Chapter 1
Fourteen years later
I knew something was amiss when I returned to Arcadia after a routine patrol around our territory. The Yard remained empty save a few of this year’s pups, still bumbling around on lanky legs. I phased back to human form and strode through the trees, the young ones nipping at my bare feet.
“Where have you been?” My sister rushed over to me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.
“Caroline?”
I heard her heart thrashing.
She pushed back, searching my eyes. “You were gone. We’ve done the best we could, but–” Her voice caught in her throat as tears spilled down her cheeks.
I noticed how her smooth and pale skin had become puffy and blotchy under her eyes, her stoic expression replaced with fear.
“Has Nash come home?” I bit down on my tongue, holding back words that I wanted to say, wondering if my reckless brother had returned after a month of no contact. He’d left us without notice again like he’d done for four years since humans killed our mother. The last I’d seen Nash, he sulked around the Aisle of Kings after dinner.
Maybe it had been my fault he disappeared like he did. Maybe I turned him away. Maybe he wanted to avoid being a spare part. That caused countless arguments between him and me about who would be crowned King and who would be left behind after our father’s passing. Caroline hadn’t cared about titles, which upset Nash even more.
But despite our fights, I wanted—needed—him here. We needed him here. He still belonged in Arcadia.
Caroline shook her head, tears running down her face.
If not Nash…
“No,” I said, shaking my head, realization hitting me. My father and Caroline were the only things that kept me going anymore. “He’s smarter than that. He–He wouldn’t.”
Caroline’s hands trembled when she covered her lips, eyebrows pinched tight.
A sharp ache settled in my chest as I pushed past her, sprinting down the old stone path that led to Guardian’s Glade. Caroline moved behind me as I came to a halt at the wooden double doors shielding the way, hedges high around the outskirts of the glade.
What will I find inside? Desperation and terror filled my veins.
Caroline pulled the silver robe off my hook, passing it to me. It matched hers, though I noticed the red staining the edges of her sleeves. My heart dropped in my chest at the crimson color. I turned and noticed Nash’s hook, still laden with his robe, meaning he still hadn’t returned home, not even for Joulo.
He always loved feasts and festivals. Endless food, dancing, and merriment. He hadn’t returned for Sarva—the Festival of Kings—but I figured he would at least return for Joulo since it had always been his favorite.
Slipping the robe over my shoulders, I tied and buttoned it.
“What should I expect?” I asked, my back to my sister.
“He’s not going to make it,” Caroline breathed.
My eyes fluttered closed and my heart caved. The forest around me, usually teeming with life, stood frozen like the waterfall gate marking the boundaries of our forest. The life that thrived in the safety of our woods paused, knowing that something historic occurred among the trees.
Knowing that there would be a shift in the days to come.
With a deep breath, I rested my hands on the smooth wood of the door, attempting to calm my racing heart. I could hear how fast mine thrummed, matching Caroline’s tempo. But I couldn’t hear past the enchantments over the throne room. I didn’t know what lay behind those doors. And something about the unknown terrified me.
I pushed the door open, a muffled scream reaching my ears. A chill ran down the length of my spine. I crossed the room in a few strides, heading for his bedroom hidden behind the throne.
“Father,” I ran to his side, where several Healers backed away, giving me space.
“Silas,” he coughed, blood running down his chin. “My son.”
My eyes searched for his wounds. He had several scratches, which weren’t uncommon on a normal day. But the mangled mess where his left foot should have been drew my eyes along with the hole in his side.
“Father,” I said, tears running down my face.
He grimaced and turned to me, sputtering. “Keep following our commands, and uphold our secrecy. Do as I trained you. Always be kind.”
“No, Father, please.” I held his face in my hands, his scruffy, graying beard rough against my smooth palms, his curly hair stuck to his cheeks with sweat. “I can’t do this. I can’t do this without you. My training–”
“You’re ready,” he said. The Healers came closer, tending to his wounds the best they could. “Nash?”
My heart sank with his half-spoken question. “I’ll find him.”
“He has a place in this pack with you and your sister.” My father coughed until he spit up blood again, phasing half between virlukos and human. It took him longer to speak after he settled back into his human state. “I am proud of you, my son. My King.”
I held back a sob as I laid my head on his chest. His hand rested on my head, his blood-stained fingers touching my dark roots, holding me close.
This isn’t how I wanted this to happen. This isn’t how I wanted to become King.
No. This is a dream.
This has to be a dream.
I can’t lose my father, too.
“Caroline,” my father called.
“Father.” She threw her arms around his neck, body trembling from grief, her frame wracked with sobs. I wondered how long she’d been there by his side, suffering alone in my absence while I patrolled the surrounding mountains.
I held them both for a moment, not wanting things to change. I thought of our childhood running in the woods with our mother and father, being one with the forest. When we recovered our mother’s body, we buried her in the Aisle of Kings. The dark days following had lightened as the sun rose on our family. But that place, that graveyard… My stomach dropped when I thought of burying my father, stacking his stones to hold onto his spirit. And Nash wouldn’t be there to help.
My father, my King.
“Silas,” my father said, voice hoarse. “Promise me that you’ll find Nash.”
I lifted my head, wiping away tears. “I promise, Father. I’ll find him. I’ll bring him home.”
He smiled. “I can die in peace, knowing my kingdom lies in capable hands. I can finally see my bride. My Ellie.”
The thought of him and my mother together comforted me, the only comfort I could find. They would finally dance again. No human would be able to touch them. They would be without pain. Free.
With effort, my father pulled me closer and kissed my forehead. He settled back down in his bed with a low moan.
I squeezed his hand and sat up straight as he sucked in a labored breath.
“I love all three of you very much. May you always find peace among trees. Rauha ussen, lyco au lyce.”
His hand slipped from mine, and I watched the light leave his eyes.
His heart stopped.
“No.” I shook my head. “No, that’s–”
This can’t be happening. This isn’t real.
Something in my chest caved, an ache replacing the spot my father held in my heart.
The entire throne room paused, no one willing to break the silence of such a somber moment. Tears ran down my face, too hot for the winter. I pulled Caroline to me, wrapping her in a tight hug, our father’s blood staining our silver robes. She shook against me and cried into my shoulder.
Everything I’d ever known—everything I loved in this world—it meant nothing without him here. He had been my rock, a safe place when fear attacked. He’d taught me everything I knew, and now he had left me in a single heartbeat.
Why live when there was no one to live for? But of course, there were many people to live for. An entire kingdom needed me. They needed a king, not me.
I held Caroline for a long while, but time meant nothing with my father gone. When she pulled away, her sunken eyes stared right through me, face void of emotion.
Clearing my throat, I turned to the head Healer. “Asa, I need you to take Caroline and make sure she’s tended to, whatever she needs.”
“Of course, my king.”
I opened my mouth to correct him, but the words stayed lodged in my throat.
He was right, after all.
I was the new King of Arcadia.