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T eagan led me through the front doors of the castle.

At least, that’s what I imagined this structure was.

It was crafted of wood and stone, with intricate arches and tall watchtowers.

Though, I couldn’t stop to scout out hardly any of it as Teagan ushered me straight from the carriage to inside.

I did not see Byn again after leaving the carriage, and a tiny piece of me was disappointed.

Though he frustrated me, I also felt like he saw me, picking up on things nobody has ever bothered to observe about me.

The first thing I noticed after stepping inside the walls was that Southerners did not keep high ceilings.

In the North, our ceilings were so widely open—especially in Gatlyn Castle—that you could fly a small circle around the room.

Here, I immediately felt squished, though fortunately it was not nearly as cramped as the carriage.

I wonder if they realize I could’ve flown here on my own.

Without saying a word, I continued to follow Teagan through the maze they called The Haven.

I noticed there were guards stationed outside, but not as many inside.

Within the walls of the castle, I mostly saw civilians.

Mothers with their children, young adults, and the elderly.

Not very many seemed to be awake at such a late hour, but each one stopped to look at us.

Everybody we passed either bowed or dipped their head towards Teagan, then stopped dead in their tracks when their eyes landed on me.

Then the murmuring began.

I wasn’t surprised—if the books I had read were correct, the South had only ever truly mixed and mingled with the Ocrein Isles.

Ever since the Islanders closed their borders a little less than two decades ago, it had just been the Southerners and those from the Isles who decided to stay behind.

The ones who chose to remain here risked never being able to see their homeland again.

The humans, unlike the Ocrein Isles, didn’t give their people an option when they, too, closed their borders.

According to records, the humans of the Levast Isles had supported my ancestors and my father’s ancestors for generations.

Trade routes flowed freely between them, and the humans were always a shout away from helping us in any conflicts.

They haven’t been seen or heard from in ages, though—ever since the fae’s immortality was stripped away. Some even say the Stars were punishing us. But not a whisper has been heard from the Levast Isles, and my ancestors gave up generations ago on trying to reestablish relations.

No—the fae here definitely weren’t accustomed to seeing those outside of their borders, let alone a child of the sky.

The only thing that kept me from faltering as I listened to those murmurs was years of training myself not to react to those around me, which was a necessity as my father’s daughter and Princess of the North.

Instincts took over as I squared my shoulders, flared my wings slightly then tucked them back in, and raised my chin high.

I didn’t spare a glance at a single soul as I followed in Teagan’s footsteps, and Teagan never looked back to see if I followed.

After a few twists and turns, the people thinned out until it was only Teagan and I approaching a long hallway with multiple doors on either side.

A small wave of relief overcame me when we were finally out of the public’s eye.

I hadn’t realized what it would be like to be surrounded by Southerners—fae who had the blood of my Northern brothers and sisters on their hands.

“This is my family’s private wing of the castle. You won’t find any civilians here. Most of them are staying for your wedding,” Teagan explained as we walked past a set of guards posted at the mouth of the hallway.

I was led all the way to the second-to-last door on the right, Teagan motioning to it. “This will be your room, at least for the next couple of nights. Or if you get tired of my brother,” she tried to joke.

“Why only a couple of nights?” I asked.

Teagan paused, pursing her lips together, then said, “Your wedding is in two days’ time—in the early afternoon, Princess. My brother and I thought it best to not put it off.”

I sucked in a sharp breath and held it in my chest for a moment, thinking and trying not to panic. I’ll be married in just a couple days.

“I guess I should get some beauty rest, then,” I finally said with a calm I didn’t feel after a couple of quiet seconds. Teagan nodded, then opened the door for me to lead the way inside.

The inside of the room was modest yet elegant, and my trunk of belongings had already been placed at the foot of the bed, along with the wooden crate from Hugo.

The room was decorated in soft shades of blue, from the plush rug to the curtains over the windows, to the quilt on the four-poster bed.

Hidden under the blue, though, were traces of the green and gold of the South.

