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We will marry in the Kingdom of Fauna. The witches and the Fae have always been connected and we have protected each other.

It will be kept secret. I cannot help but be upset that we cannot invite anyone to our wedding.

But after everything that is happening—it is not possible.

I have friends in the Fae kingdom. They will keep us hidden for some time once we have married.

No matter what they say about us, I would do it all over again just to see him smile the way he does when he sees me walk into a room. It is all worth it for his love.

Tabitha Wysteria

Kai had spent the morning hunting for Mal.

Every hallway he strode through led only to shrugged shoulders and uncertain glances until finally, he overheard a cluster of maids whispering about the princess.

Their hushed voices carried him towards the castle’s kitchens, where the scent of flour and spices thickened the air, mingling with the unmistakable char of something burnt.

He found her perched on a stone counter, sleeves rolled up, flour dusting her dark clothes.

‘Please tell me you are not responsible for the blueberry pie,’ Kai groaned, stepping inside. The head chef erupted into laughter.

‘Of course not, brother,’ Mal declared, hopping down. ‘ I assisted. I made the apple pie.’

Kai inhaled deeply, then grimaced. ‘I knew something was burning.’

‘You did not!’ Mal scowled, elbowing him in the ribs. ‘We let it all rot anyway, I do not understand why you fuss.’

The entire castle was a flurry of motion, servants darting back and forth, voices thick with nerves as they raced to have everything prepared for the evening’s festivities.

The king had announced days prior that a grand feast would be held on the castle grounds—a farewell celebration before his daughter left for her new home.

Mal, as ever, was a storm of restless energy, incapable of idleness.

Kai knew she would throw herself into anything that let her keep her hands busy, though cooking had never been one of her gifts.

It was tradition in the Kingdom of Darkness for the royal family to partake in preparations for celebrations—Haven and their mother busied themselves arranging the halls and directing the servants, the king wandered through the villages playing cards with his people while his hounds sprawled lazily at his feet, and Kage, ever the shadow, ensured their father did not forget to invite the very guests he intended to honour.

And Kai? Kai only ever tried to keep his youngest sister out of trouble.

‘Would you like to try one of my cupcakes? I made them a few weeks ago, so they should be nicely rotten.’

‘Most definitely not,’ Kai answered without hesitation. ‘I have no desire to spend the evening sick in bed.’

Mal huffed. ‘I have improved!’ She turned expectantly towards the nearby kitchen staff, seeking validation, but they pointedly averted their eyes.

Kai laughed, shaking his head. ‘You, my sweet sister, are gifted in many things. Baking is not one of them.’ He tapped her nose teasingly, delighting in the way her brow creased in frustration.

‘I will get better,’ she muttered. ‘I just need time.’

Time.

The word lodged itself in his throat like a thorn. There would be no time for her to improve, no more mornings of failed attempts and flour-covered laughter. Soon, she would be gone. A foreign queen in a foreign land, her life dictated by laws and customs they did not understand.

Would they let her into their kitchens? Would they scold her for trying? Would she be kept in gold-trimmed chambers, watched from every angle, stripped of the little freedoms she had always clung to?

Mal must have sensed the shift in his thoughts, for she gave him one of those looks—the kind that said, Stop pitying me. Stop worrying for things that cannot be changed.

‘Let’s take a walk,’ Kai said abruptly.

‘I have to roll the—’ Mal began, but something glinted across her gaze. A quiet resignation. ‘I suppose I can continue later.’

She followed him into the castle gardens, where twilight’s silver fingers stretched over the horizon, catching on the swaying lanterns Haven was stringing from the branches of an ancient tree.

‘Mal.’

‘Please, don’t.’ Her voice was firm, but there was something fragile beneath it. ‘I know you’re upset. But not today. Today, we celebrate. It will be my last party at home, and I wish to enjoy it, brother.’

Kai studied her, unease coiling in his gut like a restless beast. He had spent his entire life watching over her, protecting her. He wanted to pry open her skull and sift through her thoughts, to hold them up to the light and understand them.

Why was she so willing? Did she do this only for their father? Was it duty that bound her to this path? Or was it something else—something deeper, something she had never spoken aloud?

They all knew Mal was different. Not simply because her purple eyes set her apart, but because of the quiet, undeniable truth lingering beneath her skin.

Since childhood, she had been capable of things none of them could explain.

