Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Conquest
    Conquest
    Conquest
    Ebook64 pages46 minutes

    Conquest

    By Jacquelyn Frank

    4/5

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    As commander of his brother Vicktor's armies, Valerian has had to do many things he didn't agree with. People fear him, but his fairness and sane temperament place him far above Vicktor in their eyes. Vicktor's resentment of Valerian's popularity has caused an ever-growing rift between the brothers.

    Caught between their fraternal friction is a slave girl, Melena, who learns sometimes it is not so easy a thing to hold hatred in your heart. Her anger toward Valerian eases as his loving punishment and intense correction begin to break through her defensiveness.

    But this connection works both ways. Melena has come to see she has power of her own to wield. Is she woman enough to guide Valerian into betraying his brother for the well being of his country?
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChangeling Press
    Release dateJan 26, 2018
    ISBN9780832302688
    Conquest

    Related to Conquest

    Titles in the series (2)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Suspense Romance For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      The Change

      Aug 8, 2019

      The Change
      10 min read

    • Article

      Over Delivering

      Oct 3, 2023

      Over Delivering
      1 min read

    • Article

      Monstrous Heart

      Mar 25, 2020

      RELEASED 2 APRIL 384 pages | Hardback/ebook/audiobook Author Claire McKenna Publisher Harper Voyager Not into romance in your fantasy novels? Fear not. Despite the title, this is very much a tale of Gothic passion, more akin to Rebecca or Jane Eyre i

      1 min read

    • Article

      Left To Lose

      Jul 10, 2022

      Around the time she gives up her name, it starts to feel like this entire revolution isn’t worth it anymore. The world is probably lucky that Kelian—she still remembers Kelian, in spite of everything—is there to pick up the pieces, the way he always

      11 min read

    • Article

      The Chicken Line

      Mar 4, 2024

      The Chicken Line
      14 min read

    • Article

      Cast Out

      Jul 10, 2021

      Verity pushed back the quilts, rolled off her straw mattress onto the floor, felt for the poker, and stirred the ashes. The embers glowed. She wouldn’t have to go fire-borrowing again. Her chilled hands were clumsy. One glowing bit of wood rolled fro

      21 min read

    • Article

      Peter Mountford

      Dec 15, 2017

      Vivian spends most of the afternoon naked and strapped to the giant ottoman in the interior decorator’s office in Bethesda. When he finally unties her, the sun is low and she’s shaky and exhausted. He paddled her hard at some point, and that hot stin

      28 min read

    • Article

      Racy Bedtime Reading!

      Feb 7, 2021

      Racy Bedtime Reading!
      9 min read

    • Article

      Healing

      Apr 8, 2020

      Healing
      9 min read

    • Article

      Elsi, The Strange Maid

      Aug 29, 2018

      Elsi, The Strange Maid
      17 min read

    • Article

      Honey & Spice

      Aug 8, 2022

      So, he was good with kids; had a softness to him. The most dangerous thing about that was clearly it wasn’t performed: there was no way he could fake the adoration with which he looked at that angel. With that obnoxious display of genuine cuteness, h

      5 min read

    • Article

      First Date

      Jul 9, 2020

      First Date
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Power Of THOUGHT

      Jun 29, 2023

      The Power Of THOUGHT
      4 min read

    • Article

      Healing

      Apr 15, 2020

      Healing
      9 min read

    • Article

      Sienna’s Monster

      Mar 10, 2021

      Sienna lived with a monster, but no one else knew it. The first time Sienna realized that her monster wasn’t like the rest was in 4th grade. The whole grade assembled in the auditorium. A police officer watched them enter from his place on the stage.

      26 min read

    • Article

      The Bridle

      Oct 10, 2021

      Saliva pooled on her tongue beneath the rusty depressor. She endured a constant urge to swallow, afraid of choking on her own fluids. The taste of metal and blood are so akin, it is easy to mistake one for the other. This early in the day, blood was

      11 min read

    • Article

      Winter Sun

      Feb 6, 2020

      Winter Sun
      4 min read

    • Article

      Absolute Best

      Apr 30, 2021

      Absolute Best
      20 min read

    • Article

      100-WORD-STORY COMPETITION Winners

      Aug 16, 2022

      We’ve been delighted by the huge response to our 100-word-story competition. The entries have flooded in thick and fast during the past few months, but while we’ve enjoyed reading every story, only a few can come out on top! You, our readers, voted t

      5 min read

    • Article

      On Madness, Motherhood, and ‘King Lear’

      May 11, 2023

      Both children need my attention simultaneously, and like Lear’s kingdom, I’m unsure how to divide it. The post On Madness, Motherhood, and ‘King Lear’ appeared first on The Millions.

