Chapter 1
Briar
She’s here.
That was all the note said when the Water Prince pulled it from a flurry of snowflakes that had appeared in the air.
It was a message from his brother with the same water gifts as his own, but Briar Drayce already knew she had arrived.
He could see it in the reflection of the Tana River that flowed through the middle of the Fiera Palace of the Fire Court.
“I have a meeting I need to go to,” Briar said, turning to face the others. “Do you need anything before I take my leave?”
Cyrus, the Fire Court Second sighed, but it was the Fire General who answered, flicking her red-gold braid over her shoulder. “You do plenty, Prince. It’s our responsibility when he’s … like this.”
Briar studied her for a moment. He’d known her for decades. He’d known all of them for decades at this point, some even centuries. So he caught the flicker of worry in her grey eyes, a brief show of emotion she was always quick to hide.
“Our Courts have never done things alone. This is no different,” Briar answered, glancing at the river again. He was late, which was rude in and of itself, but being late to a meeting with a princess was ill-advised, even if he was a prince himself.
“Just … don’t tell Talwyn,” Cyrus said.
“The Fae Queen has her own turmoil she’s dealing with. We will leave Prince Azrael to handle her, and we will deal with the Fire Prince,” Briar replied. “I will check in later today.”
Cyrus pulled on the back of his neck and nodded. “Thanks for always coming here. The sea is …”
“I know, Cyrus. It is easier for me to come here anyway. I am the one who can make a portal,” Briar reassured him, the sound of rushing water filling the air a moment later as a water portal appeared behind him. Only the Fae Royals had the power to create such a thing.
Nothing else was said as he stepped from the fire palace into his own Court.
He paused for a moment in his study, taking a deep breath and letting the sea breeze fill his lungs.
The Fire Court may have fire in their veins, but it would never compare to the warmth of the sun when walking barefoot through rolling waves.
The door opened, his Third and his Commander-of-Forces entering, clearly having felt him cross their wards.
“You’re never late, and certainly not for a meeting with a Royal,” Nakoa said, getting straight to the point.
His Commander-of-Forces was tall and broad.
He was everything you’d expect of a warlord with his cropped sandy blonde hair, keen turquoise eyes, and brown skin.
Marks ran the lengths of his arms, and he never went anywhere without a minimum of five weapons strapped to his being.
“I know,” Briar answered, falling into step beside them as they made their way through the halls of the House of Water. “Is she still on the shore?”
Neve, the Water Court Third, nodded, her light golden hair swaying with the movement. “She asked to wait on the beach. Sawyer is with her. Do you want us there with you as well?”
“I assume Ermir is with her?”
“He is not,” Nakoa replied.
That made him pause for a moment.
“No,” Briar said, mulling over this turn of events. “We all know her … personality. I need to be able to focus on what she’s saying, especially if she is alone, and the rest of you there spouting your opinions never helps.”
“No need to spare our feelings or anything,” Neve muttered under her breath.
“You are all busybodies.”
“You’re confusing us with the Fire Court,” Nakoa said dryly.
Briar huffed a small chuckle. He wasn’t wrong.
“I don’t think there is anything to worry about here, Commander,” Briar answered.
“If you think any of us are fine with leaving our prince alone with another Royal, you were smoking mugweed with Cyrus,” Nakoa said, his tone making it clear what he thought of the Fire Second.
Which was fair. The two had very different personalities.
The fact that Nakoa and the Fire General were occasional lovers was the main reason Nakoa tolerated Cyrus and his antics.
“Nothing is going to happen,” Briar replied, growing irritated. “It’s not a request.”
“Of course it’s not,” Nakoa scoffed.
Something was clearly bothering him today, but Briar would have to deal with that later. He’d kept the princess waiting long enough.
They found her and Sawyer exactly where he’d seen her last on the shores of the sea.
Sawyer was strolling beside her, her slippers in his hand as she moved barefoot in the sand.
Her light blue gown swished around her ankles.
She had to be warm in the heavier fabric the Wind Court favored.
