RIFT

3

"Look who made it!" Taren squealed and jumped up out of their chair, knocking it to the ground in the process, causing a commotion and drawing much more attention than Aria had hoped for. Taren embraced her in a tight hug, picking her up and pinning her arms to her sides.

"I see you've already started drinking," Aria giggled, smoothing her shirt from where it stuck to her body.

The area surrounding the fountain was bustling with fae from both the Erdane and Zephyr territories mingling happily together—something that wasn't common until the merging of the two fae kingdoms nearly a century prior, what the history books referred to as the Joining of Allar. Many of them were fellow trainees enjoying their evening off, as the Institute was just a short flight away.

She eyed the empty glasses strewn about the table and pulled the bottle she'd brought with her out of her bag, setting it next to the glasses. "I had planned on drinking straight from the bottle, I didn't realize we were being fancy tonight," she joked, grabbing a chair from a neighboring table .

A few of Taren's friends, also Institute graduates, were gathered around the table and gave her warm greetings as she scooted her seat up to join them.

"Good to see you, Aria! It's been a while. I hear you had a little run in today," said the man with deep brown skin and soft features—Evan, if she remembered correctly—running a hand through his tightly curled hair with a smile.

"Yeah, if you could call it that," she laughed casually and grabbed one of the empty glasses that seemed to be unclaimed, filling it to the brim. "Nothing exciting."

Taren gave her a look that said you sure didn't react like it was nothing and chuckled, shaking their head.

Lifting the glass to her lips, she drank nearly half the contents in one swallow, the warmth hitting her stomach and radiating quickly throughout her body.

She'd hoped to forget about the panthers tonight. Luckily, the group continued talking about their days, and Ambrose—a lanky, bald guy with a lot of tattoos—showed the group the latest addition to his collection on the back of his arm. Aria's eyes wandered to the table next to them that held a few fellow trainees, including Nyvia, who gave her a small wave as they made eye contact. Aria waved back and smiled just as a middle-aged man with peppered hair jumped onto the edge of the fountain holding a lute, his furry ears perked and bushy gray tail wagging behind him.

A wolf shifter, then. It was unusual to see a shifter wear any of their animal traits with their mortal body—especially in fae territory—but performers like this one often used it to draw more attention and curiosity toward them. The bolder they were, the more tips they got. But he obviously couldn't sing or play the lute in his fully shifted form, so the ears and tail would have to do .

Bards and nobles were the only shifters allowed into Allar from Denover, and only permitted with advance notice and approval from her parents. Otherwise, shifters were taken and interrogated, where they were killed if suspected of nefarious intent. Or, if deemed non-threatening, escorted back to Denover through the neutral Solstice Sanctum territory on the west side of the continent.

Most were killed though, because bribing an Allarian officer to escort you back home required more money or power than most shifters had readily available, at least as far as Aria knew. In general, shifters were only really found in Allar because they were on the run from committing crime in Denover, or because they were trying to earn money—like this bard.

Aria finished her first glass, letting the drink calm her nerves and go to her head. She poured another one for herself and topped off the others at the table.

"I knew you'd bring the good stuff," Taren nudged her playfully. "This guy's supposed to be pretty good. I saw him play back in Erdane when I was younger. I guess he's pretty high up in the Bard's Guild, so he helps write all the newest songs."

As if on cue, the wolf launched right into one of the realm's most well-known tunes, an upbeat and playful romantic song popular at celebrations and festivals. It was a good one to start with. The fae folk that were gathered around the fountain immediately began clapping and singing along with him and coins were already flowing into the open pouch at his feet.

When he wrapped that song with a loud, flourished strum, he moved onto another common one, but this one full of much more sorrow. The chatter around them died down as the wolf began to pick his lute softly, the melody floating over the crowd.

This song, Fire by Night , was a popular lullaby in Allar. One her own father used to sing to her before bed. It acted as a lesson—and warning—about the eruption of the tallest mountain in the Mallium range more than three hundred years ago.