      10 min read

    • Article

      Sienna’s Monster

      Sep 10, 2023

      Sienna lived with a monster, but no one else knew it. The first time Sienna realized her monster wasn’t like the rest was in fourth grade. The whole grade assembled in the auditorium. A police officer watched them enter from his place on the stage. H

      27 min read

    • Article

      Jason the Heat Guy

      Jan 11, 2021

      Jason the Heat Guy
      11 min read

    • Article

      Safety

      Mar 1, 2023

      IT WAS only a dream, a bad dream, and nothing else. The man in Vidal’s dream was stalking a woman, spying on her from the shadows, following her down a dark alley as she sought refuge from a downpour. The woman was vaguely familiar to Vidal, though h

      13 min read

    • Article

      My modern FAIRY TALE

      Dec 3, 2020

      The distinction between good and evil in fairy stories is always very clear, and though good doesn’t always win, evil is, if not vanquished, then at least exposed for what it is. However, the fairy stories I grew up with were very different to the ‘s

      3 min read

    • Article

      Winter SUN

      Oct 4, 2022

      Winter SUN
      4 min read

    • Article

      A WING AND a prayer

      Sep 28, 2021

      A raven saved my life Cate McMurray, 47, from West Midlands I ’d always known I was different. As a small child, I used to see and hear people who weren’t there. One day, I was playing hide ‘n’ seek with my two sisters, and tucked myself away in a cu

      4 min read

    • Article

      The King’s passion

      Aug 11, 2021

      The King’s passion
      11 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Conquest

    4/5

    1 rating0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Conquest - Jacquelyn Frank

      country?

      Chapter One

      Valerian sat staring out his window. In his hand he held a missive from the Eastern Plains, where the Moglu rebels were stirring up more unrest. It was hard to subjugate a people when their heroes continued to elude capture. People were looking to the rebels’ leader, Grulon Ni Coro, to free them from tyranny. But in a twist of fate, a stunning unintentional victory, Grulon Ni Coro’s blood sister was now in Valerian’s harem.

      He wondered what Grulon would do if he knew his sister Melena was shisha to Valerian -- if he knew she was becoming willing and compliant for him. If he knew Valerian was going to strive to make her love him one day. He was unlike his brother in that way. Vicktor felt fear led to ultimate control. Valerian desired domination as well, but on a completely different level. He preferred loyalty to fear.

      Valerian folded the missive and snapped his fingers sharply. A servant appeared at his elbow. Take this and place it on my table, directly in front of my chair.

      Yes, Sir, the small female said softly before taking the letter and hurrying to do as instructed.

      It did him no good to sit here and mull over things he could not control. Vicktor was not one of those things. Valerian had learned to manage his brother. It took a certain skill to do so. It took a man willing to spend all his time and energy balancing on the precipice between doing enough and going too far.

      Valerian sighed and pushed to his feet. His mind would not rest. Why could he not just be satisfied with his life the way it was? What was it he was searching for, anyway? He was afraid one day he would get sick of his brother’s warmongering -- or he would get sick of his brother, period.

      And do what? What would or could he do? Turn against his brother? Try to become emperor himself? No. He did not want that mantle. It was too heavy. He was his brother’s general, a cunning tactician who had yet to be bested in any undertaking. One day a better tactician, a better soldier, would be brought to bear against Valerian. Oh, what a worthy battle that would be. He longed for that. A worthy battle. What he did now, for his brother, was not so worthy. He invaded the lands of innocent people, killed their men, and enslaved their people. All under his brother’s commands. Were it up to him…

      But it wasn’t up to him. What he needed was a worthy diversion.

      He needed something fresh and exciting. Something new.

      He whistled sharply, and another servant popped up beside him.

      Yes, Sir? he asked softly.

      Tell Anajou to prepare Melena for my pleasure tonight.

      Yes, Sir. The servant hastened off to do as instructed.

      Valerian crossed the room to his bed and eyed the room critically for a moment. He wanted to make certain he had everything he needed. He wanted to know he could take his time with his new shisha, the latest lady to join his harem.

      He had his favorites. His top three were the harem mothers, the women who cared for and guided all the other shishas -- Anajou, Daria, and Hassa, the original three who had begun his harem. The three of them had been a gift from his brother on the day Vicktor’s first child, a daughter, was born. Valerian had not been allowed to keep a harem until that birth five years ago. Even though he had a harem now, none of his women was allowed to get pregnant and give birth until one of Vicktor’s shishas finally gave birth to a son, thus securing the succession of his empire.

      Valerian pulled open his top dresser drawer, withdrew a key, and unlocked the chest at the foot of the bed. Unlocked, but did not open it. He knew what was in there. He would access the contents a little later, after Melena had been brought to him.

      He smiled to himself when he thought of Melena. She was full of fire and defiance. But now, after spending a day and a night in his company, she was softening. She was confused. She didn’t know what to make of the situation she found herself in. He needed to gain her trust. In order to do that he needed to keep the promise he had made to her to find her sisters and bring them to her in safety… provided they were still alive and could be found. That was his next task. He could tell just how special she was. She could be very important to him. Yet trust was needed on both sides. It would take a lot for him to come to trust her… if she could be trusted. He didn’t know her well enough yet. But she showed incredible promise.

      First he must break her down. Not break her will. He wouldn’t want that. Her

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1