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Evelina

“ Open your eyes, my darling .” A delicate voice filled Evelina’s empty mind.

Her eyes snapped open. She wasn’t at the lux anymore, no longer in Daimon’s arms.

She gasped, her lungs filling with air as she took in her new surroundings. The night sky twinkled above her, illuminating the hill on which she stood. Tall grass danced in a small breeze, tickling her ankles.

She stood on a hill that overlooked acres and acres of land below. It felt as if she could see the entire empire from this spot, perched like a bird on the tallest tree. She could see the peaks of the Zenovia Mountains in the distance, the moon mirrored onto the Andronicus Sea at its farthest edge.

How did I get here? she mused.

“Evelina.”

She spun around, coming face to face with the last person she expected to see.

Her mother smiled at her, her skin glowing, a soft smile on her mouth. “I must say, I’m surprised to see you here.”

Her mother stood before her, clothed in moonlight, wearing a shimmering, pale blue dress that flowed down to the grass and sparkled with her every movement. She was the picture of perfect health, her skin vibrant and no longer sweaty and pale. Her hair had a shiny luster, her eyes bright as she smiled at Evelina.

Evelina had a million questions. But she didn’t say anything, because she really didn’t care to get any answers at this point. All she needed to know was that her mother was back to being herself. She threw her arms around Embry, basking in the gentle touch of her mother.

Embry was quiet, stroking Evelina’s hair as they held each other. With every passing breath came the realization of where she had just been. Evelina pulled back abruptly, her thoughts catching up with her.

“I was at the lux,” Evelina said softly, noting her mother’s smile dimming. “Carwyn had just been chosen by the crown.”

She spun around, looking harder at her surroundings in an attempt to find something she recognized. The hill was foreign—even the stars above weren’t constellations she recognized.

“Evelina,” her mother said softly.

Evelina twisted around again, her breath quickening.

Her mother reached out and placed a steady hand on her trembling shoulder. “Evelina, look at me.”

“Are we dead?” Evelina blurted out. “Is this Caelum?”

She remembered being at the lux when the pain hit. There wasn’t time to find out what had caused the pain—it all had happened so fast. And now she was here…with her mother.

Embry sighed and placed her other hand on Evelina’s shoulder, forcing her to face her again. “You’re not dead and this isn’t Caelum,” Embry said firmly. “Breathe.”

Evelina’s pulse still raced, but she took a steadying inhale with her mother.

Embry smiled and cupped Evelina’s cheeks. “Let me explain.” She dropped her hands and tilted her face toward the stars. Evelina glanced up, too, still wondering why she didn’t recognize the night sky.

“The constellations are all backwards here. It’s like we’re on the other side of the stars and we’re looking at it upside down. You’re among the very few that have been brought here, a place where no one can travel unless chosen.” Embry looked away from the sky, bringing her gaze to Evelina’s. “This is the Celestial Plane, the dwellings of the Divine.”

Evelina sucked in a sharp breath, her eyes bouncing between the unfamiliar sky and her mother. “Why am I here?”

Embry tucked a stray piece of hair behind Evelina’s ear, her touch light and warm. “You are not the only one who was brought here.”

A gasp came from behind Evelina, causing her to jump. She spun around and found Carwyn lying on the ground. Panic gripped her chest, pressing down like a boulder.

Carwyn’s eyes found the two of them standing beside her. She scrambled to her feet, her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

“Mother?” Her gaze flickered over to Evelina. “Evie?” She didn’t run to her mother like Evelina had. Instead, she flinched back from her. Shame swirled in her gaze. “What’s happening?” she asked.

Evelina didn’t know how to answer—she wasn’t even sure herself.

“Carwyn,” their mother said gently. “You have been brought to the Celestial Plane.”

The fiery crown had disappeared from above Carwyn’s head. Darkness seemed to cling to her; a shadow followed her every move. Evelina’s eyes dropped to the ground, unable to stand the look of pain in Carwyn’s eyes, a look she didn’t understand. She gasped, finding the grass beneath Carwyn’s feet had decayed.

Her sister took a step forward. The moment her foot touched the ground again, that patch of grass died too.

“Carwyn,” Evelina said, lifting her gaze. “The grass.”

They both looked down. Carwyn backed up, another patch of grass dying, then another and another as she backed up further .

“No.” Her voice was panicked, nothing like the strong and confident ruler she had been at the lux.

“What’s happening?” Evelina turned to their mother, desperate for an answer.

Embry’s eyes were sad as she watched Carwyn. “I think only Carwyn can answer that question.”

