A King's Radiance (Bonds of Kin Book 1) Read online

  A KING’S RADIANCE

  Copyright © 2022 Luke Schulz

  Luke Schulz asserts the moral rights to be identified as the author of this work.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner, including stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright owner. The only exception is for the use of brief quotations or excerpts in a book review.

  This novel is a work of fiction. Any names, characters, places or incidents are a work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblances to actual persons, either living or dead, or locations, or events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  First paperback edition: 2022

  Edited by Luke Marty - yourbetareader.com

  Proofread by Roxana – proofreadebooks.com/

  Cover art by Sien Lee - brushseven.webflow.io - Instagram: @Brushseven

  Map created by Lena – Instagram: @bluidu_streams

  Title page art by Vanda - www.missviebookdesigns.com/

  Chapter header design by Fictive Designs - www.fictive-designs.com/

  For more information, please visit:

  or Instagram: @luke_schulz_author

  EBOOK ISBN: 978-0-6454574-1-4

  PAPERBACK ISBN: 978-0-6454574-0-7

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1 Raiz

  Chapter 2 Isha

  Chapter 3 Dazen

  Chapter 4 Raiz

  Chapter 5 Isha

  Chapter 6 Dazen

  Chapter 7 Raiz

  Chapter 8 Isha

  Chapter 9 Isha

  Chapter 10 Raiz

  Chapter 11 Dazen

  Interlude Evanon

  Chapter 12 Raiz

  Chapter 13 Isha

  Chapter 14 Dazen

  Chapter 15 Raiz

  Chapter 16 Dazen

  Chapter 17 Isha

  Chapter 18 Raiz

  Chapter 19 Dazen

  Chapter 20 Isha

  Chapter 21 Dazen

  Chapter 22 Isha

  Chapter 23 Raiz

  Interlude Evanon

  Chapter 24 Raiz

  Chapter 25 Isha

  Chapter 26 Dazen

  Chapter 27 Raiz

  Chapter 28 Isha

  Chapter 29 Dazen

  Chapter 30 Raiz

  Chapter 31 Isha

  Chapter 32 Dazen

  Chapter 33 Isha

  Interludes Echo

  Obeyun

  Chapter 34 Dazen

  Chapter 35 Isha

  Chapter 36 Isha

  Chapter 37 Dazen

  Chapter 38 Isha

  Chapter 39 Raiz

  Chapter 40 Raiz

  Chapter 41 Raiz

  Chapter 42 Dazen

  Chapter 43 Raiz

  Chapter 44 Raiz

  Epilogue Isha

  Acknowledgements

  About the author

  Prologue

  A light shone from above, seeping through the crystal-clear clerestory windows and bathing him in warmth. Raiz squirmed in his seat at the high table. Still a boy, he was unaccustomed to the deliberations of men and women at court. Even at breakfast, his brother and father always seemed to be in argument with one baron or another, fighting over small matters. It bored him, and he found himself constantly staring at the ceiling, as if drawn to the sun god's heat.

  His forearm began to itch, and it took him longer than it should to notice something was wrong. Raiz shook his hand as though there was something within that needed to come out. His breaths came short and sharp. He shifted in his seat again, eyes darting to and from each guest at the table. People were beginning to notice, though their faces were a blur. He almost jumped out of his seat as a sweaty hand gripped his wrist in a tight embrace. He narrowed his eyes, focusing his vision. It was his brother, Dazen.

  Dazen stared at him, open-mouthed, as if he knew exactly what was happening. "Raiz, you must leave, now!" he hissed.

  "What's happening to me? I don't —"

  Raiz's hand vibrated, glowing white, radiating heat more intense than any flame.

  "Come with me. Quickly," Dazen said.

  But it was too late, Raiz had to release it. There was no choice. Two dozen faces stared at him as he fumbled in his chair, a bony forearm that was glowing white pointed in their direction. He could see his father, veins of worry popping from his brow.

