Prologue
EXCERPT FROMTHE GREAT WARBY THE SPIRITUAL SCHOLARS
According to historians of times before, Mescos was once a thriving country full of supernatural creatures and their human companions. In Mescos, humans held their own power, given to them by their god to ensure peace amongst the supernaturals and humans. Humans strengthened their lands and provided immense strength to the supernaturals they mated. Together, their lands, kingdoms, and people thrived.
The time for peace was short-lived, though, as a new danger emerged.
Nephilim, giant winged creatures born from greed and hatred, appeared seemingly overnight. Historians differ in opinion on how these creatures came to be. Some historians argue Nephilim were sent by angrygods, while others say Nephilim traveled from lands far from Mescos. Their origins are still unknown.
The Nephilim brought darkness to the kingdoms. Their leader, Gadreel, led the slaughter of humans to gain their magic. Thousands of humans and supernaturals died in what historians call The Great War. Each human death brought power to the hellish winged creatures.
Knowing they had very little time before the Nephilim became too powerful, the six rulers of Mescos—dragon, pixie, fae, wolf, demon, and kraken—agreed to work together in order to take down the common enemy.
The war between the rulers of Mescos and the Nephilim happened at Dragon’s Keep. The rulers of Mescos, their armies, and their human mates fought countless hours against Gadreel’s people. Many fell in an attempt to rid Mescos of the vile creatures.
Knowing they were unprepared to slaughter the Nephilim, the Pixie King and his human queen came together, combining their magic as one. Upon seeing this, the other rulers followed suit and, within the mountains east of Dragon’s Keep, a magical prison took form.
One by one, Nephilim were captured by the magic and imprisoned within the mountains. Gadreel, knowing his army would not win this war, cursed the rulers of Mescos before he was imprisoned. He damned the kingdoms: in one hundred years, if the rulers did not find their human mates, disaster would fall upon their people, and the Nephilim would rise again.
In his final act of rebellion, Gadreel used the last bit of stolen magic he absorbed from the deaths of humans and destroyed the portal between Mescos and the human world, effectively cutting off access to their human mates.
The leaders of Mescos won that day, but it cost them everything.
Over the next hundred years, the last humans of Mescos died off. With no connection to the human world, the Nephilim rose again, escaping their prison in the mountains. Now the only hope the six new Kings of Mescos have comes from an unexpected ally known as Ender The Guardian. He alone possesses the power to travel between worlds and bring humans to their supernatural mates.
Little is known about The Guardian.
Today, the safety and future of Mescos hang in the balance. History is being written in real time. These accounts will be updated as necessary.
Chapter 1
Evangeline
Some women are born with a silver spoon in their mouths, while others—like myself— work their entire lives to simply put food on the table. There’re no silver spoons at our houses. If we’re lucky, we might have a few ceramic plates, but more than likely, we fill our china cabinets with paper plates, paper utensils, and paper cups. It’s not glamorous by a long shot, but everything we work for is more valuable than silver.
That’s what my mother always used to tell me, anyway.Eva, nothing in life comes for free. Not for people like us. We work and fight for everything we need. Sometimes even die for it. But with hard work comes success. It might just look different from those born into wealth.Even now, at nearly thirty years old, I hold these words close to my heart and take them with me wherever I go.
My entire life, I pushed myself hard. In school, I had to be the best. Get the best grades, win the most awards, and have the most friends. When I graduated high school and moved on to our local culinaryschool in Grym Hollow, I worked longer hours to perfect my recipes. I only used the freshest ingredients and the best cuts of meat. Everything needed to be top notch. I’d never be caught serving up half-ass food I didn’t put my entire soul and heart into.
My food isgood. I know it’s damn good, simply because my mama—the pickiest eater I knew—stopped cooking the moment I could safely use the kitchen by myself. When I no longer needed her guidance to understand family recipes, she was happy to pass the spatula on to me. My mama always had something to say about people’s food. “It’s too salty…” “They overcooked it…” “There’s not enough spices…” The list went on and on. But she never had a critique for my food, no matter how hard she tried. I think that made her equally irked and proud.
To me, that made me the wealthiest woman of all. No silver or gold needed. Just my mama’s approval.
My mom was my best friend. Sad, I know. One would think a nearly thirty-year-old woman would have a social life. The friendships I had were all very superficial and never lasted long.
Grym Hollow is a small town, full of small-minded people. Residents are born here and eventually die here too, typically in the same house. The worst part is that everyone seems okay with this. Like staying in Grym Hollow for their entire existence isn’t a nightmare. There’s a whole world to explore, but people like the comfort of familiarity. It’s easy to be where it’s familiar, but letting that be the only reason someone is afraid toexplore what else the world has to offer would be a disservice.
My parents died here. I don’t want to follow in their footsteps.
For years, I thought of my mother’s last words:Don’t let this town kill you like it killed us.I wanted out,neededout. Every day I dreamed of leaving, but could never quite figure out how. I always had an excuse to stay. Whether it was to watch over my mother, mourn the loss of my parents, or just because I was too scared because people don’t generally leave Grym Hollow. It was basically unheard of.
People blamed it on The Guardian. The Guardian is…well, no one quite knows what he is. He’s definitely not human. His house sits at the edge of town, which is the only way in and out of Grym Hollow. People are afraid of him, so they do their best to avoid getting close to his home. I’m not certain where or how those rumors started since I’ve never heard of The Guardian doing anything sinister. He’s a recluse and generally leaves us alone.
People have to seek him out to talk to him, not the other way around. Which is exactly what I did. Rumors ran rampant around town about the four other girls The Guardian took. No one knows where they went, but some speculate he killed them.
Personally, I don’t believe that to be the case. I think he takes them where they want to go. It hardly matters to me where I go, though, because anywhere is better than Grym Hollow and the ghosts that haunt me here. I learned a longtime ago that I can’t leave the damn town myself. I’ve tried. All the excuses come down to one thing—I’m scared. Scared of a new place, scared of failing, scared of the unknown. The bravest thing I ever did was seek out The Guardian.
Well, I didn’t actually see him. A manila folder was left on my doorstep one evening. I almost ignored it, but my curiosity got the best of me. I’m glad it did because inside was a contract.Thecontract. The Guardian knew I planned on visiting him to make a deal to leave Grym Hollow for good. For my dad. For my mom. For me.