She was already turning, whether from hearing their approach or from the winds whispering his arrival to her.
“Princess Ashtine,” Briar said with a small bow of his head. “I sincerely apologize for keeping you waiting. I was held up at a prior engagement.”
Her head tilted a little to the side as if she heard something, and her silver hair flowed on winds that were more than just the sea breeze. Sky-blue eyes held his as she said, “The Fire Prince has much on his heart these days. Your tardiness is no bother to me.”
He gave her a soft smile before turning his attention to his brother. “I have it from here, Sawyer. Thank you for keeping her company.”
With pale blonde hair, icy blue eyes, and dark skin, he was almost identical to Briar, even though he was several decades younger. The Staying all immortals went through some time in their third decade of life kept them looking more like twins.
Sawyer’s brow arched. “You are taking this meeting alone?”
“Yes. I already discussed this with Nakoa and Neve. The three of you can return to the House of Water if the princess is amenable to remaining by the sea for this meeting,” Briar answered, turning to Ashtine in question.
“I am,” she lilted in her soft voice, her hands clasped loosely in front of her.
Sawyer held his gaze for a long moment, clearly feeling the same way about this as the rest of his Inner Court. When he didn’t move, Briar added, “I’ve kept the princess waiting long enough.”
Sawyer gave a slight nod before exchanging a look with Nakoa and Neve. Briar could already hear the conversation that was going to happen around the dinner table tonight. Again, something he’d deal with later.
He waited until they were well out of earshot before saying to Ashtine, “Can we move a little farther from the water?”
She didn’t hide her surprise at his request. “Do you not wish to be near your element?”
“Always,” he answered. “But my brother is a busybody and shares my ability to turn water into a looking glass. He is likely watching this exchange at this very moment.”
“If you wish to relocate, we can do so. We can move indoors if you wish.”
“Not indoors,” Briar said, motioning up the beach. “Just away from the water.”
She nodded and moved to his side, following as Briar led her over to a small patch of secluded beach.
He suddenly realized there really wasn’t anywhere to sit unless they plopped down in the sand, and the princess didn’t seem like the type who would do something most would deem improper of the title.
“Ermir did not join you?” Briar asked when they came to a stop.
She lifted her chin the barest amount as she replied, “No one from your Court is accompanying you.”
“Yes, but …” He trailed off, not quite sure how to reply to that without also possibly offending her. “Does Ermir know you are here?”
Ashtine didn’t answer for the longest time, but the breeze picked up around them, letting Briar know he’d offended her anyway. “Ermir is handling some things at the Citadel for me. I did not wish to pull him away from those tasks,” she finally answered.
Ermir was her Second, but he was also the male who had raised Ashtine.
More of a father to her, he’d stepped in when all the Fae Royals had been publicly killed after the Great War had ended.
That was when all the territories had been separated.
Wards had gone up, and the late King Deimas and Queen Esmeray had convinced the mortals of the realm that the Fae were trying to enslave them all.
It was also the late Queen Esmeray who had come to the Courts and slaughtered the sitting Royals before their Courts, not knowing their heirs had been hidden in the crowd.
But while Ashtine had not even lived a year of life yet, Briar had been decades old.
He’d stood in that crowd and watched his father, the previous Water Prince, and his mother have a shirastone dagger shoved into their hearts.
Sawyer had stood beside him, so much younger, and watched the same horror play out.
When they returned to the House of Water that night, Briar had a new crown, new responsibilities, and a new weight on his shoulders.
Sorin, the Fire Prince, was the same. The Earth Prince was older than all of them and seemed to handle the transition the easiest, but Ashtine?
Ermir hid her away, only letting Talwyn see her, the two females nearly the same age.
Ashtine was kept from the public eye until she was ready to take her place as the Wind Princess.
Briar still remembered attending her coronation and seeing her for the first time.
She was nearly identical to Princess Ophelia, her mother and the previous ruler of the Wind Court, and she’d inherited her mother’s Wind Walker gifts to move among the winds and hear their whispered secrets.
