Rotten to the Core

ROTTEN TO THE CORE TALES OF DARKNESS AND FATE: BOOK 1 LIZ CAIN ANNE K. WHELAN Copyright © Clan Whelan Publishing. Cover design by Dazed Designs. Cover copyright © Clan Whelan Publishing. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book contains content that might be troubling for some readers, including, but not limited to, violence, sexual encounters, and adult language. Please be mindful of these and other possible triggers. For every young person who thought life was a fairytale. Life often doesn't work out how we think it will and there’s nothing wrong with that. We all have strengths we are yet to know, have faith in yourself and be the wonderful individual you already are! CONTENTS I. The Rise of the Queen Chapter 1 Raina Chapter 2 Raina Chapter 3 Raina Chapter 4 Raina Chapter 5 Raina Chapter 6 Raina Chapter 7 Raina Chapter 8 Raina Chapter 9 Raina Chapter 10 Raina Chapter 11 Raina Chapter 12 Raina Chapter 13 Raina Chapter 14 Raina Chapter 15 Raina II. True Love’s Kiss Chapter 16 Raina - Eight years later Chapter 17 Raina Chapter 18 Niveus Chapter 19 Raina Chapter 20 Raina Chapter 21 Raina Chapter 22 Raina Chapter 23 Raina Chapter 24 Raina Chapter 25 Raina Chapter 26 Niveus Chapter 27 Raina Chapter 28 Niveus Epilogue Author Note Review and Recommend CWP Newsletter and Partners CWP Authors and Books PART I THE RISE OF THE QUEEN CHAPTER 1 RAINA I took a deep breath, staring at the elaborate frame of the mirror that hung on my chamber wall. Carefully my eyes followed the trails of ivy leaves and flower petals intertwined around the silver surface. “Mirror, mirror, on the wall…” I muttered. My nose wrinkled as I tried to remember the rest of the rhyme my grandmother used to tell me as a child. My heart still ached at her loss, even though it was nearly twenty years ago. I shook my head, raising my hand to touch the elaborate design with my eyes avoiding the reflective surface. “Raina?” Kiara’s shout echoed along the passage outside my room. My hand jerked away as if burned and I closed my eyes. I turned to face my chamber door as my handmaid strode through, smoothing her pinafore with her hands. “I’m not a girl anymore.” I scoffed. At twenty-eight I was considered an old maid in the town, but Kiara had been my handmaid since I was born. I stepped away from the mirror, and Kiara glanced over my shoulder, frowning. “Still having the nightmares?” She stepped around me and reached for the silvery surface. “Don’t.” I pulled her hand back frantically, breathing a sigh when her fingers didn’t touch it. “It’s just a mirror, Raina.” Her brow creased when she looked at me. “You should not be afraid of looking at your own reflection.” “I can’t explain it,” I replied. “When I look at myself, I don’t see me anymore.” I cringed when she stepped back toward the mirror. “I just see myself,” she answered, smoothing her hair down and peering at her reflection. “This mirror has been here for years. Why now?” I peeked up and smiled at her reflection. It looked normal, her dark gray hair neatly in a bun with soft brown eyes meeting my gaze. I shook my head, shrugging one shoulder. She turned to face me. “What is bothering you? Is it the king’s visit today?” I wrinkled my nose. “No, nothing like that. I just have this bad feeling when I look at my reflection…a darkness in my face. It’s not my face…but it is me.” My eyes glazed over, becoming unfocused as I looked through Kiara. My stomach clenched as dread washed through me and I shivered. Kiara snorted. “You’ve been reading too much from your grandmother’s journal again.” I thought about the old tome I hadn’t read through in years. I might could find the mirror rhyme. The journal held wild stories that my grandmother used to make up and tell me as a child. Kiara turned, gesturing toward the door. “Let’s get you some fresh air. You’ve been in this room too long.” I sighed. “Of course.” Stepping toward my chamber door, I straightened my back. Head held high, I made sure my mask was in place before I took that first step. “That’s my girl,” Kiara spoke softly as we approached the main part of the house. Holding my breath, I walked down the stairs, my eyes drifting over our large entrance hall. It was covered in family portraits along one wall, displaying my mother’s family for all to see. My mother scrutinized each step as I descended the stairs, so I held myself straighter and kept my chin high. I gave my mother a curt nod and a small curtsey as I reached her, my posture and form perfect, as I had been taught. We were one of the richer families in the area, and my mother had high expectations for how I should act. I paused as her eyes narrowed; she stood with my father and her own handmaid. She examined the simple pale blue gown I wore, one with few embellishments but a flattering style. I kept my face blank under her scrutiny, not daring to breathe until she looked away. Kiara’s brief touch at my elbow was a comfort when my mother didn’t speak. My shoulders relaxed slightly, and it was an effort to hold my posture. I approached without a word and stood stiffly behind my mother, returning my father’s small smile. We all faced the door and waited in silence. News of the king’s arrival at our home had come the evening before. I managed to stop myself taking a deep breath, not wanting to draw my mother’s attention. Rumors