Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

M alissa hurried through the dark forest, moving as swiftly as the shadows would allow. Her hands clutched the front of her gown, lifting the long skirts to keep herself from tripping over the expensive black velvet. Beneath, her legs and feet were bare. She'd left her shoes behind at the castle, deciding that a stubbed toe was preferable to a twisted ankle.

So far, Malissa had managed to avoid both, but then she'd always had a preternatural ability for moving around in the dark.

Yet even her night eyes had their limits. Though she very badly wanted to break into a run, she held back. It was summer, and the branches above her were dense with leaves. The moon pierced through the foliage where it could, but the shafts of light were few and far between, and the shadows were heavy and deep. If she tried to go any faster, there was a good chance she would end up crashing headlong into a patch of briars, and that could very well be her undoing.

Scratches and tattered clothing would raise suspicions.

Sneaking out had been simple enough. Old castles like Drachenval always had secret passages snaking through their walls, and Malissa, being an inquisitive sort, had discovered many of them since her arrival last year. Her black gown had ensured that no guards had seen her slipping away.

As long as she was back before dawn, no one would know she was missing. Her husband, King Wulfgang, had gone west with an alliance of other kings to do battle with the forces of Galadon, who were steadily marching eastward. He would not be returning for several months, so Malissa didn't have to worry about him visiting her bed in the middle of the night. As for the servants, they would not enter her chambers unless called upon.

As she walked, Malissa tried not to think of all the dangers that might be lurking in the forest around her. She doubted bandits would dare to venture this close to the castle, but there were also wild animals to worry about—bears, wolves, wild pigs.

And worse creatures too?

Possibly… but then, wasn't that why she had come out tonight?

Malissa paused and listened to the darkness. She heard the rustle of leaves overhead. The distant cry of a night bird. Her own racing blood.

These woods were pleasant during the daylight hours. Though she was not supposed to, Malissa often came riding here, especially when the weather was nice. The cool shade and the rich odors of soil and moss offered a welcome respite from the stale confines of Castle Drachenval.

At night, however, the forest was a different beast—eerie, terrifying. Malissa almost thought she could feel presences watching her from the depths of shadows, and she half feared the trees themselves might reach out and grab her with gnarled fingers of wood.

It's late , she thought, and getting later by the moment. I must hurry if I wish to make it back to the castle before morning.

She pressed on.

For all its beauty, there was a sense of wrongness about this part of the forest. Malissa had felt it even during the daylight hours, and now, in the dark, she felt it even more strongly. The air tasted of burnt offerings. The trees—what she could see of them—looked twisted and uncanny. The fine hairs at the nape of her neck prickled with fear.

Then, at last, she saw a light up ahead. It was not the yellow beacon of a night-fire, nor the orange gleam of a lantern, but merely the cold, silvery glow of moonlight breaking through a clearing in the trees. Malissa paused at the edge of the forest and stared.

Before her lay an open glade, about an acre in size, and roughly circular in shape. Thick, wild grass covered the ground, exhaling a thin, ghostly mist. From the middle of the glade rose a ring of rough-hewn stone columns surrounding a crude, circular altar in the center.

A darkstone ring.

Once, such structures had been a common sight, but now only a few of them remained. It was said the stones were imbued with powerful magic derived from the spirits trapped within.

Malissa had discovered this particular ring quite by accident, during one of her frequent rides through the forest. That had been several months ago, shortly after her arrival at Drachenval and her marriage to King Wulfgang. She had returned to the darkstone ring many times since then, but always during the daylight hours, and always for no other reason than mere curiosity. It was only after she had discovered the grimoire her father had placed among her belongings that she had conceived of other, darker plans.

Malissa hesitated at the edge of the clearing, her heart pounding wildly in her breast.

It had been a bad idea to come to this place at night. She must have been insane ever to conceive of such a plan. She should turn back now, while she still had the chance. Hurry back to the castle, go to sleep, and forget that she had ever discovered the darkstone ring.

But she had come here tonight for a reason.

Her very survival depended on it.

If she didn't go through with her plan, she would lose her life. Not tonight, not tomorrow, not even next month… but soon. Her husband would be returning by year's end, before the Feast of the Winter Solstice, and he had made it quite clear what would happen if her "situation" had not improved by then.

On the other hand, if she actually went through with her plan, there was a chance she would be damned for all eternity.

Malissa had a choice to make: her soul or her life.

She stepped into the clearing.