“Asteria Faelynn Zagreus!” The announcer called, his green eyes narrowing on me as I took a shaky step forward. Too slow. The Fae guard who narrowed his eyes at me pushed me forward.
I caught myself before I did something instinctually foolish and reigned in my need to lash out. I fisted my hands, glaring at the floor. I didn’t want to consider what would happen if the Fae saw my rage, but my anger was better than nerves and stronger than my fear. I refused to give these Fae the power, they wouldn’t get the satisfaction of me quivering in trepidation in front of them.
I walked to the front of the platform and saw the Prince of Dusk immediately lean forward, elbows on his knees, all predatory grace. I ignored him as I turned in a circle, feeling like a slab of meat. This was humiliating, having all the Fae nobility in the crowd take me in like a little lamb before a dragon. They sat there, gossiping amongst themselves, judging me, and deciding my fate. I wanted to shout to the stars with my fury; let the entire world hear it.
The host nodded my dismissal to the Fae guard from Sunset. He grabbed my arm and pushed me back to the group, letting go quickly and causing me to stumble into the others. I ground my teeth as the guard smirked at me. I was shaking for a different reason now, resisting the urge to punch him in the teeth.
I would live through this experience, and I would come out of the humiliation with my head held high.
It took ages for each human to be called, but only an hour could have gone by in reality. I stood by silently as two more were whipped; one for going too slow, and the other for having the gall to glare openly at his guard. I kept my eyes down, knowing my limits, but my anger was too vast, too wild—I could barely contain it. And I couldn’t afford any mistakes.
Time passed, and I watched the Fae consult the cards, watched them bicker over where the humans would be placed. Ifound a place inside myself to numbly observe the proceedings. Watching as my fate was sealed without my control. When the host turned toward us, stepping to the edge of the platform to announce to the Fae what slaves they’d be taking home, I knew the time had come. My life from here on out would be decided by this moment, and I was not ready.
I would never be ready.
“We shall now call forth each human and announce their new placement.” The host proclaimed, turning to us with a wicked smile. “Please proceed to the banner for the kingdom assigned to you once called.” We were instructed, as if we were dumb, not understanding the explanations he gave before.
I barely held back my sneer, checking it at the last moment, knowing it would do me no favors. Prince Cyrus’s gaze caught mine once more and I jolted with surprise. Why was he looking at me again?
As Abbicus was called forward once more, I began to wonder where I would be placed. Technically, all the kingdoms had magic relating to the sky, since these were the celestial kingdoms. The Fae from each court drew their power from nature, and specifically their kingdom’s namesake.
Day could call upon light itself, while Night could summon darkness. Dusk had lightning, while its balance, Dawn, had the wind. Sunrise, on the other hand, had water, power drawn from the dew and mists the morning brought with it. Sunset boasted fire magic, the fiery glow of a sunset come to life. Each is connected to the life beating within the land. Light and dark, wind and thunder, water, and fire.
The six kingdoms of Celesterra were split up to be balanced, as the Fae said all things in nature should be. Day and Night. Dawn and Dusk. Sunrise and Sunset. Each balanced the other, and their powers reflected that as well.
Whatever kingdom I was assigned, I would be surrounded by the magic of their land. I had felt the power of Sunrise humming in the background all of my life, like a distant morning mist. It never felt quite right to me, like I was out of place. I wondered if the magic of wherever I’d be placed would feel better. Would I ever have a chance to find that rightness? To find a balance withinmyself?
My gaze was drawn to the royals of Day Kingdom. King Aelius seemed like a severe man, not an ounce of emotion on his face. His blonde hair and blue eyes were a sharp contrast to his wife. Queen Aurelia had dark hair and dark eyes, her skin porcelain white to her husband’s golden glow.
While the Fae of the northern kingdoms typically had dark skin, the Fae of the southern kingdoms had lighter complexions, and the kingdoms in between were more diverse—and of course, the humans were all over the place, sent across the kingdoms as we were. Their son, Prince Arien, seemed to be an equal split between his two parents, with the pale skin and dark hair of his mother, and the blue eyes and height of his father.
Prince Arien’s eyes found me as I looked at him. He tilted his head to the side as he looked me over, and I was struck by the thought that I should lower my eyes, but I couldn’t.
I felt stuck, stricken with a strange humming inside as our eyes locked on each other.
I shivered, feeling—strange. Something about him unnerved me and made me feel like a stranger in my own skin. The skin that suddenly felt too tight, as if it were made too small and I shouldn’t be wearing it.
I’d grappled with that feeling all of my life, yet I had never experienced the sensation just from looking at someone. Our gazes were not of two people attracted to one another, far from it. It was something else, something inherently innocent, but I couldn’t figure out what.
“Asteria Faelynn Zagreus!”
I jolted at the sound of my name being called. My eyes skittered from Prince Arien and landed somehow on his mother. To my shock, she was already watching me. Her body stiffened as she looked at the announcer and then back to me as I moved forward.
The queen gave me a wavering smile, shocking me out of my stupor. It was nearly unheard of for royals to look upon human slaves with the kindness she radiated now. Her gaze was almost soft as she nodded her head in encouragement. Could she sense my nervous agitation? I was unsure of why she seemed to care. Has Day chosen me?
If I had to choose, my hope absolutely would be an assignment with Day. King Aelius seemed no better than the other royals, but his wife and son were far superior, and I’d pick them any day—no matter how much the son’s gaze unnerved me. I could work under them much easier than most of these Fae whose mere presence made me want to scream.
Just looking at them, Aelius and Aurelia being mates seemed bizarre to me. Mate bonds were rare in this world, and Fae marked with a mate bond were born with a soul mark that matched their mate’s. Aurelia seemed too kind to be the other half of Aelius’ soul. Unless the soul was split with one side getting all the good and one all the bad? I frankly had no idea how it worked, nor did I care enough to find out. Humans didn’t have mates, so there was no point. Their ability to have soulmates, and their stupid soul marks, were only another reason they were superior, and humans were considered unworthy.
It felt like time had slowed down as I silently interacted with the prince and queen of the Day Kingdom, but only a few moments had passed. I walked to the announcer with my kneesfeeling like jelly from all the attention on me. I swallowed hard as I waited to hear my fate.
“Asteria Faelynn Zagreus, you will be under…”
My heart seemed to beat double time.
Old Gods, please, you may have ignored me as much as I ignored you throughout my life, but please, let me be given something good for once. Grant me this one thing.
“Dusk Kingdom!”