  His resolve reached its peak. Dazen twisted his arm as Raiz screamed. A torrent of white-light with a tinge of red poured from his palm with intense velocity. It beamed through the air, burning a hole the size of his head into the ceiling, sending shards of glass and splinters of wood raining down upon the high table. Time no longer had meaning as the heat continued to pour forth. He could hear his brother grunting beside him, refusing to let go of his wrist despite the pain he must be feeling.

  His arm shifted, the sheer power too much to keep in one place. It drew a red line across the ceiling, threatening to bring it down on top of them.

  And then suddenly, it was over. He looked down at his blackening hand and shuddered. The room stilled. Half of the royalty in Illidor were staring at him, horror wrought on their still blurry faces. Raiz, more horrified than any, took the only action that made sense. He ran.

  Raiz climbed high into the night. Each step creaked louder than the last as he wound his way around the Moon-spire. He needed to get away from everyone, to recoup and gather his thoughts.

  Age was wearing the centuries-old tower. Several times Raiz nearly skewered his foot on rusty nails that stuck out through the fading blue paint of the staircase. Still, to him, nothing was more magnificent. He poked his head through the ornate window far enough to admire the tower’s white stone blocks glistening in the moon's light.

  He was nearly at the top. Sticking his arm out, he welcomed the cool breeze as it stung his burnt arm, which had turned to a blackish charcoal colour. He withdrew his head like a turtle into its shell, listening as a light patter of footsteps rose from below. Raiz rolled his eyes, giving an annoyed sigh before continuing the climb, now two steps at a time.

  It was Isha, he was sure of it. He thought he had lost her in the palace grounds, but his sister was always outsmarting him.

  His legs shook as he reached the top. Opening the wide hatch, he climbed a small ladder and pulled himself into the attic. Relics older than the tower itself littered the floor. He ran a finger over an ancient plate of armour, drawing a line in the dust across its breast before clicking his fingers to rid himself of it. He walked past a blunted silver longsword, past its best years. Glancing at his charred arm, he wondered if he would ever be able to wield one now. An array of dusty gold and silver chalices lined the outskirts of the attic, the dim glow of their embedded gemstones shining in the light the moon cast through the window. He wondered how much of a fortune was kept here, rotting away to nothing. How much could he sell if he were to run away?

  As intriguing as that prospect was, he had no desire for such treasure. What he wanted was much grander.

  He undid the window-latch at the end of the room with a rough flick of his unwounded hand and forced it open, wood scraping against wood. He poked his head out of the window, this time allowing his body to follow.

  Raiz sucked in a deep breath of fresh air, pulling his navy cloak further over his body so that it covered his neck. This was his treasure.

  The city sparkled with a thousand dazzling lights, paralleling their counterparts high above in the sky. There was only one place in the city with a view this complete, and it was right here a
t the tip of the Moon-spire.

  The city of Illidor stretched for miles. Raiz watched as thousands of people readied themselves for the day's end, oblivious to what had just happened in the palace. From the distant fields where farmers returned to their homes after a hard day’s work, to the inner walls of Illidor where torches and hearths were being lit as parents readied their children for bed.

  "Father's worried about you," came a voice from behind, causing him to jump.

  He relaxed his muscles, eyeing his sister without even turning his head. Then he looked back to his hand, charred from a power he was too young to comprehend. "Father's always worried about something."

  "And that something is usually you," Isha said, forcing her slight body through the window before making herself comfortable next to him.

  A long silence followed, neither of the pair feeling the need to disturb the other. Raiz suspected she was just being patient and waiting for him to calm down. She always knew how to temper him so.

  Eventually he gave in and turned towards his sister, her violet eyes glowing like a beacon in the dark of the night. She must be the only person in Illidor to have been born with violet eyes. His father and brother always seemed to think that made her special, but to Raiz she didn't need strangely-coloured eyes to be special. "Did Father send you here?" he asked.

