Roden’s Revenge

It’s time for another short story, this one taking place AFTER the ending of THE FALSE PRINCE. For that reason – absolutely DO NOT READ this story until you have finished THE FALSE PRINCE.

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Until then, as a reminder for Superfans of the series, I’m going to dedicate the fifth book to one of YOU! For details on how to enter the contest, click HERE! The entry deadline is July 15th, so get started now!

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For now, this is the wedge story between the end of THE FALSE PRINCE and the start of THE RUNAWAY KING. If you’ve read book one (and if you haven’t, close this post and go read it) but never got to book two, then please find a copy now to read. At the end of the story, I will include the first few sentences of Book 2 – probably my favorite opening line I’ve ever written.

RODEN’S REVENGE

By Jennifer A. Nielsen

If you have not read THE FALSE PRINCE, you should not read this story. 

Roden slipped into the night like a thief. No, not a thief. Sage was the thief. Sage had stolen the throne from him, stolen away the life that Roden should have had. Conner had chosen him to become prince first. Conner’s servant, Cregan, had given him extra training. Nothing had stood in Roden’s way…

Until Sage tricked them all.

Sage didn’t even want the throne – how many times had he said that? Which meant he didn’t do this for honorable reasons. He did it simply to deny Roden the prize, and for that, Sage would have to pay.

By now, Sage would be inside the castle. Maybe even at this moment, Conner was presenting him to the regents. They’d be fools to believe Sage was the missing prince. Aside from a vague resemblance to the painting they’d seen of Jaron, Sage had none of the mannerisms or education the prince should have had. It was only a matter of time before they found him out and rightly accused him of treason.

By morning, they’d announce the execution of a false prince.

Roden’s comfort in that thought might’ve warmed him through the night, but by morning, when he awoke in the damp shelter of a farmer’s stables, instead of the tidings of justice, criers were wandering the city proclaiming, “He’s returned! Prince Jaron has returned!”

Roden scoffed and shrank deeper into the corner, miserable and defeated, his only will to face the day fueled by the knowledge of how reckless Sage was. Very soon, he’d make a mistake, betray his true identity.

And if he didn’t?

“Did you hear the news?” another crier called out in passing the alleyway. “The royal family is dead, and a missing prince returns to claim the crown!”

Roden’s mood darkened, then he shrank into the corner as he heard voices approaching.

“Something’s not right about this, Rudd.” A tall and thin man with stringy dark hair down to his shoulders ducked into the alley. He was speaking to a companion who was only slightly smaller, but who was thick in his build and carried more weapons than Roden believed was possible for a single person to bear.

Rudd glanced out the alley to be sure they were alone, then said, “We killed the prince three years ago, didn’t we?”

“We did – I was on that ship myself before we sunk it. So who is this boy claiming to be Jaron?”

“He’s an orphan from Avenia,” Roden said, standing and trying to make himself look as wide as possible, hoping to get enough respect from these men that they would listen to him. “His name is Sage and he’s no more a prince than…than I am.”

“Are you certain of this?” the tall and thin man asked.

“Absolutely certain.”

He stepped forward and offered a hand to Roden. “My name is Agor. We’re sailors from Avenia.”

“You’re pirates from Avenia.” They started to react but Roden quickly added, “I think we can help each other.”

Agor looked amused. “Oh? How could you help us?”

Roden stepped closer. “If people start to believe that Sage is the real prince, then whoever hired you to kill him will wonder why you failed to complete the job –”

“We didn’t fail, Prince Jaron is sleeping at the bottom of a sea.”

Another crier passed, announcing the same news as before. That gave Roden his opportunity to make his argument.

“Will the truth matter if people believe the prince has returned?”

Agor folded his arms. “So what do you propose?”

“Help me get inside the castle walls. I’ll do the assassination myself.”

Agor and Rudd exchanged a look. “For what price?” Agor asked.

“Just let me join up with you. I’m good with a sword, I learn fast, and I have nothing to lose.”

“And what are your reasons for wanting this orphan Sage dead?” Agor asked.

Roden faced them directly. “He stole the life I should have had, all the while pretending to be my friend. I have nothing now, and nowhere else to go.”

After another look between Agor and Rudd, an offer was made for Roden to come meet their king, a man named Devlin. “This is the one and only time you will receive such an offer,” Agor said. “Refuse us now and—”

“I accept.” Roden didn’t even blink as he spoke, and within the hour, he was in the back room of a dark inn on the outskirts of Drylliad. The inn’s public room was loud and busy and Roden was sure that except for the serving staff, he was the only person there who was not a pirate.

Not a pirate…yet.

