Page 4

TAELYN

I enter my new bedchamber at the castle.

Taking center stage is a four poster bed, which has been intricately carved from a solid piece of white ash. In the solid stone walls, a large fireplace burns. Not that I think it’s needed. The temperatures here at Askos are far warmer than my homeland.

Though there are only a few items in the room that actually belong to me—most of my belongings had been swallowed by the rot, along with the castle, and the city, and lands surrounding it—my new bedchamber reminds me of my room at home, and my chest tightens with pain.

It feels strange to no longer have a home, as though I’ve been untethered from the world. I’ve known this day was coming since childhood, but I’d never imagined the way it would happen or what would take place after.

My wonderful father—killed by the rot that has devoured our home—has been replaced by an older man.

A stranger. He seems kindly enough, but it’s still all so surreal.

We’ve left our home behind and have arrived in a strange land where I know no one.

I guess I should be grateful I’m not quite yet of a marrying age, or I would have been sent away, alone, to become some other strange man’s wife.

I’m grateful my mother has brought me with her.

Still, I ache with a longing for a home that no longer exists. The knowledge that no matter how homesick I am, there is no longer a place to go back to, leaves me with a strange kind of lethargy. A dull ache in the pit of my stomach and an emptiness in my heart.

As we’d approached the city and I’d gotten the first look at my new home, I’d acknowledged the castle of Highdrift had seemed pretty enough, standing on the top of the hillside.

It’s made up of one large tower and a smaller, separate tower is positioned beside it.

A suspended corridor, many hundreds of feet up, join the two buildings.

It was quite a sight. The city that surrounds the castle is charming and bustling, and the locals had gathered as we’d ridden through, filling the streets, clapping and cheering at our arrival.

I know it was never me they were clapping for. It was the king, and perhaps my mother, their new queen. I wonder how long it has been since they had a queen here at Highdrift.

I’m exhausted and filthy. We’ve been traveling for weeks, and the journey was hard.

As we moved through the country, I felt the weather grow warmer, not only because of the changing of the seasons, but because of the change in the lands.

My homelands were located farther south, where we were more likely to see ice and snow than grasslands and flowers.

I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to the heat .

We’d been attacked on several occasions during the journey, and it saddened me that most of the people doing the attacking were simply our own people, displaced from their homes.

They were desperate and starving, and it made me feel terrible that we were escaping to a new land and leaving them behind.

I once mentioned to my mother that we were abandoning our people, and she told me that we no longer had people to abandon.

Our lands were no more, and those who survived the rot had been pushing onto lands of other kingdoms that we’d had to seek permission to travel through.

Even so, when I spotted any of these unfortunates, I always tried to give them whatever I had, and I’d continued to do so until the king had noticed and forbidden me from giving away anything else.

We needed it for our long journey, he said.

The servants have poured me a deep bath, scented with local flowers. There is to be a ball tonight, and I certainly can’t show up smelling like horses and old sweat. I have new clothes in the closet, too, though I have no idea who bought them.

I’m eager to get into the bath while the water is still hot, so I rid myself of my traveling clothes, peeling them from my body.

I climb into the bath, grateful to have the warm water encasing my limbs.

I sink my wings in first as I lie back, and my long, white-blonde hair floats around me.

I want to relax, but it isn’t easy when I’m in a completely strange place.

Tonight, at the ball, I will meet the king’s son, Prince Ruarok.

It’s strange to think I have a brother now.

He’s older than me, but other than that, I haven’t been able to get much information from anyone about him.

It’s not from lack of trying either. They’re strangely closed-lipped.

The king’s face takes on this tight, pinched look any time Prince Ruarok’s name is mentioned.

I can’t help being curious. I’ve never had a sibling before.

I picture him defending my honor and teaching me things like sword fighting and drinking, and all the things my mother considered too masculine to allow me to learn before.

There’s a milky cream added to the bath, something to soften my pale skin.

I wash my limbs, and my body, underneath my breasts and between my thighs.

I linger there a moment, enjoying my touch.

I’m exhausted from travel, and I allow my eyes to close.

I know it’s dangerous to sleep in the bath, but a little self-love won’t hurt.

I need to relax after such a stressful journey.

A flash of a dark-eyed man enters my mind. The images project into my brain as though someone put them there. I gasp and sit up, sloshing water over the sides. What was that? It had been like someone had been watching me.