But even now, a few decades later, Briar could not recall a single instance where he’d interacted with the princess without one of her Inner Court members with her. If it wasn’t Ermir, it was Renly, her Third, or Sion, the general of her forces.
“How can I be of service today, Princess?” Briar asked, ready to get to the point of this meeting, especially if she was here without her Court’s knowledge. The last thing he needed was more tension between the Western and Eastern Courts.
“I am here to make a deal with you regarding weapons,” she replied.
The portrait of poise and grace, that was the last thing Briar had expected her to say. So much so, that he could only blink a few times, completely at a loss for words. Finally, he said, “Weapons are a speciality of the Fire and Earth Courts, not Water.”
“Yes, but imbuing them with magic is a speciality of your Court,” Ashtine countered. “And that is what I need.”
Briar swiped a hand down his face, stealing time for a response. He was even more grateful he’d had the forethought to move away from the water where Sawyer could spy on this conversation. Nakoa would have already shown up here.
“Can I inquire as to why you feel this need?” he asked after several seconds of silence.
“You may,” Ashtine answered.
Briar rolled his lips as he contemplated his next words. This was why he didn’t want the others here. Conversing with her required carefully phrasing questions and statements. She wasn’t purposefully vexing, but others found her oddness irritating.
“Why do you find yourself in need of additional weapons at this time?” Briar finally asked.
“I do not require them for this time.”
“For the future then?”
“I do not require them for the past.”
He found himself keeping a smile from forming at her response. “That stands to reason,” he conceded. “What do you fear the future holds that brings you here with this request?”
He could swear something akin to relief flashed in her eyes.
“The future can hold many things. It is most unpredictable,” she replied. “But I fear the Great War was nothing more than one of many.”
Briar nodded slowly. “That is natural to fear, but we have all been preparing.”
She shook her head, that relief gone and replaced with frustration. “It is not enough. It is not going to be enough.”
Briar’s brow furrowed. “The Great War has ended. King Deimas and Queen Esmeray have crossed the Veil, likely to the Pits of Torment. Our Courts have known peace for more than a century.”
“That does not dismiss bloodshed from coming in the future,” she countered.
“I understand, but—”
“You do not,” she interrupted, a gust of wind stirring the sand at their feet.
“If you know of a credible threat, you must tell me, Ashtine,” Briar said, taking a step closer to her. Her gaze snapped to his, and he winced. “I apologize, Princess. The use of your name was not meant to be disrespectful.”
She nodded slowly. Briar was usually fairly skilled at reading people, but not her.
He’d never been able to get a read on her, but he’d also never spent much time with her.
Certainly not alone like this. And as she stared back at him now, he wasn’t sure where this conversation was going to go next, but by the gods was he intrigued.
He was also perplexed because this seemed like a meeting Ermir would definitely want to be present for.
“At the risk of your ire, does Ermir know what you are here requesting?” Briar asked when she didn’t speak further.
There was another gust of wind, this one sending sand flying so viciously it stung where it hit the flesh on his bare arms. He was glad his hair was tied up, but Ashtine’s blew across her face as a small swirling vortex appeared at the tips of her fingers.
“Do you require the permission of your Court before acting, Prince?” Ashtine demanded, and Briar hadn’t known she was capable of such a tone. Her usual mystical lilt was still there, but it was layered with an iciness that had his own Fae nature taking notice and his magic stirring in interest.
“I meant no disrespect, Princess.”
“So you have stated, Prince.”
Well, fuck. He had no idea how to deal with … this. It certainly wasn’t how he’d expected this meeting to go today.
“I am taking your continued silence as a denial of my request?” Ashtine finally said.
“That is not—”
“At this point, it is either an approval or a denial,” she cut in.
“It is not that simple, Princess. You know this to be true,” Briar insisted.
“Nothing ever is,” was all she said, and then she was gone, walking among the winds that called to her.
And Briar was left standing on the beach wondering what in the fuck had just transpired.