PROLOGUE
The warmth of the day cuts through the stone cottage, heating her brow as sweat beads from her upper lip. Wiping her forehead, she drops a few more herbs—lavender, hibiscus, moonvale lily and a few extra ingredients into the large pot—before holding the tarnished stem of a Noire Rose.
It’s not a typical rose that grows in the sun. This one grows in thorny patches of darkness, it’s black leaves and stem drawing from the shadows. It’s also not readily available in this provenance. Luckily for her, she had one before she left her home.
The potion bubbles and she gently dips the edges in. The blood red color of the liquid highlights the tips before slowly absorbing into the veins. The lines turn crimson, a frightening look, something only found in the Underworld.
Softly, she smiles as joy explodes from her chest.
“He’ll love me today.”
“What is that Gods-awful stench?” her brother asks, dipping into the small opening. The cottage, built for those not as tall or wide as their kind, is low for him, but he never complains.
How could he? It’s more than they could ask for after everything that happened.
She turns, black hair fanning along her shoulders, shielding the rose behind her back. She shrugs. “I don’t smell anything.”
Baris straightens, the top of his similarly dark head dusting the thatch roof. “Do not lie to me, little one. It’s magic—strongmagic. I can smell it.” His nose twitches as if to sneeze. “What are you up to?”
Swallowing, she steps away from the hearth, the pot now empty. “Nothing.”
Quick as lightning, he grabs her elbow, wrenching the rose from her grasp.Blast! She always forgets how fast her brother is. It’s a stupid trait that she does not possess.
“Then, what’s this?”
She sighs and folds her arms, her wings giving a faint flutter. Bright flashes of orange, yellow, and white cut through the dullness of the cottage.
He looks at them with disdain. She’s not sure why. He has wings too—large, Gothically black wings, translucent and rich, that remind her of their home—of their parents. But he hides them, and ignores their existence.
Effy is not like him. She will not hide something that only she and her brother have in this world.
“If you must know,” she begins sullenly, “it is a simple attraction spell.”
He sniffs it and winces. “It’s more than a simple attraction spell. This is dark magic. This is changing someone’s will.”
Effy rolls her eyes. “You are much too careful, Baris.” She waves him away, reaching for the rose. “I’m merely giving him the direction he needs.”
He holds it above his head, the petal rustling the reeds. She pouts. “I assume this is for the prince?”
“And if it is?”
He shakes his head sadly. “Little one, magic is a dangerous road. It corrupts, and it changes you. If you use this on a prince, a man destined to rule, you are changing Fate.”
“And what ofmyfate?” she asks, voice cracking. “Was it Fate that allowed our parents to be taken? Was it Fate to take your throne? Wasit Fate that forced us here, in this wretched sunlight-filled land of strange foods and people, forced to live likepeasants?” she spits, eyes flickering with flames. “Fate has beencruel. It has taken more than it has given us. I am merely taking what I want—for the first time inmylife.”
Baris’ shoulders sag. Tall, strong, like the mountains of their homeland, he is a force of nature in their tiny hobble and yet, he crumbles so easily.
“The Gods do not want us to meddle.” He tilts his head, hearing the whispers of a God that will not talk to anyone but him. An honor, they say, but her brother was never destined to be a simple mouthpiece for the world.
He was meant to lead; he was meant to be a mighty king. Not some traveling nomad, giving last rites to only those who are deemed worthy. Effy scoffs.A waste.
“Is it your God that tells you that?” She rolls her eyes. “I do not listen to the words of a God that condemned us here.”
Baris narrows his eyes. “Setidid no such thing?—”
“Heneversaved Mama and Papa,” she snarls. “He never stopped the plague. He took everything from us. Ask your God why we are to suffer, whereas others do not?”
Her brother stills, jaw moving as if he is trying to put his thoughts into words. She takes the moment and steals back the rose.
