Chapter 12 Violet
Violet
We left before the bells, when the castle still felt half-asleep.
I didn’t tell Sebastian I’d never learned how to ride a horse. He didn’t ask.
He swung easily into the saddle and reached for me without looking back. I let him pull me up in front of him, his arm firm around my waist as a shadow slid into place like a second belt. The horse snorted beneath us—displeased or amused, I couldn’t tell.
Adar mounted his own stallion without sparing us a glance and turned toward the road.
Transfer hovered at the edge of my mind. How easily we could have been there already. He could do it. I could do it. I’d never transferred across a continent, but surely it couldn’t be that different from crossing the Night Realm.
I want you to see more of Alentara, Sebastian’s voice slipped across the bond.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were reading my thoughts, I sent back as I tilted my head just enough to catch his expression—and found him already watching me.
I just know you well enough to know that you are thinking too logistically and not enjoying the ride.
It’s a long ride, I shot back. We’ll have to stop for food. For the horses. For sleep. It’ll take days. And if word gets out—
“Violet.”
He said my name aloud this time, low and close to my ear, and it sent a shiver straight down my spine.
“Please,” he continued, “try to enjoy it. You’ve read about the realms your whole life, but it’s not the same as experiencing them.”
The horse shifted beneath me, a sudden jolt, and I pressed closer to his chest on instinct.
“I don’t know if I’m built for this much riding.”
“Baby,” he murmured, far too amused, “this isn’t the only thing you’re going to be riding on this trip.”
Adar groaned from ahead. “I beg you. Please just talk down your bond. I cannot deal with the constant in and out you two do.”
“You could’ve stayed home,” I muttered.
“I go where—”
“My Sovereign goes. Yeah, got that.” Before he could say anything else, I turned to Sebastian. “Isn’t it suspicious that the Shadow King is casually traveling through the realms?” I gestured vaguely at myself. “With a blonde no one’s ever seen before?”
“We’ll skirt the border of the Queen Mother’s lands,” he said calmly. “Villages are scattered there. And if attention finds us”—his arm tightened a fraction—“I’ll handle it.”
“Which way?” I asked.
“South. Forest Realm first. Then Flower. Then Ocean.” A pause. “We’ll cross into the Sun Realm from the southern edge.”
Relief filled me. South meant avoiding the Mountain Realm.
Avoiding Calum.
Avoiding his mother’s spies.
“It’ll take longer,” Sebastian added. “But I’ll keep you safe.”
I brushed a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. “I’m not arguing.”
His brow lifted. “You usually argue.”
“Consider this mercy.”
His shadows rose, pleased and unmistakably traitorous.
We reached the first border post by midday. Night guards bowed as we passed, stepping aside with practiced ease. Then the road narrowed until we reached a stone arch etched with sigils that hovered in the air. Two guards in green-gray stood watch beneath it, posture alert. Forest Realm.
Their eyes sharpened as they took us in.
Then they saw Sebastian.
Hands tightened on the hilts of their swords. One of them swallowed hard, throat bobbing before he inclined his head.
“My lord,” he said, voice steady despite the tension pulling tight across his shoulders. “We weren’t expecting—”
“You weren’t meant to,” Sebastian replied, his tone smooth. The mask was firmly in place now—the Shadow King, not Sebastian. “We’ll be passing through.”
They moved instantly. Too fast. One nearly stumbled over his own boots in the effort to clear the way.
Adar didn’t even bother hiding his smirk as he flicked his reins and guided us forward beneath the arch.
How do you know they won’t alert their Sovereign? I asked down the bond.
Because they forgot they saw us the moment we crossed the threshold.
My breath caught.
You—you erased it? I asked carefully.
Softened it. Enough that it won’t surface. To them, this was just another quiet day at the border.
I swallowed, fingers curling lightly into the front of his coat.
That’s terrifying, I said.
A hint of warmth brushed the bond. Only if you forget who I choose to be terrifying to.
I forgot sometimes that he was the most terrifying fae in Alentara—and yet to me, he was just Bash.
Crossing the realm line felt like stepping from one breath into another.
The trees loomed tall and ancient, branches heavy with foliage, everything in different shades of green. I inhaled without thinking. Damp moss. Sap. Wet leaves.
Sebastian’s arms tightened just slightly around my waist. “Different?” he murmured.
“Yes,” I breathed.
Reading about the realms had never prepared me for this. The Forest Realm wasn’t welcoming. It wasn’t hostile.
It was aware.
Like the land itself had opened one eye and decided to watch us pass.
Adar rode a few paces ahead, posture rigid, gaze fixed forward. Every line of him looked carved into readiness, as if the trees themselves might decide to turn on us at any moment. They didn’t—but I wasn’t convinced they wouldn’t.
To our right, the trees began to darken, as if the color had been pulled out and only the memory left behind. The air there rippled faintly if you stared too long.
