, but it’ll be nice just to have kids around who are my age.

  Visits to our castle are infrequent during the long winters, and depending on the severity of our season, some years I spend more time being tutored than going to school.

  I hear the shriek again and take off running toward it. I can’t tell if they’re laughing or upset and I pick up speed as I round the corner. I go barreling into a body and a piercing scream deafens me as the body goes flying past me and lands in a clump on the ground.

  It’s one of the girls, I have no idea which, and the two others run toward her, kneeling down and then looking up at me in accusation. The one I ran into has fallen on her arm and when she turns over, tears are running down her cheeks as her wild blue eyes glare up at me. I think she’s around my age and I hope we can get past this quickly so we can get to the playing. She holds her arm to her chest and it looks strange.

  “You hurt me,” she wails.

  “What?” I kneel beside her and look her over. I’m relieved to not see any blood. “I’m so sorry.”

  “You are a clumsy creep,” she says, sniffling.

  “I didn’t mean—it was an accident,” I start to say as she suddenly starts yelling.

  “Mom!” she yells. “MOM!”

  I jump up and take off running toward my dad’s office to get help.

  It’s not until later that I’m told I broke the arm of Kathryn Sagento, the oldest of Jorges’ daughters.

  On the same day that our parents arranged our future marriage.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Kathryn, present

  I walk down the mile-long plank from Pravia to Kings Passage University, the international school for princes, princesses, emperors, empresses, the wealthy elite, and those who have an extremely high IQ. I am not a princess or an empress. I am not wealthy. I’m intelligent, but not at the level of the students of Kings Passage.

  I do not belong here.

  “I know you’re sad, Kathryn, but please do your best to smile when you see him,” my mom says.

  I glance at her, surprised by how she’s managing to even be upright and functioning right now. I was supposed to be at Kings Passage my freshman year, but my father got sick. I helped with my younger sisters’ studies while my mom took care of my father. Now I’m coming to Kings Passage for the first time as a senior, having done online studies this whole time.

  “I still don’t know why I couldn’t finish out the year at home. Why come at all when I’ve spent all this time learning online?”

  “Because you need this time with Neil,” she says. “And so you can enjoy a true college experience before the two of you marry.”

  Neil Safrin. I make a face just thinking about him. My fiancé.

  It’s ridiculous to me that an agreement between two best friends—my father and Neil’s father, the king of Farrow—means I am stuck marrying someone I don’t even know. Someone I’ve only seen once when we were kids and that did not go well.

  I’m not equipped to be a queen. I have no desire to be one, even though I have been training to be just that from the moment we returned from the Safrin castle with the signed contract in my father’s leather satchel. I didn’t realize until years later what had transpired, and it almost ruined my relationship with my father when I found out what he’d agreed to on my behalf.

  But now my dad is dead and there is no way out of this. My mom and sisters are counting on me to fulfill this obligation. It ensures they will be taken care of for the rest of their lives. We will never have to worry about money again. We will be able to keep our home in the mountains, and my sisters will have a substantial dowry to bring to the table when they’re ready to marry.

  It’s great for everyone but me.

  I wonder if Neil Safrin is still a clumsy creep.

  The ancient building looms ahead and I turn to my mom, suddenly unable to move another step forward.

  “Mom, I think it’s best if we say goodbye here.”

  “What? Why are you saying that? I can’t just leave you here.” She laughs and I notice how tired her eyes are.

  “It was too hard to say goodbye to Samantha and Mari. Please don’t make me prolong the goodbyes with you too. I just don’t think I can do it.” My voice cracks and I stand up taller, trying to will my backbone into stubborn submission.

  “Well, I don’t think I can just leave you here,” she whispers.

  I reach out and clutch her hand in mine, the ocean breeze whipping our hair around our faces. I choke back a sob and her eyes soften.

  “Sweetheart,” she says. She steps closer to me and wraps her arms around me. “You are braver than I ever was, do you know that?”

  I shake my head. “I’m not. This is just too hard. I already miss Samantha and Mari. I can’t believe Dad’s really gone. It’s just too much.” I wipe
my face as tears drip down my cheeks. “I even miss the snow. I can’t say bye to you in there with all those strangers.”

