Page 2 of Battle of Evyndral (Rebel Moon Shifters)

Yaricelan

Yari stood against the wall next to Thran as was their duty when Prince Rhoan and Princess Cassiopa were dining. The King’s and Queen’s guardians stood on the opposite side of the hall, with several more stationed at each door. Several moons after losing their sister to the dark fae, the twins excelled in the dragon guard trials. Yari and Thran had proven themselves, besting each opponent they fought. They joined other elite D?nthúlú as winners, and for three sun cycles, they protected the castle grounds from the threat of Und?nthú. During the fourth sun cycle, Yari and Thran were promoted, and now they personally protected the royal heirs. Yari was given a room attached to Cassi’s quarters, and the two had become the best of friends. According to Thran, he and Rhoan had a similar bond.

Yari still missed Elle. The weeks after her young sister was stolen from them were hard for their family, even more so than when their mother died. Elledan was a bright light with a quick wit. She was better with a bow than Yari, and her goodness showed in every word and deed. Yari begged her father to get Elle back, but with their mother gone, there was nothing to be done once the elders proved Grevolus of Winterhaven had sired Elle. Yari was present when the blood test was administered to ensure there was no corruption involved. She thought of her sister often, wondering how she was, praying she hadn’t been swayed by her new family’s evil ways.

King Titus rose from his seat, pulled out Queen Penelope’s chair, and held out his hand. The smile she bestowed on him was the same one she wore every time she gazed upon her mate. Yari had no idea how old the couple was or how long they’d been together, but their love was evident. The royal couple strolled hand-in-hand from the room, their guards taking up ranks ahead and behind. Once they were out of the dining hall, Cassi turned and waved to Yari.

“Come eat.”

It was no use arguing with the Princess. Yari had tried. Thrandyr remained where he was to keep watch while his twin dined with Cassi. Once she had been fed, they would trade places. They agreed long ago to not eat at the same time, taking both their focus away from possible threats. Yari strode to the massive table and adjusted her sword so she could sit. Cassi was already preparing a plate for her. When it was piled high, she set it in front of Yari, then motioned for one of the kitchen staff to pour Yari a cup of tea. Whenever Yari sat at the main table with the princess, she rushed through her meal. The other guards had assured her they didn’t mind, but she hated feeling as though she were singled out as a favorite.

“Slow down,” Cassi chided as Yari shoveled food in like it was her last meal.

Once she’d swallowed the large bite, she shook her head. “Can’t. You know this.” Yari would never deny the princess anything, but she never felt comfortable eating at the royal table. She preferred dining in her room where she could take her time.

Cassi slumped back against the hard wood of her chair. “I know. But you—”

Several guards shouted, as a black bird flew into the room and landed on the table in front of Yari. She stood so quickly the chair fell over. Before she could reach for her sword, the raven dropped something on the table and croaked. When the guards rushed the table, the bird flew off amid calls to kill the creature.

“Let it go,” Yari yelled as she stared at the item in front of her. It looked like a smashed piece of bread, nearly the size of her palm, with a symbol on it. Upon further inspection, she cursed under her breath. “Thran, get over here.”

Her twin rushed to her side with Prince Rhoan looking on. When Yari pointed, Thran reached for the item. “Is that a sigil?”

“Yes, and it’s a warning from Elle.” Yari grabbed her twin’s arm. “Thran, the dark fae are coming.”

“Yari, are you certain?” the prince asked.

“Yes. I would know my sister’s work anywhere.”

“Elledan? But how? Your sister lives with the Und?nthú. Why would she send a warning?” Cassi asked.

Yari turned and clasped Cassi’s hands. “Because she’s still D?nthúlú at heart. I vow on my honor the warning is credible.”

“Then we must warn my parents. Cassi, you and Yari prepare to leave. Thran, with me.” Being the highest-ranking person in the room, Rhoan barked orders, and the guards dispersed immediately.

“Are you certain of this?” Cassi demanded as Yari righted her chair.

