Chapter 1
ARIEL
T he starry night looked down upon us as Hemming, Shayfer, and I prepared to embark on our secret journey to the east. My Minyade homeland, Anemosia, awaited me there, and I hoped she held the answers I could not obtain in Daglaar or the Midlands. Answers I desperately needed.
It was clear that Lord Kaplyn and General Kade, the man I’d always known as my father, knew more about my ‘princess’ status than they were letting on. They knew exactly why those Minyade prisoners had come for me and called me the Aima Kori , but, apparently, neither had any intention of filling in the blanks.
I hoped someone in Anemosia would.
Shayfer took my hand, pulling me from the thoughts spiraling in my mind. His piercing honey-brown stare pinned my attention firmly on the moment and the dangers ahead. “Are you ready?” he asked, casting a wary glance at the estate behind me.
“Ready? No…but I think we’re well past that concern now.”
Shayfer’s lips pressed to a grim line as Hemming’s hand fell upon the small of my back. The feel of his cool skin against mine was comforting and grounding and everything I needed in that moment. After everything we’d just been through, it was hard to believe there was anything we couldn’t face together.
“We can turn back if you want to,” he whispered softly in my ear. “There is no shame in that.”
“But no helpful information, either,” I countered as I looked up at the lines of concern etched into his features. I cupped his face with my free hand. “I have to do this.”
“Then it’s settled,” Shayfer said, reaching over to take Hemming’s hand, preparing to whisk us off to the border between the Midlands and Anemosia. But before we could disappear, a twig snapped behind us, and I slapped my hand over my mouth to stifle my startled cry as I turned to see what had snuck up on us.
What I found heading our way was ominous indeed.
Kaplyn, my beloved guardian who’d cared for me during my stay in the Midlands—and Hemming’s newfound father—gracefully approached us, his blond hair gleaming in the moonlight like a crown of gold. Something about his casual nature spooked the three of us, and our hands simultaneously fell to our sides, breaking the connection that would have allowed Shayfer’s magic to instantly transport us to the border. Instead, we stood in silence as Kaplyn grew closer.
“It’s a fine night for a clandestine meeting in the shadows,” he called as he rounded the willow tree. The undercurrent of suspicion in his otherwise pleasant voice did nothing to ease the tension in my body. “Please forgive the intrusion. I don’t mean to disturb this private moment you three appear to be sharing, and yet I cannot help but wonder what purpose would drag you out here at this hour.” He cast a sideward glance at Hemming, whose injuries most certainly should have had him laid up in my bed, silently demanding an explanation. “Especially given Hemming’s weakened condition.”
His thinly veiled accusation hung in the air between us for what seemed like forever.
“Hemming wanted to get some fresh air, and Ariel was quick to oblige,” Shayfer finally said in a calm, unfazed tone. “I offered my assistance because, though Ariel is a strong and capable warrior, Hemming’s size is a bit…unwieldy for someone of her stature.”
Kaplyn’s bright green eyes narrowed, and my heart raced like a cornered animal’s. “How generous of you.” He took a step closer, and I feared he would soon hear the traitorous organ slamming against my ribs. “Although, despite his injuries, Hemming appears able to remain perfectly upright on his own.”
“He fell,” I blurted out with none of Shayfer’s well-practiced tact, “right before you arrived. We just helped him up and were holding on to make sure he was steady.”
His eyebrow quirked at my brazen lie. “Were you, now?”
“My legs are weak,” Hemming added quickly. “The walk out here was too much for me. I just suggested to Ariel that I should reconsider your offer regarding the healer.” He hesitated for a moment, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was for effect or if his reluctance was true. Hemming and his father had much to work through, and I knew he didn’t trust Kaplyn as I did. Accepting help from him seemed a stretch, given the circumstances.
But he hadn’t killed him like he’d always dreamed of, so there was still hope for them.
Even Kaplyn couldn’t hide his surprise at Hemming’s words. “Are you certain? You were quite adamant when we arrived back at the mansion that there was to be no magic used on your wounds.” Suspicion slowly crept back into the fae lord’s expression as he took a step closer. “In fact, I believe you used some rather colorful language, even in your weakened state, to make that point abundantly clear.”
“Did I?” Hemming asked, feigning confusion. “I don’t really remember. I was barely conscious at the time.”
“May I ask what brought about this change of heart?” The way Kaplyn clasped his hands behind his back and leaned ever so subtly closer had my stomach in a knot. “It feels too abrupt to not have a powerful impetus driving it.”
Hemming’s gaze drifted down to me as he took my hand in his. There was determination in his pale grey stare that was definitely not an act. “I’m doing it for Ariel.” After a moment’s pause, he turned his attention back to Kaplyn. “Seeing me like this upsets her, and that is the last thing I want.”
