Royalty Fantasy Boxset: Ember Dragon Daughter & Hasley Fateless (Fated Tales Series 1 & 1.5) (The Fated Tales Series: YA Royalty Fantasy) Read online

  Praise for Ember Dragon Daughter

  It left me desperate for more!

  Leilani Lopez, author of The Devil's Heir

  An exciting new novel from fantasy author Rebecca K. Sampson which challenges the love triangle trope through the structure of a magical new world.

  P.S. Malcolm, author of Stuck on Vacation with Ryan Rupert

  The characters are amazing, round characters with flaws and traits, who change a lot and became better or worse at the end.

  Donna, Reader Review

  Royalty Fantasy Box Set

  Ember Dragon Daughter and Hasley Fateless

  Rebecca K. Sampson

  Edited by

  Emilia S. Morrow

  Illustrated by

  EJ Songaling

  Contents

  Ember Dragon Daughter

  I. Ember Julimore

  1. Fated to a Dragon

  2. Dragonia

  3. A Monstrous Secret

  4. Jedoriah Knight

  5. Three Dominant Families

  6. A World Underwater

  7. The View Beyond

  8. One Heir

  9. Let Me Go

  II. Ember Dragon Daughter

  10. Be Kind

  11. "It's you."

  12. "You're a guard?"

  13. A Kiss

  14. Wisdom of Scribes

  15. More Lies

  III. Emairy Waiting

  16. Kariana's Tears

  17. A Secret

  18. Not of Your Concern

  19. Without Secrets

  20. Structural Damages

  21. Two Wraiths, One Stone

  22. Run

  23. A Temple of Lies

  24. Four Dead

  25. Coming Together

  IV. Embrence Destroyer

  26. Ripped Apart

  27. Strange

  28. Free

  29. Calamity

  30. "We have her."

  31. Accepting a Crown

  32. Scaled Beasts

  33. A Destiny Her Own

  34. The Longest Night

  35. A New Tomorrow

  Epilogue

  Hasley Fateless

  I. Before

  1. Carriages

  2. Rocks in Reality

  3. A Voice

  4. To the Wall

  5. A New Purpose

  6. Hidden Missions

  7. The Ocean

  8. It's Easy

  9. Gold

  II. Never The Same

  10. Letters in the Divide

  11. A Daughter in Fate

  12. Meaning in Pain

  13. Ember Dragon Daughter

  14. Where is Home?

  15. Unopened

  16. A Game

  17. Broken and in Love

  18. Saving Each Other

  What’s Next for Ember?

  Reviews Help Authors

  Ember Dragon Daughter Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Rebecca K. Sampson

  Copyright © 2021 by Rebecca K. Sampson

  The characters in this book are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to action persons living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  First publication:

  Ember Dragon Daughter July 19, 2019

  Hasley Fateless April 28, 2020

  Cover Design by Stone Ridge Books

  Chapter Headers by EJ Songaling

  Created with Vellum

  To my fate, Chris, and

  to my blessing, Jack.

  Part One

  Ember Julimore

  One

  Fated to a Dragon

  “Happy anniversary,” Ember said to herself, staring up at the ceiling. She took stock in her mind of the two dates that mattered today: the death of her moms—exactly two years and one week ago on this day—and the second anniversary of her move to Firetop, the longest she had lived anywhere. They’d have hated that she stayed here this long.

  Her pupils dilated as she stood up, reaching to light the candle on her bedside table. The room was cold and quiet, as usual. She walked to her dresser and pulled out her long-sleeved high-collar dress. She threw it on over her night shift without a care to how it looked. She had only four clothing items to choose from and one spare outfit in her satchel just in case, a habit she didn’t know she’d ever break. She glanced in front of the mirror to make sure she was covered up and moved on.

  A quick finger combing of her hair was the last step in her morning routine. Ember knew she should try a little harder with her hair. The black color shone rainbow in certain lights, it was the only quality of Ember’s appearance she found redeemable. But overall, any extra time spent didn't seem worth the effort.

  A wraith chirped at her open window, its small scaly blue body wriggling with impatience. It had been forty years since full-sized dragons were seen in Ashkadance. The demi-breeds, like the wraiths, baomtots, and anchoris, were the sum of their remaining species—at least from within the walls surrounding the kingdom. What was beyond Ashkadance was a mystery. The wraith shook its leg impatiently, balancing for Ember to take the letter attached to it. Ember picked up and unfurled the note.

  Meet me at the statue of the First Fating.

  -Hasley

  Simple enough. Ember straightened her dress, picked up her bag, and locked up the house. Before closing the door, she did her usual sweep for anything of importance. Just like any other day, there was nothing she’d want to keep in the small plain house. It was all in her bag.

