Prologue
AUDREY’S LETTER
Dear Vanessa,
I’m sorry. I wish I could be honest with you. I wish I could tell you where I run off to or what I’ve been doing every spare minute I have. I see the way you look at me when I blow you off. I’ve seen how you have become more guarded over the years.
This letter is selfish of me to write, because you’ll probably never read it. Either I’ll chicken out and never give it to you, or by the time I do try to give it to you, I’ll have pushed you away so much that you won't consider reading a letter from me.
But please understand, I’m so sorry for everything.
I have lit a match to our fifteen years of friendship, because my entire world has been turned completely upside down.
A couple of years ago, I was sleeping at my desk at the library on a late shift. I woke up to the feeling of something tightening around my neck, arms, and legs. I was being strangled, but when I tried to get my bearings, I couldn’t see anyone. The only thing nearby was the pothos plant, growing at an impossible rate, attacking me, choking me. I screamed, but no one was around to hear. I was terrified. I thought I was going to die.
Suddenly, Liam was there.
It was the first time he and I met, and after he cut the vines and dragged me outside the library for fresh air, he waited for me to calm down from my panic attack before he introduced himself to me. That was when I got my first good look at him. Liam is beautiful. He’s very large, but with kind eyes. He immediately offered me help and guidance.
Nothing was the same after that night, because then Liam took me to Hyvenmere.
That’s the name of his realm. Hyvenmere is filled with magical creatures and a rare beauty in the landscape that does not exist in ours. I’ve seen things I can’t explain without someone telling me I’m hallucinating. I’ve learned about cultures that I thought only existed in fairy tales.
I’ve learned that I’m not entirely human.
Liam suspects that I am half-fae. It’s why I suddenly developed my magical green thumb. It was the first gift of mine to manifest, the second being my healing touch. I guess he and our friend Fergus had been using some type of spell to track down human halflings like me, searching for someone to fulfill a prophecy of theirs. Obviously, that person isn’t me, even though some Hyvenmerians are convinced otherwise.
As I type this out, I can vividly picture you thinking about me fulfilling a prophecy and scoffing. Or holding back a laugh. Or holding in an inappropriate joke. It’s moments like this that I wish I could safely bring you into this world that I often escape to.
The goddess’s blessings are abundant in Hyvenmere right now. No, I’m not religious. But nature and the goddess that’s referenced in Hyvenmere is a…unique belief. Nature is both a science and a deity in Hyvenmere. It’s pretty legit. What is the goddess of nature and balance blessing Hyvenmere with, you might ask? Mating bonds. They are snapping into place left andright. Hyvenmerian’s have desired to have families, but have struggled with infertility for thousands of years, until about three decades ago.
No one knows why fertility has risen, or why the goddess of Hyvenmere is even allowing more mating bonds to develop. But everyone seems to be going with it, paying respects and taking care of their environment more intentionally to ensure the blessings continue.
I think that’s partly why I love it here so much. Humans just haven’t learned to love our land as much.
But unfortunately, I don’t feel comfortable bringing you to Hyvenmere yet. You’re human. It’s dangerous over here for full-blooded humans. Some political leaders don’t even like that other halflings and I set foot in Hyvenmere. Liam has spent hundreds of hours training me in hand-to-hand combat just in case I’m jumped, which has happened a handful of times already, by extremists who are very anti-human anything.
I’ve also learned how to wield nerdy-ass weapons like swords and daggers. You’d think that dealing with political leaders calling for my expulsion and being attacked by extremists who agree would keep me from going back to Hyvenmere so often. But I can’t stay away.
I still haven’t found my fae family. That was why I originally agreed to explore Hyvenmere with Liam and strengthen my gifts. But it’s been years, and I don’t feel any closer to finding them.
The Mellhawn Gates, linking our realms together, have been open for quite some time. Oddly enough, the majority of Hyvenmerians weren’t aware that they were open until halflings like me started to appear—around the same time that more bonds started to snap into place.
The fae and the nereid governments seem fine with the Mellhawn Gates being opened because of the number ofmating bonds that have been produced, many including human halflings like me. The fae and nereids think it’s worth the risk of giving humans access to their realm if it means their people will continue to prosper.
Then there are the sirens. Well, the siren government, specifically.
The King of the Sirens was originally the one thought to be the fulfiller of the prophecy. But someone started a rumor that it wasn’t him at all, and was probably me instead, and it’s lowkey ruined my life. I guess the Siren King defeated the only solvyrn seen in thousands of years back in the day, or as the prophecy says, an “ancient beast.”
But me? I haven’t slain anything. You know me, I cry if I accidentally kill a spider instead of capturing it safely to return it outside.
Liam suspects that the “ancient beast” hasn’t been slain yet, but even he doesn’t know what kind of beast that would be, if not a solvyrn.
It would be convenient for me if the Siren King continued to be the prophesied one, because that would mean less responsibility on my part. I could focus more of my attention on finding my family, instead of bringing peace to the realm.
What else could I fill you in on?
Well, Liam is my best friend in Hyvenmere, and because of his royalty status, I’ve become a weird celebrity figure. Hyvenmere’s Halfling Sweetheart, if you will. It’s weird. I don’t know how to deal with the constant attention. I wish I could talk to you about it.
