Chapter 1

1

REYA

T omorrow is my twentieth birthday, and I've never kissed a man. I don't want to go to the Shadow Valley as a virgin who's never been touched. Time is running out and I feel like I haven't lived properly yet. You see, I am a Shadow Kissed. I was born bearing the eyes of the chosen. From the moment I took my first breath, my destiny has never been my own. My entire life has been here in Terleigh. Sheltered because I'm too important to my town's folk.

I dream of travelling Asen and exploring its beauty and experiencing different cultures and people. I want to wake up each morning and decide where I will travel next. To feel the sun on my back and the wind in my hair. I want to ride horseback along the beaches of the southern coast. To climb the steep mountains of the cold north, and swim naked in the healing waters of the lake in Halomere. None of these things are possible though, because in a matter of months I'll travel to the Shadow Realm as a shadow bride.

My townsfolk call me their saviour. They talk of how my sacrifice will ensure the continued safety and prosperity of my town and district. Not everyone has treated me with reverence, though. The girls my age treated me with disdain. One girl in particular has made my life a living hell for as long as we've known each other. My peers have shunned me because of her. I was never invited to parties or sleepovers; I've never known what it feels like to have a close girlfriend. Arkynn is my only friend. A boy a year my senior who ignored what everyone said about me and befriended me regardless. Who needs lots of friends, anyway? I don't depend on others. I am a strong and independent woman. Which is why, tomorrow on the moonrise of my birthday, I am going to ask Arkynn to make me a woman. I want to know what it feels like to be with a man before I'm taken far away from here and forced to wed a stranger.

I serve my last customer of the night and drop the generous tip into the staff tip jar. Heading into the back room, I pull off my tabard and wash my hands. The inn has been busy tonight. It's Friday, which means pay day for most of the mineworkers in my village. My realm, Asen, is abundant with crystal mountains. My hometown—Terleigh—is rich in amethyst. Many of the men who live here work in the mines, while others run businesses to supply our town.

"Heading off?" Weylynn asks me, propping himself up on the doorframe to his office. Weylynn is my boss and Arkynn's older brother. He's a big guy at six-foot-five with a mane of shoulder- length, dirty blonde hair. He is as formidable as he appears and has a no-nonsense approach to drunks looking to cause trouble in his inn.

I nod my head as I pull on my woollen cape and untie my long, nearly white, blonde hair. A warm bath and my bed are calling me after being on my feet all day.

Weylynn steps out of his office and heads over to the kitchens, and returns holding out a carton of food. "Can you go via the wall on your way home and take my brother his supper?"

"Sure. What are you feeding him tonight?" I ask, lifting the lid on the tub of food and inhaling. "Your mama's wrenbry pie. I hope she saved some for me."

Weylynn grins at me and winks. "There's some in the larder for your lunch break tomorrow. Tell that brother of mine there's a tankard of krim here with his name on when he finishes his watch."

Saluting him, I grab my bag and head out the back exit of the inn. Weylynn is like a brother to me. When no one else would give me a job because they believed that to put me to work would anger the gods, he offered me a job at the inn. Is it my dream job? Of course not. But I don't have the luxury of choosing a life with purpose. My only purpose is to offer myself up to the Shadow Borne at the reaping ceremony in exchange for the ongoing protection and supply of sustenance to my town and district.

I hug my arms over my chest when I step outside into the cool night air. Winters in Terleigh are bitter, and I'd forgotten to grab my hat when I'd left my house this morning. My black boots crunch noisily on the gravel path as I wind my way through the narrow streets of Terleigh. The sound of giggling catches my attention, and I smile when I spot a couple kissing in the doorway of a shop. My heart squeezes in my chest. Is it wrong that I long for a normal life? To be free to choose what I do; to know what it feels like to fall in love?

I climb the stone steps to the wall that surrounds our town and protects us from the evil that comes out at night to hunt. They don't allow anyone outside the village walls after dark. It's too dangerous. Travel between townships only happens during the day. At night, the highways between each town are silent. I walk along the black stone wall until I spot Arkynn. He's standing guard, his eyes scanning the night for signs of trouble.

"I hope that's my supper you have in your hands there?" he asks, without taking his eyes from the forest beyond the wall.

"Wrenbry pie. Your favourite," I say as I come to a stop beside him, holding his favourite food.

Arkynn's pale blue eyes turn to me, and he smiles at me in a way that makes my heart dance excitedly. I think I've been in love with my one and only friend since I was eleven. He doesn't reciprocate my feelings. I know that. Arkynn sees me as a sister. Watching him flirt and court girls in Terleigh repeatedly breaks my heart.

"Busy night?" he asks.

