The Ballads of Cadarnle Collection Read online

  Copyright © 2019 by

  AJ Ryder & Scarlet Lantern Publishing

  All rights reserved.

  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.

  This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language.

  All characters in this work are 18 years of age or older.

  Table of Contents

  The Beast's Beloved

  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

  Destined for the Dragon

  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

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Epilogue

  Bonds Eternal

  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

  Cadarnle at a Glance (Glossary)

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  The Beast’s Beloved

  The Ballads of Cadarnle

  By AJ Ryder

  Published by Scarlet Lantern Publishing

  1

  Klaryssa ran through the trees of the forest as fast as she could while her long, golden curls flew loosely behind her like a banner. The long skirt of her plain, worn dress was gripped tightly in both her hands to prevent her from tripping over the hem in her mad attempts of escape, but no matter which path she took, she could still hear her pursuers hot on her trail.

  Her day had started off normal enough—walking to the village market to buy as much flour as she could afford to replenish her family's stock after having used the last of it in the baking of their morning bread. But on the way back to her familial farm, she had been descended upon by a group of bandits in search of quick profit...and judging by the lecherous way they had raked their eyes over her, something else as well.

  Knowing that she would not make it back to the cottage before the bandits overtook her, Klaryssa had darted into the woods with hopes of losing her pursuers amidst all the trees and thick brush. However, if the taunts and calls emanating from behind her were any indication at all, her plan was failing in the worst possible way. Her lungs burned, and her legs screamed in protest at being pushed well past their endurance; but, for all her valiant efforts of escape, the cold reality that she could not continue at her pace for much longer settled in and prompted tears to stream down Klaryssa face.

  The bandits would catch her.

  They would catch her and rob her of her scant belongings as well as her virtue. Dynol only knew what they would do to her after that, once they had enjoyed their fill of her. There was no one around to help her...no one around to hear her scream. The woods Klaryssa had thought to be her salvation would, in fact, be her downfall.

  She would never see her father and sister again.

  She would not live to marry Bailey, her betrothed.

  It was then that Klaryssa dashed through a thicket and nearly ran into a tall man dressed entirely in black armor as he draped the carcass of a stag over the back of his large, black steed. The bow and quiver fastened to his saddle only further proved the man had just concluded a hunt, but that hardly mattered at that moment. There was only one black knight of any true distinction, and Klaryssa had no doubt that this man before her was in fact him. Mercenary and cold-hearted, he was still a better option than the alternative biting at Klaryssa’s heels, and it was with that mentality that the frightened maiden threw herself at his mercy.

  “Please…” Klaryssa begged breathlessly through her exhausted panting as she gazed up at the knight’s helmet-clad head and clung to the armor of the black breastplate with trembling fingers. By Dynol, she wished she could see through the helmet’s visor. “Please, Sir Knight, you have to help me…!”

  “Do I?” the knight asked while tilting his head to the side just a little. “And why is that, lass?”

  “Because a band of thieves is after me and if they were to catch me…” Klaryssa shuddered before tightening her grip upon the man. “Please…please help me, Sir Knight.”

  Behind the visor of his helmet, the knight grinned after a few moments of silently regarding the young woman. “My lady, you seem to have me confused for a paladin. I am neither a great champion of man, nor a rescuer of helpless damsels,” he lied. “My involvement and aid in a matter that does not concern me in the slightest comes at a price…and you must ask yourself if you are willing to pay it.”

  Klaryssa gulped softly. Even without seeing the knight’s face, the intonation behind his words was more than clear. But still…anything he had in mind had to be better than the fate she would meet at the hands of the men who had not once given up their pursuit of her. No doubt, they would be whipped into an agitated frenzy and would not hesitate in taking that aggression out on the woman they had hunted like a rabbit. “Please, Sir Knight,” Klaryssa pleaded desperately when the sounds of the bandits grew ever nearer. “Please help me…I’ll do anything you ask.”

  “Anything?” the knight asked as he swept his calculating gaze over the enticing, feminine form standing before him. He could only imagine the softness of the ivory skin that was hidden beneath the fabric of the girl’s clothing; but, that was not all that appealed to him as the maiden’s sweet scent wafted up into his nose and called to something deeply buried within the warrior.

  “Anything, Sir Knight,” Klaryssa confirmed tearfully with a nod of her head. “I swear it. Just don’t let them catch me, please!”

