PROLOGUE
Bianca sat with her two dearest friends in the Human Queen’s palace, whispering so they wouldn’t be overheard.
“I don’t understand,” Charlotte, the Human Queen, said. “You’re pregnant with twins? How is that possible? Fae royals can only have one child.”
It was true. While normal fae could have as many children as they wanted, the royal fae of the four fae kingdoms could only have one child, no matter how hard they tried.
“Twins,” Alice, Bianca’s friend, confirmed. “I heard both heartbeats with my own ears when we first suspected she was expecting.”
Alice was a highborn daughter from the Desert Kingdom, now in her late twenties, who’d been gravely injured as a teenager, leaving a long scar across the left side of her face. Bianca thought she was still beautiful with her ash brown hair, light beige skin, and big amber eyes.
Unfortunately, men of their social standing considered Alice damaged goods, but because of her family name, she garnered sympathy from other highborns. No one wanted to marry her, though they were quickto pity her.
Since she was considered unfit for marriage yet too noble to be cast aside, Alice became Bianca’s official companion when Bianca married Phillip and became the Desert Queen five years ago at age twenty-two.
Charlotte blinked, her dark brown eyes widening as the color drained from her ebony cheeks. “Is Phillip the father?”
“Charlotte,” Bianca admonished. “Of course he is.”
The Human Queen held up her hands. “You can’t blame me for asking.”
She understood her friend’s disbelief. When Phillip had told Biance the well-guarded secret regarding the Desert royals, she’d thought he was kidding.
Taking a deep breath, she started from the beginning. “All Desert Kingdom heirs have been male since the beginning of time, but according to Phillip, a few Desert Queens had twins. It’s only happened a few times over thousands of years, but ithashappened.”
“How has no other kingdom found this out?” Charlotte seethed. “There are unchecked royal fae running around with ungodsly amount of power and they kept that from us.”
Bianca had thought the same thing at first. Humans didn’t have magic, but fae did. Non-royal fae were faster and stronger than humans, and they possessed glamour—a magic that allowed them to make humans and animals see whatever they wanted to see—but their glamour didn’t work on other fae.
Royal fae had the same abilities as regular fae—only amplified. They were impossibly fast and strong, and their glamour worked oneveryoneexcept other royals. And while most fae could only glamour a few feet around them, royals could glamour an entire kingdom once their magic fully manifested.
“From what I understand, only one of the twins lives,” Bianca whispered, unable to speak of the horror that might await one of her babies.
Charlotte’s face fell, the anger melting away. “We have some of the best healers,” she assured her. “Our knowledge of childbirth has come a long way.”
Alice shook her head sadly.
Charlotte looked between the two other women. “I don’t understand.”
“Each set of twins has always been a boy and a girl,” Bianca began, “but as you know, there has never been a female heir in the Desert Kingdom.”
“They wouldn’t,” Charlotte gasped, horror lacing every syllable. “Please don’t tell me they’re killing the girls.”
A knot the size of her fist lodged in Bianca’s throat. “Traditionally, yes.” She blew out a long breath. “Phillip had a twin sister. He had no idea until she showed up not long after he’d taken the throne and demanded he abdicate to her, the rightful heir. He hadn’t believed her at first, but once he realized she spoke the truth, they fought, and he killed her.”
One of the babies kicked her rib, and Bianca laid a soothing hand on the spot. Could they feel her unease? She closed her eyes and fought to calm herself, but it was difficult. The more she thought about what she would have to do if she indeed had a girl, the more distressed she became.
“Are you afraid Phillip will kill your little girl?” Charlotte asked. “Surely not.”
Bianca laughed bitterly. “Phillip hadn’t told me about his sister until about seven months ago.”
He’d kept the secret from Bianca for nearly two years.
Apparently, Phillip’s sister had snuck into the palace using her glamour and confronted him during a council meeting. The members of his council were his closest confidants, and they’dall been sworn to secrecy. He only informed Bianca because she’d told him her suspicions that she might be pregnant.
“My husband informed me that he would not risk anyone trying to steal the throne from our son, and that if I had twins, our daughter would be put down.” She laughed bitterly. “Like a fucking animal.” If she thought she could kill Phillip and get away with it, he would’ve been dead seven months ago.
Charlotte sneered. “That bastard.”
