Prologue

It had been ten runic spans, each marked by a full solar cycle since, Rayne Gael, a former Sister of the Sheena Su Danis and court mage for Queen Esarelle's Eastern Court, had been exiled from Salaentos, the southernmost continent of Allorn. Her crime—breaking the Sisterhood's fourth cardinal law and sullying herself with the seed of the Northern Court's High Prince, Queen Amarenthia's son and heir to the throne.

The courts forbade such unions, as it had been decreed that a royal could not ascend the throne if not of pure blood. Rayne loved Prince Keryth of House Fabriell, but she'd always known that in the end, their courtship would never be accepted by Queen Amarenthia. But Rayne cared little for the throne of a corrupted crown and even less for the rot eating at the roots of the Sisterhood's power. Thus, when she was stripped of her Sister title and cast out of the kingdom, Rayne had no choice but to accept her fate, for it was the secret she'd carried in her womb that truly forced her into hiding.

If the Sisterhood or the queens ever discovered she'd given birth to twin daughters, and that one of the girls carried the four sigils of the foretold Spirit Marked, Rayne would've been hunted to the vast corners of the realm for the power surging through her daughter's veins.

Mercifully, with the help of her brother, she'd managed to keep herself and her twin daughters concealed, finding refuge in an abandoned cottage deep inside Loraen Wood, a forest four waymarks from Doskhebraedas, the nearest village in Nevielle, one of the four kingdoms of Cerritos, the westernmost continent of Allorn.

It was a humble home, but at least her daughters had stable shelter and warm food on the table. Rayne's skill in making tonics to heal ailments earned her a good reputation amongst the townsfolk and allowed her to earn her own coin. To them, she seemed to be a simple woman of the wood, able to turn plants and herbs into remedies. They never guessed what her true talent was, where her abilities truly came from.

Rayne should've known her secret wouldn't stay hidden forever. For like calls to like, and the turbulent magic like the one carried by her daughter, Enid, could never be fully contained.

As Rayne readied her daughters for bed, the warmth of a crackling fire and the smell of baked bread wrapped themselves around her like a quilt. With a gentle sigh, she poured hot milk from an iron cast kettle into two small clay cups, a smile curling at the corners of her lips.

Sitting at a wood table across from her, her young daughters stared with bright eyes, waiting for their frothy treat. One licked her lips as if she'd never enjoyed warmed milk before. Rayne reached for a small basket full of freshly baked unleavened bread and placed it at the center of the table. "Keeley, Enid," she said to the girls, "wait until they cool a little."

"Okay, Mama," they replied in unison, their voices full of excitement as they both rushed to grab a slice anyway.

Taking a careful bite of the hot bread, Keeley moaned with delight, her mouth full as she said, "I wish we had some jam. Sunberry would be nice."

Rayne let a small breath escape her lips as she looked around at their small cottage. The low ceiling was lined with wood beams and the floor was nothing but packed dirt. Four cots rested against the walls along with some baskets full of cheap grain and their meager belongings.

She blinked away the moisture in her eyes. Sunberry jam was a simple luxury they could no longer afford.

Outside, the wind howled, rattling the rickety wooden door and pulling Rayne away from memories of her comfortable past at Queen Esarelle's court and back to her harsh new reality. Smoothing her apron, she forced a smile for her daughters. "Okay, my darlings. Finish up and let's get to bed."

"What about Uncle Ferran?" Keeley asked.

"Oh, Keeley, don't worry about him. He'll be home soon enough. But you and your sister better get to bed."

"Yes, Mama," Keeley said.

"The storm is wicked," Enid uttered as she slurped the last of her milk. "Why are the spirits so angry with us?" Her auburn curls glowed in the candlelight, amber eyes brilliant and crystalline, like warmed honey. Rayne's heart squeezed. The girls weren't identical, and while both had red, curly hair, Keely had her mother's mossy green eyes. Enid, however, had inherited not just the color of their father's eyes, but that curious and mischievous fire buried in them.

The fire Rayne missed with every fiber of her existence.

Pulling a lock of hair behind her daughter's ear, Rayne smiled. "You've been listening to your uncle's crazy stories." She reached for her daughter's hand and guided her to one of the cots, the girl's too long, white linen nightgown dragging on the floor.

"Uncle Ferran says one day I'll be strong enough to control all the wind. I can tell it to stop being so angry. Maybe I can make it happy." The little girl made a delicate hand gesture and the flame on the candle sitting on the table flickered and died.

"Oh my, did he now?" her mother mused.

As Enid climbed onto her cot, she said, "You don't believe I'll be strong enough to join the Sheena Su Danis?"

Rayne tapped her daughter on the nose. "I believe you are very strong. Stronger than any mage I know. But you can choose whatever path you want. You don't have to join the Sisterhood to be powerful."

"But weren't you a?—"

"Time for bed, my love." She tucked her daughter under a blanket and kissed her forehead, shrugging off the fact she herself used to be one of the most powerful elemental mages in Queen Esarelle's court.