“My sister wouldn’t lie,” Yari said with more force than necessary.

Cassi didn’t argue further as Yari led the princess from the dining hall. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

Yari had her sword in hand and her head on a swivel. “She learned portents from our mother, and if I’m correct, that raven was Novus. Elle and the bird were close before she was whisked away from Summerland. I’m certain he followed her to Winterhaven.” When they arrived at Cassi’s quarters, Yari all but pushed the princess inside and slammed the door shut, throwing the bolt. Having also spent time at her mother’s elbow in the kitchen, Yari withdrew a piece of charcoal from the outer pocket of her breeches and inscribed a sigil on the wood above the lock.

“Princess?” Mariopa, Cassi’s handmaiden, jumped to her feet. “What’s wrong?”

“The dark fae are coming. We must prepare to leave,” Yari answered for Cassi. There were several contingencies in place if the Und?nthú breached the castle or threatened to. Since they had yet to arrive, Cassi and Rhoan would leave separately, then meet later. There were several safe spaces designated for these situations, and since Elle had warned Yari, it meant the Und?nthú were coming from Winterhaven. It was possible there would be dark fae coming from Autumnvale as well, but Yari would lead Cassi in the opposite direction regardless.

Mariopa didn’t argue. She followed Cassi to her quarters and assisted her in changing into her riding gear. Cassi was a dragon shifter, but it was impossible to be stealthy in that form, so she would ride a horse along with the guards to better disguise herself. Mariopa removed the pins holding Cassi’s dark hair in curls piled high atop her head, then plaited it. While the princess removed her dress, Mariopa gathered the clothes that resembled that of a guard. Yari assisted her friend into the coverlet made of dragon scales, which went on beneath her tunic so it wasn’t visible, then left them to finish while she escaped to her room. She strode to her desk and settled in the chair, scribing a missive to Zarina, the light Queen. When finished, Yari donned her armor.

Mariopa changed into Cassi’s dress, then fixed her hair in the same style the princess normally wore. Before Yari and Cassi exited the room, Yari installed a glamour upon the handmaiden, transforming her face to reflect Cassi’s visage. She hated that the female would be in peril, but everyone in the royal’s employ had pledged their service to the dragons of Evyndral.

Yari removed the sigil and opened the door, stepping out first to be certain it was safe. They made their way along the corridor until they reached the hidden passage leading down a set of stone stairs to the stables. Several guards had saddled the horses while others gathered food and supplies. All were waiting to ride out. King Titus and several of his guards stood alongside Thran and Prince Rhoan. Yari bowed her head to the King when he approached.

“Yaricelan, how certain are you the omen was from your sister?”

“As certain as I can be without her here to ask, Your Highness. I would rather err on the side of caution than to ignore it before it’s too late.”

“And you are going to Carilon?” he asked Rhoan.

“We are, Father. Cassi is going a direct route, while I am taking a more circuitous one.”

“Be safe, my children. Your mother and I will guard the castle until your return.”

King Titus clasped hands with Rhoan and hugged Cassi before striding back inside with his guardians.

Rhoan and Cassi embraced while Yari and Thran did the same. “Be safe, my sister,” Thrandyr husked into Yari’s ear.

“And you, my brother.” When Thran pulled back and stared into her eyes, she felt his trepidation as if it were her own. “This is what we trained for. I’ll see you in Carilon.”

Thran settled his forehead to hers briefly, then nodded once and stepped back. The royal siblings were adept at riding. They were also battle trained, so it wasn’t as if they were helpless. Plus, they were dragons. If push came to shove, they could shift into their beasts and raze the ground with their fire. It was up to Yari, Thran, and the other guards to keep the dark fae away from them long enough to shift, because in their bipedal form, they were vulnerable to Und?nthú weapons. One touch of a dark blade could render a dragon paralyzed long enough for the wielder to get close enough to finish the job.