  "He didn't have to," she said, her voice soft. "You’re my younger brother, and it's my job to make sure you're okay."

  He gave a weak smile before moving in closer to his sister, draping his cloak to cover them both.

  "Does it hurt?" she asked.

  Raiz leaned his head against her shoulder, clenching and unclenching his fist. "It's fine now, I think. I... I don't know what happened. I don't understand."

  Isha took his arm in her hands and kissed it. "It's not your fault, Raiz. Father should have warned you."

  "Warned me? What do you mean? Did he know this would happen?"

  "Well, not exactly. It's…complicated."

  Raiz scrunched his face. "No one ever tells me anything."

  "I actually have something for you," Isha said. "A present of sorts."

  Raiz’s eyes shifted towards his sister. He did like presents.

  Isha reached into her pocket and withdrew something in her cupped hands. She removed her top hand to unveil the present within.

  Raiz let out a light gasp, watching with a keen eye as a lizard-like creature crawled across her palm and onto her fingers.

  "It's a Pricket," Isha said.

  "A Pricket? It just looks like a lizard to me."

  His sister stifled a laugh, watching as the Pricket made its way up her arm. It had a long, scaled body and clawed hands. Its tail wound around her forearm and formed into an overly large barb at its end, which seemed disproportionate to the rest of its body. "Here, take him," she said as she picked up the Pricket and placed him on Raiz's blackened arm.

  Raiz flinched as tiny claw-like hands bit at his skin. To his surprise, the Pricket licked at his scorched skin with a long blue tongue. "What's it doing?" he said.

  Isha stifled another laugh. "He likes you. Prickets feed on white-light. He’ll help you the next time you build up too much Shine."

  "White-light? Shine? You mean I’m like Dazen and Father now?"

  "It would appear so. They really should have prepared you for this. But I suppose the white-light doesn't usually manifest in someone so young."

  Raiz looked away. "Are they mad?"

  "I don't think so. Just surprised is all, and a little shaken. Your outburst wasn't exactly subtle. Though Father did mumble something about your Shine being a touch red. No idea what that means but it seemed important to him.

  "Now, what are you going to call him?" Isha continued, motioning towards the Pricket.

  Raiz scratched his head, watching as the Pricket's barbed tail vibrated while he continued to lick Raiz's wound. "I'm going to call him Spike."

  "A fitting name for a wonderful creature. Now, about returning to Father?" she said.

  Raiz grunted, petting Spike on his back as his yellow eyes opened and shut. "Father can wait another hour, can't he?"

  The three Glaive children stood straight-backed on the dais in front of their father. His presence was overbearing. It was hard to believe Raiz's skinny frame and bony elbows were wrought from the same physique.

  Kron Glaive stood tall, with tense, broad shoulders. His angular cheekbones clenched tightly over a thick black beard as he cast a gloomy scowl over his three children. Raiz was the youngest of the three and, of course, the smallest. His sister Isha was two years his senior, twelve in total. She stood perfectly still, her innocent violet eyes blinking pleadingly at Father.

  Dazen was the oldest. At fifteen he was already taller than most boys his age, his muscular body more resembling that of a grown man. Raiz wondered if his body would change like that when he was older, but he doubted it.

  Raiz was nothing like his brother, or his sister for that matter. He was more… adventurous, is how he liked to put it, though his father often called it wild.

  "Ahem," his father said, his cold stare bearing down on him and snapping him back to attention. "I have called you here to discuss a serious matter."

  Isha shifted her feet. "Excuse me Father, I'm rather famished. Do I really need to be here while you educate Raiz on what he should have been told years ago?"

  Raiz squinted at his sister, again wondering what she was talking about. What were they not telling him? He didn't ask for this power, and he certainly didn't know how to control it.

  "Enough!" Kron bellowed.

  The three siblings stiffened at this. It was rare for him to raise his voice so, especially at Isha.