  “I will say goodbye to you here, if that’s what you really want. But you say the word, and I will come back tonight and help get you settled in.”

  I nod. And she wraps her arms around me, pulling me in. I close my eyes as I memorize the way it feels to have my mom’s arms around me and when I think my chest will cave in from all the tears I’m holding in, I step away from her and try to smile.

  “I love you,” I whisper. “I’ll see you at the wedding.”

  She smiles and tells me she loves me too. And I turn and walk toward the formidable building that holds my future inside.

  When I reach the door, I look back and my mom is standing there watching. She holds her hand up and we wave. I turn and go inside before I can talk myself out of this.

  My breath catches when I step inside the entrance of Kings Passage. The cathedral ceilings are covered with ornate paintings, and I barely notice the sound of all the students rushing past as I take it all in.

  Voices echo around me and I follow the signs leading to the admissions office. I pull my navy cardigan sleeves over my hands. A chill from the ocean breeze moves through the cold building as the oversized windows allow the air to circulate. Or maybe it’s the weight of grief that leaves me with a chill that won’t go away. My father has been gone for ten days. Numbness sinks beneath my skin, and warmth is nowhere to be found.

  I pull the door open, and dark cherry wood molding and bookshelves surround the office space. A woman in a white blouse and a black suit coat moves to her feet when she sees me. Her hair is tied in a tight chignon at the nape of her neck, and it pulls so hard against her skin I’m certain it must be painful.

  “You must be Kathryn Sagento. We were expecting you.”

  It’s not a question as much as a statement. There’s a hint of irritation in her icy tone, but I’ve been cooped up for so long with my family in our home that I wonder if I’ve just lost all ability to read people and have any grasp of social skills at this point.

  “Yes. It’s me,” I say with a shrug, because I’m trying my best to be polite when every inch of my body wants to run for the door. I don’t want to be here.

  She picks up the phone on her desk and pauses. “Send Provence Wilford to the office to take our new student around.”

  She says nothing more to me and I stand there awkwardly. I pat down the navy, burgundy, and green plaid skirt that my mother purchased for me to wear. In fact, there are five identical skirts that were sent ahead in my luggage and should be waiting for me in my dorm room.

  The door opens and a girl with long blonde hair and brown eyes forces a smile. “Are you Kathryn?”

  “Yes,” I say, because she’s assessing me like she can’t decide if she wants to throttle me or turn around and leave.

  “I’m Provence Wilford. Eldest daughter of Elton Wilford,” she sneers.

  “Oh…okay. I don’t know what that means. But, um, congratulations?”

  The lady behind the desk lets out a laugh that she quickly covers with a cough and I glance over at her. I swear I see the corners of her lips turn up, but her mouth quickly returns to the perma-frown she wore when I first walked in.

  “It means I’m ridiculously rich, unlike you.” Provence tugs the door open. “Let’s go. I’ve been assigned to take you around for the next few days.”

  Lucky me.

  “Thank you,” I say as I fall into step beside her.

  Her walk is brisk and anger radiates from her. I’ve been here all of five minutes and I can’t imagine what I’ve done to make her hate me already.

  “Listen,” she continues to march forward on a mission, “we all know you’re betrothed to Neil Safrin and it’s absolute madness. I mean, why on earth would a Safrin be marrying a Sagento? It’s laughable really.”

  I don’t find it that funny, but I’ve wondered the same thing myself many times over the years. But it’s certainly not because I asked for it.

  I don’t respond because there isn’t much to say.

  She comes to an abrupt stop. The anger in her eyes is so fierce, I almost stumble into her.

  “I’ll just put it out there. Neil and I have a thing. He can’t keep his hands off of me. So you’ll just have to deal with it. He’s dreading your arrival. We all are. The world isn’t stopping just because some sad excuse for a future queen somehow guilted Neil’s father into signing his life away to your father.” Her face is so close to mine that she actually spits on me as she speaks, and I take a step back.

  “Perhaps there is someone else who can take me around today. Since you’re obviously sleeping with my fiancé, I think there might be a conflict of interest.” I raise a brow.

  I don’t care that Provence is sleeping with Neil. I barely know him and would be fine if the whole thing just blew up altogether, aside from the guilt of letting my family down.

