Chapter 1
Avery
One and a Half Months Later
Avery held Morgan close. Her sister’s wet body pressed against hers as she cried on her shoulder. Slowly, she pulled back and looked at Morgan. Her sister wasn’t dead. A bear hadn’t killed her over a month ago. Instead, she was here with her in Aeritis, wet and cold, but alive, and she’d saved Avery’s life by shooting Jasper.
But what was more shocking was her sister’s face. Her beautiful sister’s round cheeks and big green eyes were now overshadowed with deep, ragged scars. Some were slightly purple while others made parts of her skin look punctured, like something had sunk its jaws into her flesh. The bear. It did this to her. Above the jagged scars were the same tiny stars that Avery now bore. The mark of the Premier Goddess of Aeritis, Althea.
It was all too much, having Morgan in Aeritis, alive even after such a horrible attack, and now marked by the Goddess. How did Morgan survive the attack, and how had she found her?
Tears streamed down Avery’s face as her hand shook, clinging to her sister. “How are you here?” Avery asked. “Are you real? Am I dead or something?”
“Oh no, I’m here. I’m with you. But where the hell are we?” Morgan looked around the room as she asked the question, and Avery noticed how she flinched as she made eye contact with the Latian warriors in the room.
To be fair, facing a group of huge, ethereally beautiful men and women was intimidating. Avery had firsthand experience with it herself, after her traumatic entry into Quartz Mountain only a little over a month ago. She took a steadying breath. This was a chance to reassure her sister, give her the knowledge she’d so desperately needed after her own journey to Aeritis.
“You must have gone through a portal, just like I did. This is going to sound crazy, but you’re in another realm. It’s called Aeritis. But you’re safe. We’re safe now, thanks to you.”
Morgan looked at Avery like she had lost her mind.
“Look, I need to talk with you privately. We’re not as safe as you think we are,” Morgan said as she subtly shook her head.
All around them were the Nepheli Fae who came to watch Avery showcase her magic at the dinner held for Jasper, the Latian King. The king who now laid dead under a table cloth.The king that her sister had shot with a gun. The room was in disarray, tables toppled and folk milling about, looking slightly confused about the events of the last hour. Somebody really should have told them to leave. Wasn’t that the job of a king?
“I know this seems fucked up, but, we’re going to be okay. You killed the bad guy, King Jasper. We’re still being held by another bad guy, King Rylo, but I think we’re going to be free now that Jasper is dead. How did you know to kill him anyway?”
Her sister didn’t answer as she stared at the fae buzzing around the room, trying to clear away the chaos of Jasper’s assassination.
Morgan had shown up out of nowhere, just as Avery had been trying to kill Jasper while she also attempted to pass the crown to the rightful king of Latiah, and her soulmate, Savine. She’d failed to do that one thing and had been near death, tortured by images of her sister being dragged away by a bear when Morgan had suddenly appeared and shot the king.
“Avery…” a voice said behind her, and she turned to see Savine standing close behind her. She should introduce him to Morgan. But, the look on Morgan’s face as she glared at Savine, slightly coated in blood, essence slowly shifting under his skin, made Avery think Morgan must be in shock after all this.
“Savine. Come, meet my sister Morgan,” Avery said in calm tones. She felt her sister tense up as Savine drew closer. “Morgan, this is Savine. He’s the new king of the nation of Latiah.”
Morgan shifted, scooting her body back behind Avery. She didn’t say anything to Savine. Avery looked back at her sister as she shot him a death glare with her green eyes.
“Um, Avery. Will they let us talk in private? Can we do that, or are we… Are we captives?” Morgan asked. Her voice was hardly above a whisper.
Savine gave her a soft smile, and Avery’s heart did a little flip at the kindness on his face.
“Avery, why don’t you take your sister to your room? She looks like she needs some time alone,” Savine said.
Just as Morgan and Avery turned around, Rylo, the king of Nephel, approached dangling Morgan’s gun off his gloved hand. His haughty grin made a chill run down Avery’s back. She had done what he asked. She had tried to kill Jasper. Yes, she was unsuccessful, but he was dead now, anyway. What would he want from her now?
“Just a moment,” Rylo said. “I agreed to return you to Savine after you assassinated Jasper. Unfortunately, things did not go according to my plan. Not only did you not kill Jasper, but your sister has inadvertently fulfilled a prophecy that I have been waiting to see come to fruition for quite some time.”
Avery cocked her head as she waited for an explanation. She looked to Savine, and the calm, disciplined face told her right away that he knew exactly what Rylo was talking about. Avery recognized this stoic, secretive look on Savine’s face by now.
“Savine? What’s he talking about?” Avery asked, hoping he wouldn’t keep things from her again.
Savine didn’t speak right away. Instead, Rylo interjected, saying, “Now that I know Avery’s true purpose in Aeritis is to fulfill the will of the goddess, should I keep the flower and the stardust? Or return the flower to you, Savine.”
Avery felt her body stiffen. What in the actual fuck was this man talking about? Jasper’s body wasn’t even cold yet, and Rylo was up to some sort of trick again.
“They are both coming with me, Rylo,” Savine replied. “I’m not negotiating on this.”
Rylo’s smile turned menacing and Avery felt a chill run across her skin. “Ah, well. We had a deal for Avery. The sister is another matter entirely. And now that I know she is also touched by thegoddess, I have come around to the importance of keeping a witch on hand. Just in case events follow the trajectory foreseen by the prophecy.”