Carwyn covered her mouth with her hand, muffling the sobs attempting to break free.

“Carwyn… What have you done?” Evelina whispered.

“I thought Eurydice had given up on us,” Carwyn said in a pleading voice, as if seeking understanding. “We’d been losing for so long—and then when mother got sick, it all but confirmed Eurydice had turned her back on us.” She slowly lifted her gaze to Evelina’s, her voice growing quiet. “I turned to the dark gods for help.”

Evelina froze. It felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over her.

Carwyn always had stronger faith in Eurydice than anyone she had ever known. It was Carwyn who said Eurydice would guide them to victory only moments ago at the lux.

“I was having horrible nightmares every night about mother dying before she got sick.” Her gaze flickered over to Embry. “And then when she did fall ill, it felt like my nightmares were becoming reality. None of the healers could save her, and when the Sacred said it was because the land was dying, I had to do something. I couldn’t sit back and do nothing.

“So I asked the dark gods for help. I prayed to them to save Mother, and they listened. The price was a small portion of my Essence—nothing compared to saving our mother. And for a few hours…she got better. I thought it had worked.” She swallowed, her eyes dropping to the ground. “But then she got worse. Right up until the very end.”

Evelina could shake her sister for being so foolish, though she knew her intentions came from a good place. “ You didn’t specify how long Mother would get better for, did you?” she asked slowly.

Carwyn shook her head, her shoulders dropping.

The dark gods were unpredictable. Cunning and selfish. They knew exactly how to take advantage of even the most brilliant minds in their most desperate moments.

“But it was a mistake,” Carwyn rushed to explain. “I can still be queen.”

Their mother pulled her in close, wrapping her in a hug.

A gentle and unfamiliar voice drifted on the wind. “This is not a mistake that can be reversed.”

Evelina spun around to face the voice, her eyes widening. The hilltop was filled with six stone chairs, simply carved with ivy crawling up the sides. They weren’t there a moment ago, and yet they looked as if they’d been there for ages.

But it wasn’t the chairs that caused Evelina’s mouth to hang open. It was the beings sitting in them, their presence so overwhelming that she knew they weren’t fae. They each had their own gravitational pull, like an invisible force tugging her toward them.

Evelina didn’t want to believe what her eyes were seeing. She had seen countless depictions of the lesser-known gods and goddesses, had heard stories of Azmara’s beauty and the crown of ice atop Zillah’s head.

But she couldn’t be standing before them. And yet her gaze locked with split-color eyes, one of midnight and one of bright green. His hair was the same color as Daimon’s, his face strikingly similar with his strong jawline and full lips that were smiling at her.

Nyx, God of Fear and Dreams. Daimon’s father.

“Welcome to the Celestial Plane.” The same gentle voice from a few moments ago greeted her. Finally, Evelina tore her eyes away from Nyx to look at the woman seated to his left. “I am Azmara, Goddess of Growth and Nature.”

Evelina felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. Azmara was almost blindingly beautiful. Her strawberry-blonde hair cascaded down to her waist in loose waves. She wore a sheer white dress that gathered over one shoulder, leaving the other shoulder bare.

Evelina turned to her mother and Carwyn, finding only Carwyn stood with her now.

“Your mother will return shortly; she isn’t needed here for this,” the man on Azmara’s side said. “Xenos, God of the Seas.”

Evelina shuddered. Another one of the dark gods. His hair was the trademark white of all the Undine, his eyes as blue as the deepest parts of the sea. But his skin was almost translucent, covered in patches of green, shimmery scales. His lips were a pale blue, his teeth razor-sharp and gleaming like pearls.

Evelina didn’t know what to do, so she bowed deeply as they introduced themselves. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Carwyn doing the same.

The next god didn’t need an introduction, his smile feline. He looked at Evelina as if she were a mouse caught in his claws. “Nyx.” He inclined his head toward her. “God of Fear and Dreams.”

Evelina held her breath, waiting for him to say something more. But he just smiled, his gaze unsettling. She quickly bowed.

“Zillah, Goddess of Chaos and War.”

Evelina had recognized her instantly, her depiction in the texts shockingly accurate. She wore a crown of ice atop long, dark hair that was perfectly straight.

“Astoria, Goddess of Hope,” the next said softly. She was quiet, her eyes matching the gentleness of her smile.

Evelina felt the tension inside of her melt away as she looked into Astoria’s gaze. She felt as if all her hopes and dreams could actually happen, like she could run away with Daimon, keep her empire safe and her siblings happy all at once.

