Page 1

CHAPTER 1

“W e are under strict instruction to only allow you water tonight, Lady Auria,” the servant said in mock apology. He wore a garnet suit, every inch of skin covered by some sort of material, save for his mouth and nose. Even his eyes were covered by a mask for tonight’s party. The only sign he was a servant and not a guest was the metal tray of wine glasses he balanced on a gloved hand.

“Just another way to be controlled,” I muttered as I gave up, moving on from him. I’d already tried to sway three other servers for a glass, and all of them had denied me. If tonight’s masquerade ball was to get everyone together from the other three kingdoms, surely I should be allowed a drink. Their refusal only gave me the sinking suspicion my father was up to something.

My hands hung lazily at my sides, disappearing into the fluffed skirts of my garnet ball gown as I scanned the massive room. More people than I’d ever seen in the castle before danced and milled about, talking, laughing, and sending judgmental—and appreciative—looks at one another.

I ignored it all, focused on one task only: to get a godsdamned drink in me.

My eyes scanned the warm-lit room from behind my mask, the lace scratching at my cheeks as I turned. Giant garnet drapes hung from the walls, held back by a gold rope to reveal the deep night where the second, and only, moon shone bright on display. Two silver rings spanned the entirety of the sky, courtesy of the first moon exploding a little over a century ago. At night, they cast pearl-like lines across the land, and in the day, the sun reflected off them, vibrant and nearly blinding.

Around the grand room, Amosite’s red colors were accented everywhere, between the tablecloths and napkins to the trays of food and bouquets of flowers. The dozen or so chandeliers lit up the room in a yellow glow, causing the beige walls with their intricate swirls of garnet and reflective polished floors to capture the same warm tone. My father had gone all out tonight, between decorations and sprucing up the hardly-used space, but I didn’t pay any mind as to why as my gaze landed on an abandoned glass of wine where it sat lonely on one of the round tables meant for guests.

I weaved through people in grandiose suits and gowns, thankful none of them stopped me as I made haste across the room. As I approached the table, I felt eyes on my back, ones that burned, and a shiver crept up my spine, knowing who it was without having to look. I’d deal with that later. Nothing, not even my stepmother’s scrutiny, could stop me from indulging in a glass.

Stepping between two dark oak chairs, I plucked the gold goblet up and held it to my stomach as I searched for a spot along the wall that wouldn’t have too many prying eyes. With my stepmother likely very aware of what I was doing, I needed to get away from her judgmental gaze. The punishments were inevitable at this rate, so I might as well enjoy my drink in peace.

Aside from tables and groups of people, the walls were bare, not a hiding spot in sight. But as my eyes drifted, I paused on the drapes. It was a tad ridiculous, but with no other options, I aimed that way. The velvet curtains were large enough to offer me cover, at least until I finished the wine. My tongue was already salivating with the thought of the sweet berry flavor exploding over my taste buds as I shoved through the crowd. People parted while continuing their conversations, skirts and elbows brushing past me as I went.

As soon as I made it to the wall and out of the throng, I slipped partially behind the tied-back fabric, its material thick and offering more warmth than the room did on its own, almost like the heat was trapped behind the curtain, seeking its own private space away from the bustling of bodies.

Not wasting a moment longer, I brought the goblet to my lips. The sweet taste of berries coated my tongue as I took not one, but four sips. The aftertaste was tart, but instantly, my chest was warming. I didn’t normally rely on alcohol—not that I could, even if I wanted to—but tonight, I needed it. With all the people and the unknown of why my father really threw this masquerade ball, my mind needed something to stop whirling. I wasn’t much for parties, but even I could admit the bluster of colorful clothing attendees wore lit the place up in a way nothing else could. It was a welcome reprieve from the constant sea of red in Amosite, so I was making do. And if that contained alcohol, then so be it.

“Thirsty?” a deep, smooth voice asked, cutting through the sounds of chatter and elegant music around me. I jumped, thankful for the gulps of wine I’d taken so the liquid didn’t slosh over the rim.

I gripped the edge of the curtain, holding it as if I was keeping myself modest behind the fabric. I held the wine just out of sight, only my head peeking out as my heart nearly burst from my chest at being caught.

I tilted my chin up to look the man in the eye. His proximity and height was slightly daunting. Even behind the mask he donned, he was striking. From his dark pants to the leather jacket over his black shirt, he should have stuck out like a sore thumb, but rather, he somehow blended in, as if that was his goal, even with his more casual attire. It was almost refreshing to see amongst the sea of extravagant beauty in this room. While they wore gorgeous clothing, the man before me held it all in his physical appearance alone. His nearly-black hair was mussed and wavy, the curve of his tan jaw looking as if it was chiseled from granite itself, and his eyes… They struck through the mask like the North Star, the smokey blue devastating all they set their sights on.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I snapped.

