One

EVE

Cold. Always cold.

Was I back in the prison pen? Part of me desperately hoped so, because that would mean that running into Ferar and Cassus on the snowy roads had been nothing more than a nightmare.

My eyes opened to utter darkness. No stars in the sky and no sounds of the outdoors. The stone underneath me was cold and hard. Probably not the prison pen, then. I reached a hand out and caught a stone wall, drawing back with disgust when slime and filth met my fingertips.

"Ellis?" I whispered cautiously.

This wasn't the Northern Realm.

This wasn't the prison pen.

But that didn't mean that this was someplace good.

Fear tightened my throat, bile threatening to throw up whatever meager bits of food were still in my stomach. I fought against the overwhelm and panic, struggling to breathe. Focus. Though sore, nothing on me appeared to be injured.

Where was my prince?

"Ellis?"

No response. I was utterly alone.

"Ellis!" I tried again, my voice louder.

"Shut up in there!"

I flinched back as something struck a metal grate above me, showering me with hot red and orange sparks, which illuminated a figure in armor with a sword above me.

Breathe. Breathe.

Not responding to the guard, my eyes adjusted in the darkness, and I evaluated my prison. I could walk five paces in each direction, and there were no doors or windows in my small stone cell. The metal grate was the only entrance above me, and it was twice my height. There would be no escaping—not without any help.

"Ellis!" I cried out in desperation. "ELLIS!"

The flare of a torch blinded me temporarily as the grate above me flew open, and a figure jumped down into a crouch, torch in one hand, sword raised threateningly in the other. More light from above illuminated his silhouette, flashing off his armor. Pointed ears stuck out from behind his helmet, and his golden eyes glowed in the darkness as he glared at me. He wore more protective armor than Cassus ever had, the fae's entire body clad in golden flames that were as much art as they were protection.

I must have stared for too long because he introduced himself by sheathing his sword and landing a vicious backhand on my face.

I'd been through too much at this point to let a little slap discourage me. Using the momentum of his hit, I spun around and rushed at him, going blindly for the sword on his belt.

He didn't expect that, and tears of relief welled in my eyes as my fingers closed around the hilt, and I yanked the sword back far enough that it slid from its sheath, and I blindly hurled myself forward. The fae let out a stream of expletives in a language I didn't understand, throwing a hand up at me. An unseen force slammed me against the wall. Stunned, the sword fell from my grasp and clattered to the ground.

Gibberish floated above me, unintelligible but soothing to the ear. The soldier called up, and a rope ladder descended. He pointed at me and the rope, looking like he'd rather wrap it around my neck than use it to get me above ground. A second later, he picked up the sword and more securely tied it to his waist. His dirty look could have curdled milk as he gestured for me to follow him.

Well, anywhere had to be better than here, right?

I climbed up. The ladder wobbled with my movement, but not enough to scare me. I was tired of being scared, and I'd do anything to control my fate, to lean into any moment where I could decide something for myself. For now, I decided to climb.

Light assaulted my eyes, costing me precious seconds as the guard nimbly climbed out of the cell and stood over me as I ascended more slowly. Hauling me up with a vice grip on my upper arm, he threw me down and gathered the rope ladder up behind him, slamming the grate shut.

I blinked rapidly, willing my eyes to adjust to more light.

The fae guard sputtered something back in the lilting, lyrical fae language, though I gave him points for making the smooth fae language sound ugly on his lips. He gestured impatiently in front of him.

Ah, get moving.

I took a few steps forward. The fae guard huffed.

"There she is," said a new voice, a masculine one.

I flinched as a new fae emerged from the darkened shadows in the corner. Had he been standing there this whole time?

He was tall. He had dark hair like Ellis, but it was straight as a board and tied back from his head in a smooth ponytail. His eyes were pure silver, and every inch of his face was sharp. Angled cheekbones, a long nose, and a pointed chin. He was stunning, of course, as all fae appeared to be, but there was an edge to him that warned of a predator. The fae was beautiful in the same way a falcon was, or a man-eating cougar.

He reminded me of Ellis, but older and … colder.

"Come along. We mustn't keep everyone waiting. You've been very naughty."