  “Very well then,” the knight said while stepping between Klaryssa and the trees while drawing the dual battle axes that were strapped to his back. The double-sided blades of both weapons were wickedly curved, and the knight twirled both weapons effortlessly as the first of the bandits cleared the trees. The black knight attacked without a second thought, and the axe in his left hand cut through one of the bandit’s neck like butter. The severed head fell from the body and rolled several feet aw
ay with a lingering expression of shock as the decapitated body fell to the ground with a heavy spurt of blood.

  Klaryssa’s hand flew to her mouth to stifle her scream, and she took several steps back before stopping when her back came into contact with the side of the knight’s massive, black horse who whinnied and tossed his head before rearing up in agitation. “Steady boy,” Klaryssa whispered as calmly as she was able while gently brushing a trembling hand against the stallion’s strong neck. “Steady,” she murmured.

  Moments later, the stallion snorted and pawed the earth once with his hoof before waiting for his master to finish his work. So much the better for Klaryssa who could no longer stomach the sight of the violence and bloodshed. While she had heard tales of battles and war, she had never actually seen anyone killed. Closing her large brown eyes, she dropped to her knees and finally had to resort to covering her ears with her hands in order to drown out the screams and sounds of blade hitting blade before striking true against flesh and bone. It was not until a pair of strong, gauntlet-clad hands firmly gripped her shoulders and pulled her to her feet that Klaryssa finally opened her eyes with great hesitation.

  “Dynol’s mercy…” Klaryssa breathed as her eyes widened in horror at the massacre that littered the small clearing. “You…you killed them.” She turned her gaze to the knight and took in the sight of his blood-spattered armor. “You killed them all.”

  “Is that not what you wished?” the knight asked in a smooth voice as he tilted his helm-encased head to the side. “Did you not beg and plead for me to help you?”

  “Yes, to take me somewhere safe…somewhere where they couldn’t get to me,” Klaryssa replied hurriedly. “You didn’t have to kill them!” The chuckle that emerged from behind the helm’s visor moments later appeared almost disembodied, and it gave Klaryssa the chills.

  “Men like that, who prey mercilessly upon the weak, are no different from a rabid dog or a gnoll, and like those pathetic creatures, so too must men like that be put out of their misery,” the black knight answered coldly. “Consider it an act of mercy in the end for whatever defenseless soul would have fallen victim to them should I have allowed them to continue living their parasitic lives on my lands.” Behind the visor of his helm, the knight grinned wolfishly. “Now, then.” He lifted his helmet from his head and shook the long, unruly tresses of blackest obsidian free. His striking blue eyes bored deeply into Klaryssa’s, and his grin remained in place. “Onto more…invigorating things.”

  His lands?

  Klaryssa’s breath caught in her throat moments later, and she was ripped from her thoughts upon seeing the knight’s face. Truthfully, she had expected a hideous ogre of a man, for truly, such an appearance would be worthy of the knight’s notoriety. She had not been prepared for the high cheekbones, sensual lips, or the cascade of black, shaggy hair through which she longed to run her fingers. There was an untamed wildness to the tall man before her, and the beard only added to it as her knees began growing weak.

  She suddenly had trouble remembering what her betrothed looked like.

  The knight seemed to read Klaryssa’s thoughts, and he chuckled darkly. “Not what you were expecting, my pet?” he asked while taking a step closer to the young woman he eyed with a growing hunger.

  Klaryssa slowly shook her head. “No, Sir…?”

  “Dresdyn,” the knight provided matter-of-factly with a small incline of his head as he removed his gauntlets and allowed them to fall to the ground. “Lord Dresdyn y Blaidd,” his voice rumbled as he took another step towards Klaryssa.

  Klaryssa’s eyes widened, and she hurriedly dropped to her knees and bowed her head. Rather than finding herself in the presence of the infamous black knight that wandered the lands of Cadarnle, she was instead face to face with the man who ruled the large fiefdom upon which she and so many others dwelled. “Lord y Blaidd,” she said hurriedly. “F...forgive me. I didn’t recognize you.”

  In truth, none of the vassals living within the borders of the fief had seen their Lord; but that did not mean that rumors did not surround him. Rumors of the Lord being a dark wizard, a wicked sadist, or even a vicious beast in the guise of a person were muttered among the vassals on a regular basis. The more elusive Dresdyn remained, the more the rumors grew, regardless of the fact that the y Blaidd clan was the second most trusted by the Crown for the way they vehemently defending the land of Cadarnle time and again.