"I love this song," the girl across from her with pale skin and long golden hair, Trilla, sighed as she watched the wolf intently.

Weird song to love , Aria thought. It certainly wasn't a happy one. The lyrics told of how the Dragon Province tried to take the western stretch of Allarian land wedged between two streams that flowed into the main river—now called the Sanctum River.

That land shared the northern border of the dragon's territory, and no fae had settled there because of the barren landscape. Seeing the unused land, the dragons felt they deserved a larger space for their people and tried to claim it as their own.

Unfortunately, no one knew for sure what truly happened that day. Their god, Mallium, had wiped out everyone involved in the battle with an eruption of molten rock, leaving no one left to provide the truth. Everything recounted in their books was merely rumor and assumption based on very few testimonies from the loved ones of those lost. The rest was filled in based on the centuries-long turbulent history between the fae and shifters.

That land now held the Solstice Sanctum, a convent of both fae and shifter seers who had devoted their lives to serving Mallium in the wake of the eruption. The Sanctum where she'd be traveling with the Royal Assembly tomorrow to meet with Head Seer Selene.

The bard pulled Aria's attention, wailing the song from deep within his soul.

In a land divided by rivers wide,

Dragons hungered for more land to stride.

Their eyes aflame with amorous greed,

From their mountainous prison, they wished to be freed .

But Mallium, lying peacefully,

Awoke from slumber, his anger set free.

With fury unleashed in the mountain's roar,

He quelled that greed and settled the score.

Beneath the fiery peak, the battle ensued.

Fae and shifters clashed, their rivalry renewed.

But Mallium's wrath knew no bounds,

As flames engulfed the battlegrounds.

No warriors survived, no souls to tell,

Of the devastation where our brethren fell.

A somber reminder of their selfish strife,

And the cost of power in immortal life.

From the ashes rose a seer, wise and bold,

Selene, her vision, the future foretold.

She emerged from her home in the fae's divide,

To deliver Mallium's decree far and wide.

The land that was fought for, now claimed anew,

A sanctum of peace where seers may bloom.

The Solstice Sanctum, a beacon of light,

Where fae and shifter, both, could devote their lives.

To mend the divide and cease the strife,

In the sanctum's embrace, we find harmony and life.

Thus, our song ends, a tale of pain,

Of greed and battles fought in vain .

Taren's sniffles broke the somber quiet as the chords subsided. "I didn't come here tonight to cry ," Taren joked, trying to lighten the mood as they wiped the moisture from their eyes. The table shared a nervous laugh as the applause died down around the crowd. "He's talented, I'll give him that," they muttered.

The bumps that had formed across Aria's skin slowly melted away. It was eerie how relevant the song still felt despite how long ago the events took place. Though, it was interesting to hear a wolf sing a song that painted shifters in a negative light. Maybe he was just pandering to his audience to help calm the recent rising tensions between their realms.

Please play something fun , she prayed silently to Mallium or whoever would listen to her pleas. At this point she was desperate, even one of the old gods would do. She wanted so badly to enjoy the evening, uninterrupted by thoughts of death or shifters or anything else related to their nation's tumultuous history.

She stood and reached for one of the opened bottles of wine to refill her glass. But as she began to pour, shouting came from behind the bard. Aria looked up with a start to find three enraged fae spewing nasty profanities as they charged toward the shifter with protest signs in hand. The wine splashed and overflowed from her cup as Taren launched out of their chair toward the bard, followed quickly by Evan.

"Shit," Aria cursed under breath as she set the bottle down and clambered up onto her chair to get a better view. The small group of protestors was now clashing with her friends who bravely protected the shifter against their own kind. One of the protestors held a sign that read UNIFY NOW! while another's said FAE LAW SHOULD RULE ALL !

