Chapter 1
Iwas a legend, a fable, the chorus of a shanty.
Altars built in my honor once sprinkled shorelines, but the pyres have since been smothered, the mortar crumbled to dust. Once, I was feared, worshipped. Powerful. A decade ago, I was the heir to the sea.
Now I’m a petty thief.
I weave through the crowd and slide a bracelet from a woman’s wrist, the diamonds catching the dwindling sunlight as I pocket it between the folds of my dress.
Bodies twirl around me, silked in shades of lilac and gold.
I slink through and pin my gaze on a ruby ring—one size too large—perched on a hand.
I hold my breath, stilling my heart as I look in the opposite direction, and—
“Briar, there you are.”
My blood freezes. I lower my hand and lock eyes with the man I’ve wanted to kill for the past decade.
I bow my head—not nearly as low as the others would, and force a smile to my face. “Caelus.”
A looping melody weaves through the marble columns, pouring into the open-air balcony.
Caelus blocks my view, his lips pressed tight as he sets a hand on my shoulder, squeezing tighter than necessary. “What have I told you?”
“I apologize, Your Majesty.” The words are like sand down my throat, pooling in my lungs. A title he never earned, but took. One that he forces me to use while others are around.
He nods. “That’s better.”
From the arched ceilings, chandeliers cast a soft glow over his blue eyes, emphasizing the way they wrinkle from his smug grin. His fingers weave through mine—unforgiving hands that would execute me if he knew who I am.
But it’s been a decade, and not once has someone remembered me, nor recognized me. The Princess of the Sea, forgotten.
“You were looking for me?” I ache to peel his hand from mine, to widen the distance between us before he hears the jewels tapping in my pocket.
“Yes. It’s about Sir Dyerson.” He yanks me closer, breath brushing my neck as he tilts his chin toward a group of men across the ballroom. “I need you to figure out what he’s hiding.”
I hum. “Are you worried?”
“Not particularly. I assigned him to one of the territories we claimed last year, and he’d be foolish to attempt anything, but I’m concerned enough to want something against him. And I’ve heard whispers about his discontent about being assigned to the far reaches of the continent.”
The exact blackmail Caelus wants balances on the tip of my tongue. I heard it earlier in the afternoon, from one of the visiting ladies. Dyerson doesn’t want anyone to know about the loan he had to take out to keep his business. Or that his wife recently left and took the children with her.
But I swallow the information for now. Ten years ago I managed to be hired as a royal courtesan, and it didn’t take me long to make myself invaluable. Lips are loose when there’s a beautiful woman involved, and Caelus knows that, craving the information I feed him in sips.
If I give it to him all at once, however, I give him more power than he already has.
I nod. “Consider it done.”
His approving smile churns my stomach, and I clench my jaw. In the years I’ve overheard conversations within these walls, none of them have been useful. None about the war brewing in the sea, my mother—the queen, at the front.
“Is something the matter, Briar?”
Caelus trails a finger down the length of my spine. Behind him, I catch Queen Isolde staring, eyes narrowed at her husband’s hand teasing the base of my spine.
I hold her gaze and smirk. “Of course not, Caelus.”
His smile fades, and he lifts a hand, flicking a finger. A gust of wind rattles the windowpanes and shoots in through the balcony, whipping my hair around my head.
Queen Isolde doesn’t flinch, despite the power being siphoned from her marrow to fuel his outburst. This stolen display of power.
“Don’t forget how quickly I can return you to the streets,” Caelus hisses in my ear.
Air wraps around my throat like fingers, digs into my skin, and squeezes just enough for my lungs to burn. They beg for a gasp of air, but I clench my hands into fists, my nails digging into my palm as I hold his gaze.
One wrong move, and he’ll stay true to his word. I can’t break my curse if I’m fired and banned from these halls.
I force a swallow and nod.
“Good.” He releases his hold on me and retreats a step.
I bite into the flesh of my cheek and suck in a controlled breath through my nose until the haze in my vision clears. If I had my power, I’d drown him on dry land—crush him and his people under a blanket of water.
With the wind gone, my dress fans out, settling over the intricate grooves of the tiled floor—a mosaic of intertwined tree limbs. The Earth Court crest. One of the few things in this castle that remains unchanged since Caelus conquered Sarenia.
“Don’t make me ask you again,” he snarls, striding off.
In the far corner, Thea—caged against the wall by a man—catches my attention.
“Are you okay?” she mouths.
I nod, as I always do.
Her sapphire eyes contrast deep umber skin, and the opal beads in her braids tap against her waist as she flicks her gaze toward the balcony. The sun sinks lower with every second, and my chest squeezes.
If I don’t leave soon, I’ll be too late.
I lose myself in the crowd, scanning necks, wrists, fingers—any place I could slide off or unclasp a piece of jewelry, and get to work.
Within minutes, my pockets weigh down my dress, and sweat gathers at my brow.
I wander toward the open balcony and slip a bracelet off the wrist of a woman as she passes me.
Sliding it into my pocket, I give myself a brief reprieve—a stolen moment in the fresh air, free of the bodies packed into the ballroom.
On either end of the balcony, a curved staircase descends to the castle gardens. To the right, a mountain range casts half the castle in jagged shadows. But to the left, the city of Sarenia sprawls to the ocean, where boats bob against a maze of docks.