  Dresdyn’s father, grandfather, and great-grandfather had been subjected to the same rumors, and the practice that each generation of their line had of taking a woman from one of the villages on their land did nothing to assuage the rumors. The women were chosen as brides seemingly at random--a formal decree delivered to her family--and she was then delivered to Castle y Blaidd to live out the rest of her days. There was no engagement party, and no wedding celebration. The women were simply never heard from again.

  “Rise, my pet,” Dresdyn rumbled with a wolfish grin. “No need to be on your knees unless I ask. Now, what might your name be, lovely one?” he asked in his deep voice that was sinfully decadent like honey.

  “Klaryssa,” was the hoarsely whispered reply that escaped through pink trembling lips as the maiden slowly rose to her feet. “Klaryssa Derw.

  “Such a lovely name,” Dresdyn murmured while closing the distance between them at last. “The way your bottom lip trembles is so very sweet…” Dresdyn purred before leaning down and slowly tracing his tongue along Klaryssa’s bottom lip. The corners of his mouth turned up into a small, triumphant grin when he was rewarded with a soft gasp. Cupping Klaryssa’s face firmly in his hands so she could not pull away, his grin grew as he gazed deeply into her eyes. “And your lips taste even sweeter…I can only imagine how the rest of your will taste, my little doe.” He moved his hands up to cup the back of Klaryssa’s head and then tangled them into her golden tresses. He nipped Klaryssa’s bottom lip before kissing her deeply, and his tongue possessively plundered and explored the recesses of her mouth.

  Never had Klaryssa been kissed in such a way, not even by Bailey. There had never been any fire or passion in their kisses, and until that moment, Klaryssa had simply thought that to be the norm. After all, theirs was to be a marriage of necessity, for it would result in the joining of their familial farmlands. Klaryssa was not in love with Bailey, and his clumsy, forceful kisses did nothing to help change that. While not a bad man, Baily was simply Bailey. He was simply there. He was strong, sturdy, and nothing remarkable in the least, and Klaryssa had no doubt that he would waste no time in pumping her full of his seed like a broodmare once they were wed.

  While Bailey was not ugly, the thought of him laying claim to her body still nevertheless turned Klaryssa’s stomach. It was only for the sake of her family that she agreed to go through with the marriage, and Klaryssa had resigned herself to a future of a loveless and passionless union of convenience and companionship. After all, with very few exceptions, farmer’s daughters did not have the luxury of passion.

  But, here and now, Dresdyn had dashed that belief. In fact, were it not for Dresdyn’s hands gripping her hair, Klaryssa was certain she would have fallen to the ground the moment her knees went weak. A soft, aroused whimper of submission escaped her throat when she felt Dresdyn’s long, strong fingers tighten their grip within her hair, and she could not stop herself from pressing into his armored body as her tongue danced eagerly with his. Klaryssa’s heart raced wildly, and her inexperienced body longed for more with the ravenous hunger of a starved woman brought before a banquet.

  “Oh, yes,” Dresdyn growled with a grin against Klaryssa’s lips once the kiss ended. “You will do very nicely, my sweet little doe.”

  “Do nicely for what, My Lord?” Klaryssa asked in a breathless whisper before her breath hitched in her throat, and she shivered in response to Dresdyn nuzzling his way down her neck. His beard tickled her sensitive flesh and further drew attention to the fact that it had never been paid this type of attention.

&nbs
p; “For being mine,” Dresdyn replied before slowly tracing his tongue over Klaryssa’s racing pulse. “And make no mistake, my little doe, you will be mine.”

  Klaryssa’s eyes widened, and her deeply-seeded sense of duty began warring with the fire Dresdyn had ignited within her. “But...I already belong to someone. Or, at least, I almost do. I’m betrothed.”

  Dresdyn raised his head so he could look down into Klaryssa’s brown eyes. They were so large and gentle, and they warmed a part of Dresdyn’s heart that he had long believed to be untouchable. The idea that those eyes had done the same to another man caused a rare surge of jealousy to roil within him. “Are you indeed?” he asked simply before hungrily claiming Klaryssa’s lips again.

  As the Lord of the fief, Dresdyn was well within his rights to do so. He had done so many times in the past. Dresdyn had taken many lovers over the years. While he had never actually used his true identity to influence his many paramours into opening their legs and mouths for him, Dresdyn’s swagger, confidence, and devastatingly handsome face coupled with his strong physique always assured that he never had to resort to using his name.

  And not once had it mattered to him if the women belonged to another or not.