Chapter 1
A Sunrise of Farewell
Dawn was breaking, though the sun hadn’t breached the horizon enough to show evidence of its presence. As I lay in my tiny bed contemplative, the sweet singing melody of the birds drifted in through the open window—so beautiful, as if their song could coax the sunlight into warming the chilled air a little sooner.
Breathing in the deep scent of the dewy morning, I slipped back into my thoughts. Yesterday I’d fallen asleep a child; today I’d awoken as an adult—whatever that meant. Strange how, overnight, society had changed the definition of who I was based on my age.
Twenty-one years old.
It’s not like being an adult would intrinsically change anything for me. No, I was stuck in the ever-dying town of Leighmullan, where my grandfather had abandoned me. The same town he’d founded and named as an homage to our forefathers, then left.
Shaking the notion from my mind, I rolled out of bed and wrangled open the tattered curtains, which made their customary dry, rasping sounds of protestation as they snagged on the splintering dowel that held them aloft.
Kaleatia, the third moon, nestled herself behind the eastern mountains, letting me know that daybreak was imminent.
Gooseflesh rippled across my skin as the cool spring air cut through my nightshift. Rubbing warmth back into my arms, I reached for the layers of clothing I’d left out, well aware of the Nettorian Mountains’ capricious climate this time of year.
My rucksack sat ready for today’s outing with food and supplies, making it easy to slip out the window without waking my parents. I didn’t want to disturb them, having learned at an early age that being around them on my birthday was…unpleasant.
For me, today marked my birth, but for them, it signified the loss of my twin sister. A perennial reminder of the catalyst they’d deemed responsible for the successive events that’d ripped their comforts and dreams away.
I’d never begrudged them for not observing my birthday. I hadn’t known any different. Besides, I had Eithan to celebrate with, and he was more than enough.
Dressed and ready for the day, I pushed the window up, wiggling it a little to avoid the loud screeching sound it would make if I wasn’t careful. Home free, I tossed my rucksack below and crawled through the opening.
After an hour of hiking up-mountain, the trees gave way to a meadow that Eithan and I had long since claimed as our own. My chest filled with a sense of warmth from the fresh life speckling the land in purples and blues and whites—as if the Mother herself had offered the tiny blossoms unseasonably early for me, for my birthday. To me, this place was the sacred ground that imbued me with the deep sense of tranquility I often craved. Blessedly, few ventured this far up the mountain. In fact, the only souls Eithan and I had encountered here were the roaming creatures of the wild.
Smiling, I stepped past the tree line’s cover and ventured to our usual spot in the center of the meadow. Lowering myself to the patch of tamped down grass, I rested my head on my rucksack and waited for Eithan.
One moment I was drifting in and out of consciousness, the next I was swinging my hunting knife through the air above me toward the hulking shadow that had awoken me.
Heart pounding, Eithan’s laughter hit me with teasing warmth as he jumped back from my blade. “A little jumpy this morning, are we?” he said.
I looked up at him with feigned annoyance and re-sheathed my dagger. “Move, you’re blocking the sun,” I groused, trying to hide how startled I was—I couldn’t give him that satisfaction.
With a playful pivot, he closed his eyes, tilted his palms to the heavens, and basked. “What, this sunlight?”
Without a second thought, I swung my legs along the terrain and swept Eithan off his feet. A sharp exhale escaped him as his bulk collided with the unforgiving ground. In a blink, he rolled over and pinned me beneath his weight.
“You wicked little thing.” He chuckled, then leaned in. His soft lips met my forehead for a moment before he pulled back to look at me. “Happy birthday, Ny.”
The kiss, his body pressed against mine, his voice, those damn perfectly pouted lips—damn, I hated how my traitorous body tingled in his presence. Eithan’s eyes dipped to my mouth, and I realized then I’d been biting my lower lip. I swallowed, forcing myself to focus on anything but the hunger in his eyes.
“Thanks,” I finally managed.
A shadow flickered in his eyes before he smirked, then rolled off me and stood in a fluid motion. He extended a hand, which I gladly accepted, making him do the lion’s share of the work to get me up.
“Umph,” Eithan groaned as he pulled me up.
I rolled my eyes at him and flashed a smile. “You’re so dramatic, you know that?”
“Yeah, well…” He shrugged, then turned away to retrieve his bag. “Close your eyes and put your hands out,” he said over his shoulder.
I obeyed as flutters of anticipation filled my chest, their tremors reaching the tips of mytoes.
He took his sweet time rummaging through his rucksack, and I almost peeked before an object was placed in my open palms, its weight wrapped in what felt like a muslin cloth.
I waited for all of a heartbeat before excitement got the better of me. “Can I open my eyes yet? Now? How about now?” The words tumbled out of me as if they were one.