  She walked the path that led to Mount Pietan, a happy medium between her and Hasley’s homes. As a child, Ember would imagine making wings of fabric and jumping off of Mount Pietan. She would soar over the wall into the sea beyond. Ember knew now that was impossible, but the fantasy was enthralling regardless. In another kingdom, her secrets wouldn’t matter.

  “There is nothing romantic about being fated to a dragon,” Ember told her friend, noticing her gaze on the statue.

  “I disagree,” Hasley replied with a sigh. She was always like this when they were in proximity of anything related to the First Fating.

  Hasley loved this spot as much as Ember did, but for entirely different reasons. Rather than focus on the tiny spot of sea visible over the surrounding wall, Hasley paid attention to the statues. They represented the historical beginning of their kingdom. It was also the top of its richest mining resource, but that was a necessity the particularly devout among them tried to ignore. How sacrilegious to cut open the mountain where their first king and queen became fated.

  “They were about to kill each other before it happened,” Hasley recalled, her tone suggesting that was the most important part of the story. A sword lay discarded at Kariana’s stone feet. Her hand extended to the dragon before her. His face was alight with surprise, in opposition to the winged body that posed to kill. How someone’s emotions could shift so quickly, Ember didn’t understand. The fating was said to be immediate, irreversible, and incomprehensible until experie
nced.

  This was the moment that stopped the Unyielding War. The First Fating over 100 years prior, when all citizens on Mutrien’s three continents became encircled with golden light. True hearts met and saw in each other the truth - that they matched. Now, each soul had a mate, waiting to be found. That is, unless you were fateless.

  Kariana’s heart twin was a dragon, and it was on this mountain that it was discovered.

  Ember looked to Hasley. Hasley’s hair was long and curled, like the statues, but that is where the similarities ended. This rendering of Kariana was carved from the same stone that was mined from these mountains. The white gleaming piece did not match the bright blue of Halsey's hair and tan skin. In real life, Kariana’s hair had been black.

  “You’re insufferable,” Ember commented, but she still smiled at her friend. Her only friend. Ember wished she had that idealism.

  Hasley rolled her eyes, half turning to speak over her shoulder.

  “Don’t you want to be fated?”

  “Not to a dragon!” Ember said, incredulous.

  “But that’s the part that’s so romantic. To commune with Aaleia through your dragon love, to fly to other kingdoms…” Hasley trailed off, gazing up into the brightening sky.

  Ember shook her head.

  “I’d rather not be paired,” Ember replied. She didn’t need to endanger anyone else. It was already enough of a betrayal to Hasley that she let the girl be her friend. Hasley didn’t know the risks of being close to Ember, no one alive did. Keeping this one rebellion, a simple and guarded friendship with a kind girl, wracked Ember with guilt.

  “You two should be leaving now!” A voice called from the other side of the statue. Hasley and Ember jumped, not expecting to hear anyone else up here at this hour.

  “It’s almost dawn. Don’t you have a purpose to attend to?” The voice added. Ember followed it to see one of the mountain priestesses coming towards them. The elderly woman gave them a stern look, her pink and white hair flying behind her with the uptick of wind.

  “Sorry!” Hasley called. She snatched Ember’s hand and ran in the other direction. When they had started down the slope, Hasley laughed nervously.

  “Sorry Hasley,” Ember said. She knew how much her friend hated being late.

  “It’s okay, it’s a distracting place,” Hasley replied, adjusting a stray blue curl as they rushed down the trail. They only had a few minutes before the miners would begin their work, meaning Ember and Hasley were close to being late to their own purpose apprenticeship.

  Ember picked up the pace, her thin soles providing little protection against the ground below. She hiked up the bottom of her long, high-collared dress, giving her legs a little more room to stride.

  “Flaming stars!” Hasley swore. “I see a sliver of leg!” Her voice filled with laughter as they ran.

  “Oh quiet, go faster!” Ember yelled over her shoulder as they bounded down the remaining steps. Ember never shared her skin, keeping under wraps in as many ways as she could. While her clothing wasn’t shapeless, showing the silhouette of her form, it was still more modest than most others in their province. Ember couldn’t afford to stand out. Hasley, however, did not have the same concerns.

  Blood pumped quickly through Ember’s heart as it beat faster with each step. Skipping over an overgrown root, she tumbled down, the slant of the hill helping her run faster down the slope. They reached the bottom of Mount Pietan just as a wraith chirped past them, a letter gripped in its claws and sun reflecting off of its slim, black body.