Unifiers, then, Aria thought. Quite a misnomer for their little movement. It wasn't the first time she'd heard of the radical, underground group causing a fuss in the Zephyr territory, but it was the first time she'd encountered them herself.

"Filthy fucking animal! Get back on your side of the wall!" one of the protesters screamed. The large man was close enough now for Aria to see spittle fly from his mouth as he continued his rampage. By the time he'd gotten the sentence out, the bard had shifted back to his fully mortal form, vanishing his wolfish features.

Taren and Evan were already at the bard's side for protection, joined by a few other guards that Aria recognized who must have been dispersed throughout the crowd. They formed a makeshift circle around the bard who cowered in the center, his arms wrapped around his lute in fear.

"Traitors!" another of the Unifiers yelled at the guards, the woman's face turning from tan to bright red. "Traitors, all of you!" This time she gestured wildly to the entire crowd.

"It doesn't have to be like this," Taren said calmly to the Unifiers. "This man is innocent. He's here purely to entertain. He doesn't deserve your hatred."

"All of those creatures deserve our hate," the third protestor spat as he jabbed a finger in the bard's direction. The earth below their feet began to quake a little with each of his thrusts. "And that's the only thing they deserve!"

"Hey, hey, hey," Taren put their palms up, trying their best to rein the disruptors back in. Some of the trainees from the neighboring table had started making their way toward the unrest to provide additional backup. The crowd was murmuring loudly now, growing restless. As she looked around, Aria caught a few people staring at her, probably expecting some sort of reaction from their princess who had apparently done a poor job of blending in. She broke their gazes nervously and looked back toward Taren, who also spared her a quick glance.

Aria swallowed the lump in her throat. Even if she didn't have the most power by rank, she certainly held the most sway out of anyone else in the crowd. She looked down at her table, where Ambrose and Trilla met her eyes with understanding. Ambrose nodded in the direction of the protestors. Shit , she should have just stayed in her seat. Or stayed at home altogether.

Clearing her throat in an attempt to shake her nerves, Aria unfurled her wings and flew above the crowd toward the tangle of fae. They were clustered close enough together now that the only feasible place for her to land was either behind the protestors or on the fountain ledge. One of those options would have made her seem taller, and probably more powerful. And as much as she would have liked to blow in a strong gust of wind or threaten them with a little earthquake of her own, she knew it would escalate quickly if she did.

Instead, she opted for the spot that drew the protestors' attention away from their intended target. With a soft thud, her feet touched the ground behind the Unifiers. She banished her wings and clasped her hands loosely in front of her, something she'd seen her father do a thousand times when he wanted to seem authoritative but not intimidating. It didn't hurt that it gave her hands something to do other than shake.

The Unifiers spun around to face her, recognizing her immediately. But that recognition quickly turned to scorn.

"Princess," the large man snarled in greeting.

"And your names are…?" Aria returned the greeting with a saccharine smile. Another thing she'd learned from watching her parents converse with the public—asking for someone's name almost always made the interaction seem more intentional. More genuine .

Just as she'd hoped, the question disarmed them. The three Unifiers looked at each other apprehensively.

"What's it to you?" said the bulky man, his forehead wrinkled.

"You wanted to be heard, right?" Aria replied with a shrug. "I'm trying to listen. But I would like to know who it is I'm listening to."

The man looked at her skeptically. "I'm Dorin. That's Louisa and Sam," he tilted his head toward the other man and woman that stood beside him.

"Dorin, Louisa, Sam, it's nice to meet you," she said, summoning some of the placating things she thought her mother might use in this situation. "I appreciate you taking the time to voice your concerns. As my friend, here, has mentioned, this bard is simply here to create some joy. I'm sure the king and queen would be happy to meet with you during their monthly community hearing if you'd like to bring your ideas to them then?"

"Respectfully, Princess ," Dorin looked her up and down, "your ma and pa haven't done shit but make things worse for us."