He arched a brow, his gaze falling to the curtain as if he could see right through it. “I believe I just witnessed an unforgettable woman snatching my wine and hiding away to drink it behind a”—his chin tilted as he looked up at the curtain, and gods, his neck was just as beautiful as the rest of him—“curtain.” He focused on me again, the attention nearly taking me out at the knees. “There’s no hiding that you’re guilty.”

“ Guilty ?” I shrieked, dropping the curtain. It slipped past me, settling back against the wall behind me and revealing exactly what he was accusing me of.

This time, he raised both brows, and crossed his arms along with it.

To hell with hiding. I lifted the golden cup and took a long sip. I could practically feel his eyes sending zaps along my skin everywhere they roamed. My throat, my hair, my mask, my pale hand around the cup. He could take the wine from me at any moment, but he didn’t, almost like he enjoyed this. Like it was entertaining to him.

He leaned a shoulder against the wall, a slight tilt to the corner of his mouth as I pulled the goblet from my lips. “Is that doing the job?”

I nearly choked. “What job?”

“Of hiding whatever you’re feeling,” he replied easily.

I gripped the cup in both hands to give them something to hold on to. “I’m not hiding anything.”

His eyes darted to the curtain before settling back on me. Right. I was quite literally hiding to begin with.

“As much as wine can,” I admitted. I sounded flustered, and it was almost embarrassing. If he was trying to flirt with me, I had no idea how to flirt back. I didn’t talk to boys, let alone men that looked like…that. In my twenty-six years of life, I’d never been allowed.

He uncrossed his arms and plucked the goblet from my fingers, but he didn’t bring it to his lips. Rather, he leaned closer. “Stolen wine, at that.”

My nose scrunched as I grabbed for it. “This is not stolen.”

He held it just out of reach. “No? Was it not at my seat?”

My eyes nearly bulged from my head, but I reeled in my reaction. “ Your seat?”

He nodded, bringing the goblet to his lips and taking a pull. His neck moved with his swallow, and I forced my eyes away. I’d just poached his beverage, and now I was ogling over him. But the fact that he’d drunk the wine after I already had… I pressed my lips together as he lowered the cup.

His tongue darted out over his lower lip, savoring the last drops, all while he eyed me.

My cheeks heated, which wasn’t ideal, because if I was caught standing here flushed in front of a man, nothing good would come of it. I needed to shut this down. Fast. “If you’re expecting me to apologize, you’re going to be disappointed.”

“No apology necessary,” he replied, tilting the cup to look inside. “I would only advise that you be careful of who you steal from next.”

I opened my mouth to retort, but suddenly, a hand was on my arm, pulling my focus from him before I could speak.

“There you are!” Taylin exclaimed, turning me to face her. My best, and only, friend was wearing a garnet dress much like mine, but less flamboyant. Her blonde hair was draped over her shoulder in a braid, small red and white flowers tucked into the strands. Those, and the blush painted high along her cheekbones, accentuated her natural splattering of freckles along the bridge of her sun-kissed nose. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. This guy?—”

I glanced back to excuse myself from the man, but paused when I realized he was already gone. At least I no longer had to get out of my conversation with him. I turned back to Taylin as she continued.

“—he didn’t tell me where he’s from or anything, but he’s almost too nice. I don’t really believe all the things he’s been going on about, but he’s cute.”

I couldn’t help my laugh. “Are you saying you’re pushing past his stories just because he’s cute?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say they’re just stories . He’s claiming he sees all kinds of things outside the chasm, but I don’t know. People make shit up, you know?”

I eyed another lone goblet sitting on a table not far from us, the wine teasing me. “Now that’s something I could drink to.” My father made things up all the time. From his own rules to more tasks for me to fulfill for him, but never anything that included the duties of a princess. Being the king’s daughter didn’t mean I was prophesied to be a queen one day—I wasn’t technically even considered a princess. My only title was being his offspring, and that’s where the royalty in me ended. Every other kingdom passed the monarchy down to their firstborn child, but not King Tenere. I wasn’t sure what his plan was for who would lead Amosite after he died, though I assumed it would be someone he thought more worthy of the title than myself. Growing up, he’d always told me it was simply because I wasn’t fit to rule. I was only to do my duty, obey, and expect nothing more.

“Who was that man you were talking to?” Taylin asked, dark blue eyes searching the room for him from behind her mask.

“I’m not sure,” I admitted.

She hummed before turning her focus back to me. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

I tried to crack a smile. “Should I be?”

She let out a small sigh, knowing exactly why I’d be skeptical. My father was a calculated man, and tonight was likely no different. I wouldn’t let myself think otherwise. “Your father had quite the turnout,” she noted, her skepticism matching mine as her brows raised slightly at the crowd around us.