My lips parted in shock and indignation, but nothing came out.

The fae turned on his heel and strode off, clearly expecting me to obey. The guard huffed as he followed behind me, poking me in the back when he apparently didn't think I was moving fast enough.

I cleared my throat, deciding to try my luck. "Where's Ellis?"

He didn't answer. Both of them kept walking, up and up.…

My tired legs pushed forward, my stomach grumbling and my mind exhausted. When had I eaten last, or slept? And in my book being knocked out didn't count as sleeping.

The fae led me down twisting passages and so many tunnels that I knew I'd never be able to navigate them alone. The stone floor under my boots inclined ever so slightly, and eventually the moist air gave way to a cool, fresh breeze. Natural daylight filtered through slats high in the stones, my legs burning as the gradient spiked sharply and we went up, up, up. Hadn't the fae heard of stairs?

My calves ached in protest, but I trudged behind him. We were getting somewhere, and the walk allowed me to study him like I hadn't been able to in the dimness of the dungeons.

His long, black ponytail fell all the way down his back, his tunic made of pure silver inlaid with diamonds that caught whatever small bits of light he passed under. His weathered black pants fit him like a glove.

Don't stare at his ass.

Shaking my head, I took in the fine craftsmanship of his boots and the jeweled sword at his belt. A crown that looked more like a headdress sat atop his head. What looked like woven black branches came from it to a small point down over his forehead. It wasn't anything like Ellis's crown or the crowns I'd seen in my life.

The surrounding halls were still stone, but changed to a bright green, swirling pattern I'd never seen before.

"Serpentine stone," he called out from in front of me.

I shut my mouth, not realizing I'd been gawking like a simpleton. It wasn't just the grandness of the castle—I'd been living in Ellis's castle for weeks now, but this castle was grand on a scale that was borderline … garish. The marble floors were polished to such a shine I feared I'd be chastised for marring the gleaming surface with my dirty footsteps. Hundreds of delicate, white candles lined the halls, emitting a soft glow and throwing into relief glittering cases of jewels and gold casually on display.

Outside, a crack of lightning shot down from the seemingly clear sky, striking a tree and splitting it in half. I jumped, nearly tripping and falling on my face.

The fae didn't even flinch; his eyes simply flicked to the charred, burning tree with irritation before he dismissed it completely, and passed by the window as if nothing untoward had occurred.

The ceiling stretched on and on above me, painted with fantastical scenes of things I'd only ever read about in storybooks–unicorns, mermaids, and streaks of purple magick. I nearly ran into the guard because I was so busy taking everything in. The ceilings were so high! Lola would have tons of room to practice flying! How did craftsmen even build something so high?

My boots were soft on the polished, shiny surface of the floor, but the fae's boots had a hard, metallic piece on his heel that left a satisfying clacking noise with each footfall. The stark difference between this and the silent footsteps of the other fae sent a clear message: that this fae was a master of his domain; this was someone who, despite the massive sword at his side, didn't need to fight or hunt. He wanted everyone to know he was coming.

Who was this fae?

"Your Highness! I was just looking for you. We brought—"

A fae with bright blond hair rounded the corner, his face breaking at seeing the fae and then utter confusion at seeing me. He cut himself off soundly. I stared at the gold tunic, the gold eyes, and the gold jewels that winked at me, embedded in his fabrics.

Wait. ‘Your Highness?'

"Continue. Ignore her," my Ellis-look-alike fae commanded. Because it was a command, and not a request. Oh shit, who was this guy? Why was I in his castle? Maybe I was just in one of the other realms, and not all the royal family members had been murdered? That had to be it. I desperately hoped that was it.

"Have the prisoners brought to the throne room to be dealt with," my fae ordered, and the blond bowed. His long hair fell forward over his face in a pale curtain, the two front pieces braided and clipped back away from his face. It stressed his pointed ears.

"Yes, of course."

The fae turned on his heel and fled down a side corridor. My fae made an impatient hand gesture at me.

"Come along. The show is about to start."

I opened my mouth to argue that I wasn't particularly up to being ‘dealt with,' but then I remember he'd said I wasn't a prisoner. Then who was? Was it a lie? Or a trap? It would be best to keep my mouth shut until I had a better lay of the land.