Aria held back her wince and took a deep breath before crossing her arms. She'd tried playing nice, but this guy was really starting to piss her off. "Respectfully, Dorin , my parents are certainly not the ones making things worse. I would argue the Uni—" Taren cleared their throat, their eyes pleading with Aria to think long and hard about what she said next. Aria sighed. "But I hear your frustration, and I again urge you, or whoever is leading the Unifier movement, to sit down with the king and queen in a formal setting. It will accomplish more than you can here. In fact," she continued, "if you give me that person's name, I can arrange it for you— "

Sam scoffed, but he avoided her eyes. "Like we'd give you that information."

The way they all looked at each other made her think they probably didn't know who was leading the movement either. Even though the group had been around for years now, no one knew who gave orders. Some of the fae speculated it was her parents leading the charge to popularize the idea of invading Denover and ruling the shifters by force under fae law. Hence the ironic name of Unifiers .

Ruling all of Wren would give her parents more power, sure. But she—and apparently even the Unifiers—knew her parents were against that idea.

Aria's parents didn't want war. At least as far as Aria knew, they were perfectly happy overseeing the Zephyr and Erdane territories and keeping the fae safe within their own borders. Whatever the shifters did was their own business, and that was that. They didn't have to like each other, but it wasn't worth going to war over. Most of Allar felt the same way. It continued to irk her, though, that there were still people in their kingdom who felt differently.

The Unifiers had started as a tiny, radical group. But over the last fifty years, especially after the battle at the border when the wall was erected, they had gained a fairly substantial following. Enough so that the knowledge of their existence—and the potential threat of war—had spread all the way to Denover, causing further unrest that fanned the flames between the realms.

There had been a skirmish a few years ago not far from the Solstice Sanctum crossing point that had really escalated things, but the details were fuzzy. Both sides claimed they weren't the ones who'd started it. Only a few people died that day—mostly Unifiers—but it had martyred them and worked as a recruiting tool for the Unifiers to gain even more momentum. And now, here they were, causing a fuss about a man just trying to make some money by playing a few songs.

"That's fine if you don't want to share," she said to the group. "But that was my offer at letting you speak your mind. If you don't want to plan a meeting with the Royal Assembly, I'll need to ask you to leave the square in peace. If not, I'll have my friends escort you out. And they may not be as nice as I am." Aria's sweet smile contrasted her words.

Dorin looked out at the crowd who continued to whisper amongst themselves worriedly. He was clearly not getting the public support he'd anticipated. He met the eyes of Sam and Louisa who both gave him small, affirmative nods.

"Fine," Dorin's nostrils flared. "We'll leave you and your little animal lovers. But this won't be the last you hear from us," he said, gesturing to his friends. "Let's go."

Dorin made his way around the fountain and back toward the corner they'd entered from, Sam and Louisa behind him, their chins still surprisingly high. To Aria's shock, the crowd jeered and booed them as they left. The air she'd been holding came withering out of her lungs, relief flooding over her. She'd never had to confront anyone before, especially not in public. And thank the gods it had ended well, because otherwise her parents' faith in her would probably dwindle to nothing.

With the disruptors gone, the crowd collectively resumed their conversations. As Evan turned around to check on the bard, Taren stepped toward Aria and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Gods above," they said quietly, their signature smile spreading across their face. "That was something, huh? Good job. Your parents would be proud."

Her heart swelled at the words of affirmation, but she could still feel the eyes of the audience on them, so she downplayed the way her body still vibrated. "So much for letting loose tonight," Aria laughed, shaking her head.

"Eh, the night is still young," Taren shrugged. The pluck of a string made them turn to look at the wolf shifter who was, remarkably, re-tuning his lute. Taren stopped him. "Sir, you don't have to keep playing. We'd be happy to escort you back to wherever you're staying—"

"Please," the man's kind eyes found Aria's. "These people need our music, now more than ever. I would like to finish my set. If you'll have me, that is."

Aria grinned. "And what is your name?"

"Yari," he said, bowing at the waist.

