Queen of Aparia

CONTENTS Also by Shari L. Tapscott Factions Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Message from Shari Bonus Collection Also by Shari L. Tapscott About the Author ALSO BY SHARI L. TAPSCOTT Obsidian Queen Guild of Secrets Princess of Shadows Knights of Obsidian Creatures of Midnight Queen of Aparia Traitor of the Entitled: An Obsidian Queen Novella Crown and Crest Knight from the Ashes Forged in Cursed Flames Fall of the Ember Throne Rise of the Phoenix King Royal Fae of Rose Briar Woods The Masked Fae The Gilded Fae The Disgraced Fae The Riven Kingdoms Forest of Firelight Sea of Starlight Dawn of Darkness Age of Auroras Silver & Orchids Moss Forest Orchid Greybrow Serpent Wildwood Larkwing Lily of the Desert Fire & Feathers: Novelette Prequel to Moss Forest Orchid Eldentimber Series Pippa of Lauramore Anwen of Primewood Seirsha of Errinton Rosie of Triblue Audette of Brookraven Elodie of the Sea Genevieve of Dragon Ridge Grace of Vernow: An Eldentimber Novelette Fairy Tale Kingdoms The Marquise and Her Cat: A Puss in Boots Retelling The Queen of Gold and Straw: A Rumpelstiltskin Retelling The Sorceress in Training: A Retelling of The Sorcerer’s Apprentice Queen of Aparia Obsidian Queen, Book Five Copyright © 2023 by Shari L. Tapscott All rights reserved This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Editing by Z.A. Sunday Cover Design by MoorBooks Design Special thanks to Christine Freeman and Leah Feltner FACTIONS Urocyon The Foxes Masters of Stealth and Manipulation Lupus The Wolves Leaders Gryphus The Griffons Masters of Magical Intuition & Insight Lepus The Rabbits Animal Whisperers Draconem The Dragons Masters of the Elements Cervidae The Deer Healers Passeridae The Sparrows Jack of all Trades, Master of None Taurus The Bulls Gifted with Great Strength Canis The Hounds Trackers Cristatus The Peacocks Gifted with Beauty and Grace Sciuridae The Squirrels Tinkers and Craftsmen Rhopalocera The Butterflies Masters of Light and Illusion Chamaeleonidae The Chameleons Shifters Strigiformes The Owls Alchemists Struthio The Ostriches Ungifted Equus The War Horses Metalsmiths and Enchanters Cathartes The Vultures Thieves of Magic PROLOGUE APARIA 121 Years Ago Grief clawed at Carine’s chest as she stared at the lifeless threshold. This was her last hope, but it was destroyed—they were all destroyed. She could feel Edmund’s fury through their link. It pulsed like a heartbeat, growing in intensity with each passing second. It was a terrible, tangible thing that fed off her power, drawing until she was lightheaded. Around the queen, the midnight beasts responded to her anguish. They writhed in the dark summer night, working themselves into a frenzy. Teagan, Gabriel—they’d done this. They’d betrayed her. Corrigan was gone. Forever lost on the other side of the broken gates. “Destroy everything.” Edmund’s voice was eerily calm despite the storm Carine felt inside him. He wrapped the words in his queen’s magic, neither realizing nor acknowledging that she teetered on the brink of unconsciousness. The creatures gleefully heeded the knight’s command, cackling, calling, shrieking in the dead of night as they disappeared. Carine vowed that all of Cavaron would pay for her loss, along with the rest of the kingdoms in the Reyan Alliance. Towns would be leveled that night. Blood would run like rivers through the streets. “How did Teagan and Gabriel orchestrate this?” she demanded, her voice a shaking whisper. “They not only destroyed every threshold in the Aparian Empire, but beyond as well? How?” Such an undertaking seemed impossible. “We’ll travel farther,” Edmund said. “We’ll check every threshold and conquer every kingdom and territory on our way.” Her beasts would pass over the whole of the known land if need be, traveling like great locusts until they found a live threshold, leaving a wake of death and destruction. A whisper of her former self wept at the thought, begging Carine to end this madness. But she was fueled by grief, the only thing truly precious to her lost. “Carine,” a man said from behind her, his voice gentle. She turned toward her older brother, the general of her great military. With a sob, she threw herself at him, fisting her hands against his chest. “I’ll never see him again.” Edmund watched for a moment and then gave the siblings space to grieve over the loss of Carine’s son. Leo stroked his younger sister’s hair. “It’s over,” he said gently. “We must accept our defeat. Call back your monsters, and let’s return home.” She looked up, her face wet with her misery. “Never.” “These people don’t deserve your wrath.” “How can you say that? They aided Teagan and Gabriel. My son, Leo. My son is trapped in the human realm thanks to these people!” “Will this never end? What is your goal, Carine? The human realm is lost to us—admit your defeat. Do you truly mean to conquer all of the allied kingdoms next?” “Why can’t I?” she demanded, pushing him away. “We don’t have the manpower to stretch ourselves this thin.” “I don’t need your men.” She tossed her hands toward the pitch-black sky. “I have all the army I need.” “And what land will we claim for Aparia?” Leo argued. “A burnt shell, littered with corpses? Is that what you want—to rule over an empire of death?” “Leo.” She pressed her hand to her heart. “You have remained loyal all this time. Will you betray me now? When the