A loud boom shook the cottage as the wooden door blew open. Rayne jerked back, eyes growing round, heart pounding like a war drum. A man stood at the entrance, his hooded cloak soaked. The top of the broadsword strapped across his back glinted with rain drops. "We must leave at once," he said, his voice hoarse, those signature green eyes that belonged to her family were darkened to the color of deep moss.

Rayne jumped to her feet, rushing to him. "What do you mean? You said we'd be safe here."

He lowered his hood and a mop of shaggy chestnut hair fell over his brow. "They found us, Rayne. Gather only the essentials. We don't have much time."

As if they'd rehearsed this several times, she rushed to a back corner and grabbed a small satchel, packing bread, apples, and a couple of blankets. "Ferran, where're we supposed to go?"

Throwing a few food items into a satchel already strapped across his shoulder, he addressed his sister, "Take Keeley to Thorynth. The queen won't dare enter one of the Independent Cities."

"If Esarelle is willing to enter Nevielle and risk a war with King Velmaaris, nowhere is safe." Rayne searched her brother's eyes for any indication he disagreed, hoping he'd tell her she was wrong. All she saw was the flame of the small hearth glinting in his eyes.

"Cousin Brigid, her husband worked in the mines," he said, ignoring what they both knew to be true. "They will help you find passage through the mountains into San Gil. I will meet you once the ajumadea are no longer on our trail."

Eyes wild, Rayne shook her head. Those shadowed beasts would never relent. The wraithlike hounds would scour the realm until they found her daughter. Able to scent magic, they could not only track mages with frightening efficiency, but once they did, they could devour a mage's elemental magic, leaving the wielder nothing but a hollowed husk. "I'm not going anywhere without Enid. Especially to yet another continent."

Ferran stalked closer, his large boots leaving wet footprints on the dirt floor. Grabbing his sister by the forearms, he said, "The court doesn't know Enid has a twin. Separating them is the best chance the girls have. I will divert the dogs away from you. Give you a chance to get Keeley to safety."

"You're using Enid as bait? She's only a child, Ferran. Not fully into her powers."

Opening a wooden trunk, Ferran reached in and pulled out a leather bag full of weapons. Swords clinked against each other, and a few arrowheads poked out of the bag. "She will be safe with me. I swear it. On our father's honor."

She grabbed her brother's arm. "And what of the prince? Any word?"

Ferran dropped his chin.

Iced blood ran through her veins, his silence slamming down on her like a hammer. Her lips trembled, but she kept her tears at bay. "Maybe Keryth hasn't found a way to get a message to us?"

Ferran said nothing as he helped Enid strap on her boots and put on her cloak.

"Where are we going, uncle? It's vicious outside."

"Come on, darling. We have a long ride ahead of us." He dragged her toward the door, his sister following behind with Keeley who'd already put on her cloak.

"Where will you be riding to?" Rayne asked.

"It's better you don't know." Thunder rolled and a flash of lightning broke through the thick darkness as he pulled the door open, rain whipping furiously. Ferran kissed Keeley's forehead and gave his sister a strong hug. "If you ride through the night, you will reach Thorynth by sunrise."

Rayne dropped to her knees and adjusted the hood on her daughter's cloak. "I will see you soon, my child."

The girl wrapped her arms around her mother's neck. "Mama, I'm scared."

"Don't be, sweetness. You are the strongest person I know. Be brave for me. Promise?"

Nodding, Enid wiped tears from her eyes. "I promise."

"Good girl. I love you." She kissed her daughter, and chest heaving, stood and faced her brother one last time. "Bring her back to me."

"By the power of the Ancient, sister."

The twins hugged, Keeley sobbing into her sister's shoulder. "We'll see each other soon," Enid said, pulling Keeley back and wiping tears from her sister's eyes.

"I don't know how to be me without you, Enid. Who will sing songs with me at night? Or tease the lily hoppers by the pond?"

Enid leaned in. "When the wind brushes against your cheek, sister, it will be me sending you a kiss." As if speaking in a silent language only they could hear, they smiled and embraced one last time.

Rayne's heart shattered as she watched her brother mount his horse and take Enid with him, his beast galloping into the grim night. The cries that erupted from her throat were drowned by the howling wind. The branches of the Red Flame trees of Loraen Wood swayed with violence as the rain pounded harder. She wondered if it wasn't Enid's own sorrow of being separated from her twin that fueled the storm.

She hoped not. Magic that strong was a beacon and those hunting her daughter already had her scent. Without wasting another second, Rayne lifted Keeley onto her horse and galloped west toward the Serranielle Range and the mountaintop city of Thorynth, but not before reaching within her core and plucking out a tendril of her own magic. Enid was still too young to fight off a pack of those beasts on her own, and Ferran was skilled with the sword, but even the mightiest of warriors couldn't outlast that kind of attack.

But a Sheena Su Danis might. By the power of the Ancient she had to at least try. The ground rumbled beneath her, the earth already responding to her call.

If the ajumadea wanted a hunt, she'd give them one.