  Ember put her hand on her chest in an attempt to slow the thumping of her heart.

  “Another day and one step closer to purpose,” Hasley said, turning to Ember. Off in the distance, the white caps of the miners were visible. A line of men and women on their way to begin work. Soon Ember and Hasley would complete their apprenticeship. Their last names, now representing their birth mothers, would change to their purpose name.

  Ember moved into step with Hasley, wiping off the sweat from her brow and body with the handkerchief Hasley handed her. Her breath and heart began to normalize, the rushing in her ears calming with each step. Hasley scrunched her face, accepting the damp cloth and putting it back in her satchel.

  They nodded their heads to a woman in a hard top and white clothing as they passed. She was already covered in the white powder from the mines, the sediment of peiradoone stone. It was their richest resource, used in everything around them. Ember was tired of seeing the world in its blinding reflection.

  A shadow passed over her station. Ember tightened her hands over the pearlescent string of beads.

  “What did I tell you?” A rough voice asked.

  “Never use more than two real pearls in one necklace,” Ember replied back automatically.

  “Yes!” Amlin responded in an exasperated tone, arms thrown in the air. “What? Did you think you were going to jump into the ocean and get some more?” He bellowed, both laughing at his joke and upset at Ember for using more of the resource than he advised.

  They had this tug of war every so often. Ember tried to create art that felt right to her. He disagreed. Some materials needed to be used more sparingly. With the wall surrounding their kingdom for almost seventeen years, not every item was replenishable. Often, their materials came from family members selling jewelry from their deceased relatives.

  Her boss scowled at her. His already red splotchy face deepened in color. Amlin was messy, and given that Ember herself was a little messy, that didn’t bother her too much. But what did upset Ember was his work ethic.

  The Fateless were spreading, and no one wanted to be accused of falling victim to it. Lack of interest in a person’s chosen purpose was one of the early signs.

  “Of course not, Amlin Jeweler,” Ember replied. She began moving the materials aside. Her heart clenched at the sight of the pearls being put away in their box. She would release the pearls the second he walked away.

  “I don’t understand you Ember. So much talent,” He swept his arm over her work table as if it were evidence, “but so little understanding of rules and regulations. You’ll never get farther than apprenticeship if you don’t pay attention to your teacher.”

  He wiggled his finger in her face, punctuating his last few words, and Ember felt like setting it aflame. Saying that you won’t grant someone a purpose name was not a nice thing to do. Not now, not ever. While Ember Julimore didn’t particularly want to give up her mom’s name yet, she knew that becoming Ember Jeweler was a necessity to her survival. If Amlin knew the truth about her, he’d turn Ember over to the royal guards. Her body clenched at the thought. Hasley wouldn’t want to associate with her either if she knew the truth of her moms’ death.

  Hasley had forced her way into her heart, and it pained her every day that she let that relationship grow. Her moms paid the price for their relationship with her. Caution was better. Safety was preferable. Life typically trumped death.

  “You’re right,” Ember replied. Amlin’s steps scuffled on the floor, echoing in the almost empty room. The wide slate backroom of his shop held two small work tables for herself and Hasley, a storage organizer for the different materials, and his larger desk on the complete opposite end. It was almost as if being next to the work was something he was allergic too. The only work he liked to do was reprimand her.

  “When you are done with Crawford Baker’s bracelet, I need you to deliver it to her shop,” Amlin said as he walked away. With every click of his shoes on the stone floor, her eye twitched.

  Ember restrung the necklace to the correct specifications, mourning the real pearls. While Ember created and delivered the jewelry for their customers, Hasley managed the administrative aspects and the storefront. She was the new face of the shop, while Amlin took in all the profits. Convenient arrangement. What would he do when she and Hasley passed their apprenticeship and would move on to create their own shop? Get another pair of apprentices… If there were people available.

  T
he two matching bracelets for Ahnren Farmer and Crawford Baker, a celebratory gold fating set, were next on her list to complete. Those were simple enough to make and would be ready with extra time for today’s deliveries. This kind of set used to fill the majority of their orders. A thin gold chain with one sparkling crystalline bead in the middle. She set out the supplies, going through the steps in her head, and finished the task quickly. It didn’t take long to move down the rest of her list, organizing each package by when she would deliver them. First would be the fating set. Crawford’s bakery was close by. If she took too long, she’d have to travel farther to Ahnren's farm home for the delivery.

  Ember moved from the workstation. The storefront was much brighter than their stations. Each display case had its own candle to shine on the gems, and the glass was cleaned each night. Hasley knew about presentation, which was why Amlin liked her.