Dragon's
Quest
Dragon
Princes Book 1
by
Cyci Cade
Genre:
Fantasy
Three
lives separated by time and land, connected by curse.
Two
princes from the Dragon ́s Dynasty, Liu and Wei,
are cursed and condemned to live as dragons. After two
centuries their fate changes when Kate appears in their lives
and they are able to return to their human form. However,
the curse isn ́t broken yet.
To
break the curse, the princes must recover the eyes and heart of the
Great Dragon. As Liu, Wei, and Kate embark on a journey to
the Palace of Jade in search of the first eye, they ́ll
have to face mythological creatures and immortal warriors.
They ́ll have to face death too, and prove that they are
honorable men to save Kate ́s life.
They
́ll be tested as never before. They ́ll discover
feelings they never imagined existed. They ́ll have to fight like
wild warriors.
A
curse can be broken... But at what cost?
**Releases
Feb 15th, 2017!!**
Excerpt Dragon´s Quest by Cyi Cade
Chapter 1
Xuan
China,
1800.
Xuan´s
fingers tightened around the spear; her knuckles became white. She wasn´t a
warrior, she had only taken a few self-defense classes years ago and she wasn´t
sure how to use that weapon; she also didn´t have the necessary strength to
manage it. She had never thought that one day she might need to defend her
sons´ lives. How could a weakened woman fight against a warrior? He was twice
her height, and he was committed to destroy her family. Even the very
well-trained soldiers fell by his sword; her husband was probably one of his
victims.
The
warrior moved toward her. Xuan pointed the spear directly at his chest and ran
toward the man. Dodging her blow, he held the spear and pulled the weapon,
dragging Xuan with it, throwing her onto the wall. Her head spun, and her
vision was foggy. She just heard the rough voice of the warrior.
“It´s my lucky day.” He laughed. “Who could
imagine that I´d find the Emperor´s sons in this place? I looked for gold and
found something much better.” He looked at her. “Do you have any idea how much
money I´ll get for the babies?” He leaned his head back and laughed again.
“I will give you what you want, but don´t
touch my babies.” At first, she begged and then she threatened. “Or you´ll know
a mother´s fury.”
He stared at her, narrowing his eyes. “Look at
you, woman. You can´t support your own weight.” He turned his back to her and
moved to the bed.
The babies cried out. She looked to the
corridor, hoping that someone had heard them and would come to their rescue; however,
it didn´t happen, nobody appeared. She crawled and grasped the spear that had
fallen a few feet from her. Still on the floor, she saw the repugnant man´s
dirty hands approaching her sons. He´d touch them. He´d hurt the newborns. She
had to stop that man.
She held the spear firmly, yelled, and once
more ran toward the man as if powerful hands had lifted Xuan to her feet. She
should have done that movement silently because the man turned to her,
positioning his sword, but he wasn´t fast enough. She hit his chest.
Xuan
released the weapon. The warrior slumped on the floor; she felt her stomach
tingling. Pain spread throughout her entire body. She looked down; the soldier
had hurt her too. She put a hand on the wound and pressed it. She tried to stop
the bleeding, but her unstable legs didn´t have strength enough to support her
body and she fell on the floor near the dead warrior, her face against the cold
tile.
She
looked at her newborn babies for the last time, tears gushed out of her eyes,
blurring her vision. The babies cried, waving their short arms; she wondered
how she ended up in that situation. I´m not feeling anything
else. I´m dying. I´m dying, but I don´t want to die; I can´t die. I have two
babies, but even though I´m dying and I can´t stop it, I can´t change it.
In a split second, that whole day passed in front of her eyes like a movie.
***
It seemed
a normal day; she gave orders to her servants to decorate the first-born and
heir´s room. The layette was ready, yet the Empress´s anxiety grew and grew.
She still had two months more to wait before she would be able to hold the baby
in her arms, look at his traits, then come face to face with the reality, was
it a boy or a girl?
It was
too much responsibility for a young woman recently married. Since her betrothal
to the Dragon Emperor, she knew she should give an heir to his throne, his
dynasty. It happened too quickly; a few months after the wedding Xuan was
pregnant, now she had to wait eight weeks to seal her destiny; the empire needed
an heir, a male heir.
Emperor Shun Xiang entered the room, bringing
Xuan back to reality. The servants bowed and moved aside, leaving them alone.
The expression on his young face became somber, revealing the seriousness of
the situation. Without uttering a word, Xuan knew her husband had bad news; she
already recognized his expressions.
Shun held her hands, pulling her closer. He
leaned toward her; his lips touched her forehead slightly. “We are under
attack. Guards are going to conduct you and the midwife to the shelter where
there is food and water. You have everything you need there. Lock the door;
open it to no one. I´ll return as soon as possible.” Shun stroked Xuan´s belly.
“Take good care of our heir.”
The Empress held her husband´s arm. “Please,
stay with us. I need you; our son needs you,” she asked with a pleading voice.