Two armed guards opened massive oak doors that were as tall as five men. The fae confidently strode into the massive hall, but I stumbled as the guards glared at me with such hatred that I wondered if I had mud on my face. My fae walked up the long walkway to a raised dais that was eerily similar to the one in Ellis's castle. He sat down on a throne, crossing his ankle over his knee as if he had all the time in the world.

Shit. King Fae.

I tried to follow, since that was what he'd told me to do.

"Don't you dare approach the dais, human filth!"

I'd had enough experience being shoved around by fae that I twisted around in time as I saw a guard moving out of the corner of my eye. He only caught part of my side as I writhed away, but I still lost my balance and tripped into a group of three fae standing in front of the throne. They all screamed like I was a leper and fell over. The guards near the door grasped the hilt of their swords and moved forward.

"Stop."

Everyone froze as the king held up a hand, his silver eyes boring into mine. A smile broke out across his face, but it wasn't warm or comforting. It was as cold as the winter lands Ellis and I had crossed together.

"Leave the human. We have bigger priorities."

As if on cue, the massive doors opened again, and a dozen guards marched through with three figures between them. Cassus and Ferar looked worse for wear, both sporting bruises and dried blood up and down their soiled clothes. Ferar looked much less intimidating without the arsenal of weapons around his chest and waist, but his scathing glare could curdle milk.

It was the third figure I was worried about.

"Ellis!"

I tried to rush toward him, but the guards pushed me away, raising their weapons threateningly, but not drawing them. My hands balled into fists. Calm. I needed to be calm.

With determination, Ellis stared ahead of him, but he looked relatively unharmed. His face twisted through a dozen emotions when he saw me–shock, disbelief, anger, sadness, then resignation. Though compared to Cassus and Ferar, he looked practically pristine. His clothes weren't dirty and dingy like mine were from my little stay in the dungeon, and he didn't have any injuries that I could see. His eyes flashed and his head turned the slightest bit toward me when I called out, but the next second a scowl stretched his mouth and he glared ahead.

Ignoring me.

What, did he think pretending not to know me would do either of us some kind of favor?

Ooh, that son of a—

The guards pushed Cassus and Ferar to their knees in front of the king, their hands tied roughly behind their backs. Two more continued to guard Ellis. I stayed where I was, standing awkwardly between both groups. The guards and other fae were trying their best to ignore me after their king's command, but their wrinkled noses and looks of disgust were enough to tell me how they really felt about my presence. Never had I felt more self-conscious. Not even when the other girls at home had made fun of my old clothes and my thicker figure.

The king smiled, fangs bared. "Bring the new one."

The guards pushed Ellis in front of them, causing him to stumble toward the throne. The king made a grand show of coming down off his throne and walking around him, his finger on his chin as he inspected Ellis like he was a horse for sale at auction.

"One of the heirs, yes?"

Cassus nodded once, sharply.

The king continued his perusal, waving a casual hand in my direction without taking his eyes from Ellis. I squeaked in protest as two guards seized my arms and dragged me forward.

"I can walk!" I yelled at them, and their grim, pinched faces made it clear it was taking everything they had to not beat the snot of me for my insolence.

The king in question narrowed his eyes at me, giving me the same inspection he had of Ellis.

"What is your name?" The sugary sweetness in his voice was all contrived; his teeth grit like he was in physical pain from speaking to me.

"Eve," I deadpanned back.

"Eve," he purred back like a deadly predator who'd caught a large treat. "Tell me about the half br—fae back on your homeland."

I lifted my head. "And then you'll let us go back?"

The resulting snorts and laughter didn't come from him, but from the fae and guards gathered to witness my humiliation. The king didn't join them, but neither did he stop them. He smiled as if humoring everyone.

Ellis continued to sneer at the floor like it had done him some personal wrong. Why wouldn't he look at me?

"This is a delicate situation, as I'm sure you understand. You made quite a ruckus down there, destroying our barrier and ruining the games."

Anger pulsed through my veins. I wasn't a child who'd gotten caught with their hand in a cookie jar, and I didn't appreciate being treated like one.

"You'll have to excuse me, then. I was mostly concerned with not dying."

