CHAPTER1
Itried to swallow as the smoke from the burning embers encircled me in a cruel, slow torture. The royal army had been camped outside the cleave between our world and theirs for a total of three days. Three excruciatingly long days.
The grim tick of the clock echoed throughout the room, and my heart raced it before the next beat could sound.
My fingers trembled as I pulled my boot on my foot and tied up the laces. The room was as black as the starless night inside our home, but I didn’t mind it. I welcomed it, honestly, because it was the only time I could do anything without everyone watching my every move.
“Where are you going?”
I clamped my eyes closed before quickly tucking my father’s dagger into the side of my boot before she could see.
“I just need some air.” I stood and pulled the hood of my worn-out cloak over my head. “Go back to sleep.”
My mother wrapped her thin arms around herself and avoided my gaze. “Sleep alludes me.” She shook her head. “You shouldn’t be going out there tonight.”
“I can take care of myself.”
“I know that.” Her dark brown eyes finally met my own. “But it won’t be long now until they come, and…”
“And I should be able to enjoy my last few hours of freedom however I choose.”
Her jaw clenched at my words. “They aren’t taking you as a prisoner, Adara. Being the chosen Starblessed is a blessing from the gods.”
“Of course.” I bowed in front of her dramatically. “Look at the life it has afforded you.”
She sucked in a shocked breath, but this wasn’t a new argument. My fate had never been mine, and my mother had accepted many luxuries in exchange for her daughter. Luxuries that my father fought against. That he lost his life over.
I walked to the door and hesitated when my mother’s trembling voice called back out to me. “Do not run. They will find you, and we will both pay the price for your treason.”
I let her words skate over me and reminded myself of exactly who she was. My heart ached as dread filled me. My fate lay in the hands of the soldiers who waited for me outside the cleave, but I would mourn for no one that I left behind.
The cool night air danced along my skin as if it had been waiting for me to open the door and slide outside. I pulled my hood tighter around my face to hide my curse as I stepped onto the cobblestone street and headed directly toward the place I should have been avoiding.
The streets were bare and quiet. Even the small pub that was usually overflowing with ale and unfaithful husbands was locked down tightly and not a flicker of candlelight shone through the window.
A chill ran down my spine, but I wouldn’t allow myself to be fearful like they were. The Achlys family was powerful, but they weren’t gods. If they were, then they would have no need for me.
I had never seen a single one of them. Not the king, the queen, or the crowned prince to whom I was sworn to marry. All I knew was that they were high fae and that the blood that coursed through my veins was somehow the key to unlocking their dormant power.
Lethal power they longed to possess.
To my knowledge, none of the royals had ever crossed over the cleave. They had men for that, and those low-ranked guards were the only ones I had encountered. If they had magic, I had never seen it.
My mother said they didn’t use it here because they didn’t have to, but part of me wondered if they still had any powers at all. If they didn’t have magic, then I had no real reason to fear them. I could run, and my mother would be the one left to face the consequences.
Without powers, I doubted any of them would be able to find me. Only the twin moons knew my secrets as they watched me shift through the shadows. Everyone thought they knew exactly who I was, and that meant they all believed that I was the key to some blessing they thought the royals would bestow on them once I was sacrificed.
My fingers trailed across the bricks as I passed the last building and stepped onto the damp grass. I knew the path that led into the woods better than I knew my own home, and I let my feet lead the way as I looked around me for signs of anyone watching.
The edge of our town was only a few minutes’ walk to the perimeter of the cleave, and I often liked to come here just to watch and imagine what life was like on the other side. It didn’t look any different from the Starless realm.
The trees grew tall and heavy on both sides, and the only indication that the cleave existed was the thin veil that could hardly be seen at night. It reminded me of the mist that coated our land in the early morning hours, but the cleave never left. I crouched low and ran my fingers through the magic and a thrill of excitement rushed through me. I stared up as I watched the magic recoil from my touch, but it went on for as far as I could see.
It was hard to explain, but the divide between our worlds had felt more familiar to me than my own home. It felt like an old friend that I didn’t even know. A familiar stranger that always greeted me.
Tonight, though, it felt different. Darker somehow as if it was warning me away. I pulled my hand back and searched through the gleam.
There were at least fifty soldiers camped in the woods about twenty yards from the cleave, and I watched the one who was standing guard at this edge of the camp.