"It's payday." I chuckle. "You know how our miners like to spend some of their hard-earned dreck on ale."

Arkynn nods his head, then turns his attention back to the vast forest that lays beyond our town. He furrows his brow. "The numbers are increasing."

I tilt my head and follow his line of sight.

"There, you see their eyes, just over there." He points towards the tree line to the west. I squint as I try to see them. My eyes widen when I see the purple eyes of the night mutt's glistening against the moonlight.

"Why do you think there are more of them?" I shudder as I hold the gaze of one mutt, goosebumps breaking out along my arms.

Arkynn shrugs his wide shoulders, keeping his gaze on the deadly creatures as they prowl the outskirts of our town. "It's odd. It's like they're waiting for something. But there are more of them on our patch than I've ever seen before."

I sigh, crossing my arms. "Let's hope the shadow dust walls keep them out."

"They've never failed us before."

"Yeah, well," I jest. "No Lockwood has ever been entrusted with their towns future protection before."

Arkynn's smile drops at the mention of my curse. He turns to face me and reaches for my hand. He looks around us, checking no one is in earshot. "Listen, I've heard whispers of a rebel group over in Fallowgate. So yesterday when I travelled there with my father, I asked around and attended one of their meet ups. One man who spoke there, he believes that with enough of us, we could take back our realm."

I shake my head. What is he thinking? "Arkynn, you mustn't get yourself involved with such dangerous talk. It's not safe."

He tightens his grips on my hand. "Don't you want to live in a world where they don't control us, Reya?"

"Of course I do," I say, my voice raising. I look around to check no one can hear us and lower my voice to a whisper. "If anyone hates them, it's me. It's their fault that I am what I am. The rebels are fools, though, if they believe we can ever rid ourselves of them."

Arkynn shakes his head and looks hopeful. "The rebel numbers are growing and with you as part of the rebel cause, we could make inroads. You could be our spy on the inside."

I scoff and pull my hand from his, placing them on my hips. "A spy? We both know that at the reaping, they transport the Shadow Kissed through the gateway to the Shadow Realm, and they are never seen here on Asen again. I can hardly be a spy if I'm in another realm, can I?"

He grips both my shoulders with his hands and holds my gaze. "Don't talk like that."

"It's the truth. The Shadow Kissed are never seen on Asen again once they are reaped. Goddess, for all we know, they don't wed us like we're led to believe, and instead they sacrifice us to their god, Arawn," I say with a deep sigh. "No one knows the truth. I won't make a very good spy if my throat is slit as an offering to their shadow god, will I?"

Arkynn swears under his breath, and pulls me into his warm embrace. "I won't let that happen."

I smile against his chest at the absurdity of his comment. "You and I both know there's nothing you can do to stop whatever fate awaits me when I'm reaped." I pull away from him and plaster a smile on my face. "Now, enough talk about the Shadow Borne. I don't want to waste another breath on their kind."

He sighs, as if ready to protest, and I silence him by placing my hand over his mouth. Rolling his eyes at me, he leaves the matter there. Arkynn opens his supper and loads a large piece of warm pie on to his fork. "Let's talk about your birthday tomorrow, then."

I roll my eyes heavenward and groan. "Do we have to? It's just another reminder that I don't have long left here."

"It's not every day you turn twenty," he insists. "I got you a present. I think you'll love it."

My violet eyes spark with interest, and I dance on the balls of my feet. "Oh, you can't dangle a carrot like that and not give me a clue."

Arkynn laughs at me, his blue eyes glimmering with humour. "It's a surprise. Let's just say it's not the kind of gift any other girl would get excited about."

I clap my hands together, grinning. "We both know I'm not like other girls. Freaky eyes and all remember," I say, gesturing to my violet eyes.

Shadow Kissed females are all born with violet-coloured eyes. My eye colour distinguishes me from everyone else. Different. A freak. Chosen.

"Your eyes aren't freaky. They're like dark amethysts. They sparkle like rainbows in the sunlight," he says, clearing his throat and looking back out into the night.

"Well, that doesn't happen often, given the lack of sunlight we get in Terleigh. Now let's return to the subject of my gift. Is it a viewing lens?"

He smirks at me and shakes his head. "Not telling. You only have a few hours to wait."

I groan at him and tip my head back. "You say that, but you'll be in bed until the sun lies in the west. It's rather selfish of you to offer to do a night shift the eve before my birthday," I tell him, pointing a finger his way.

"Selfish, huh?"

I squeal when he lunges for me and gets me in a headlock, where he proceeds to ruffle my hair, messing it up.

"Arkynn, you brute. Let me go," I protest, grinning as I try to wrestle from his hold.

"Show me what you got, sunshine," he says, holding me in his grip.