The sheets were a pine green, and all the hardware in the room was gold, down to the doorknob leading into the washroom.

Though, a small part of me was moved that they even tried to make this more comfortable for me by adding my nation’s colors.

It’s not like they had much time to prepare.

None of us did.

Although I was touched, I reminded myself they were the enemy. Nothing more than heartless killers—despite their attempts to sway me otherwise.

“I’ll be back in the morning to bring you breakfast,” Teagan said from where she stood in the doorway.

I nodded, and she inclined her head before shutting the door behind her, though I noticed she didn’t lock it as she left. I listened to her footsteps retreat down the hall until I could no longer hear them before getting to work collecting materials.

Walking over to the small table next to the bed, I picked up a vase full of blue and white flowers I’d never seen before. Taking it to the washroom, I dumped out the water and left the flowers in a heap on the table.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a rope, but I did find a tattered blanket hidden away in the closet. I cut it into strips with a dagger, then set off to work with what I’d gathered.

Within ten minutes, my contraption was complete. Now, if anybody were to open the door without me disarming the suspended vase, it would fall and shatter, alarming me of the person’s arrival.

Sighing and finally feeling somewhat comfortable, I collapsed onto the bed. That’s when I suddenly remembered the box my twin had given me early yesterday morning.

Sitting up, I pulled the rectangular box from my cloak and slid the lid off. My breath caught as I peered in.

Inside the box sat a small dagger with a family crest I didn’t recognize, detailed with a bright blue gem that I believed to be some variety of sapphire.

Hands shaking slightly, I lifted the sheathed dagger, dropping the box onto the bed. On the back side of the dagger was another unknown insignia, but instead of a blue gem, it had a deep green gem that I didn’t recognize.

The workmanship of the dagger was unlike anything I’d ever seen back home, despite all the time spent training with various makes and models of blades alongside Dimitri.

Most daggers nowadays in the North are basic, with little detail to make them special, unless you decide to commission a local to craft you a specific design or pattern.

It was highly unlikely the dagger in my hands now was of Northern origin.

My mind reeled with questions. Dimitri said what was in this box he’d found in our mother’s things, but where did he even find some of her things after so long?

And what was a likely Southern-crafted dagger—or possibly Ocrein Isle crafted—doing with her belongings?

Where did she get this from in the first place?

Frustrated, my eyes burned with tears that I frantically tried to blink back.

What does this all mean?

Shaking my head, I took a few deep breaths to help clear my mind. I slid the dagger into my top, nestling it in place, then walked to the washroom and splashed cold water onto my face.

For a moment, I simply stared into the mirror above the sink.

I was beginning to get purple smudges under my eyes from the stress, and the braid I’d put my hair into that morning was falling down in places.

I was careful in taking it down, and took extra precaution in setting my mother’s tiara next to the blue and white flowers on the bedside table.

Sighing, I returned to the bedroom and threw myself onto the bed. Exhaustion hit me heavy and fast, and before I could even care about changing clothes, sleep overcame me.

** *

The sound of glass shattering had my heart pounding, bolting up from sleep, and reaching for the nearest dagger—the one still resting in my sleeve.

I’d set my little trap every night since arriving a couple days ago, and so far, I’d run into zero issues. Until now, that is.

After a couple seconds of blinking the sleep from my eyes, as well as the morning light, I slowly lowered the dagger back down as I took in the sight before me.

While focusing my eyes forward, I did my best not to think about what today’s rising sun meant for me. How this would be the day my fate was sealed, forever.

My wedding day.

A small, unkempt child stood just inside the entrance to the room with the doors cracked behind her and my trap in pieces at her feet. She had a bewildered look on her face, like breaking a vase was the last thing she expected when sneaking into somebody’s room.

Her eyes widened when she saw me move and, realizing I was awake, she immediately began apologizing. “I’m sorry!” she said, one of her front teeth missing. She couldn’t have been older than eight-years-old.

Sleep still hovering around my brain, I slowly sheathed the dagger and asked her, “What are you doing in here?”