Yari let out a sharp whistle, and Plinka, a snowy owl, descended from a nearby tree, landing on Yari’s bent arm. “Take this to Queen Zarina.” Yari held up the rolled parchment, and Plinka grasped it in one of his taloned feet before taking flight. Yari turned and gazed upon the massive castle with wide platforms where the dragons could land. She had stood on those platforms watching as Cassi and Rhoan chased each other in their winged form. Yari sent a prayer to the goddess D?nthú that they would return to the platform soon. When everyone was atop their mount, they set off toward Carilon, a small settlement within Summerland, and Thran’s group followed briefly until they broke off to take a longer route. Yari rode next to Cassi with guards in front and behind them. When they spoke, they kept their voices low and their senses open for any threats within the forest.

It was two days’ ride to Summerland. Yari and Thran hadn’t been back since they were chosen for the guard. They kept in touch with their father through letters, so they knew he was doing well with a new wife, even if he was missing them. It would be heartbreaking to be so close to her home and not be able to visit and meet the female who had taken her mother’s place, but Yari had a duty to Cassi and the royal family.

Evyndral was situated in the north, having ten times the territory as all the fae combined. Summerland and Springmire comprised land to the southeast, with Winterhaven and Autumnvale lying to the west. There were hundreds of guards positioned between the castle and all roads and trails leading in every direction. Yari was grateful for her sister’s warning, but she wished Elle had been able to give an indication of how many dark fae were approaching the royal city. Hopefully, Yari’s missive to the light Queen would reach her in time, and Zarina could send more D?nthúlú to assist in guarding the palace. If Yari were a royal, she would be tempted to take to the skies and burn every one of the dark fae to the ground, but that went against the treaty set about long ago between the dragons and the fae.

According to lore and confirmed by Cassi, the fae goddess D?nthú fell in love with the dragon king Mórdrake long after her daughters, Zarina and Melisandra, were born. Their father, the fae god Xeníus, was jealous of Mórdrake, so he conspired with Melisandra against the dragon king. Melisandra turned against her mother and sister, and in doing so, the two factions of fae were born. D?nthú joined forces with her lover, and together, they defeated the fae god. When D?nthú called for her daughter, ready to banish her to a far realm, Melisandra begged for mercy. She agreed to live peacefully with the dragons if they did the same. D?nthú agreed, and for thousands of sun cycles, peace reigned for three hundred sun cycles. Before the battle, however, Xeníus provided Melisandra and her followers with weapons to take down the dragons, but what he didn’t count on was the number of fae loyal to D?nthú. Too many lives were lost, and D?nthú offered her fae to Mórdrake’s dragons as future protection in recompense. The dragon guard was born after the second attack, and peace reigned until now.

They found a spot to stop for a midday meal and dismounted. Donovan unpacked his saddlebag, passing out wrapped food. Yari thanked him and found a downed tree to sit on. She wondered why Melisandra would risk attacking the royals after so long. “How long ago was the treaty put into place?”

Cassi stretched her back before joining Yari on the tree. “About six hundred sun cycles. The Und?nthú attacked King Titus’s father, who was King Mórdrake’s son, about three hundred sun cycles ago, but the royal guard defeated them quite easily.”

Yari hadn’t known Cassi was that closely descended from King Mórdrake. “Didn’t that break the treaty? Why was Melisandra allowed to remain in power if she broke it? And is there something special about three hundred? Will this happen again in another three hundred cycles?” Yari unwrapped the food, her stomach rumbling since her breakfast had been interrupted by the raven. She popped a slice of pickled pepper in her mouth.

“Goddess, I hope not. I also pray it isn’t happening now. I don’t like being sent away knowing my parents are probably facing off against an unknown number of Und?nthú.”

“They have the best of the best guarding them.”

“Not the best. That would be you and Thran,” Cassi whispered before opening her c?lim?gh and picking off the peppers, passing them to Yari.

Yari warmed under her friend’s praise. “Then that tells you how much your parents love you. To have you and the prince guarded by us means they value your lives over theirs.”

