Prologue
Fiadh MacCain
THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO
Wisps of smoke danced in the wind. My horse bucked, nearly tossing me from the saddle. I whistled softly, easing him back from the charred pit. My sister and I were camping in a glen a few miles across the plains, where she’d remained to watch our things. We’d passed by here only two days ago, and the lowlands had been unmarred then.
When we’d first spotted the comet hurtling toward us, my chest had tightened. An overwhelming sense ofwronghad flooded my veins. Orla had begged me to stay away from it, but I’d had to be certain the celestial rock hadn’t slammed into the human city of Moonstone, only a mile or so to the east. And if it had, those people would need our help. Hundreds would be dead if it had hit their city, the homes packed as close as they were.
Thankfully, it hadn’t. The blasted thing had charred one of their wheat fields.
As I turned my horse around to return to camp, my skin prickled on the back of my neck. I paused and glanced over my shoulder. The ground seemed to pulse with ash, where a collection of gemstones glistened beneath the fading light of the sun.
I dismounted and slowly approached. These gemstones looked nothing like those found in the mountains of Aesir. I tipped back my head to search the sky. They must have come with the comet.
They must have come from the stars.
Unease rolled through me. At least a dozen of them were a deep red color, as vibrant as freshly fallen blood. They made me feel as if my skin wanted to jump off my body and flee across the sea, back to the fae lands, where comets did not fall from the stars and blast the ground with dread and rot.
Suddenly, my horse whinnied and took off across the plains, his thunderous hooves loud in the uneasy silence. I cursed and started after him, but knew I’d never catch up. He’d flee to camp, where Orla would see to him. I’d have to walk the entire way back.
“Blasted animal,” I muttered with a sigh—though I could hardly blame him. When I looked upon the wreckage of the comet, I wanted to run, too.
Distant shouts drifted toward me from the gates of Moonstone. I shielded my eyes against the sun and spotted a party headed this way. The humans had noticed the comet, too, and they were coming here to investigate. I ought to warn them to stay away. Their senses were dull compared to the fae, and they might not feel that heavy weight ofwrongnessoozing from the ash.
But I could not. I took a step back. If they questioned me, they’d want to know where my camp was. Then they’d discover Orla. My sister, the murderer, who had killed a fae lord in cold blood. King Ovalis Hinde of Talaven would not protect Orla. He would send her back to Aesir for the fae to deal with her as they saw fit.
And the punishment would fit the crime, no matter that Orla had been driven by desperation. That bastard lord had whipped her so many times I’d lost count. Just thinking about her back’s shredded flesh made my blood sing with anger.
Yes, a voice whispered on the wind.You will be perfect. Come to me, child of dust.
Frowning, I turned back to the charred pit. The specks on the horizon had grown larger, but the humans still weren’t close enough to spot me yet. So who had spoken?
I gazed around the wheat fields that rolled gently toward the distant city. There were no trees or caverns or rocky ledges for anyone to hide behind, and there were no signs of anyone else near me.
Come closer, the voice whispered again.
My heart clenched as my eyes lowered to the charred pit, and the gemstones glowed ever brightly. The light within them pulsed like a heartbeat.
“That’s impossible,” I said, shaking my head and wishing my horse had not charged off across the lowlands. I needed to get away from this place as quickly as I could.
Do not be afraid, child of dust. I can help you and your sister, Orla. All you must do is take the crimson gemstones and run. Before the humans see you. Hurry now.
I shook my head, my chest tight. This was some kind of trick or mirage. Hands clenching, I started to move away, but my feet wouldn’t respond. A desperate hope had flared to life inside me, the gemstone’s words rattling around in my head. Orla. The voice had mentioned Orla. It said it could help her.
“How? What can you do for Orla?” I asked.
I am from the stars and have power beyond anything you could imagine. I can save your sister. All you must do is prevent the humans from getting their hands on us, do you understand? Doom will come upon you if they do. They have already begun to turn against your kind. This would clinch their win.
Her words were true. Whispers had been swirling through Star Isles for years. The humans had grown bolder under the rule of King Ovalis Hinde, and he’d begun to look further than the shores of Talaven. He saw the riches and powers of the fae and coveted them. Rumors of war spread through the city streets like rats.
If this voice was right, and she held some kind of star-gifted power…the lord we’d run from was terrible and wicked and cruel, but what about everyone else? All our friends and cousins and aunts and uncles? When Orla and I had run, I’d accepted I might never again see them in this lifetime. But they still lived. This world still held them.
If war erupted between Aesir and Talaven, they would be in grave danger. Star Isles sat right on the coastline. Talaven would attack it first.
I couldn’t risk this voice being right.
I rushed forward, and ashen dust sprayed into the air. My hand closed around the crimson gemstones a moment later. Unbidden power throbbed against my palm and set my teeth on edge.
