Kingdoms of Life and Death: A Forbidden Fantasy Romance (The Catharsis Trilogy Book 1) by Veronica Lancet

Author:Veronica Lancet [Lancet, Veronica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: VL
Published: 2022-10-14T18:30:00+00:00

Five

She watched the sun come up in the sky, almost dreading the day to come. Folding her arms over her chest, she propped herself against the wall of the balcony, enjoying the light morning breeze.

"It's not like you to get up this early, Myra," Kissa spoke, her voice reaching her aging governess as she approached her.

"Your mother requires your presence."

"I'm surprised she remembers me," Kissa added drily.

"You're being harsh on her, child," Myra chastised. "She'd never forget about you."

Kissa's lips flattened in annoyance. Indeed, one could say her mother did not forget about her for she tried everything in her power to make sure Kissa lost at the third trial.

The entire night she'd tossed and turned, the situation with Caean killing her. But more than anything, she was haunted by the realization that her mother had never borne her any lost love. She'd gone through all her memories, cataloging every interaction and trying to get to the bottom of it somehow.

What had she done that warranted that type of behavior?

Yes, she might have been the odd one in the family growing up, both in appearance and in personality. She'd been the dark one among fair, beautiful people. She'd been the failure where everyone had excelled before her.

During her childhood, she'd been mocked for her limited magic supply. As she grew, she continued to be taunted for her volatility and the fact that she had no control over her powers.

All her life, she'd tried to prove something—show them she was better; that she was worthy of their love.

Knowing what she did now, she had to wonder if from the beginning she'd been so unwelcome that the only way to get rid of her was to sabotage her journey—make sure she died during one of the trials so no one could point fingers at her family. In a way, she supposed, that was the preferred way instead of having rumors about the royal family killing one of their own.

But why?

The only answer Kissa could come up with was the fact that she was so far below her family in skill that she was quite simply a disappointment.

Soon, the engagement draw would take place at the Great Temple. It was the highlight of the year for every noble family, each hoping the odds would be in their favor as they matched with a powerful family, forming a political alliance besides a magical one.

In a matter of days, Kissa, too, would take part in the first step of the process.

Since the entire society was built on magic, and its ultimate purpose was magic, the goal was to obtain more and more power with each generation. Arranged marriages paved the way for that.

Every prospective mage of marriageable age would enter the draw, waiting to be matched to someone who was their counterpart genetically and with whom they had the most chances of producing superior offspring.

Kissa didn't know exactly how they went about that, but she wagered she would find out soon.

While the Council of Elders was in charge of laws governing magic, the Great Temple oversaw the matchmaking.

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