I brace myself against the rail and close my eyes, pressing my hands against the cold stone. A breath passes my lips, and I dive into myself, searching for a glimpse of my power—a sign it isn’t fully gone.
I reach, grappling, but all I find are frayed strands of what was once an endless depth.
There’s nothing.
My gut sours, and I blink my eyes open against the setting sun. I can almost hear the ocean’s whisper, beckoning me like a lover. My breath hitches, and I turn back to the ballroom, straightening out the dress that wouldn’t last a second at sea.
I reach into my pocket and press my fingertips into the sharp edges of the gems, tallying their size and worth. One of my most successful days.
The woman I passed on my way out clutches her wrist and glances around the floor, searching for a bracelet she won’t find.
My cue to leave.
Tugging at my ear, I slip into the ballroom and stride past Thea. She nods and pushes away from the wall, weaving under the arm of the man as she strides toward Caelus, ready to distract him.
Keeping to the outskirts of the room, I sneak to the doorway as a man notices his ring missing. He turns to the waitstaff beside him, face ruddy as he accuses him of theft.
Shouts billow, echoing off the ceiling, and I yank a cloak at random from the closet, disappearing into the hallway. My heart races, but I force myself to keep my steps calm. This is the first time my thievery has been noticed during a ball.
The heavy oak doors swing shut, muffling the ballroom. I drape the cloak over my shoulders and button it at my throat, forcing my racing pulse to calm. The vacant hallway welcome me, and I stride past open windows framed with blue silk curtains billowing in the breeze.
Banners drape overhead, embroidered with a falcon pierced by a bolt of lightning—the Sky Court crest. The night I first walked beneath them sweeps into my memory, but ten years ago, they bore a towering tree. When they belonged to the Earth Court.
A decade ago, to this day, climbing roses and wisteria adorned these walls and wrapped around the window frames. A pianist played for hours while guests mingled, waiting for the wedding ceremony that never came.
The night I killed the man I was arranged to marry.
And the moment I slid my blade across his throat, I learned my mother made a deal with the goddess—promised my hand for reasons I have yet to discover. A pact she made in blood that, when I failed to fulfill, cursed me.
Stowing away the thoughts, I glide around the corner and stop in front of a mirror, tucking errant strands of brown hair into my hood. Leaning closer, I dab off my lipstick and wipe the blush from my cheeks.
“Such a pretty thief.”
I gasp, whirling as a shadow emerges from the alcove and slinks into a sliver of sunlight.
Queen Isolde smiles, blue eyes so light the irises nearly blend with the whites. She tilts her head and studies me. “Care to tell me where you’re taking those stolen jewels, courtesan?”
I smile. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
Her eyes spark, and a hint of power swirls below the surface—what little is left of what she gives to Caelus. She steps closer, stopping an inch away, and my heart trips over itself.
She lifts a hand and drags her thumb over my bottom lip. “I hate it when he touches you like that.”
I swallow. Before I respond, she crashes her mouth to mine. Weaving a hand to my nape, she tilts my head, and as she deepens the kiss, my pulse thrashes in my ears. I part her lips with mine, tracing my tongue against the sharp edge of her teeth.
She makes a noise, halfway between a sigh and a whimper, and I force myself to pull back. As much as I’d love to lose time with her, I don’t have that luxury. Her chest expands on an inhale, breath ragged.
“Simply part of the job,” I say, wiping a smear of my lipstick from her mouth. And that’s what dragged me to her, too—at first. The promise of information, the temptation of revenge. It was Isolde, after all, who surrendered to Caelus and gave him rule over her court and her power.
Because of her, he controls the Sky Court, conquered the Earth, and is after the Sea.
I never thought I’d fall in love with her.
“It doesn’t make it any easier,” she says, straightening her bodice.
I tuck a blonde curl behind her ear. “Did he mention what he’s announcing this evening at dinner?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing I don’t already know, but all of his generals and governors are here, staying in the castle. Whatever it is, it has him worried. I can feel it.”
Voices and footsteps sound from around the corner, and I stiffen, pressing my hand against the jewels in my pocket.
Isolde’s eyes widen, but she presses a kiss to my temple and lifts my hood onto my head. “Go, before they catch you.”
I gnaw on my lip. While still a queen, she’s not permitted to roam the castle unaccompanied. Caelus insists it’s for her safety, but we all know it’s out of fear she’ll somehow manage to escape his hold on her. And if it were truly for her safety, he wouldn’t beat her every time she’s caught.
And if he knew about her relationship with me, I’d be executed.
“Will you be okay?” I breathe, eyeing the turn in the corridor.
“Of course.” Weaving around me, she gives one last smile and strides toward the hall. “I’ll come up with a valid excuse.”
I watch her turn the corner, hating that whatever she faces on the other side, she’ll be doing it alone. But I swallow and take off down the opposite hall, my cloak billowing behind me as I weave to the side door.
There’s one thing she said, her words churning—tumbling in my mind. If Caelus is worried about this upcoming announcement, it can only mean one thing—he’s losing his grasp on control.
As I clear the final turn and push through the door, a stone settles in my stomach. If Caelus is desperate, there’s no telling what he’s capable of doing.