I climb out of the bath, fluttering my wings so tiny droplets of water fly into the air, the vibrations drying them almost instantly.

My hair will be a different matter, however.

It’s almost waist length and will take an age to dry completely.

It needed to be washed, though, and for all the knots and tangles to be worked out of it.

I wrap a large towel around my body and tuck it into place between my breasts.

I go to the closet to look through the garments a stranger has purchased on my behalf.

The dresses are beautiful. I go through them each on the railing, looking for the perfect one to wear tonight.

They all have a corseted top, with long skirts that puff out at the hips.

They’ll make my waist appear tiny, and I’m sure the corset will only serve to highlight my breasts.

The clothes are far more grown-up than my mother would normally allow me to wear, but the king is in charge now, and I know she won’t say a word.

This is a new beginning for me. People here will see me as a young woman, not the little girl bouncing around the castle like they did at home.

I’m almost of a marrying age, and though I have no wish to marry, I do want people to see me as a woman.

A knock comes at my door.

“Enter,” I call, holding the towel tightly around my body.

My lady’s maid, Skylar, enters the room. She shares my pale complexion, blue eyes, and white hair. I brought her, together with the head of my guard, Balthorne, with me.

“Princess.” The girl drops to a curtsey. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”

I’ve never been good at having other people fuss around me, but I’m happy to see her. I pat the edge of my bed for her to come and sit.

“Please, come sit with me, Skylar. I don’t know anyone else at Highdrift, other than my mother and the king and Balthorne. It’s good to have a friend.”

She smiles and her features light up. She perches on the bed beside me.

“Tell me about my stepbrother, Prince Ruarok. Have you heard any news about him?”

Instantly, her anxiety seems to return. Her shoulders stiffen, and she stares hard at the floor. “Oh, I really couldn’t say.”

“But you’ve heard something? Have you met him?”

“No. I’ve been lucky enough that he hasn’t crossed my path. ”

I frown. “Lucky? Why lucky? What is everyone so frightened of?”

“Prince Ruarok isn’t fully Fae.”

“Right,” I say slowly. “I admit it’s unusual for a member of a royal family not to have full Fae heritage, but it’s not unheard of.”

She lowered her voice to barely above a whisper. “He’s a bastard. His mother was a whore.”

Her course language does shock me. Even more so does the information that my mother is now married to a man who has slept with women of the night.

But then, I doubt there are many men around who haven’t, and, in my opinion, if those women have put to use something they have to earn themselves a living, then who am I to judge?

“So, all this secrecy is just because Prince Ruarok is a bastard?”

“Plus he has a reputation around the castle for being…easy with women.”

I frown. “He’s not yet married, so surely he’s allowed to be with whomever he chooses.”

“When you see him, you’ll understand more.” She jumps back to her feet. “Now, will you allow me to help you dress?”

I nod my agreement. “I’ve chosen which one I want to wear.” It’s a beautiful dress in silver which will highlight my hair and wings.

“Let’s work on your hair first.”

I take a seat at my dressing table, and she combs out all the knots, the movement relaxing.

“And now a little magic,” she says with a smile.

The air around us charges, and a rush of hot air blows through the white-blonde strands of my hair. Within seconds, it’s perfectly dry. Silky and shiny, and falling around my shoulders.

“Thank you,” I tell her, but my stomach knots that even my lady’s maid has more powerful magic than I do.

“Now let’s get you into your dress.”

I allow her to wrestle me into the garment. I can see the impact the dress has had on my figure. There is no possibility of anyone mistaking me for a little girl wearing this.

Skylar lets out a low whistle. “The whole court are going to be talking about you when they see you wearing this.”

My pale cheeks pinken in the mirror. “Oh, no, they won’t. All eyes will be on my mother, I’m sure.”

My mother has always been the beautiful one, and I’ve always been proud of her.

What she’s been through over the years has been enough to make anyone crumble, but she kept going, keeping her chin held high.

Her magic is also far more powerful than mine, though that isn’t difficult.

Considering I’m full-blooded Fae, my magic still hasn’t come into its own.

My mother reassures me that it’s because I’m still young, but even so, I find it frustrating.

Skylar shakes her head and smiles. “Oh, no, Princess. All eyes will be on you, I’m sure.”