CHAPTER1
Cidéra, Élendium
Aerén hunkeredon the grassy edge of the cliff. Below him, the waves broke on the pebbly, red-hued sands in a froth of white, but the winds clawed at his unbound hair as if in payback for coming here.
Absolution would never be his, he knew that.
His gaze settled on the islands dotting the luminous water, gray-blue with a hint of pink, stretching out further than the eye could see.
The Lucent Sea.
In the searing sunlight, it sparkled like a million stars had settled in its liquid depths. But the name was a laugh. The truth far more sinister.
“Sensed you were back. This saves me time tracking you down.”
Aerén didn’t bother rising in deference to his monarch. As if his bodyguard and enforcers constantly on his ass weren’t enough, now his brother intruded on his solitude.
Anedaén might be the interim ruler of all Empyrea, but right now, Aerén wanted to be left the hell alone. “What do you want, Daén?”
He didn’t answer straight off.
“Still looking out for me, brother? Don’t.”
“You have too much anger, Ren.”
“What anger? I’m ecstatic. Can’t you see my smile?” He angled his head upward, giving his brother a parody of stretched lips, his usual façade.
Daén sighed, rubbing his unshaven jaw. “I worry for you.”
“Don’t.” Aerén glanced back at the sea, his attention on the massive body of water between the two islands, an expanse that hadn’t been there a year ago. Bits of rock and other corrugated protrusions jutted out of the calm waters, and remorse gutted him.
He should have been in Cidéra, preventing that tragedy and aiding his world when the storms hit. Instead, he’d gone after the rebels!
“It was a tragedy, Ren,” he said, his normally brusque tone softer.
Aerén clenched his jaw.
Worn boots covered with dust and mud shifted, and Daén crouched next to him, his leatherlike pants creaking. “None of us could have prevented what occurred.”
“Indeed. We, who are all-powerful, with the most lethal abilities, andwecouldn’t foresee this or do anything to prevent the disaster. What does it say about us?”
“Is that why you went after the rebels?” Daén countered.
“They started this, putting our world in a precarious state.” Power blazed through him, anger and guilt surging. “They continue aiding in its demise, bringing human weapons of destruction here!”
The waves rose and crashed on the shores in a thunderous roar—
Fuck! He shot to his feet, tightening his mental shield and bolting down his raging powers. The sea returned to its calmer undulating. “Don’t you understand? Lokren Isle was a part of Cidéra, a part ofmyterritory—mine. And I failed it. I failed all of them!”
“The loss of lives is a tragedy, yes. However, despite what you believe, none of this was your fault,” Daén murmured. “But there is one definite way of aiding Cidéra—all of Élendium.”
“Yes, find more of the Chosen,” Aerén muttered, glaring at the sea. “But that’s like looking for a damn needle in a haystack.”
“I’m not familiar with the phrase. However, we do need a Chosen right here, in our realm of Élendium. Since you’re on this quest, I suggest you find one fast.”
“You think it’s that easy?” Aerén shot his brother a dark glare and met his hard profile with the horrid scar bisecting his eyebrow and running down his cheek to his lip. “You do know a female with the missing Stone of Light’s magic has to resonate with one of us first, yes?”
“I am aware.”
