Daughter of the Red Dawn (The Lost Kingdom of Fallada) by Alicia Michaels Read Free Book Online Page A

her insides . Why did she care if he was dead or hurt? He ha d just tried to kill them for God’s sake! She should be thanking these two strangers, yet couldn’t find the words. Especially since the one wearing a hat was starin g at her intently as he removed round, wire-rimmed glasses from his vest pocket and slipped them on.
    “She’s not the one , Wil,” he said, still watching Selena.
    “Of course she is!” the one named Wil blustered in a voiced tinted by a German accent . “Look at he r height and the regal features, Jake.”
    Jake adjusted his spectacles and sighed, rolling his eyes as if used to putting up with the other man’s posturing.
    “Fine then,” he said with a shrug , his accent just as thick as Wil’s . “Why don’t we just check her for the birthmark? That will prove it beyond the shadow of a doubt.”
    Wil snapped his fingers as if he’d just had an epiphany and smiled. “I know! We’ll check her for the birthmark. Honestly , Jake, you’re supp osed to be the smart one. ”
    “God help me,” Jake groaned as Wil took another step toward Zoe.
    “All right then , girl, let’s have it.”
    Zoe pursed her lips. “Have what?”
    “Your birthmark, princess! Come, come, we haven’t all day and that beast will only be out for so long and then we’ll all be in trouble.”
    “What the hell is everybody talking about? Princess? I’m not a freaking princess!”
    Suddenly everyone was talking at once, a cacophony of voices that grated on Selena’s nerves. Wil kept insisting that Zoe had to be the one they were looking for. Rose wanted to know who these men were and why they were here, and Zoe kept asking about the birthmark and whether being a Princess came with a castle and a pool . Jake merely shook his head and pulled his hat down lower over his ears. Selena had finally had enough.
    “Shut up!” she bellowed , holding her hands up , annoyance edging her tone. “Everybody just be quiet for a minute, please! There is too much going on and I think I can help fill in some of the gaps if you give me a minute.”
    “Definitely sounds like a princess,” Jake muttered from beneath his hat.
    Selena shot him a dirty look before continuing.
    “ This guy,” she pointed at Titus, “appeared in my life the other day out of nowhere. Next thing I know he’s telling me that I’m different and I’m not from this world. He says I should be afraid of him because of what he is. Then he morphs into a wolf and chases me here. My grandmother tells me that she found me in a basket years ago and raised me as her own. So I think it’s safe to say that I’m the one you’re looking for, although Titus didn’t say anything about any princess.”
    “What’s your name, girl?” Jake a ske d softly once Selena had finished.
    “Selena,” she answered. “Selena McKinley.”
    Jake shook his head, moving forward to stand beside Wil. “ If I haven’t missed my guess, then your true name is Eladria. Princess Eladria of Damu. Have you a birthmark on your ribs? It would be on your right side, a brown smudge visible when you lift your arm. ”
    Selena’s heart beat in double time and the call of the familiar echoed within her chest, resounding throughout her mind. She’d always wondered about the chocolate brown patch of skin shaped like California a few inches beneath her armpit. Eladria . She wasn’t ready to admit it out loud, but she knew deep within her heart that old Jake had called her by her true name.
    “Princess,” Rose whispered, staring off into space as if in deep thought. “The dress you were wearing that night was so beautiful and the ma terial so rich. And that jewel—”
    “Jewel?” Wil snapped to attention. “You have the stone in your possession? The Ruby of Damu?”
    Selena reached into her shirt and pulled the golden chain and robin’s egg-sized stone from its confines. “What, this?”
    Wil gasped and snatched the stone from her hand, yanking Selena along with it as the chain