Realms of Ruin (Astrals and Nokts #1)

Prologue

SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO

The last time I saw him was the day my world exploded. Darkness stole us both. He disappeared into it. My mind became consumed by it.

My last memory, before everything blew up, played on a loop in my mind. I lay on the cool granite rock. A stream wound around our meeting spot, its steady gurgle offering a soft reassurance. He didn’t always show, but I always knew when he was near.

My hair fanned out around me while I counted the stars. Absently, I scanned the sky for meteors. Dried tears carved out lines of salt down my cheeks.

At home, I had made the mistake of looking in the wrong direction.

Or I had breathed too loud. I triggered my own punishment.

My fingers still trembled as they tapped against the stone.

The movement pulled on my wrist, where torn skin oozed blood.

I hated the metal cuffs used to confine me.

I hated my father, my jailer, even more.

I sensed my friend approaching. The frantic ache in my chest settled when lifeless shadows turned sentient.

Darkness rippled around me. “He did it again didn’t he? Are you okay?”

I sat up slowly. My vision adjusted from the distant cosmos to the closeness of a dark-haired, cloaked boy. How did he know when I needed him most? His concern almost broke me. Almost.

“I’m better now. It was over faster than the last time.” Because I blacked out. He lost control of his anger and his fist met my temple.

“Let me see.” He leaned closer. With a featherlight touch, he shifted my wild hair back, the small braids behind my ears dragging with the movement.

An angry sigh hovered between us. “When I’m older, I’ll repay your father for every moment he harmed you.

I’ll kill him.” Shadows speared outward, but none touched me.

He shouldn’t have any form of magic, not at his age—that came around puberty.

They were as mysterious as our meetings.

His anger might have frightened me, but he was my friend. I wasn’t scared. I knew real monsters. I lived with one.

“When we’re older, I won’t be anywhere near Maripol. Maybe when our magics come in, I will be a master hunter and you could build things. And we could live in a castle in the mountains.” If only.

The side of his mouth twitched. “That might be nice. Except, I hate the snow and ice. I’m a fan of the sun and the heat.”

“Then maybe your magic will be fire, and mine could be growing flowers.”

He laughed then, gazing at me with amusement. “That isn’t a very helpful magic.”

I jumped up. “I could borrow your magic! And then I would burn my father into nothing. Nothing but ash.” It would make my life so much easier. Then it would just be me and my mom, and we wouldn’t have to practice masking our fear or hiding our bruises.

He touched my shoulder—an act of tenderness I didn’t know I needed. “Even if I don’t wield flames, I will incinerate him if it means you will find peace. I would scorch the earth to stop your nightmares.”

If only my nightmares were confined to my sleep. I offered him a smile; he needed to see I would be okay even if we both knew it was a lie.

I grabbed my bow and two arrows. After my punishments, I found that moving my hands helped calm me. I was a master at twirling sticks and braiding flower crowns. The evidence of both remained behind as we went in search of rabbits.

Leaves and pine needles crunched loudly from behind me. “Dom! Come on! You’re going to scare them all away with your clomping.” I swung my arm around in my haste to shush him.

He hit the ground so hard leaves flew upward. Laughter spilled from me at his attempt to avoid my arrow pointed at his chest.

“Watch where you swing that thing!”

I lowered my weapon as he slowly stood, brushing pine needles off of himself. He shook his head in the wake of my lingering chuckle and we found a secluded spot to hunt.

We crouched behind a felled tree, quietly waiting for unsuspecting prey. I enjoyed bringing wild game back for my mother to cook. When you’re nine, making your mother smile matters.

A tap on my arm had me searching for the rabbit he had spotted. I released the arrow and made a clean kill. We jumped over the tree trunk and snagged the body.

“Well, aren’t you a menace.” He quirked his brow and ruffled my hair. I flashed him a smile. His answering grin didn’t reach his amber eyes. “I can’t stay long this time. I snuck out to see you. My training is taking more time away. I had to check on you though.”

It never occurred to me to ask about where he’d come from, how he got here, and what he trained for. I just knew that he made me feel safe. He showed up when I needed him. I twirled my bow in my hands as sadness cinched my throat.

“Hey.” I met his gaze. Darkness clung to him. It didn’t bother me because his eyes were kind. “I have to leave now.” He dragged his finger from my left temple, across my forehead, and over the right temple. “For protection.” I always giggled when he did that. If only it actually worked.

“I promise, I will find you.” The earnestness in his parting words made me smile. I didn’t doubt him because he always did.

We turned our separate directions. Him, toward the darkness of the forest. Me, back to my parents in Maripol. I dragged my feet the whole way, hoping with each step that everyone lay deep in sleep.

That particular night, when I faced my childhood home, acrid smoke filled my lungs. The rabbit’s body dropped forgotten from my hand. Everything I knew had burned to the ground. Life, as I knew it, was reduced to ash. The curse I’d voiced earlier to Dom echoed in my mind.

My mother’s favorite scarf mocked me as it draped across the embers. A charred hole sizzled at the edges, mimicking the hollowed out space in my chest.

I didn’t even notice when a young wolvin prowled around me, nor when she nuzzled my hand as I stood paralyzed in shock. She sat down beside me and helped shoulder my pain.

A single tear fell. It was the last time I let myself cry. Dark rage clamped down, strengthening me. It severed me from my grief. In that moment, I knew everything had changed. And I was utterly alone.

I once had a friend. He promised he would protect me. But it was the last time I ever saw him. When I needed him most, he disappeared.

I’ve always wondered what happened to him.