Chapter one
Bullshit. How could Ihave been defeated? When the dragon showed up as promised, I thought the battle was ours for the taking. The overgrown lizard with wings did nothing but create damage to a castle that I plan to one day own. Days after the battle, I returned to Ravendene—only to find that my army had been overturned. It was like Dax was there to pour salt in my wound. I underestimated him. The reach of a Ravendene is far greater than I gave him credit for. I still have strong numbers. However, the majority of the Fae remaining loyal to me also came with me to Loema, and it left Ravendene lacking my control.
The Fae and the guards who were loyal to Dax and the Ravendene lineage in secret took the territory right out from under my nose, with only a word from him.
From what I’ve been told, those who were not loyal to the Ravendenes were killed if they put up a fight or imprisoned if theydidn't. So, for now, much to my dislike, we have taken to hiding like fucking rats waiting for dinner time. At least that’s what it feels like.
As soon as this defeat came to light, I sent word to Demetrey. I had to admit my failure and shortcomings, but I also had to inform Eleonora of my plan to overcome this obstacle. Because even though it’s a pain in my ass, that’s all this is. Dax and I will duel. And I will win—I have no doubt in my mind that Dax will die at my hands. Ambriel has what's coming to her too. She chose her future when she parked her tight little ass on the battlefield at Raelle and Dax’s side.
My regime and I have traveled all day and well into the night, only running into Raskin's twice along the way. We crest the hill with the sun following at our backs as we finally arrive in the ruins of the once-thriving city surrounding the castle of Aldramani. The mountains still shadow the land below like a sea of darkness. The place that the Fae who live in the surrounding territories have come to call the wastelands. Rubble is all that is left here. That and a lingering sense of eerie magic blanketing the plains of the grounds where the castle once stood. My palms grow clammy, and a prickle at the nape of my neck forms as we cross into the wastelands. It's like the souls of those who perished here never moved on across the veil and are haunting the land. It’s unsettling, and the nervous whinnies from the horses and wide, vigilant eyes of the soldiers I travel with say they are feeling the unnatural magic here too. It makes me understand why no one has moved to claim this decrepit land.
“Lord Cano, the scouts have returned with word of a dwelling just outside the city that we can make camp at until the coming battle. The land around it is clear enough of rubble and trees fortents to be pitched for the soldiers as well.” Flynn speaks clearly despite the heavy tiredness pulling at his eyes and the slow steps he takes to approach me. I feel it too.
The tired weariness threatens to weigh all of us down after failing—now, running into hiding, but there is too much to do. Too much to think about and prep for, because we aren’t only hiding. We are preparing for what’s to come. I know I will need to rest eventually. That will be part of what I will need to do to prepare for the battle against Dax.
First, I need to ensure that I can secure a base and get the people I claim as mine somewhere that we can put barriers and protections on. If not from the Fae that mean to harm, then from the creatures that lurk in the shadows.
“Good. Let the men begin setting up then.” I growl, the words thick in my throat just as the sour emotion of failure clogs it. This is a temporary situation. I will sacrifice Ravendene for the greater scheme of things… for now. The power I have backing me is, no doubt, more vast than any power left in Aldramani. We went into Loema on a whim. I aimed to stop that ceremony I got word on, but I missed my mark.
Dax may think that he holds enough power to snuff me out, but if he knew the power I will possess—he never would have agreed to a fight with me. The thought of it brings a curl to my lips as I continue forward.
My boots crunch in the debris left to grow brittle in the now barren city. Not even the plants and grass want to grow here. As though all life ceased to exist when the palace fell. Many things shattered or left abandoned litter the ground. Most of which are unrecognizable, but the bones left scattered about show this land for what it is now,a graveyard.
Dust and rust-colored stains cover all the surfaces within sight. So many lives were lost in this battle. The kingdom split into five territories after the heart died. There was once a time that I would have been happy coming to this court. The possibility of coming into contact with a mate chosen by the gods. The endless opportunities that I could have had with my family being in a position of respect.
“Just imagine, Cano; one day you too will be in a position of power. Already—you and Dax are some of the most powerful of your generation. When you come of age and fully ascend, and fate decides what your magic will develop into… you will beunstoppable.” My father looks down on me, my face is still rounded with innocence, and I smile when my older brothers walk into the room laughing raucously. My father bends down on one knee, pressing close to my ear. “You will one day be even stronger than them, and your laughter will only be at the expense of the ones you defeat in the wars to come. I will make sure of it.”