Devlin was a mound of a man with long brown hair streaked in gold tones. His face was scarred from previous fights and in the darkness, his eyes appeared to be solid black. Maybe they actually were. He began by asking many of the same questions that Roden had already answered. How he knew Sage’s true identity. How Sage had managed to be named as the prince solely because he could roll a coin over his knuckles. How Sage had lied his way through the contest. 

When Roden finished, Devlin leaned forward with a cunning smile. “Do you know how the pirates operate? I am king only because I defeated the previous king in a challenge. If I let you join us, would you challenge me one day?”

Roden hesitated. If he said yes, would the king finish him off now, rather than risk a confrontation later? Much as Roden hated to admit it, Sage would have been useful right now. He had seemed to be very good at figuring out who people were. Though of course, once he did, the usual response was for those people to want to kill Sage. Hardly the sort of help Roden wanted at this moment.

Devlin tilted his head, eager for Roden’s answer. He said, “Yes sir. I will become the best swordsman in your crew.” He paused while his heart stopped in his chest. “But if I have reason to doubt your command, I would challenge you.”

Silence fell over the group. Apparently, Roden should have given a different answer. Agor grabbed Roden’s hand and then pulled out a knife. Roden felt for the sword at his side, then remembered that Sage had stolen that from him too. Once again, Roden’s anger surged.

Agor raised the knife and Roden closed his eyes to brace for whatever was about to happen, whether it was death or pain. But Agor simply sliced Roden’s sleeve up to his elbow, and when he did, Devlin said, “If you ever challenge me, boy, you will lose and I promise to finish you off as slowly as possible. But it took great courage for you to say what you did. Welcome to the pirates.”

With a nod of his head, a branding iron was removed from a fire at the far end of the room. Roden hadn’t noticed it before but when its end became visible, red hot at the tip, his head swarmed with dizziness.

The end was pressed against Roden’s forearm, and he screamed with the pain, though a man behind him wrapped a hand over Roden’s mouth to muffle his cries. Short on air, the dizziness worsened and Roden felt the darkness taking over.

When he awoke sometime later, he was on the ground right where the pirates must have let him fall. Angling his arm against a fading firelight, he saw an X burned into the skin, made of a snake at one angle and a sea serpent in the other. The mark of a pirate.

Slowly, Roden sat up, trying to gather his wits for whatever was coming next. When he did, somewhere behind him a man said, “Agor, he’s awake.”

A moment later, Agor entered the room. He crouched down in front of Roden and said, “You told us that you know a secret way inside the castle walls.”

“I do.” Roden’s mind shifted to the promise he had made to assassinate Sage, and his chest tightened. He had been angry before. Maybe he had gone too far.

Or maybe Sage had taken this contest farther than he should have. Roden couldn’t give up yet.

“Devlin doesn’t want the new prince killed, not yet. He wants to determine for himself whether this is a false prince, as you claim.”

“Trust me—”

“But we don’t trust you,” Agor said. “We don’t know you, not yet. So you will get inside the castle walls and find this boy, and you will make him an offer directly from the pirate king. Give him ten days to surrender to us in Isel, and we will determine for ourselves who he is. If he accepts, the pirates will leave Carthya unscathed. If he refuses, the pirates will see Carthya burn.”

Roden’s heart pounded. Carthya was his home too. Could he really make such a threat?

He had to. He knew what would happen if he tried to refuse orders now.

“Is that all?” Roden asked.

“No. Immediately after taking the crown, this false prince sent your former master, Bevin Conner, to prison. We want him released.”

Roden arched a brow. Sage had done that? How could he possibly have gotten away with something so bold? Conner would surely have his revenge and reveal the truth about Sage’s identity.

A second question nagged at him. What did the pirates want with Conner?

No doubt the answer to that question mattered, but Roden didn’t dare to ask it. Instead, he was already plotting what he would say when he had the opportunity to stand face to face against Sage once again. Only this time, he wouldn’t give Sage a chance to defeat him.

Agor took Roden’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “If you’re in, we’ll start making plans. Surely a state funeral will be held for the royal family. Many guests will be invited. I doubt one or two extra faces of the pirates will get much notice.”

Roden’s hand shifted again to where his sword should have been. He’d need another one soon. Because if he could not be the false prince of Carthya, then at least he would be the person to destroy the fraud and kill its pretender. In a most unexpected way, what he was about to do would make him a hero and mark his first great success among the pirates.

He smiled at Agor, eager to get started. “Of course I’m in. When do we leave?”

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And, the opening line to THE RUNAWAY KING IS:

“I had arrived early for my own assassination.”

If you have not yet read this book, please try to get a copy and read it. a lot happens in this book that will be very significant for books 4 and 5!