For a thousand years I’ve waited, ever since Gabriel and Alessandra broke our bargain and locked the fae away. They glamoured us behind walls to “protect our world’smagical balance and prevent a tear to another world.”I say they were traitors to their kind.
I accepted the borders because, in doing so, I gained rule over Anaeris and access to the bloodstone through marriage. What are borders when I could use the stone and bring them down later?
Once they sealed Anaeris, leaving us to believe they died protecting the city, most lost hope of regaining their relics.
But I knew better.
I knew there was no way humans could thwart the powerful female Anaeris line. The magic-wielding Anaeris females’ ability to brandish fire has long been revered. And such powerful magic would never simply vanish.
It survives.
So I waited, and after a thousand years, here I stand, holding the hand of my soon-to-be wife.
Though Gabriel and Alessandra’s hybrid son escaped the city before its demise, he only ever sired human sons. And those sons had human sons. As the magic blood mixed with humans through the generations, children continued to be born, all human, all mundane.
That is until Grace, the prophesied Firebird.
For all of Atarric’s sanctimonious posturing, he was not cautious with whom he divulged information in front of. With little effort, my spy overheard Atarric tell Alessandra about a vision of a female heir coming to rise. I thought it meant I had to wait for the birth of a female heir. Not that it would take a thousand years.
Though I never thought much about what the heir may look or be like, I am pleasantly surprised. Everything about Grace, even how she fights the attraction between us, astonishes me. The kiss we shared in the training room was not one-sided, and how she melted into me and fit so perfectly was no accident. If not for the mate bond with Isiah, she would have already been mine.
Fates be damned; shewillbe mine.
She started as a piece in my plan but quickly became more than just a pawn. I never intended to harbor any attachments, but she is stubborn and beautiful and so powerful in her own right that I find myself enthralled by her fiery will.
We walk toward the woods together, hand in hand, and neither of us looks back to see if the others follow—they will. The promise of the relics is all they need to fall in line.
Now, whether Isiah obeys so easily is another thing. I have no doubt that he will try to win her back, but it will not happen.
I squeeze her hand. “This is only the beginning, my dear. I promised you we would do wonderful things together, andthisis where it starts.” She doesn’t say anything. She just stares ahead at the city and the crumbling buildings around us. “Do you have no memories at all?”
Her steps falter momentarily before regaining her composure. “I sense the memories, but I can’t see them. It’s like I knew some of you, but shadows are where the memories should be.”
Shadows.
“And do you see anything else within those shadows?”
“No.” Her voice is flat, devoid of emotion, and it’s a bit unsettling.
“We’ll see if we can regain your memories. I could glean your mind if you’d like.”
The color drains from her face. “No, thank you. The idea of someone else in my mind makes me uncomfortable.”
Oh, if she only knew what was there.
We lapse into silence as we make our way through the streets, dodging stones from ancient buildings that litter our path. It will take a lot of work to bring the city back to its former glory.
Anaeris was the jewel of Esmarae. Aside from the humans living in the city, it was perfect. The castle’s white marble walls would gleam in the morning sun, as if glowing with fire. For all their faults, Gabriel and Alessandra had impeccable taste.
As we near the staircase leading to the main entrance of the castle, tall marble pillars loom overhead, carved with the Anaeris house emblem, a crescent moon with a star.
Grace abruptly stops at the bottom.
“Something wrong, my dear?”
She takes a tentative step onto the first stair, and as her foot flattens, the ground shivers beneath us.
“Grace.” I breathe her name in both fear and excitement.