Okay, he asked for it. I lift my other elbow and jab it hard into his side at the same time as I stomp my heeled boot down hard on his foot.

"Argh, Reya," he yells as he releases me and bends down, winded. "Worst part is, I taught you those moves."

I laugh, stepping away from him, and waggle my brows. "My bed is calling me. I'll wake you on the morrow at dawn," I say, walking backwards and creating some distance between us.

"You wake me up at dawn and I'll make you pay, sunshine," he vows, grinning back at me teasingly.

"Promises, promises, Arkynn. See you at dawn," I say as I turn on my heel and wave to him over my shoulder.

"See you at midday," he insists, and my response is to laugh to myself as I take the steps back down into the street. I wind my way through the silent town. Terleigh sits in a deep valley between the crystal mountains. There are six hundred inhabitants in the village. Its quaint houses all built from the rocks of the mountains that contain precious crystals. The houses sparkle a little in the sunlight because of the small shards of amethyst embedded within the bricks. Terleigh is known for its abundance of amethyst; it's the bedrock of our economy.

I open our front door as quietly as I can and head inside. I come to a stop and smile when I see my mother fast asleep in her rocking chair by the fire. I take a moment to watch the woman who birthed and raised me. My father died in a mining accident when I was twelve. He left my poor mother a widow with three young children to feed and clothe. Luckily for us, my mum is a crystal weaver, and her skills are in high demand. She can weave crystals to combine their powers and strength—this rare skill meant that she could demand a fair sum of dreck for her services. Not that she did so. My mother was too kind-hearted. She only charged people what she knew they could afford and had, on occasion, offered her services for free for those who are in desperate need.

I reach for the woollen blanket in the basket by the fire and place it gently over her. She sighs in her sleep and a smile crosses her features. I wonder what she's dreaming about. No one in our realm has nightmares anymore, only dreams. Nightmares no longer visit our kind since the crack in our realm appeared all those years ago. Many stories exist about the Nightmare Realm, now commonly known as the void. The Night Borne were allies to the Shadow Borne, and they'd both been at war with the Flame Borne realm. Their joint forces meant they had stood a good chance of defeating the Flame King. The Night King, however, angered the Shadow Realm when he took the Flame King's niece as his wife. The stories say the Shadow Borne attacked the Night Realm and killed the Night King. Upon his death, the realm sealed itself. No one knows the fate of the Night Borne. Some say they are lying in slumber, waiting for their new queen to return. Others say the realm no longer exists, and all the Night Borne perished when their king died. They believe the realm has become a vast expanse of nothingness; hence it being referred to as the void.

Asen was a peaceful realm until one-hundred-and-four years ago when a crack appeared in the atmosphere in the northern district and through it came vicious creatures with purple eyes who hunted our people and fed upon their fears, killing them. Their numbers grew and there was no weapon that could kill them—they appeared to be immortal. My people would still find that this was just the beginning of everything changing on Asen. Just three years later a gateway opened into our realm and the Shadow Borne came through, pretty much taking control of our realm. Years of war had ravished their lands, and they were seeking to find somewhere with new resources, in particular they were looking for onyx crystal because it rejuvenates and strengthens their shadow magic. They took control of land to the south as their main base on Asen and it became known as Shadow Valley. Not only did they take our land, but they also took our young men—offering them generous sums of dreck for enlisting and fighting in their war. As well as taking our resources, they decided they needed our women too. Infertility was rife among their females, but they needed to breed to ensure the survival of their race. So, in exchange for protection from the mutts and the use of their resources to help our crops grow, every twenty-five years females from each district are born as Shadow Kissed, bearing distinctive violet eyes that mark them as a sacrifice to the Shadow Realm.

I know I should be excited about my birthday but all I feel is dread. My birthday is just another reminder that my time in Terleigh with my family is quickly coming to an end. I will leave the only home I have ever known in just a few months' time, and I will never return. My family will have to survive without me. I check in on my brothers in the bedroom they share and, for a second, I just watch them sleeping soundly; then I turn away from them, heading to my own bedroom. It hurts to think I won't get to see them grow up. No, it doesn't hurt—it angers me. Why does it have to be me? Of all the girls in this town, why me? Maybe Arkynn is right. If I survive beyond the reaping, maybe I can help the rebellion take down the Shadow Borne. After all, no one hates them more fiercely than I do. I strip out of my work clothes, that smell of stale ale, and sink down into the warm water in the tub. My aching body sighs in relief. I think back to Arkynn's teasing about my birthday present. I wonder what it can be. He knows me better than anyone, so I'm sure I'll love it, whatever it is. If things go the way I plan them to tomorrow, then this birthday will be one I'll never forget. Tomorrow is the beginning of the end.