Gareth sighed. He was of royal blood. This king thing was not supposed to be difficult. The kingdom of Greed was a right mess when he took the throne. The ones who were supposed to be monitoring the finances were stealing from the taxes brought in. The people were starving. He had to fight with himself not to allow his own greed to overtake him. Starving people couldn’t pay taxes after all.
Add in the visions and dreams here lately… Gareth really was starting to wonder if he was going mad. He had not been the sort to fancy a man in his bed. He enjoyed the ladies too much to even consider such a thing. His dreams have been so very erotic. Causing sensations that he had only imagined beforehand. And always the same man. Tall, pale skin, dark black hair down his back. Piercing blue eyes that he woke up wishing to see again.
Gareth would wake up hearing the same words, feeling as if he was being caressed by those long nimble hands. “My greed, you are mine, and mine alone.” There was never anyone else in his bed. He always woke up a mess as if there was a lover with him.
That, and Gareth could swear that Dracus would be on the throne when he would go to the throne room. The sight was both reassuring and disturbing. He heard the servants whispering. He was apparently the only one who saw the man. So he stopped reacting. He had enough of a mess to clean up in this kingdom without the people thinking that he was going mad. In fact he needed to create an illusion of strength to be able to get things done.
He had some weirdo running around calling himself the pie lich. Gareth didn’t really mind that this idiot was handing out free food, but inciting the poor people to hate the crown… Well he couldn’t allow that.
The dirgibles that flowed between the kingdoms were always searched, and the guards were watching for this Pie Lich. To no avail. Gareth was certain that the people were protecting their “hero”. He really did not want to kill the idiot, as it would create a martyr. Just a conversation perhaps, to get the crown bashing to stop. Perhaps even learn the magic woven into the pie pans he handed out. There were three types of pie pan, silver, gold, and platinum. The silver pan would refill itself once each day. The gold would refill three times each day. The platinum would stay filled.
The problem was that they only functioned for the family gifted with them. So, the magic could not be dissected by his mages. Gareth had already seen that failure.
Gareth walked to the window, feeling that moment of homesickness. He felt a hand gentle on his shoulder, even as Dracus’s voice slid into his mind. “Your mother visits my envy. She plans to see you. Do you regret that moment when you took the throne?”
Thrown into a flashback, Gareth thought about the first time he landed in this kindom. Two years ago, walking off of the gangplank from the dirigible. Thinking then of how he could run this kingdom better than the old man who held the throne.
Though the seas had ships for the fishing and such, the dirigibles were safer for passengers and goods. The fish in the seas were massive and mean. There were no fees for basic passage, only for the higher class passengers.
Though he was of royal blood, he was also a runaway. He had snuck into free seating, and then seethed with envy and rage the whole trip. His father had given his sister what was rightfully his. Gareth knew how childish he had been. When he climbed down the gangplank, he saw the misery around him. How people were to the point of stabbing each other over crusts of bread. Gareth felt the draw of the throne. He was born to rule!

Note ****

This is not a direct continue from the story. This is part of the second chapter. It is also before editing, so there might be changes to the final story… These are teases into what Serena is working on. If you want to read the whole thing then you will have to get the book when she finishes it. I will be working on the cover soon. And Serena has told me that this is her Nanowrimo project.