Cassi put the bread back in place but didn’t take a bite. “As for the treaty, yes, it was broken, but Melisandra vowed she had nothing to do with her fae attacking my grandfather. She somehow proved to the goddess that she wasn’t in the fae realm when it happened.”

“Not in the realm? Then where was she?”

Before Cassi could answer, Donovan pulled his sword and stepped in front of them. “Und?nthú,” he hissed.

Yari dropped her food as she jumped to her feet, drawing her own weapon. They stood firm in front of Cassi as the other guards prepared to fight. Cassi, dressed as a guard, gripped two short swords, her preferred weapons. She might be the princess, but she was a fierce warrior.

“Melisandra wants her alive,” the closest Und?nthú announced, pointing his sword at Cassi.

How in the goddess’s name did they recognize her? “Over my dead body,” Yari seethed, getting into a fighting stance.

“That can be arranged,” the dark fae taunted.

Cassi grabbed Yari’s arm. “There’s too many of them.”

“Shift. You must shift and get above us.”

“There’s not enough room,” Cassi hissed as the Und?nthú approached. Donovan moved so he was behind the princess, sandwiching her between him and Yari. The Und?nthú closed ranks, and Yari’s group fought them off. Metal sang as swords clashed. Yari and Donovan circled and parried those trying to get close to Cassi while the other guards did their best to fight off more than double their numbers. Their best wasn’t good enough.

As more closed in, Yari fought like never before as did Donovan and Cassi. A large bird swooped down, getting in Yari’s face, taking her focus off the Und?nthú she was fighting. Cassi cried out as a blade cut her arm. “No!” Yari pulled Cassi behind her, and another bird, this one a familiar raven, dove at the smaller one, taking it out of the game. “Thank you, Novus,” Yari called.

Cassi’s knees buckled, taking her to the ground. The guards were flagging, and Yari thought all was lost until the air shimmered and a portal opened. Queen Zarina, atop her winged horse, jumped through the opening. With a loud battle cry, Yari’s queen ripped through the Und?nthú with her sword while her zamphyr trampled dark fae beneath his hooves. Those still standing fled to the woods. “Tell Melisandra I’m coming for her!” Zarina called to their retreating backs as she dismounted.

Yari dropped to her knees beside the princess, assessing the cut. It wasn’t deep, but the poison had done its job. The other guards knelt in fealty to their queen, but she waved them off. “Rise, my guardians. There is no time for proper protocol.” Zarina approached and joined Yari beside Cassi. Her ire was palpable, and Yari fought the trembling in her limbs. “Princess Cassiopa, you have my deepest regrets. I vow to you I will make my sister pay for her transgressions.”

“They knew who she was, even with the glamour I used,” Yari said.

“Melisandra is smart. She knew to send her fae this direction, assuming the royal siblings would not remain at the castle if trouble was sensed. She likely gave them a sigil to see through glamour or a talisman to do the same thing. You must take the princess away, Yaricelan.”

“Where, My Queen? I fear nowhere is safe.”

“There is another realm the Und?nthú are unaware of. It will be a strange land to you, but I trust you to find shelter while the princess heals.” Zarina removed a braided chain from around her neck. Dangling from the silver was a pendant comprised of a muted blue crystal. She placed it over Yari’s head. “When it is safe to return, the crystal will burn bright. When it does, speak my name, and I will bring you back. Until that time, it is imperative you do not call on me.”

“Yes, My Queen.” Yari bowed her head.

Zarina placed her hand on Yari’s hair. “You have not failed me this day, Yaricelan. None of you have. You fought bravely, and for that I am grateful. I will take the other guardians to help protect the prince, as he, too, is facing his own battle.” Zarina gripped Cassi’s arm, and a light glowed beneath her hand. When she released the princess, Cassi was no longer paralyzed.

“My regards, Queen Zarina.”

The queen stood, helping Cassi to her feet. “I do not have time to remove the poison, but it is no longer spreading inside you. Go with your guardian. Until your return, safe travels.” Zarina opened another portal. Yari held onto Cassi, and together, they stepped into an unknown world.