They had ignored the signs, willed them into shadows, convincing themselves that if they pretended long enough, no one would see.

But the moment she stepped onto the land of fire, there would be no more hiding.

Kai had heard the whispers for years. Travellers from distant lands had come seeking her, wanting to glimpse the wyverian child with witch’s eyes.

Some spat at the sight of her, cursing her existence, claiming her birth was a blight upon their world.

Others knelt before her, whispering to the gods, calling her their salvation.

A wyverian with magic in her blood.

A weapon for a war that had never truly ended.

Years ago, their father had tired of it all. He had barred the gates, silencing the outside world, keeping Mal locked away behind stone and shadow.

Until now.

‘I asked Bronson to make bird stew,’ Mal said, her voice softer now. ‘I know it’s your favorite.’

Kai clenched his jaw. Such a kind-hearted princess, and yet they would feed her to the dragons. And for what? To mend the sins of their ancestors? To end a century-old feud with a wedding? It was ridiculous .

But the worst part of all—the part that twisted like iron in his gut—was that she had accepted it.

The whispers of witches lingered in the air like an unshaken curse.

No matter how many patrols scoured the land, no matter how many torches burnt into the night to root them out, the fear remained.

There were those who believed—who knew —that the witches had never truly been vanquished.

That they lay hidden in the shadows, their power coiling beneath the surface, waiting for the right moment to rise again.

Rumours of war stirred like restless embers, whispered from lips too afraid to give them voice.

But Kai would never tell Mal. Not because he didn’t believe it himself—he did, more than ever—but because he knew the weight of such knowledge. If the world knew what she could do, they would not see a princess; they would see a blade waiting to be wielded.

And somehow, deep within the marrow of his bones, Kai feared that the Kingdom of Fire knew exactly what they were doing by taking Mal away.

‘The flowers are blooming,’ Mal said, her fingertips trailing over the silken petals of a Nightrose, its inky blackness rich beneath the fading twilight. She bent forward, inhaling deeply. ‘I wonder if they have Nightrose in the land of fire.’

‘I doubt it.’

‘I’ve heard their flowers, before dying, burst into flames—only to be reborn from their own ashes.’

‘That’s in the Kingdom of Light.’

‘Oh.’ She pouted, then shrugged. ‘They’re rather similar.’ Kai smirked as she began twisting a strand of black hair around her finger—a restless habit she had never outgrown. ‘Father says all the kingdoms will be at the wedding. Do you think that’s true?’

Kai sighed. ‘I’m not sure, Mal. The kingdoms have kept to themselves for so long… but I suppose they would not want to miss such a spectacle.’

‘Kage and I have been reading about the different Houses. House of Wild fascinates me most—Kage says they live up in the trees! Do you think that’s true?

Oh, and House of Sand? They say their serpents are so massive, they travel for miles across the desert.

’ She wrinkled her nose. ‘Though I suspect Kage is exaggerating. He does love to keep me entertained.’

‘I’ve never known Kage to embellish anything, so it must be true.’

Mal gasped, delight bursting across her face. ‘Oh, then I hope they arrive on those magnificent serpents.’

They wandered deeper into the gardens, their boots pressing softly against the damp earth.

Every servant they passed greeted them warmly—some bowing, others offering shy smiles.

The wyverians cherished their royal family, despite the whispered fears they harboured about the princess with purple eyes.

And yet, Kai noticed the way their gazes lingered on Mal, laced with quiet sorrow.

They, too, knew what was coming.

‘Mal.’

Kai wanted to tell her everything. To warn her.

To demand she send word the moment the Fire Prince showed the slightest hint of cruelty.

To beg her to run if things turned dark.

He hated that she would never know love—not truly.

Not the kind their parents had, the kind that burnt softly but fiercely, unwavering in its warmth.

Her husband would never look at her as if she were the most precious thing in the world.

And that thought shattered him.

She deserved a love that would protect her, cherish her—all the little pieces of her that made her Mal .

Her strange quirks, her boundless curiosity, the way she bit her lip when she concentrated or how she could talk for hours about stories that fascinated her.

But instead, she was being sent to a kingdom that would break her.

Kai swallowed the lump in his throat.

‘I’m rather hungry,’ he said instead, pushing aside the words he truly wished to say. ‘I think I’ll try one of your cupcakes.’

Mal’s smile was a sunrise against the darkness. And for a fleeting moment, Kai let himself believe that everything would be all right.