I shifted closer to his side and wrapped my arm around his waist. “Then let’s get you back to the mansion and call for the healer. I think this little outing was probably a bad idea.”
“Quite possibly,” Shayfer replied, walking behind us to Hemming’s other side. With much care, he lifted the wounded warrior’s arm and looped it around his shoulders. “We don’t need another fall, now do we?”
Kaplyn eyed us tightly for a moment, then exhaled heavily. “I feel as though I’m going to have my hands full where you three are concerned.” Then he turned on his heels and led the way back to the mansion. There was an air of frustration about him, but it was muddled by some strange, conflicting emotion I couldn’t pinpoint. A sense of pride, maybe? Amusement? Whatever it was, it would have dissipated immediately if he’d known what we were up to when he found us.
“Jahyndra,” Kaplyn called as we stepped through the main entrance, “call the healer to Ariel’s room, please. Hemming has finally come to his senses and would like his assistance.” He continued to escort us through the halls until we arrived at my room. The three of us filed in while Kaplyn stood in the doorway, posted up like a guard.
Moments later, the ghostly pale healer walked into the room on silent feet and stopped next to the bed, hands clasped in front of him. He gave a cursory glance at the angry, burnt scars where Hemming’s wings had once attached before addressing the room. “I can afford no distractions,” he said softly.
“And so you shall have none,” Kaplyn replied. “Shayfer, Ariel…come with me.” Something about his tone when he spoke those words put me even more on edge. Without delay, Shayfer walked out of the room. I, however, made my way over to Hemming, who was already splayed chest-down across my bed, head turned to me.
I bent down and lightly kissed his cheek. “I’ll be right here waiting for you when you wake up.”
I pulled away, but his hand caught mine, holding me still. “Is that a promise?” The unspoken ‘or will you sneak off without me again?’ hung in the air between us.
“Yes,” I said, quickly kissing him one last time. “It’s a promise.”
His shoulders relaxed, and he eventually released my hand. I rushed out of the room under Kaplyn’s keen gaze and hurried to catch up with Shayfer.
The light closing of my bedroom door seemed to cut through the hall like a blade, as did Kaplyn’s voice. “Ariel, please join me in my office, if you would be so kind.” His invitation was a formality, and I knew it—my compliance was assumed.
Shayfer shot me a sideward glance that did nothing to calm my rising nerves as I headed down the hall to face my fate. I really hoped Kaplyn didn’t plan to isolate and interrogate me; I feared I’d crack under the pressure and ruin everything. Kaplyn had always had that effect on me. It was nearly impossible for me to lie to him.
When I stepped into his ornate office, though, I found my father—or uncle, as I’d recently learned—standing on the far side of the room, his massive black wings framing his formidable presence as the warm glow from the fire behind him cast an eerie light. The flames reflected off the many weapons strapped across his body like his own personal armory.
He headed toward me as soon as I entered the room. “I’m leaving now, Ariel,” he said, not mincing words. “I wanted to be sure I had a chance to say goodbye.”
Though I knew he needed to return to Daglaar to restore his army and undo the dissonance caused by Baran and the other traitors who had attempted to usurp him, his impending absence tugged at my heart.
“But I feel like I just got you back,” I replied, reaching out to hug him.
My embrace was met with one in return, his strong arms enfolding me. “You will see me again once Daglaar is stable,” he said gently as he rested his head atop mine, “but I think Hemming needs you more than I do, especially given his sacrifice. Perhaps you can return with him when he is strong enough to make the…journey.”
Journey —not flight . An important distinction that impaled my heart.
“Perhaps we can. I’ll speak to him once the healer finishes with his wounds.”
Kade, the only father I remembered, pulled away from me and gripped my shoulders lightly. “Daglaar is your home, Ariel. You may come and go as you please, with my blessing. I might not be your father, but my doors will always be open for you. I need you to know that.”
I forced a smile to keep my tears at bay. “I do… Baba . I do.”
A look of pride washed over his expression, and he kissed my forehead before releasing me and hurrying over to Kaplyn. “Your offer of aid still stands?” he asked.
The fae lord nodded. “Always, old friend.”
“Good. I fear I may need it. And your son’s as well.” Without another word, my adoptive father stormed out of the room on his quest to return to Daglaar.
Silence fell heavy on the room as Kaplyn stared at me, his expression unreadable. “Tell me, Ariel,” he said, his hesitation nearly undoing me in a matter of seconds, “what will you do once Hemming is well? Where will you go?”
I released the nervous breath I was holding. It was only then that I realized what had driven the undercurrent of unease I’d felt from him when he’d found us by the willow tree. He hadn’t suspected that we were escaping to Anemosia.