Astoria tilted her head. “Interesting.”

Evelina winced, remembering the tales of Astoria’s mind-reading .

Astoria laughed, the sound like birds singing in the early morning. She inclined her head as Evelina quickly bowed.

“And I’m Celeste, Goddess of Wisdom,” the sixth and final god said. Her ebony skin gleamed beneath the moon, a light green dress shimmering as it caught strands of light. “It’s coming time for you to wake back up, daughter of Embry.”

Carwyn bowed deeply, stepping forward.

“The other daughter,” said Celeste sharply.

Evelina’s brows pulled together. “But Carwyn?—”

“Will not be returning,” Xenos interjected. His eyes were curious as he watched Evelina. “She has made her choice to be bound to darkness, and the Eternal Crown will not tie itself to that.”

“No,” Evelina gasped.

Xenos’s gaze swung to Carwyn, an eager hunger in his eyes. Evelina trembled, taking a step closer to Carwyn. When she turned to her sister, she found her face resigned in shadow.

“You gave your soul to the dark gods in exchange for the healing of your mother.” He laughed, his voice deceptively light, like honey. “I have come to claim your soul.”

“No!” Evelina screamed, lurching forward.

Xenos barely looked in her direction as water rose from the ground, pulled from the soil and the grass. He turned the water into ice, creating a barrier around Carwyn. Evelina tried to run around it, but another wall formed. Then another and another, until Carwyn was entirely encased. Evelina pounded on the cage of ice, screaming.

She tried to breathe through the panic. She wouldn’t lose her sister—she’d already lost too much. She had to do something .

Carwyn looked up, her eyes filled with tears. Evelina watched in horror as Carwyn slowly froze until she was nothing more than a statue.

Evelina slid to her knees, screaming until her throat became raw.

“Evelina, darling,” her mother said from beside her .

She jumped, and her screams turned into cries as she reached out for her mother. Embry looked different this time—slightly see-through, as if she were fading.

“The time has come for you to bear the weight of the Eternal Crown,” Embry continued. “My spirit can only rest once it’s complete. The crown is already imbuing itself into your Essence.”

Evelina never wanted to be queen—she never even had a chance to become queen. Carwyn was the one always prepped to wear the crown, and even before Evelina, Ren and Lyria would have been next in line.

If she became queen…she would lose Daimon.

There were already so many reasons they couldn’t be together; their fates were always pulling them in opposite directions. If anyone ever found out he was the son of Nyx, he would be outcasted into the wildlands. There would be riots if it was discovered the princess—the queen —was in love with the offspring of a dark god.

But becoming the queen meant taking a king, someone who had already been bound to her by blood and by oath. She would have no choice but to marry Senna. Even if she wanted to try with Daimon, the choice had already been made. Senna had sworn himself to the crown , no matter who wore it.

She glanced back at Carwyn, frozen in time. “And if I don’t want it?”

“You have the right to abdicate after the transfer is complete,” Azmara said from beside them. “But if it wanted another, it would have chosen them. The repercussions of rejecting it are not light.”

Evelina swallowed. “Repercussions?”

“Once it passes on to you, it imbues itself within your Essence,” Azmara explained. “You are one with the crown. To give it up is to also give up your magic. You would remain fae if you so choose to reject it, but your magic cannot be untangled from it. It would stay with the crown and pass on to the next, leaving you powerless.”

“So, what will it be, daughter of Embry?” Astoria pressed.

Evelina took a step back, shaking her head. “It was always supposed to be Carwyn.”

She glanced at her mother, who was almost fully invisible now. Evelina reached out for her, desperate to feel her one last time. But her hand went through her, her body no longer solid.

Embry nodded. “I will love you regardless.” She smiled softly and said, “I will be with you always.”

Evelina’s stomach sank. With a quick breath, she twisted back to the gods and goddesses. She nodded and took a deep breath as she met Astoria’s gaze, determination filling her.

“I agree to bear the weight of the Eternal Crown.”

“Your empire will need you in the days to come.” Astoria’s voice was fading, sounding farther away, as if Evelina had cotton in her ears. “Your gift of light is a mark befitting a queen. Hold those words close to your heart.”

Evelina’s vision darkened, and she felt the pull to return to her body. It was like her soul was tethered, but not quite settled, and now her body was calling her home.

Evelina knew her future was about to change. She could feel it deep in her bones. The change wasn’t subtle; it wasn’t a slight shift of the wind or something so slow she couldn’t notice it until after it happened.

The change was quick. Sharp.

The swift swipe of a blade, cutting down all her dreams.