The barrier.
My skin prickled, instinctively. “Is that Queen Mother’s lands?” I asked.
“Yes.” Sebastian’s shadows tightened around my hips, a second set of hands anchoring me in place. “It’s safe.”
“Define safe.”
“As long as we don’t cross into her lands.”
“And if we do?”
His exhale was slow. Controlled. “We won’t.”
That still wasn’t an answer. I tilted my head back to look at him.
He sighed, like he’d known that was coming. “I’ve heard stories. I couldn’t tell you which are truth and which are myth.”
“What kind of stories?”
“She claimed those lands completely. Every inch of them. I’ve heard if you step through the veil, you belong to her—mind, body, magic.
You don’t leave unless she decides you can.
Another version says you turn to ash the moment you cross.
” He paused. “There’s also one where you sprout extra heads, your feet turn into hooves, and then she eats you. So your guess is as good as mine.”
I rolled my eyes. “Comforting.”
A bird called from deeper within her lands—high and thin, the sound almost metallic. The horses pinned their ears; ours tossed its head beneath me.
“Easy,” Sebastian murmured, steadying the reins with one hand.
Adar slowed his horse until he rode level with us, his gaze sweeping the treeline. “Something’s moved through here,” he muttered. “Recently.”
I didn’t look toward the darkening trunks, but a pull—that part of me that needed to know everything—deep in my mind was telling me to look. I forced myself to keep my gaze fixed ahead anyway.
The deeper we rode, the more the Forest Realm pressed in around us—lush green layered over green, the sharp tang of resin, the low, constant murmur of life humming beneath everything. And under it all, faint but unmistakable, lingered the distant chill of the Queen Mother’s presence.
The ride stretched on—quiet in places, companionable in others. The forest floor softened beneath the horses’ hooves. Roots curled beneath moss. The air thickened with the scent of soil and pine.
Sebastian dipped his head toward mine. “You’re quiet.”
“Taking it in.”
“Good.”
“What did you expect me to do?” I asked lightly. “Scream?”
He huffed a soft breath against my temple. “You do enough of that.”
Up ahead, Adar made a noise that sounded suspiciously like choking.
“Maybe we can find Adar some company on this trip,” I said sweetly. “Someone to take the stick out of his ass.”
Adar ignored me, though his grip on the reins tightened.
Sebastian stayed quiet—but the shadows at my waist flexed, betraying how hard he was trying not to laugh.
We stopped, choosing a shallow clearing where the trees pulled back just enough to let light reach the ground.
Sebastian slid down first, and reached for me, his grip steady as he lifted me from the saddle.
My legs protested the moment my feet hit the ground, stiffness biting into my thighs and hips.
I hissed softly and rolled my shoulders, trying to work it out without complaining.
Adar was already loosening his horse’s tack, movements efficient and silent. He gave the animal water, checked its legs, then moved on to ours without wasting a second. Purpose was the only thing that ever softened his edges.
I took a piece of bread from the satchel Sebastian handed me and turned in a slow circle, taking in the forest around us.
The trees were dense here, trunks wide and furrowed, their canopies knit so tightly overhead that sunlight filtered through in scattered, dappled patches.
A fae man pulling a small wagon piled with crates and rolled fabric came down the road while we ate.
He glanced toward us briefly, then looked away again, eyes sliding past like we were nothing more than shadows and sunlight.
“He didn’t see us,” I said.
Sebastian’s mouth curved. That should have unsettled me more than it did.
We hadn’t passed a single village. No farms tucked into clearings. No clustered homes. Just forest, road, and the sense that the realm itself was watching us pass through without comment.
“Are we going to find a village to stay in,” I asked, “or are we camping?”
Sebastian took a drink of water and capped the flask. “I don’t intend to stay in the Forest Realm longer than necessary.”
I snorted softly. “Right. The Forest Sovereign still hates you.”
His smile turned faintly smug. “He prefers the term deeply offended.” He gestured south with his chin. “There’s an inn just inside the Flower Realm. Clean beds. Discreet owner. I trust it. We’ll arrive late, but we can rest there before continuing tomorrow.”
Flower Realm.
The words unfurled in my chest, equal parts thrill and wariness.
I’d read everything I could find about it—about the scents so thick they clung to your skin for days, about markets overflowing with silk and spice and poison disguised as perfume.
A realm ruled by charm and coin and smiles sharp enough to draw blood. Beautiful. Dangerous. Calculated.
“Flower Realm first,” I breathed, more to myself than anyone else. “Then Ocean.”
“And then Sun,” Sebastian said.
I swallowed and nodded, suddenly aware of the long road still ahead of us.
Adar tightened the last strap on his saddle and swung back onto his horse. “We should move.”
Sebastian mounted behind me again, shadows rising to steady my balance as we set off. The forest closed in once more, swallowing the clearing behind us like it had never existed at all.