  “You don’t call the shots, Kathryn. This is my world, and you’re just lucky to be living in it. Don’t push me—I will have no problem ending you.”

  Does she mean kill me? Or does she mean she’ll end me socially? What exactly is she saying? I’ve just lost my father. I’ve been forced to leave my home and my sisters. Forced to leave my mother during the worst time of our lives. Forced to marry a boy I barely know, who is currently sleeping with the queen bitch of the school. Provence Wilford’s threats do not scare me. I can’t imagine things could get any worse for me than they already are.

  A maniacal laugh escapes my mouth and she stares at me like I’ve lost it.

  Joke’s on her because I have.

  I lost it long before I ever got here.

  “Bring it on,” I say, and I start walking again.

  “You’re never going to survive here.” She huffs beside me.

  I have a feeling she’s right, because I have no desire to survive here.

  I don’t belong in this world.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Neil

  I fought with my father for an hour this morning on the phone and I’ve been in a foul mood ever since. Kathryn Sagento is starting at Kings Passage today, and he expects me to turn my life completely upside down upon her arrival.

  For what? A promise he made to his best friend years ago? Yes, I was sad to hear the news about Jorges passing. He was a great man and a very dear friend of my father’s. I’ve known I’d be marrying her someday, but someday was not supposed to come so soon. I’m young. Enjoying myself like everyone else my age.

  Yes, I understand my responsibility as the future king of Farrow. Since Kathryn hasn’t been here the entirety of my time at Kings Passage University, I thought I at least had the rest of the year to live out my life as I want.

  Marrying a girl that I hardly know is not high on my priority list. And let’s not forget that our one and only meeting ended with her blaming me for breaking her arm.

  I drop down to sit in biology class beside my two best friends, Armon and Citrine.

  “I heard she’s here. Ms. Turple called Provence out of Calculus class to go show her around. Of all the people she could have chosen,” Armon says as he pulls a pen from his backpack.

  Citrine whistles. “Well, I guess it’ll be a baptism by fire for the future missus. Being greeted by the girl who wishes she was betrothed to the future king,” he says in a mock deep voice and we all laugh.

  Provence and I have hooked up a few times. I’m not proud of that decision, as she isn’t a very nice person, but she is hot as hell and she’s been all over me since the day we started at Kings Passage a few years ago.

  I’d been straight with her that it couldn’t go anywhere, and she claimed to be fine with it, but lately, since we’d been informed that Kathryn would be joining us soon since her father’s passing—Provence has been behaving irrationally.

  “Big day, Safrin,” Titus Catano, the future king of Niaps, says. I’m not a huge fan of the kid, but I tolerate him, as
we need to keep peace amongst the kingdoms. My father has preached this to me since as early as I can remember.

  Peace in the kingdoms is the only way for every kingdom to remain standing.

  Last year, I asked him what he would do if he didn’t like another king, as I wasn’t a huge fan of Titus or his two best friends Victros, the future king of Yuman and Judd, who I didn’t know much about, but he came from a wealthy family in Yuman as well. Dad chuckled and told me it didn’t matter if I liked them or not. My job as the future leader of Farrow is to put my country first. He said that someday I might need to form an alliance with Titus and Victros, and that I was to solidify those ties now while we’re all young.

  Always keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

  I don’t always understand my father’s choices, but I respect him. I love him. And I hope to be half the leader that he is someday.

  “What if she’s a butterface?” Judd barks out a laugh. “You know, everything is fine…but her face.”

  He and Victros share a laugh, and Sarafina and Constance both chuckle right along with them. They’re Provence’s minions. Followers through and through.

  Melody glares in their direction. She’s the salt of the earth type of girl, and I’m happy to hear that Kathryn will be rooming with her, because she’s the nicest of the girls in our class.

  The door flies open and everyone turns. Provence storms in the classroom and her gaze locks with mine before she winks.

  God only knows what that means.

  When she steps aside to sit next to Sarafina and Constance, Kathryn stands awkwardly behind her. Long dark hair cascades over her shoulders and her deep blue eyes stand out in contrast to her pale skin. A few freckles are sprinkled across her nose, and I nearly lose my breath at the sight of her. She’s gorgeous. Small in stature, but there’s something fierce about her. A fire in her eyes that rivals my own.