It was her first and last attempt.
“The warriors and the empire need me. It is my
duty.” He touched her face. “I´ll come back soon; you won´t miss me, I promise
you. Now hurry, the invaders can reach the palace anytime. Guards are going to
protect you. I don´t think the invaders can find the shelter.” He kissed his
beautiful and pregnant wife, grinned, and left her in tears.
Xuan heard a rumble followed by shots, screams,
pandemonium; the sound of battle was perfectly audible and moved toward the
palace very quickly. That was the worst time for combat; her young Emperor
would face a great risk protecting the empire, her and his son´s life. She
prayed daily for this to never happen; however, it was in vain. Her husband
could die today.
More afraid of the bad timing of war, was her
concern about the baby’s gender. The Emperor wanted a boy to be his heir. What
if it was born a girl instead? That burden laid heavier than her huge belly.
He´d be disappointed; he just talked about the boy who might arrive soon. Poor
child, coming to the world with so many uncertainties and bearing great
responsibilities.
She went to the door. People ran; they tried
to protect their lives. Ai, the servant woman and midwife, approached with the
guards. Ai carried bags full of the Empress´s belongings. “Your Majesty, we
should go, the guards are waiting for us and everything is prepared for your
comfort.”
Xuan
looked at the nursery, then reluctantly she moved to the shelter, guided by the
guards and the servant. She held her belly and walked as fast as she could. She
was scared; the enemies would give anything to capture her and the empire heir.
In this case, it might be the end of the Emperor, the Dragon´s Dynasty and
their story. Shun would die before he saw his empire in the enemies´ hands.
The imperial guard entered first to check
inside the shelter; Xuan and Ai followed. The guards left; while Ai closed the
door, Xuan could hear their heavy footsteps moving to their station. Silence
filled the room after the woman locked the door. They were alone in that place
for an undetermined time.
Ai helped Xuan to lie down on the bed; she put
many pillows under Xuan´s back and made the Empress comfortable. Xuan´s belly
was too big and heavy. The baby constantly squirmed causing her discomfort. So
violent were the baby´s kicks that her skin seemed on the verge of tearing.
Maybe she was wrong, and she was more than seven months pregnant. If that was
the case, the baby could be born at any time.
Xuan tried to avoid the thoughts that constantly passed through her mind.
“Ai, bring me water. I´m not feeling well.”
Her breath became deep and intense; her hands were trembling and wet. She
rubbed her belly and whispered, “Calm down, son, it isn´t your time yet. Your
father isn´t here to see you.”
Ai took a glass of water, put a hand
underneath the Empress´s back and gently pushed her forward. “Are you feeling
better?” the servant asked while Xuan sipped the water. Ai put another pillow
under Xuan´s neck and she lay again.
“No,” Xuan gasped. “Something is wrong!” she
screamed and curved forward pressing her belly. “The baby is coming,” she
warned the servant through gritted teeth and cried in agony.
“It is too early, he can´t be born now,” Ai
said, perplexed.
Xuan grabbed Ai´s hand, breathing shortly and
quickly. “I know, but I don’t think he agrees with us,” she screamed louder and
writhed; her screams might scare the enemies.
“We can do this, don´t worry. Take deep and
long breaths.” The midwife brought a basin full of water and clothes. She
removed the pillows from Xuan´s back, parted the Empress´s knees, and lifted
her skirt. “It will be fast, the baby´s head is facing. Take a deep mouthful of
air and push now.”
Xuan
inhaled, curved forward, put all her strength in a push and yelled, exhaling
the air, then she let her tired body fall on the bed and tried to recover;
however, Ai didn´t give her a break.
“Again!”
Ai ordered.
Xuan pushed one, two, three times and many
others; her belly became rigid, the contractions didn´t stop, the pain drained
her strength. Minutes had passed, and the last push was less intense but
efficient. She felt all power leaving her body; Xuan needed to refill it, she
needed some rest.
I´m
Cyci Cade and I write urban fantasy and fiction novels for young
adult.
I´ll
never forget the first time I wrote a story; I was in fifth grade.
That experience enchanted me. What should be an insignificant
composition became a four pages flash story. My teacher didn´t like
it very much, but who cared? She did.
Well,
I had to shorten my compositions. However, it didn´t discourage me;
on the contrary, it made me try harder. I like a good challenge. I
like to try new things; some of them don´t work as I expect, but it
doesn´t matter. I always learn new things.
I
started writing articles for magazines, newspapers, and blogs. I
wrote my first book in 2010 and published it in 2012. It was so
amazing that I didn´t stop anymore. Writing makes me happy.
I
have received 5 stars reviews from professional websites, and
remarkable comments that have encouraged me.
During
my free time, I like reading, watching TV series, and movies.
I
live in Brazil and I have a cat named Angel. I love cats too.
Welcome
to my world!
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