Chapter 3
Milana tugged the corset ties, freeing me from their hold. The gown dropped, and Milana laid a silk robe over my shoulders. I never wanted to trade it for another corset.
“The stars are shining brightly tonight.” Milana gestured to the book, set out on my nightstand, before she slipped out of my chambers.
My thumb caught one of the rough edges of the paper as I stepped out on the balcony. The night sky glittered as if the stars had assembled only for me.
A gust of wind blew the pages before they settled—blank parchment lay unmarked.
Inky swirls danced across the pages.
My breath stilled until words formed.
It is time you knew who you truly are, Aelira.
The message vanished the moment I read it.
A lump settled in my throat, rigid and heavy. My name appeared on the page as if by magic, but that wasn’t possible. The human realm held no magic.
Magic was forbidden.
It belonged to the fae.
I should have hidden the book away and pretended I never found it, but I couldn’t look away. New ink settled deeper into the parchment.
Your story is written in the stars.
Ice ran through my veins. The leather book bent beneath my grip.
Time will reveal all.
Why would my mother want to give me this book?
A loud thud echoed as I slammed the book shut.
I stashed it at the back of the drawer, but its words were etched into my memory, impossible to ignore.
Sleep took me swiftly. When the morning sun crept over the horizon, Milana dressed me in silence.
Afterwards I took to the corridors, wanting to escape.
Cael appeared as I rounded the corner. “I hear he’s arrived.”
“You’re back! Have you heard any news of the trade agreement with Estlen?” I waited, hopeful that my father’s emissary made progress. If they reached an agreement, maybe I would have more time. Maybe the marriage wouldn’t be solidified.
“From what I hear, it didn’t happen.” Cael wiped the grime from his brow.
An exasperated breath escaped me. “Why?”
“The blight is expanding. Whispers of rebellion are at their border. Trade with Bailoc is no longer desired.” Cael motioned me forward. “The resources the Vale can provide are our only hope.”
Beads of sweat formed along my spine. “I will have to marry him.”
“I hear many are fond of Lord Thalen. That he is charming and handsome.” He shifted his weight, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. “I also hear that he is very fond of you.”
“They haven’t reached an agreement yet.” I scanned the halls as knights walked past. My father’s guards observed us from down the hall.
“Your father will push for this marriage now more than ever,” Cael said. “The things I’ve seen, even on patrol the past couple of days…”
“Tell me.” My hand hovered over his arm, but I quickly pulled back. “Please, Cael. You’re the only one who will tell me anything beyond these walls.” My voice was a soft whisper, so delicate I wasn’t even sure if he heard my words.
“The land continues to decay—it’s only getting worse.” Cael scanned the corridor. “Unable to sustain new growth of any kind. On the journey back, a child stopped in front of our order, begging for food.”
The blight had only intensified since the war between the fae and human realms—a curse from their kind that only seemed to grow with each passing year. They separated our worlds with a magical barrier of golden light.
“People are begging?”
“Yes. We had very little to give on our return journey. One of our knights tossed the boy an apple—food from his own rations for the day. The people rallied around the boy, demanding more from our kingdom. A woman, maybe the boy’s mother, began throwing stones at us.”
“What happened?” I didn’t want to know. To assault a palace knight…I didn’t want to imagine it. Yet my thoughts remained on the boy desperate for food, his mother even more desperate that she would bait a knight of the king’s guard—with no chance of winning.
“I won’t repeat how it ended,” Cael said.
“Don’t let him startle you, sister. We have a handle on it all.” Agan snuck up on me, his hand pressed into my shoulder. “Sir Cael, you’re dismissed.”
“I was only…” Cael’s eyes met with my brother’s.
“Standing too close to the Princess of Bailoc…without a chaperone. The king would be most alarmed to hear of it,” Agan scolded. “As would her future husband.”
“Agan.” I would not let him treat Cael this way.
“Don’t start with me.” Agan’s voice was a low rumble. “Sir Cael, you’re dismissed.”
Cael lowered into a silent and obedient bow to us both. My fingers trembled as they rolled inward.
“How could the Vale have enough to offset the rapid decline of supplies in Bailoc?” I asked.
“Damn it, Aelira…” Agan scolded, his voice a low, seething roar. “It is not your place to question the solution. Your only role here is to make sure Thalen remains interested.”
“He will make his own decision.”
“We can’t afford him to lose interest,” he scoffed. “Appease Thalen, tempt him. You do whatever you can to make sure this marriage happens.” Agan towered over me.
“Tempt him?” An icy chill ran through me. My stomach turned. It was one thing to suspect that was all I was worth to the crown, but it’s another to hear it from my own brother.
“You heard what I said. Make this happen,” he growled.
The sun was stifling. There was no relief from the wind. I wandered to the willow, wanting a moment to myself— needing a distraction from my conversation with Agan. The grass crunched beneath my slippers.