"Yari, please finish your set," she said. "We'd be very grateful."

"Thank you, Princess," Yari said, strumming his instrument. "Shall we try a happy song this time?" he turned, addressing the anxiously waiting crowd.

The fae cheered wildly as he hopped back up to his spot on the make-shift fountain stage and started picking the lute in a racing melody. People immediately began choosing partners and dancing anywhere they could find space, eager to shake the tension from the air.

"Care to dance?" Taren held out their hand to Aria.

"Not really, but I know you don't care about what I want," she laughed, taking their hand just in time for Taren to drag them toward the impromptu dance floor. "I didn't get a chance to tell you that you look ravishing this evening," Aria gestured toward Taren's double-buttoned sleeveless vest that accentuated their muscular bare arms. "Interesting choice, no shirt underneath," she raised a brow.

"Listen, I've worked hard for these arms," they beamed, their olive skin glowing under the moonlight, "I deserve to show them off." Aria tried to agree but Taren spun her in a tight circle, cutting off her words. "And you have to admit, they were at least a little intimidating to our Unifier friends," Taren said, waggling their eyebrows. The conversation was light, but they both still paid close attention to their surroundings in case trouble came back.

"Thank you for that, by the way," Aria said between steps. "For rushing up there to protect him." I wish I had reacted that way , she wanted to say. But Taren knew what she meant.

"You'll get there," they said reassuringly as the song came to an end.

Aria pulled away and promptly headed for their table. "I think I'm ready for another drink."

"Yeah, yeah," Taren said, following her. "I suppose you've paid your dancing dues."

As they approached, Ambrose laughed. "You weren't out there very long. Taren, I know you have at least one more dance in you—"

"Okay big guy, it's your turn then," Taren grabbed his hand and dragged him back into the crowd.

"Have fun!" Aria called to them as she sat in the chair next to Evan. "Gods, I don't know where Taren gets the energy."

"I wish I even had the desire," Evan said, taking a long swig and gesturing toward the twirling pair. "I'm more of a sit and chat kind of guy."

"Same," said Aria. Their eyes met over a shared smile. He is cute , Aria thought. Maybe she would have given him a chance tonight if things had gone differently, but she still couldn't ignore the looming feeling from the day. First the panthers, then the protestors. Finding a new partner was the last thing on her mind.

Aria, Evan, and Trilla watched Taren and Ambrose spinning and twirling across the front of the fountain. The bard finished the song and slowed it down again, more couples grabbing each other for the familiar love ballad he began strumming.

"I'm surprised he hasn't played his new song yet," Trilla mused while topping off their glasses from a new bottle of berry wine that Aria could smell had gone a bit sour. Her stomach lurched. It was probably time to cut herself off, anyway.

"New song?" Aria asked, pushing her glass away.

"Yeah, my parents heard him play when they visited some family out west last week. That's where he was before he came here. I guess he wrote something about the Unifiers," she explained.

Evan raised a thick eyebrow. "I mean… Would you feel comfortable playing that after what just happened?"

"Maybe they heard about the song and that's why they showed up," Aria suggested.

"Fair enough," Trilla said, finishing the dregs of her wine with a shrug.

Aria's eyes flicked to her friend, a smile spread wide on their face as Taren came barreling back to the table, Ambrose right on their heels, both drunk on the joy of being whisked across the dance floor. Taren's palms slapped loudly on the tabletop. "Anyone else ready for a spin?"

Aria suddenly wanted to be anywhere else but there. The more she thought about the Unifiers and the tensions between the fae and the shifters, the more she dreaded the fact she would be seated in a room full of shifters the next day at the Solstice Sanctum.

"Actually, I think I'm going to head home. My head is pounding," Aria held her hand to her temple for emphasis. "I don't think I drank enough water on duty today, and the wine is really going to my head." Taren pouted at her. "Don't give me that look, you know I have a long day tomorrow," she said regretfully.

