Dare to Defy by Breanna Hayse Read Free Book Online

body—was not the same as Baldric. They differed tremendously in build and carriage and her unknown lover’s eyes were the same violet hue of her pommel stone.
    Daynel inhaled as her mind then drifted back to her vision. Perhaps he was nothing more than a fantasy drummed up when she needed to feel protected and guided? This she partially doubted, for she knew for certain that the spanking she had experienced in the vision was not one she would have desired. Daynel reached for the ruby fang-shaped stone that hung about her throat, fingering the sharp tip thoughtfully. A fragment of hope inside of her wished that the childhood stories Ilesbet had told her were true, and that some form of magic really existed in the harsh world in which they lived. But she was a realist, like her twin brothers. The only magic that was left in life was that which fueled the imagination of children. And children had to grow up quickly in the world that they lived in.
    “Have you always required seeing with your eyes to believe, Princess?”
    Daynel sharply turned toward Baldric’s voice. “Do you always make a habit sneaking up behind women while they are privately bathing?”
    “I find it interesting that you chose to ask that question rather than how I knew what you were contemplating,” he chuckled, still hidden behind the vines. “Would you like to know the identity of the man who came to you in Sight?”
    “I do not know of any man of whom you speak.”
    “I believe he is the one destined for you, chosen by the gods themselves, to be your mate. The priestess has proclaimed that you shall go on a journey to find him, and yourself. He is the dragon warrior.”
    “Baldric, I love Ilesbet like a mother. She raised me since the age of five and I grew up with her children, was taught at her knee, and instructed in the education of life. She has never pressed her faith upon me and I knew only of it in passing. Even Günter, who took care of me more as a daughter than a sister, has kept his faith in silence. Why now? Why this sudden declaration of power in these dragon gods?” she asked sullenly, kicking the water. “I believe in only one god, and it comes from within myself.”
    “Your strength and cunning come from within, child,” Baldric said gently, sitting on a boulder across from her and ignoring her nakedness as her long, pale hair floated around her small, submerged breasts. “But there is more in this world than what you hold within you. The evil that is seeking you does so for a reason. It does not want you to discover your power.”
    “The only power I would have as queen in that kingdom is obedience. And I am not good at that,” Daynel chuckled sarcastically.
    “You are mistaken on both your beliefs. You will find that obedience will come easily for you as your heart is opened to learning truth. The power you would hold is the ability to move the kingdom away from the darkness and destruction that is born of pride and greed. That kingdom is doomed to fail if the prince becomes king. It must not happen.”
    “Other than killing him, what can be done?”
    “He is a tool of evil, Princess. The tool might be destroyed, but the source of evil still exists. You will be the one to eliminate it. And that is what he fears the most. That is why he is trying to lay his claim upon you. Once he beds you and you show evidence of carrying his heir, he becomes king and has no further use of you. The southern king’s condition of inheritance includes the bearing of a child, not that the child survives. It must not happen.”
    “Baldric, the southern kingdom is not my concern. It is a thousand leagues away and…”
    “The northern and southern kingdom are to be made whole once again,” Baldric said thoughtfully, plucking a flower from the ground. He held it up. “I can remove each petal from this stem and the flower will lose its beauty, but it is still a flower. The kingdoms, north and south, must be united again. When the