Page 5 of Ravenrose

“No one saw!” I hiss at him, annoyed that he’s not celebrating my little triumph with me. Only Riven and our older brother, Fel, know what I can do. They've both been my unwilling patients more than a few times, but they hardly get injured enough for me to practice on them.

“You cannot use it in Skye,” Riven says, his eyes still scanning the trees.

I frown, my mood officially dampened. “Healing magic is hardly a threat.”

“Anything can be a threat.” Riven’s gaze finds mine. “You cannot let them see you as anything more than what Father has already told them.”

My eyes narrow, hating that conversations about my future have clearly been had without me present. “And what has he told them I am?”

“His perfect little daughter,” Riven replies. “Nothing more. Nothing that complicates the tethering or succession—nothing that invites unnecessary questions.”

I grit my teeth.

“You cannot use it, Rowan,” Riven warns me again, sensing the discontent.

“I know.”

“And they absolutely cannot find out about your⁠—”

“I KNOW!” I bite, and Riven’s mouth snaps shut.

I look away, folding my arms across the irritation burning in my chest. Magic in the kingdoms has long since been tethered to the royal bloodlines—the six fae crowns: Sitara, Skye, Lorien, Miselys, Izel, and Daekhar. But not Kovaria, the only human-led kingdom on the continent.

Only those born with royal blood can wield it, and the higher in succession, the more powerful the magic.

Except, somehow, mine rivals Fel’s.

Father never liked that, and he especially didn’t like that my powers already far exceeded Riven’s, my twin, who was born first.

It’s the same kind of magic that has flowed through Sitara’s royal bloodline for generations. The same as my father, Fel and Riven too. But mine was strong. Too strong. And unlike my brothers, or my father, mine also gave me the ability to heal.

That pesky little tethering mistake is the reason I’ve spent nearly my entire life exiled away at Rosecliff, tucked far away from Aurielle and the curious eyes of its Starlight Court.

But my father never forgave me for it, blaming me for the power I inherited—that I had no control over. I should be grateful he hadn’t taken the final step and bound my magic. Though, he’s threatened it enough times.

And so I kept my light buried beneath my skin; hid the power from my friends, the servants, the court. I made myself smaller so no one would know just how much power I carried, to never give my father a reason to take it.

As far as any one in Sitara is concerned, Rowan Valrose is powerless.

However, the other matter is a secret, even from my father. A secret only Fel, Riven, and I share, and something Kane, my new fiancé, absolutely cannot know.

Nobody can ever know.

Because if anyone found out—anyone...

I’d be dead.

Chapter 3

ROWAN

The trees sway overhead as the wind picks up. The sky grows darker with what looks to be an incoming afternoon storm. I peer into the deep shadows of the woods, an uneasy feeling settling over me. All at once, the overwhelming feeling of being watched prickles my skin, sending an icy shiver down my spine.

“We should go.”

Reaching down, I scoop Maksa back up, and together, Riven and I reluctantly trudge back to the castle. The weight of what’s ahead hanging over us.

“Magic is irrelevant anyway,” Riven mumbles nearly under his breath, reciting something our father often told us as children. “Only the royal fae lines even have magic these days. And with nearly all the demons gone, the world has grown beyond it.”