"Fine," Taren conceded. "Say hi to Selene for me. I expect all the juicy details when you get back," they smirked.

"You mean the same details you got last year? Which was exactly nothing new? Yeah, you got it," Aria snorted. "Goodnight everyone, don't let Taren pull a muscle like they did last time they danced too hard."

"It was one time !" The entire table shared a laugh as Taren blushed, their tan skin turning peachy as Aria pushed in her chair and started the slow walk back to the castle. She could have flown, but flying intoxicated, even a little bit, had gotten her in trouble before.

It had been almost exactly a year ago, actually, on the night of the Solstice Festival. She and Taren had indulged in a bit too much drink at one of the posts far down the river and Aria told herself she'd be fine to fly.

She was, unfortunately, not fine.

She hadn't seen one of the other alarm posts as she neared the castle and flew straight into it, sounding the bell. Loudly.

The guard on duty was a first-year trainee who had drawn the short straw, keeping watch on festival night. He didn't see her in time to warn her and instead had to run to her aid and bandage her right shoulder which had taken the brunt of the impact. He'd then proceeded to explain to the rest of the guards on castle duty, who had come racing to the alarm, that it was just the princess who had almost taken down the post during a drunken flight home.

Luckily for her, the lead guard on duty, Priya, had just graduated the year before and had enjoyed a few nights with Aria during their time in training together. She'd agreed to let Aria off with a warning and told the rest of the crew to keep their mouths shut.

Damn, my ass really must be magical if she's letting me off this easily , Aria thought, laughing to herself drunkenly as Priya escorted her back to the castle gates.

Priya's buttery voice had jolted her out of her stupor. "It's a good thing you're cute because I should throw you to your parents just for saying that to me right now," she grabbed Aria's arm and sped up their pace to widen the gap between them and the nearest guard. Well, shit, she'd thought . That had sobered her up more than the injury. "It's also a good thing you're right," Priya said in a hushed whisper, leaning into Aria's shoulder, a smile creeping into her voice.

Aria gulped. "Didn't think I said that out loud. Sorry, Priya. Won't happen again."

Priya had just chuckled in response as they neared the gates. "If your parents ask what the bell was, I'll tell them a bird flew into it. However you want to explain your injury is up to you," she gestured to the clunky makeshift bandage around Aria's shoulder and drooping wing that she couldn't get to disappear.

"Got it. Thanks again, I owe you one," Aria waved nervously and basically ran through the gates all the way up to her room, hoping to avoid any late-night stragglers from the festivities. When she'd emerged from her room late the next morning, arm in a sling and wings finally hidden, she'd pretended she had simply tripped and fallen while walking home. She was clumsy enough that it was almost believable.

Chaotic yet confident , as Taren had said. That's basically how she went through life, whether it was fighting, fucking, or flying. She certainly had the scars to prove it.

Aria smiled to herself, the memory fading as she neared the familiar gates with the Zephyrian family crest—a series of intersecting swirls representing wind—now worn down from centuries of weather. The irony of that was not lost on her.

A strong breeze ruffled her shirt around her body and sent the windsocks on the corners of the castle waving. A storm was rolling in. She inhaled deeply, savoring the scent of rain in the air. She'd always loved storms, the way they felt like a fresh start when they'd passed—a clean slate—and looked forward to the thunder lulling her to sleep before the long flight tomorrow.

***

From the edge of the forest, Luka Fulgara perched on the thick limb of a tree high above the Zephyr castle. His broad arms were crossed against his chest of scaled armor as he peered through the foliage to see the fae princess approach.

Finally , he thought as he watched Aria saunter smugly into the castle. Took her long enough .

A cool drop of water landed on his forehead and dripped down his hooked nose, past his cropped beard, eventually landing on the soft earth below. Droplets began to pelt the leaves of the canopy, creating a steady beat above him as he made his way from tree to tree until he spotted Aria through her balcony doors.

Now, to wait.