  "Raiz's manifestation of the white-light will be discussed at another time,” Kron said. "Tomorrow is a day of great importance for the Kingdom of Trost. And also one of great strain. An Eagle is coming to Illidor."

  To his right, his brother gasped.

  "Are you sure Father? Why here? Why now?" Dazen asked.

  Raiz's heart pounded with excitement. He had heard tale of Lumindal's famous Eagles. They were divinities, untouchable. Said to be immortal, their very presence breathing life into our existence. Hand-picked by the God of Light himself to represent His will on the physical plain.

  Kron looked towards Isha and Raiz. "I will not have the two of you present when he arrives."

  Raiz jerked his head straight. "That's not fair Father! I want to meet him!"

  "No!" his father boomed, his voice cutting the air. He took a steadying breath and stepped forwards. "An Eagle's presence is unpredictable. Their tempers are short. To hinder him could lead to the end of Illidor."

  All three siblings' eyes grew wide. "Surely one man does not have such power," Isha said.

  Kron fixed her with another fierce stare. "Need I remind you of the city of Hirane? Of the False Kings War?"

  She looked at him with a blank expression.

  "The city is now a barren wasteland where nothing but the ghosts of a hundred thousand dead linger." He paused for a long while, letting his words sink in before continuing. "Do not inconvenience them. Do not speak to them. Do not even look at them. Dazen, you will be by my side. You are old enough to see them for what they are."

  Raiz went to protest, hating Dazen for his special preference, but stopped himself. He was already in trouble for his earlier outburst. Best he not get himself into more.

  "You two will remain in the palace, am I clear?"

  No response.

  "Am I clear!"

  "Yes, Father," Isha and Raiz called in unison as they stared at their father's feet.

  Kron waved a dismissive hand, issuing them away so he could have a more private word with Dazen.

  "I can't see anything from here," Raiz said, angling his neck in an attempt to view the spectacle below.

  "This is as good as you're going to get, so stop whining," Isha responded. She sat cross-legged along the white stone tiling of the Moon-spire
.

  Raiz's safe haven had turned into a temporary prison as his father and brother accompanied their esteemed guest in the oversized courtyard.

  From his bird's-eye view, he could only just make out a few figures. Kron and Dazen sat side-by-side atop the central platform. The courtyard was at capacity. Hundreds of Trost's nobility had flocked to the capital to catch a glimpse of one of the supposed divinities.

  "What do you think they're talking about?" he asked his sister.

  "I haven't the faintest clue Raiz. Though I don't think I've seen Father so nervous before. He even yelled at me!"

  Raiz hummed to himself, frustration overwhelming his senses. "Why does Dazen get to meet him? Why is he so important?"

  "Because he is older. And because Father says so."

  Raiz grumbled, "I wonder what he looks like. Does he glow? Is he a giant? Are his ears pointy?" He leaned in closer, slipping on a tile before bracing himself on the windowsill.

  Beside him, Isha laughed. "Why would their ears be pointy?"

  Raiz shrugged. "Read it in a book somewhere."

  "In all of your ten years I have never once seen you with a book in your hands."

  "You're not with me all the time! Maybe I read at night, when you're in bed."

  "Huh, not likely."

  Raiz ignored her and continued to spy on the proceedings. "When I grow up, I want to become one of them. I want to be an Eagle," he said.

  His sister sighed. "You can't just become one of them Raiz, it's not that easy. They're not what you think they are."

  "Then how? How do I become one of them? Maybe then people won't lie to me. Maybe then I'll know everything and can help people."

  "Do you think I'm some sort of book on life or something? I don't have the answer to everything, you know."

  Raiz shrugged. "Well, I'm going to get a better look."

  Isha reached out to grab his arm but fell a finger length short. "Raiz wait! You can't leave the palace; you'll get us into trouble again."

  "Don't follow me then," he said, squishing through the window. "I won't get in the way, I promise. Just want to get a good look."

  Isha called out something else, but her voice became muffled as he flung the hatch open and began the descent. She would follow, he was sure of it.