“There’s a lot we need to cover before tomorrow night.” Zadyn stands to face the back wall of books. He pulls a few thick volumes from their shelves and plops them on the table in a neat stack before me. A cloud of dust surges from the pile. I cough dramatically, earning a laugh from him. He settles back into his seat as I lift the first book and flip it open.
“‘The History of Solterre, Volume One,’” I read. “I’ll never finish this by tomorrow. Can’t you just give me the spark notes version?”
“Oh, don’t worry, you’re getting the crash course.” He smiles conspiratorially.
From what Zadyn outlines, Solterre was born from the magic of two mega-powerful gods named Urhlon and Aerill—celestial forms residing within the sun and the moon, respectively. The seed of their love fell onto a nearby star, and from that star, Solterre was created. The gods’ magic transformed it into a world capable of sustaining creatures with long lives and magic—the first fae.
Urhlon and Aerill sent three of their seven children to preside over this new world. Myr—goddess of the hunt. Ienar—god of war and wisdom. And Silva—goddess of nature and the elements.
High Fae were the product of the gods’ love affairs with the original fae created by Urhlon and Aerill. The children of the gods were gifted with ancient, highly concentrated magic. Special affinities. Urhlon and Aerill’s other children visited the world often and sired countless lines of High Fae. But it wasSilva’sline that sired the witches when she mated one of the first fae males.
“So basically, I’m a descendant of Silva?” I ask.
“Yes, and no. Silva, with her elemental magic, and her mate Sturgis, created the Redbloods and Bluebloods.”
“What about the Blackbloods?” I lean forward, engrossed.
“One of Silva’s sisters, the goddess Adelphi, was rumored to have taken countless lovers over her long life. Supposedly, she had an affair with a fae male, and they pledged themselves to each other with the Bloodfast ceremony. She then discovered that her lover had betrayed her. He gave her blood to a fatallywounded Blueblood, whom he was in love with, to save her life. She became the first-ever Blackblood.”
I nod my head in understanding as Zadyn continues.
“It was discovered from there that when you mix blue blood and the blood of a god, you get a creature of wild power—immortal like the High Fae, but stronger and faster, with godly magic and capabilities. That’s why they made such skilled warriors. They were unparalleled.”
“Why did Adelphi and her lover exchange blood in the first place?”
“The fae share blood as a form of…intimacy,” he explains, color blooming on his tan cheeks.
“Drinking blood is fae foreplay?! That’s disgusting!” I slap my hand down on the table.
“It’s a little more nuanced than that. Back to what I was saying.” The blush fades from his face as he gets back on track. “When Ienar learnt what his sister had accidentally created, he sought to breed a warrior witch-race to govern the lands for him. He fed his blood to a group of Blues, and they became the first-ever Blackblood coven.”
“You said Blackbloods are chosen, that it’s not hereditary. But I was never given god blood.”
“Once the original Blackbloods were made, their magic simply chose others. Their power was not passed down through generations. It was born at random. Even so, they were a sisterhood—stronger than even the High Fae. Which was why they were the first rulers of Solterre.”
“I see. So how do the dragons tie into this?”
“Ah, yes. The dragons.” Zadyn lowers his voice and leans forward over the table.
“They weren’t originally from this world. They came from a neighboring realm as the pets of Zed, Urhlon and Aerill’s eldest son. On one of his visits to Solterre, he brought threedragons with him. While here, he attempted to seduce a Blackblood witch, and when she refused, he tried to force her. She escaped by stealing his dragon and burning him alive. There is no magic in all of Solterre more powerful than dragon magic. It is raw, undiluted power capable of wiping away entire worlds. The only thing capable of destroying a god.”
Zadyn pauses, letting the weight of his words sink in.
“Zed had enslaved the dragons in his realm for centuries, tormenting and beating them into submission. Grateful for their liberation, the dragons pledged themselves to the Blackbloods and vowed to only bond Blackblood riders. That witch became the first Blackblood High Queen, Arden, paired with her dragon, Hyraxia. Arden appointed two of her sisters to rule with her. They bonded Zed’s remaining dragons.”
Zadyn flips through the book before me, stopping on a detailed illustration depicting three Amazonian-looking females soaring through the sky on the backs of massive dragons.
“It was the loyalty of the dragons that made Ienar truly afraid. The Blackbloods had already become a threat to him, between their power and their autonomy. So he wiped them from existence.”
“Oh my god. That’s terrible.” I glance up from the book, completely appalled.
“Do not mistake our gods for benevolent creators. They are fickle and envious, with terrifying power.”
“I’m sure their egos are through the roof.” I shake my head, dropping my gaze back to the book.
“Ienar obliterated the Blackbloods and the hundreds of dragons they bred on our soil, but one survived. After her rider had fallen to Ienar in battle, she slaughtered him in a blind rage. Then alone, without her sisters or her bonded, sheretreated to the Mountain of Hysphestus and vowed to sleep until the next Blackblood rider came to claim her.”
“A dragon moonlighting as sleeping beauty. Wow.”