Any hopes or dreams of that nature fell the day the kingdom fell and took most of my family with it. They didn’t die when the kingdom fell perse, but they did parish defending the broken pieces nonetheless. Father lived for a short time after the rest. If people thought he was a terrible man before our family died… They knew nothing of what he would become.
A young boy, probably not much older than me in the memory, runs out in front of me, nearly tripping over some of the ruined city, and pulling me from my thoughts of the past. My arm snaps out as I catch him by the collar of his shirt and curl it into my fist.
“Careful, boy,” I growl out at him, my lip pulling back in a snarl. He physically recoils as though I slapped him, and his big brown eyes round at the corners as he meets my gaze.
“I—I’m sorry, sir. I—I didn’t mean…” His trembling words are cut off as I push him away from me, the rumbling threat in my throat intensifying. I learned to control my words the hard way, and now hearing him fumble over the apology sends a ripple of pain across my spine. He doesn't finish speaking and decides to run away from me instead.
I’ve never had the patience for children. Never had the need to. I wouldn’t have brought them if I had a choice. These Fae are those who escaped Ravendene when their husbands and fathers were captured or killed for choosing me over that of Dax. I can’t stand the small ones. Always running around, loud, and causing my skin to crawl.
I see in the distance the moment he slams his small body into a plump woman who leads a horse loaded with supplies. He sobs into the female’s skirt, and she rubs her hand back and forth across his back. Her eyes whip around, looking for a reason for his outburst. Her brows puckered in confusion, but as her gaze meets mine, she realizes. The brief eye contact only lasts a moment, but before she looks back down to the boy, I see the change in her face. The pain and sadness that bracket her mouth, her widened eyes—fear paints her face.
The people I have chosen as my own fear me more than they respect me. I have become a leader by default and kept my semblance of power by invoking pain and dissolution in my wake. It is something that I have no choice but to embrace now. I don’t know how I could change something I have been for so long. Spinning on my heel, I stomp in the opposite direction, but I feel her gaze on me as I put distance between us, and I shake my head.
I can't care.
The soul I carry has long since been darkened, and there is no coming back from the things I have done. There is no world where I see things working out with happiness for me, but happiness isn’t what I seek anymore. I have chosen my path, and though at times, I wonder if the decisions I’ve made have been for the right reasons; they are decisions I have to live with, and consequences be damned.
Still, I retreat into myself, and as I glance back in their direction—I see the little boy with the woman. It brings me thoughts of the young girl—Melani, who at a time was like a younger sister of my own. And I witnessed her dying on the battlefield she should have never been on—but here we are. Her face as she was struck will forever be imprinted in my brain. I have done so many things that are questionable as a man, but seeing Melani killed during an attack I sought out? It may have well been my own hand that dealt the killing blow.
IfeltDax break when he saw her still body. The sound of the pain laced in his voice still echoes through my thoughts, and his face haunts my eyes when I close them. I know the pain it caused the whole group—those who I once called friends. Fae, I once considered family even, but it doesn’t matter anymore. It can't.
I kidnapped her and plotted to kill her, I remind myself. It was going to happen anyway; one way or another, all of the Fornax-Ravendene children have to die for this plan of mine to work. Taking Fae from territories was just a ruse. We needed grunt workers, and the weak Fae we captured served that purpose, but taking Melani was different. It was a coincidence really that launched the plan into play. But seeing her face crumple in pain as the magic sliced through her small body. It’s brought a sliver of pain to my otherwise—void of all things—heart, and I don’t understand why. She was the enemy, regardless of her age, regardless of herinnocence, and was guilty by the blood she carried in her veins and the title of which she bore. It was a necessary evil I had to commit, and yet, I still feel pain from her death.
Flynn comes trotting back to me on his blonde mare, his face red and brushed with worry. “Sir, someone has arrived as the first men were setting up camp. They request your presence, immediately.”
“Who is it?” No one commands me to do anything.
“I—um, I don’t know, sir. They would not reveal themselves to me.” As he speaks the words, I already know who has arrived. The person I have been meeting with for over a year. The liaison between me and Eleonora Demetrey. The person who refuses to fucking reveal themselves, even to me, regardless of all my complaints. Eleonora refuses to speak with me face to face since this person has become the go-between for us, and I intend to find out why as soon as this duel between Dax and I is all said and done. I will meet with the woman who calls herself Thames, give her my plan, and tell her to fuck off.
My boots bang loudly with each step as I make my way to the entrance of the dilapidated cabin that Flynn has indicated Thames waits for me in. The door creaks open as I walk into the dimly lit room. Just as I shut myself in with her, I’m blasted in the chest with a powerful stream of magic. The force it slams into me, steals my breath away, and a grunt of pain is forced from my lips.
