Chapter 1
SECRETS
Fenris isn’t dead. Fenris kidnapped the Apprentices. Fenris belongs to the Order of Kings.
Those three sentences looped inside of my head, over and over again, as I blinked back into consciousness. I couldn’t recall anything after Fenris’s big, dramatic reveal. He must have knocked me out somehow, and now I was here, wherever here was.
My cheek was pressed to the cold stone floor.
That was the first thing I took care of.
My vision went blurry when I tried to stand, so I settled for sitting.
I drew in a few slow breaths, then cautiously half-opened my eyes.
The world didn’t lurch, so I opened them all the way, cataloging my surroundings.
I was in another stone room, small and cold. Bars, bars, and more bars. This had to be a prison cell, likely a dungeon. Dungeons were one hundred percent Fenris’s style.
Chains on the walls. Lovely.
Dark and gloomy.
Stuffy and stank of foul-smelling things I didn’t even want to begin to describe.
Blood on the wall. Goody.
Vampire sitting in the corner.
Fingernail scratches on the walls.
Wait, backtrack to the vampire…
She wore an elegant gown and a massive gold-and-ruby crown. The dress, which had once shone as golden as the sun, was a mere shadow of its former self, marred by tears and dust. Dirt smudged her smooth skin.
“Queen Seriana?” I said. “You’re alive too?”
“Yes.” The Vampire Queen sat up straighter. Defiance flashed in her dark eyes. “My son isn’t done with me yet.”
“What’s going on here?” I asked her. “Why would your own son do this to you?”
“Because I taught him all too well. He faked my death at the Summit, in full view of hundreds of people, so he could throw me in his dungeon. No one asks questions when a dead person doesn’t show up to meetings. He can hold me here forever, and no one will ever know.”
“But why would he imprison you?”
Queen Seriana gave me a dark look. “Because he wants to learn all my secrets.”
“What kinds of secrets?”
“All kinds. I am a core member of the Many Realms Court, my dear, and we core members know many of the Court’s greatest secrets, special knowledge we do not share, not even with our own family or other members of the Court.
Fenris believes I know things that will allow him to achieve his vile organization’s goals. ”
“You mean the Order of Kings?”
“Yes, the Order of Kings,” she said with disgust. “A subversive, criminal organization.”
“What do they want?”
“The Order of Kings is an alliance of supernaturals from all six races. This alliance is building an army to take on the Many Realms Court. They want to create a new order to overturn the old one.”
“And then the Order of Kings will be in charge.”
“Yes, the wretched Order of Kings. I have long suspected that Fenris is a member. My suspicions were confirmed when he faked my death and brought me here for interrogation. Then everything became clear. He wants my secrets, but he also wants me out of the way. Whatever he has planned, he does not want me to interfere. That is why he made me disappear. That is why he made me dead to the Many Realms.”
“He is also dead to the Many Realms,” I said.
“Yes, he planned everything down to the last detail. He used the Summit to stage our deaths. He knew that I and my allies suspected he belonged to the Order of Kings. His death diverted suspicion away from him.”
“But what does Fenris want with Apprentices from Gaia?”
A slit in the wall formed, and the bricks on both sides slid apart to reveal a doorway—and Fenris.
“You want to know my plan for the Apprentices?” Fenris smiled, smooth and confident, an apex predator perfectly at home in his domain. “Come with me, and I’ll show you.”
I hesitated. This could be another trap. Then again, he already had me trapped, so what did I have to lose? I rose to my feet, and thankfully this time, the dizziness stayed away. Seriana followed me out of the cell.
Fenris led us down the narrow, winding passageway.
Several of his warriors took up the rear, just in case we tried anything.
But what could I even try? I didn’t know where in the vast Many Realms I was, or how to get back home.
I was still figuring out this whole magic thing, and inter-realm teleportation wasn’t for newbies.
Honestly, I was kind of surprised that my last teleportation spell had worked.
We came to a large hall. It looked nearly identical to the hall I’d arrived in—with one notable difference.
This hall wasn’t empty. It was full. Full of people.
Full of cages. Full of people in cages. There were three of them in cages right now, all teenagers.
Another seven people were positioned in two straight lines.
They performed a series of fitness exercises in perfect synch as a warrior shouted out commands.
I’d found the missing Apprentices.