Prologue
Réalta Avermont
Princess of the Human Realm
“Istar has returned!” a guard announced as I entered the throne room, sitting at my father’s side.
“Bring him in,” my father commanded, the authority of a king filling the space.
My stomach twisted, but I kept my mask firmly in place, concealing my fears. I remembered every word spoken the night our entire kingdom changed. The night shifters became our enemies.
(Twenty-Two Years Prior)
“Hunt the shifters down and kill them all!” King Taran roared, fist pounding into the gold-plated armrest of his throne. “I want every last one hunted and slaughtered on sight! They will pay with their lives for this!”
“But, my king,” Istar, leader of the mages, said with a low bow. “There is the treaty to consider.”
“Curse the treaty!” my father snarled, rising to his feet.
My hands trembled as I buried my face into the delicate silk folds of my mother’s skirt, clutching to her as she rose from her throne, frightened at my father’s outrage.
“Réalta,” my mother whispered as she gently clasped my shaking hands.
“Do not turn away. Remember, as rulers, we do not show our fears. The people rely on us to be steadfast and, above all, brave. Beneath the surface, our heart may race like a jackrabbit sprinting across the open fields, but we never show it.”
I gazed at my mother, the queen, admiring her unwavering courage at my father’s side. Her expression showed no fear. Bright sapphire eyes glimmered against her tanned complexion as her long raven hair fell in loose waves down her back, granting her an elegant beauty that I was honored to inherit.
“One day, my little rainbow,” she whispered, “you will inherit this realm. You must learn to shine even amongst the gloom of a rainy day.”
“We need the shifters alive, Your Majesty,” Istar rebutted. “The balance of Valdor requires—”
“They killed her!” My father’s roar echoed across every surface within the throne room. I flinched at the rage in his voice as the very walls seemed to cower from his fury. “My sister… My beloved sister.”
My mother rushed to my father’s side, cradling her swollen belly that held my sibling, whom I couldn’t wait to meet. “Shh,” she said in a comforting tone. “We don’t know the cause of her death yet, my love.”
“She was always a sympathizer with the treaty,” King Taran said in a low voice, grief laced behind his fury. “And look at what it got her!”
I couldn’t hold back the tears swelling in my eyes as I gazed upon the lifeless face of my beloved aunt. She was always so kind to me, sneaking me treats when my mother wasn’t looking. Teaching me how a gentle touch could often reap more rewards than a firm one.
“She leaves to live along the border for a year as my ambassador with the shifters, only to return to us dead,” my father said as a lone tear streaked down his cheek. “With a gods-damned bite mark on her neck as proof of who is responsible for her death!”
The room fell silent. Evidence beyond reproach about who was the cause of her death.
“Dawn,” my father whispered as he moved to kneel by his elder sister’s body, tenderly cradling her head in his lap.
My father was the eldest male heir to the throne, but he’d always kept my aunt Dawn close. She was brave, wise, and, above all else, kind.
And now, she was dead.
“The healers state there was nothing they could have done to save her,” Istar said. “Her heart appeared to have stopped—”
“I want to speak to them myself!” King Taran cut in. “Bring Isolde to me now.”
“They are in mourning, Your Majesty. With the loss of their own, they—”
“I don’t care!”
Tears flooded my eyes as I gripped my mother’s skirt tighter.
How could they do this to my aunt Dawn?
“Taran,” my mother cooed, placing a hand on my father’s arm and guiding his gaze toward me. “Do not allow Dawn’s sacrifice for our people to be devoured in rage. Let the healers prepare a burial before you act against the shifters. Let us put your sister to rest and grieve properly.”
For once, my father’s temper did not soften at my mother’s request.
Rising to his feet, the king of the human lands turned to Istar. “Track them down and kill them all. Dispatch the mage, Devland, with his hunters and have him unleash his creations into their world.”
“What is the reason for this summons?” My father’s voice rang out, bringing me back to the present.
Yes, why indeed? It was late, far later than proper to summon the king and heir from sleep. And gods, I was exhausted. I was more of a morning bird than a night owl.
Rising from my throne, I stood beside my father, offering him my arm so he could rise from his seat. Showing those gathered in this hour that we were a united force. That the crown was strong.
“Your Majesty,” Istar said with a low bow before turning to me. “Princess—”
“Your soon-to-be queen,” my father cut in.
My mother’s passing during childbirth, along with my infant brother, hardened my father’s heart. However, he was able to show me glimpses of kindness in my upbringing, proclaiming me his heir.
“Ahh, yes, with the coronation in only a few weeks’ time,” Istar said with a smile I didn’t dare trust. “What a delight to have such a strong queen looking after us.”
It was common for our people to have a former ruler abdicate to their heir before they passed into the afterlife. Staying as an advisor and helping the new ruler transition into the role. I was grateful for my father’s guidance and support.
“A responsibility I’m honored to uphold,” I said, keeping eye contact with Istar as I stood composed at my father’s side.
It was rare for a woman to rule, but I dedicated myself to caring for my people’s needs. I made frequent trips into the city to ensure they had enough food, medicine, and supplies. Listening to their concerns with an open heart and providing a pair of working hands to help when needed.
Their love ensured my reign. A precious gift I swore to never take for granted.
“Yes,” Istar said, righting his posture before granting me a formal show of respect.
I did not find joy in forcing my subjects to grovel before me, but reminding Istar of his place was important. He always sought power greater than his station. Not in an obvious proclamation, but in subtle ways, like his influence of the hunters and mages.
“Again,” King Taran spoke to the room, “why have you summoned an audience with us?”
“She’s here.”
My father’s grip on my arm tightened.
“She? Your—”
Istar’s smile was cold. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Bring her in!” My father released my arm and stepped forward, his hazel eyes widening as his crown shifted against the dark blond hair on his brow.
“Of course.” Istar’s smile made the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight. “I formally present my twin sister, Minaeve.”
My gaze drifted toward the double doors at the far end of the throne room as they swung open, seeing a beautiful woman I had known as the High Fae queen waltz through with a horde of High Fae warriors in her wake.
I remembered her from our meeting with the shifter alpha before the start of the most recent trials.
Only now, she didn’t hold the magical glow she once did, and her ears were—
Gods above, she was human!
“Bless the dark,” Minaeve whispered in greeting to Istar.
“Banish the light,” he answered with a bow, extending his arm.
A chill swept through the throne room, intense and sudden. Everything that once held warmth or joy dimmed, as shifting shadows seemed to cling to her presence.
Behind Minaeve, a female fae with short brown hair held a chain tethered to her stump of a missing hand, leading to a male High Fae at her side.
The shackles at his wrist matched a collar around his neck.
He floated like a ghost beside her, hair the color of spun gold, eyes bright like the morning forest—but also hollow.
Regret and despair clung to him like a suffocating storm cloud, seeping from every shattered fragment of his being.
The male was broken. An empty shell drifting closer to oblivion, swallowed by a slow decay of defeat that I had never witnessed before.
What in the gods’ names is happening here?
“What is the meaning of this?” I said to the room. “Guards! Guards!”
“Stand down,” my father said. “We shall hear what they have to say.”
“What?” I arched my brow, turning toward my father in disbelief.
“We will hear what they have to say,” he repeated, his tone unwavering.
The tension in the room thickened, heavy and suffocating. Shadows sprang to life from the former High Fae queen, and a cold dread gripped my heart.
I feared for the safety of my kingdom.
My people.
A piece of me feared for all of Valdor.