Peri's face filled my mind. Had she and everyone else back home died for nothing but cheap entertainment?

The surrounding fae muttered at my disrespect, but I kept my chin high as I met his gaze. The king's smirk was all fangs and malice. "It will be fun to monitor you."

With a simple turn, he dismissed me, and the guards hauled me backward but kept a firm hold on me. I twisted and writhed and even tried to stomp on one's foot. Their hard boots were tipped in metal, which earned me a hiss of pain and an injury when I tried to kick him with my left foot.

A door from behind the king opened and two fae females glided out, eyebrows raised in mild amusement. With matching dark hair and delicate, pointed features, they were clearly his daughters. One in a moss green dress settled comfortably onto the armrest of the king's chair, perching her bottom on it, and crossing her arms as if settling in for a show. The other one wore purple, and moodily glared at everyone present as she stood behind her sister. Her eyes darted between Cassus and Ferar with fear and apprehension, but they lingered on Ferar.

I hung back as the king turned his attention to Ferar and Cassus.

"When the barrier fell, your magick was severed, was it not?" the king asked bluntly, diving right into the matter at hand.

Ferar tensed, and Cassus's face twisted in agony as if the very reminder was pure torture.

The king rapped his knuckles on the edge of his throne. "Yet here you are, back in the fae realm. Still without your magick."

Oomph. That would explain the bruises and blood. Without their powers, they were no match for the other fae.

"Explain."

Ferar and Cassus shot a glance at the other before continuing to stare at the floor. Neither said a word.

The king's eyes narrowed. "Delilah has given birth. I'm told it's a daughter. Pity you won't see her."

Cassus flinched as if the king had put a dagger right through his heart. Without looking up, he pointed one finger at Ellis's limp figure.

The king huffed. "You expect me to believe the half-breed caused all of this? Magick is diminished in their bloodlines. They don't have enough to stop a nosebleed, let alone drag the four of you back to this realm. Unless you're claiming he stole your magick? Maybe it was simply your stupidity, a side effect of the barrier collapsing. It's never happened before."

Ferar glanced at Cassus, a sharp look in his eye. The daughter standing behind the king in the purple robe jerked, then went still.

The king studied his nails. "Not that it matters much. What does matter is that someone must be punished for the catastrophe. Never have I seen such pathetic games. Many strange, idiotic things were said, and the people are repeating them like parrots. There are riots."

Cassus's head hung low. "I beseech you. Please let me see my daughter and my mate before my execution."

Sweat dripped down my back as though I was the one on trial and not Cassus. I hated Cassus's guts, but compassion swelled in my veins at the sight of him kneeling in front of his king, pleading to see his newborn daughter's face before he died.

The king smirked. "Beg."

My hands curled into fists at my side. I knew this guy was an ass. All his talk of ‘guests' and ‘mistakes' had been simply that—talk. I wasn't sure what game he was playing, but I wouldn't be stupid enough to trust him. The daughter sitting on his armrest smirked. The one standing had a face carved from stone.

Cassus dropped lower onto his belly, face pressed into the cold stone floor. "Please, my most magnificent King Fennis, allow me the honor of seeing my newborn daughter and mate before I endure the punishment so rightly given to me."

The fae court laughed and snickered, guffawed, and pointed. The sound was sickening, Cassus's body tensing and tightening as he lay prone on the cold ground, fingertips curling inwards on his palms.

I never thought I'd feel sorry for Cassus, yet here we were, a myriad of conflicting emotions twisting my face. This was the same fae who'd help orchestrate the murders of the royal families—women, children, and even the unborn. Seeing him brought this low should have filled me with glee, or at the very least a sense of justice, yet I was just as horrified as when I had witnessed the murders of Ellis's family.

All murder is awful. It doesn't matter who is involved.

Cassus waited with bated breath on the ground, fingertips inches from his king's boots. Fennis let the tension grow, thick silence falling in a suffocating blanket around the entire court as their laughs faded into uncomfortable silence.

"After a millennium of successful games, you allowed the barrier to fall," Fennis began. "You alone handled the first ever games without a conclusion, and through your failure, have cut off our access to new humans. These transgressions are unforgivable."

