RIVER

1

Aria felt the hair on her arms stand on end as she approached the edge of the river, the electric charge emanating from the invisible border wall creating a tingling sensation along her skin.

The magical barrier between Allar and Denover—the two nations that made up the continent of Wren—stretched for miles down the center of the Sanctum River that divided the territories, physically separating the fae and shifters from one another. Something she should be grateful for, she reminded herself.

She dropped her pack against the trunk of one of the many towering, verdant trees that lined the river shore. With the weather warming, white and purple flowers—fragrant and heady—bloomed in abundance amid the clover that crawled along the ground. It was a nice enough day she almost didn't hate the fact she had to babysit the border. She would so much rather be reading on her balcony or even sitting in one of her many war strategy classes.

Yet here she was.

This was her fourth year of formal military training out of the five she was expected to complete before officially joining the Royal Guard. Unfortunately, border duty was a rite of passage for all trainees. No one enjoyed it, but everyone was required to do it. Requirement or not, her stomach roiled at the thought of having to do it for another year.

Aria continued toward the water line to perch on her favorite short stump, the top of it worn down to a smooth velvet from years of being warmed by many a guard before her. The spot was close enough to the ominous, shimmering barrier that she sometimes swore she could hear it crackle as insects flew into it. The aquatic life below the surface had long ago learned to avoid it.

The wall seemed to ripple and pulsate, almost luring her to touch it and see the flesh-shredding effects for herself. As if their god, Mallium, who erected it half a century ago, was testing her and everyone else who dared to get too close.

The monotony of border patrol sometimes drove her to such ridiculous thoughts, and today was no different. Aria placed her palm to the ground, using her earthen powers to sense for any flat rocks along the riverbank she could skip across the surface to pass the time.

There. She felt an oblong stone buried beneath a few others next to her right foot. Shuffling the pebbles, she dug until she found the one that had called to her and wrapped her fingertips along the smooth surface of the gray rock.

Aria freed it from the pile before promptly flinging it toward the water with a sidearm motion. It skipped three times before it collided with the wall and exploded into shards with a satisfying zap .

She continued her quest to find stones as a cloud drifted away from the sun, bearing its rays to her. The only redeeming aspect of patrol was this beautiful weather, the light warming her cheeks in the most delicious way. Tilting her chin to the sky, she could almost feel new freckles forming on her sun-kissed ivory skin. She summoned a light breeze that blew the short, white wisps of her hair around her face. Closing her eyes and soaking in the feeling, she let out a contented sigh.

Perhaps this isn't so bad, she thought . Guard duty was, after all, one of the few places she wasn't afraid of displaying both her earth and wind powers without fear of being reprimanded by her parents. Even tiny things like breezes and rock-finding would be an intimidating reminder to most fae that she was the only one in their history to be born with both abilities. But here, without anyone else around, she could do as she pleased.

As the sun made its way across the sky, Aria, who was desperate not to fall asleep, passed the time with training exercises. The last guy who was found passed out at his post had been shipped off to the northern coast where the likelihood of seeing any action was zero. And she certainly didn't want that. She could already see the disappointed look on her father's face at the thought.

Aria completed her final push up and stood, brushing the dirt from her hands along her pants before grabbing her water canteen. She swigged deeply, wishing she'd brought a snack, when a deep splash came from beyond the wall.

Her pointed ears perked at the sound. Aria fanned her wings and drew her blades, preparing for the worst.

Across the river stood three panthers. They were blurred by the distortion in the border and far enough away it was difficult to read their body language. But those were definitely oversized cats.

Aria sucked in a tight breath, expecting a battle to ensue. They were so close to the coastline, where the wall ended as the river met the sea, that it wouldn't take much for the panther to sprint down and around the edge of the continental border wall. They would have to get past the guards along the coast, but still …

Aria thanked the gods they hadn't seen her yet as she dove behind the nearest tree and peeked around it to find a fourth panther—coat as black as night and twice the size of the others—climbing out of the river to join the three on the shore. The source of the splash, she thought, watching every movement closely.

Her mind raced. They must have emerged from the forest while she'd had her back turned. She'd been careless, so careless .

Two of the smaller cats wrestled, tumbling along the grass, their tan and black coats blurring together as they hurled each other against the ground. The black-furred one shook off excess water as the wrestling pair rolled off the short ledge into the river, sending another ring of water into the air. The ripples made their way to the wall, clapping against the barrier.

Her daggers, still poised in defense, caught the light from the sun and gleamed toward the panthers. Aria cursed herself silently as the black cat looked up from taking a drink at the river's edge and stared in Aria's direction.

She let out her breath and thanked the gods, once again, that the feline shifter didn't seem interested in the tree where she kept her body firmly pressed against the trunk, praying for her brown training leathers and armor to camouflage her against the bark.

This panther was big. Almost alarmingly so. It towered over the other three by at least a foot, even on all fours. It was beautiful, if that was something you could say about a creature that could tear you limb from limb. The cat shook again, sending droplets spraying in every direction. It let out a low growl, muffled and barely audible to Aria all the way across the wide river. The two that had fallen into the water made their way back to shore before all four sauntered into the tree line, the large cat bringing up the rear .

It made a last look in Aria's direction as it disappeared into the dark, dense forest that lined the edge of the Panther Province across the river.

Aria waited a moment to make sure they were gone and then slowly sheathed her daggers, emerging from behind her hiding tree to get a better look at the spot where they'd retreated.

"Well, they were just adorable, weren't they?" a smug voice boomed from behind her.