“I’m only glad he allowed you to be here tonight. Everyone else, I truly couldn’t care less about.” Taylin and I were only allowed to see each other for a short period of time on select days, and when my father had notified me of the ball three days ago, he’d told me she was only allowed to come if I was on my best behavior. It’d been like this since we were young, shortly after my mother passed away. Taylin’s mother was one of the best bakers in the city, Silicate, and my mother had her hand deliver her pastries to the castle twice a week. Then, when she passed, my father cut ties, but I’d grown a friendship with Taylin over the years, so naturally, he used that against me.

Do your tasks and behave or you lose your privilege of seeing her , is what he’d said the first day I told him I was too tired to continue my list. Duplicating magic, of any variety, from one vial to another was draining, but he never showed an ounce of mercy. Considering I was the only human with this ability, he put a lot of pressure on my shoulders to produce more and work harder.

Taylin was my only reprieve from this castle and the things that went on inside of it—the only person who made this life worth living—so I listened. But if I ever stepped out of line, I got my next visit with her taken away.

“Aren’t you curious as to why?” she asked, adjusting her grip on something. My gaze landed on the glass in her hand, not gold like the one on the table, but it held the same colored wine through the clear crystal. I’d been too distracted to even realize she held it. I shouldn’t have let that man speak—or flirt—with me, regardless of how entertaining he was for the short period. I was a fool to think I wasn’t being watched, and I could only imagine speaking to him would be added to tomorrow’s list of consequences.

With a deep breath, I said, “If I spent my entire life wondering why my father did the things he does, I’d never have a moment to think of anything else.” I gave her a side glance. “And that’s coming from a girl who never leaves the castle.”

She reached up to itch her cheek under the edge of her mask. “As if you have much else to do while being forced to waste your life away in this dreary castle?”

My eyelids fluttered as I forced a swallow. Taylin didn’t know I spent every waking day in the cellar filling vials. The castle had a cellar on the lowest level, one of each kind of magic lining the cluttered walls. The room was a small storage area crammed full of the things I needed to work.

I’d drain myself under my father’s instruction to fill those vials so he could provide and put on a show as the richest king in all of Serpentine. To impress kings and queens from other kingdoms, as if his mines were producing at a faster rate than the rest of them. But he’d never let on that it was me creating all of it.

On the bright side, my magic ensured the mines were shut down and miners no longer had to suffer underground, digging up magic to provide for the kingdom. I could do all of it in their place, and knowing those people could be home with their families instead of wasting away surrounded by endless miles of rock helped spur me on on the days I felt like giving up. I’d never seen the mines, but I’d heard stories of the beauty of the different colors of glowing magic running through the rock like veins. Though beautiful, they were equally as dangerous, between the poor air quality and risk of collapsing.

I shoved the thoughts of my father and his expectations away. To hell with being modest tonight; I already went against his rule of no alcohol. What was the harm in more? I stepped around Taylin and crossed to the table along the wall, plucking the goblet up. I turned to find she’d followed, already holding her glass in the air. I mimicked her stance. “Let’s have one good moment where it’s not dictated by my father, shall we?”

Her eyes softened. The thing about Taylin was that, while she hated my father for the way he kept me locked up, she understood there was little to be done about it. Rather than fighting it, she adjusted.

Our cups clinked together before we both downed the sweet wine. While she finished hers, I noticed the glance of a blonde man from a few groups over. He must’ve been the one she’d abandoned to find me, if his longing stare was anything to guess, and I instantly felt bad. Taylin lived in Silicate, so events like this weren’t an everyday occurrence for her. I wanted her to enjoy herself, and that included flirting with strangers.

“Go have fun, Tay. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said, holding the now-empty cup in front of my stomach.

She followed where my eyes had been before turning back to me, something like guilt shining in her gaze. “Are you sure?”

I nodded, shooing her away with the flick of my hand. “Yes, I’m sure. Go back to that man.” I stole another look his way. “He’s practically fawning over you.”

“Alright. I’ll go,” she conceded. “Tomorrow,” she added with a pointed look.

I only hoped that was certain.

With a nod, she was off. I watched her retreating back as a server passed me with a tray of warm, buttery pastries. The sweet scent enveloped me, and I was nearly about to follow him for a bite when a guard stepped in my way. His brunet hair was slicked back and a typical sword was slung on his hip. While all the guests wore masks tonight, the guards did not. “My lady.”

I pursed my lips, waiting for him to continue.

“King Tenere has requested your presence,” he stated.

“Of course he has,” I muttered as the familiar pit of dread hit me in the stomach like a rock.

I had no doubt that in a matter of moments, I was to be either escorted out or shown the true reason for tonight’s party.

It didn’t matter that I didn’t care to find out which it was.

I never had a choice.