Cassus shook, but kept himself down on the floor. Even as Ferar boldly raised his head and stared straight at the princess in purple.

"I deny your request," Fennis intoned, satisfaction dripping from his voice.

A long, keening moan rang out from Cassus as guards moved forward to grab him. Dennis's hands went to the massive sword at his hip.

Another murder.

"You're full of shit, Fennis." Ferar hadn't shouted, but his voice rang out clearly in the crowded hall, bringing everything (and everyone) to a halt. The princess in purple gripped the back of Fennis's throne so hard her knuckles turned white.

The king's eyes narrowed, jaw tightening as his grand bit of theater was interrupted. A moment later his face smoothed out, one eyebrow lifting with a mocking challenge.

"Oh really?" Fennis drawled. "How—"

"Cassus tried to kill the queen in the prophecy many times, but I stopped him. I helped facilitate the human wins and contacted the fae descendants who had foreseen her coming, working together to thwart you. You will not win. Freedom will rise." Ferar said it all in one breath, his tone matter of fact and his head held high.

The princess sitting on the throne stood in anger, fists balled at her side. Her sister put her hands on her shoulders, clutching onto her sister. Both looked angry.

It was so silent in the court I'd wondered if some magick had frozen time. But then Ferar stood, turning to face the court. "All of you are complicit. I have heard with my own pointed ears what is coming. Blood will run in the streets, and none of you will be safe. Fennis—"

I jerked back, nausea rolling my stomach as the king walked up behind Ferar and severed his head with one clean blow of his sword. It bounced once and rolled, with court members pushing and shoving to get out of its path. Ferar's golden eyes spun crazily in his head, his mouth wordlessly working as blood spread out in a pool around his severed neck. His body crumpled to the ground.

The two princesses made different sounds; the one a horrified gasp, and the one standing a sound of disbelief as she went white and stoic, like someone in shock.

Fennis grinned nastily, wiping the blade using Cassus's shoulder.

I turned toward Ellis simply to avert my eyes; he stared at the headless body, face paling out. Cassus choked, drawing my attention back to him. His face was also pale, his lips parted with horror. Silver eyes swam with heavy emotion that took me aback.

"Well, I guess the good news is that I have my execution," Fennis began again. "And the fae have their justice for a wretched game cycle. Aren't you lucky?" Fennis waved his arm dismissively to Cassus, a clear invitation to get out of his sight.

Cassus tried to stand, his hands and legs shaking uncontrollably. He couldn't tear his eyes away from Ferar's corpse.

"Don't be sad, Cassus. We need you to run the breeding manors, after all. He was just a hunter. There are dozens more like him." The king sheathed his sword and sat back down on his throne.

My mind whirled. Had anything Ferar said been true, or had he simply been baiting the king into killing him quickly instead of Cassus? It was easy to imagine the fae as nothing but ruthless killers, but the truth was much more intricate. They were people, like us, with relationships who loved and hated all the same. I couldn't imagine anyone caring for a cold-blooded killer like Cassus, yet clearly, Ferar had.

Which meant Cassus was a good friend. And a father. And a mate.

I didn't know what to think anymore.

Prophecy … They kept mentioning a stupid prophecy. I didn't believe in such things.

At a clap of the king's hands, servants rushed in from behind the guards with rags and mops, a few men gathering the body and the head while the women cleaned up. With a start, I took in their rounded ears, downcast eyes, and quick efficiency.

Humans.

As Cassus slowly backed away from Fennis and Ferar's body, the king had one last thing to say.

"I changed my mind, thanks to your hunter friend. Take the human and the half-breed to one of your manors." He glared at me like I was nothing more than a bit of dung stuck to his shoe. So much for ‘honored guest.' "I want her worked so hard that no one will ever mistake her for a queen. Perhaps I'll start taking after my grandfather. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

I had no idea what he was talking about, but the human servants in the room flinched and quickly found somewhere else to be.

Cassus grit his teeth but gestured to the two guards standing over me. They dragged me behind Cassus, despite my best efforts to dig my heels in. Two more guards marched Ellis behind me.

We passed through the massive front doors and down a short flight of steps, pushed and shoved the entire way. Where were we going?