“Take Taran to his room.”He shouldn’t be here for this.
“Yes, Your Majesty.” A servant takes his hand, ushering him away.
I lean over my wife. Death is a mercy she doesn’t deserve. She should suffer, trapped in her misery, like she imprisoned me for the last century.
I can’t willbend—that’s a bloodline ability—and it would be cruel to ask it of Taran. But like all fae, I can curse.
I weave it quickly, pressing my hand against her chest. Her heart thuds beneath my palm.
A curse of exile. Let her rot among the mortals she despises, powerless and alone.
Until my final breath.
Part 1
Entwined
Chapter 1
Ellie
Charcoal scrapes along paper. Crisp gray lines and a gentle curve of laughter, brightening his smile. I hesitate, then blend the soft shadows of his lips with my pinky, heat rising in my cheeks.
I tilt the sketchbook up, eyeing my subject from across the room. A gentleman, likely a few years older than me, sharing breakfast with his love. His fingers entwine with hers, resting on the battered table between plates full of eggs, toast, and boiled tomatoes.
There’s a spark in his eye—a joy—that I haven’t captured.
Mom taps my elbow. She tilts her head close, caramel curls tucked beneath a stylishly askew, lace-trimmed hat. “You need to eat. There may not be another chance before your placement exams.”
Pressing my lips together, I snap the leather-bound pages shut. “I’m not hungry.”
“Are you nervous?”
“It’s impossible not to be,” I mumble, then glance around the inn’s chilly breakfast room, resisting the urge to reinvigorate the hearth’s dying flames with an incantation. At least it’s quiet, with no other guests besides us and the couple; my nerves would likely be screaming otherwise. “Where’s Father?”
“Already calling the carriage.” She tucks back the rebellious wisps that escaped my hastily twisted bun. “Try not to stress over it—there’s not a doubt in my mind you’ll do well.”
A weight bears down on my shoulder, startling me despite its familiarity. “Of course she will,” Father’s voice rumbles. He pulls his hand away, unbuttoning his violet tailcoat as he slides into the seat opposite Mom and me. Thankfully, he agreed to forgo his full Order regalia today.
“We should leave soon,” he says, glancing at the wall clock. “Exams begin at eighth bell, and at this rate, I doubt we’ll make it before midday.”
Lovely—I’ll be lucky to get a full bell to settle in.Mom nods at my plate, so I scarf down a few forkfuls of egg, despite my lack of appetite, then reach for my glass. Empty.
Curves and angles form a circular pattern in my mind, and I silently run through an incantation, drawing power from beneath the foundations. Crystal-clear water fills the vessel at my fingertips.
“Ellie!” Mom’s voice is sharp, as is the shake of her head.
My fingers jerk away from the glass. “Right. Sorry.”
While it’s not as if a single incantation will ruin the furniture, itisillegal outside of Academy grounds and members of the Order—a fact I need to get used to now that I’m leaving home. Father’s status has always given me leeway, not that most people ever noticed me doing it. I spent most of my life not realizing it was forbidden, assuming everyone else simply lacked the resources to learn or wished to avoid its negative effects.
My elbows tuck in, shoulders hunching. Father eyes me, then clears his throat. “You needn’t concern yourself with that. Your professors will see your skill as proof of your dedication to the fight.”
Right.Mydedication. As if following in his footsteps wasmychoice, and not the only option for the daughter of a noble who won’t inherit it herself. To someday serve under him, awaiting the day the fae inevitably invade again. No one knows why their attacks stopped, but two decades of peace is nothing compared to the millennia of war that’s plagued our people.
“Come along now,” he says, giving Mom his hand as she gets to her feet. “We don’t want to be late.”
I slather some strawberry jelly on my toast, then hurry after them.