He’d thought Hemming was escaping him .
With that understanding in mind, I closed the distance between us and took his hands in mine. “I had hoped to stay here—with you and Delphyne and Sophitiya—if that’s all right. For now, anyway.”
His hands squeezed mine back, and a genuine smile stretched wide across his handsome face. “Nothing would make me happier.”
The delight in his eyes made what I was about to say—and do —so much harder. “I cannot speak for Hemming, though.”
His hands slipped from mine as sadness eclipsed his joy. “I know. He and I…there is much for us to work through, if it’s even possible.”
“Before he met you, I’d have said it wasn’t. But now? Now, I’m not so sure.”
“You think there’s a chance he might one day be able to forgive me?” The hope in his tone was a blow to the gut.
“I think that once he knows you as I do and hears your side, there is a chance. But you need to understand how hard his life has been. He’s harbored a fiery hatred for his unknown father his entire life. That flame won’t be easily extinguished.”
Kaplyn nodded tightly. “Nor should it be.” He turned away and headed for his opulent wooden desk by the wall of windows.
“Is that all you wished to discuss?” I asked. I could see Shayfer lurking in the shadows of the firelit hallway outside, and I edged toward the exit. “Or did you want to speak to me about something else?”
Kaplyn rummaged through the parchments on his desk for a moment, then snapped his sharp green eyes up to meet mine. “What we spoke about earlier this evening—the Aima Kori —I need you to keep that information to yourself for now. In the wrong hands, it could be incredibly dangerous.”
“Oh…all right. I can do that.”
“Does anyone else know?”
“Just Hemming,” I replied, hesitating slightly, “and Shayfer.”
His silent stillness seemed to drag on for eternity. “This may be the safest place for you, Ariel, but it is not without its vulnerabilities. The more that know you are the Aima Kori, the greater the risk. Do I make myself clear?”
“Hemming and Shayfer would never betray me,” I argued.
His brow furrowed as he muttered something under his breath, then dismissed me. And though his words had been meant for him alone, I’d heard them all the same. ‘ They might not have a choice ,’ rang through my mind as I stepped out into the hallway, the scandalous spy waiting for me in a darkened corner.
Shayfer took me by the arm and led me through a maze of corridors until we reached his room, a place I’d only visited a handful of times. It was as large as my own, draped with decadent fabrics and filled with beautifully crafted furniture that carried an understated, masculine look. He carefully closed the door behind him, then locked it, immediately setting me on edge.
“What did Kaplyn say?” he asked in a hushed voice, but Kaplyn’s words of warning had stunned me into a stupor. “Ariel? What’s wrong?”
“He told me not to tell anyone what I am,” I whispered.
Shayfer stiffened. “I suppose that will be easy enough when you don’t really know yourself.”
I looked up at his sober expression and wondered if Kaplyn’s warning had been more for his own benefit than mine. So many unanswered questions. So many suspicious circumstances.
I knew Kaplyn loved me, but so did Kade, and he’d lied to me from the day he’d found me in my scorched village. So had the fae lord who’d just planted that warning in my mind. Love and truth were not mutually inclusive, apparently. I’d had one without the other for my entire life.
“I guess there’s only one way to figure that out,” I replied.
“A word of warning before you embark on this journey, Ariel dear: the truth can be a cursed blessing,” he said, an edge of tension in his tone. “Once it’s yours—like it or not—there is no giving it back.”
“I understand that, Shayfer, but I need to know. No matter the price.”
“Those are dangerous terms, Ariel,” he cautioned as he stepped closer. “You of all people should understand that.” Shayfer took my hands in his and held my stare. “But if you want those answers despite this knowledge, then I will take you to them. I’ve packed provisions and stashed them near the border for the journey, but we should leave quickly—and alone this time, as we’d originally planned.”
“But Hemming?—”
“—may be unfit to accompany us for at least a few hours, and by then, I fear Kaplyn will have summoned me for a private conversation of the interrogation sort.”
“You can’t know that,” I argued.
My rebuttal was met with a look of steel that looked so wrong on Shayfer’s face. “Kaplyn may have dismissed your suspicious behavior earlier, Ariel dear, but I can assure you that mine will be held under far greater scrutiny. I’m afraid we don’t have the luxury of time.”
“I promised Hemming I would be there when he wakes.”
“Ariel, please?—”
“Shayfer, no!” I said, pulling free of his grasp. “I can’t leave him again!”
Before he could launch into an argument, a loud knocking sounded on the door, and panic surged through us both.
“We have to go,” Shayfer whispered as he grabbed my arm. “Please forgive me.”
Before I had time to act, his room disappeared from sight.