Thalen stood before me—a falcon rested on his gloved hand. His gaze was calculating.
“Hup.” He loosened his grip on the falcon’s jesses, and it soared off into a nearby tree. His eyes never left the bird, his stoic expression intact. Leaves rustled as he slid the grotesque remnants of a rodent onto his glove—the fleshy pink meat poked through the gaps in the leather.
A shrill cry of the bird repeated as it flew directly overhead and perched again on his glove. He revealed the pink, lifeless creature to it, causing my stomach to churn.
“Would you like to see her?” His gaze never lifted from the bird. Thalen sensed me as well as the falcon sensed its prey. He slid the thin leather straps beneath his gloved thumb. The falcon ripped apart the fleshy meat.
“You command her well,” I said.
The falcon’s eyes followed mine.
He held his arm still while she perched on it. “These creatures possess an untamed spirit that I find enthralling.” Thalen’s eyes slowly shifted to mine. “She requires constant handling to remember her purpose.”
Many men felt the same about me.
Thalen and the falcon were completely in tune with each other.
“She’s fascinating,” I said.
“I thought you might enjoy her.”
The falcon finished devouring its reward. Thalen commanded a nearby falconer, then transferred the falcon to the falconer’s glove.
“Walk with me.” He undid his glove, thrusting it into the other man’s open hand. Thalen extended his arm to me, just as he had the falcon.
“I’m surprised to see you out here.”
“I needed fresh air.” My hand rested on his arm, his muscles tense with my touch.
“I don’t think you should wander alone,” he murmured. My stomach twisted at his words, completely aware that Milana wasn’t with me.
“The guards are my constant shadows.”
“It would be safer if you walked beside one.” He tucked his braid behind his shoulder. “At least I am with you now.”
I didn’t know what he could be worried about. No one let me go anywhere alone.
He brought his arm in closer, pulling me toward him. The scent of leather lingered on his skin. My cheeks burned.
“I hope I’m not making you uncomfortable,” he said.
“Not at all, my lord,” I lied—Agan’s words echoed in my mind and my body stiffened.
“I can’t stop thinking about you.” His words trailed over me, lingering longer than I wished. Heat rose from within me as he gestured to a bench in my mother’s garden.
“My lord…” A slow tingle ran down my spine as his gaze locked onto mine. I grew aware of every line that settled around his eyes; the way his white, blond hair framed his face.
“You may soon be my wife. Please address me without my title.” He lifted my hand to his lips. The kiss lingered even after he removed his lips. His warmth radiated through me.
“Thalen…” His name felt forbidden. “Why did you choose me?”
“I came here to form a political alliance.” His fingers dragged down his jaw.
My heart dropped deep in my chest—my gaze diverted from his.
“But when I saw you…I couldn’t take my eyes off you. There was something calling to me—something familiar.” His shoulders set back. “I know you feel it, too.”
My legs trembled beneath me.
“I didn’t expect any of this.” He leaned in. “Being near you is undoing me. I’m agreeing to trade far more than I planned to call you mine.”
I leaned into his lingering touch, but my blood ran cold.
Marriage to me was a part of a trade—a transaction between two powerful men.
His eyes narrowed. “This pact doesn’t just benefit me. You will have power over your life in the Vale.”
It was like he knew I longed for that.
Thalen slid his hand firmly over mine. His lips hovered above mine. With a quickening breath, he pulled away from me.
He traced the gemstone that hung around my neck. The inky black stone cooled at my chest despite the sweltering sun. A smirk spread across his face and his jaw released.
I was crumbling with his touch.
“Lord Thalen,” Lord Joran called as he approached. “King Ardyn requires an audience with you in his study.” He folded his arms as he turned toward me. “Princess, it is good to see you looking so lovely today.”
“Hopefully we will have much to celebrate later, Your Highness.” Thalen towered over me, his head tilted into a subtle bow, before he fell in step with Lord Joran.
The force of Thalen’s words, the feeling of his touch, lingered even after he left. It all felt real, but what if it wasn’t? What if the excitement faded after his trade was complete?
My hands met the chill of shaded concrete. I clenched the flower box behind me until my fingers turned purple. A cascade of vibrant flowers surrounded me. My mother’s roses were still tightly furled.
I gripped the stem, careful to avoid the thorns. The gemstone warmed against my skin as unease tightened within me. My palm trailed the velvety buds as I breathed in their scent.
If only I could see my mother’s roses bloom before I had to leave, then I could enjoy them one last time. I blinked back the tears, the lump in my throat solidified.
Then the petals slowly unfurled until each one bloomed after the next. I had never seen anything like it.
Heaviness settled in my muscles. I yanked a rose from the flower bed.
A thorn pierced my flesh and blood trickled over my hand.