Prologue

MONSTER

O ur city melts under the lick of flames.

Eyes locked on the window, I can't move, can't breathe. Fear locks me in place, and my knees are close to giving out.

Silvercrest Kingdom is sprawled in chaos. I rub my eyes, unsure what I'm looking at, the shock still startling me.

The ground is cracking open, vast craters marring the once-green land.

All the while, other Shadowfen are scrambling out from their homes, darting in every direction, panicking as houses are swallowed whole by the soil. Entire sections of the land are gone, consumed in an instant. Flames leap from building to building so fast, engulfing everything in orange and black…

Panic thumps against my breastbone as I watch smoke taint the air, swallowing the sun, burning with intensity.

Everything's happening so fast. One moment, I'm cleaning my father's daggers, stuck at home because, at thirteen, I'm evidently too young for the hunt.

My only son will not risk his life. He has a throne to take.

I grind my teeth, furious he left me behind in the castle.

Then, in a heartbeat, the world breaks apart.

Screams pierce the air, high-pitched and desperate. Shuddering, I jerk away from the window and glance at the open door in the parlor. It's coming from deep in the castle, and my thoughts fly to my parents.

"Mother," I call out, bursting from the room into the empty hallway. The floor shakes under my feet, and I stumble, hitting a wall with my shoulder.

"Have mercy on us," I mutter a prayer, the same one I've heard my mother speak so frequently.

Feet pounding against the stone floor, I sprint down the corridors that seem endless. I arrive at her chamber, and my hand trembles as I grasp the handle.

"I'm coming." I shove it open, the door slamming against the wall with a deafening crash. What I see steals the breath from my lungs.

Half the room has disappeared, the stone of the walls crumbling into the abyss below.

Air buffets into me from the world outside, now visible across two walls no longer there. Shattered glass is all over the place, the floor slopes dangerously, and pieces of the wooden panels are missing, others sliding into the gaping void.

My parents' carved wood bed hangs over the edge, one leg dangling over the broken floor. Tapestries hang in tatters, and the grand chandelier is smashed and swaying wildly overhead from a single cord.

Another scream from down there…

"Mother!" The word tears from my throat, and I'm inching toward the edge of the jagged floor. A cold, hard knot snaps around my heart.

Then I find her.

She's down there, barely hanging onto a loose plank of wood with two hands, far below the broken room. Beyond her is nothing but smoke and a deadly plummet of three stories.

Fear strangles me, the smoke suffocating while ice slips through my veins.

"I'm here," I call out, dropping to my knees, realizing there's no way I can reach her.

She glances up at me—her violet eyes expanding, lips parting for another scream. Silver curls cling to her damp forehead, with the blood from the cut on her temple smearing her face.

My chest constricts, but I'm not going to panic. Father taught me to be brave in the face of danger, of death, of anything. Show no fear, he'd say, and you've already won half the battle.

"Get your father," she shouts at me frantically, but she knows he's not home and too far for me to fetch. The glassy look in her eyes, the lost expression on her face… she's given up.

"I'm going to help. Hold on!" My arms shake at my sides as I remain bent over, peering at her, gasping for air.

The walls and floor shudder once more, a loud groaning sounding as the world is being ripped apart. Mother's swinging in circles as she hangs there, her sky-blue gown fluttering around her legs, her whimpers a blade to my heart.

Rubble cascades from the ceiling and rolls over the edge, as does the bed in an abrupt slide.

She screams, flinching, but it misses her. My hands sting from how hard I'm gripping the broken floor.

"Just wait, I'll free you," I shout, wiping at my damp eyes as I retreat. Fire and ice burn in my gut, churning, fighting inside me.

"Save yourself," she shrieks. "Remember, I will always love you, my little howler."

"Don't… this isn't goodbye." I'm up on my feet, frantically checking the room, unsure where to go.

Smoke curls up into the room from outside, and I'm coughing as I lie on the fallen tapestry, its rod no longer attached to it, now hanging nearby. Darting over to it, the floor quivers, a loud croak sounding beneath me, as if everything's going to collapse in a heartbeat.

I stumble, losing my footing. The room suddenly tilts, and I fall over, all while scrambling to hold on to something as I start sliding toward the edge.

Quickly, I grasp onto the wardrobe feet, the piece of furniture made of the heaviest, darkest wood in our forest. My heart thumps in my veins, but I'm not giving up.

By some miracle, the room doesn't crumble and settles once more.

On hands and knees, tapestry rod in hand, I inch closer as more bits of the floor break away, tumbling down into the abyss. The air is thick with dust and smoke, each breath leaving my throat raw, my lungs aching.

"Mother! I have something you can grab! I'll pull you up!" My words are hoarse, barely more than a croak, but I call out, desperation clinging to every word.

Peering over the edge, I search frantically, my heart pounding in my chest.

But she's not there.

The plank of wood is also gone.

My mother… she fell.

Every inch of me shreds.

"Mother!" I scream, the sound swallowed by the roaring flames down below, coming for all of us. Tears prick my eyes, blurring my vision, my chest aching, almost unbearable.

I didn't reach her in time.

She's gone.

Broken, I can't stop crying. I'm coughing, choking from the smoke strangling my throat. I can take the smoke; what I can't do is lose my mother.

The wall behind me cracks with a monstrous creak, a jagged line snaking its way across the stone. I don't waste a second scrambling out of there, my body moving on pure instinct.

I charge out of the room and through the castle, my thoughts on the stone steps, hoping they are strong enough and that I can get out. Each step is a struggle, my body heavy with grief, with fear.

Not a soul in sight… the castle's empty. Please let all the staff have escaped.

Bursting into the main entertainment room, once grand and filled with life, it's now crumbling. Tapestries lie in heaps on the floor, the ceiling gaping with holes. Dust and debris rain down, turning the air thick and unbreathable.

Covering my mouth and nose with my sleeve, I rasp on each inhale as I run through to the main hallway. Destruction lies everywhere. My mother's face flashes before me—silver curls, wide eyes crammed with fear, her last words echoing in my mind.

I reach the stone stairs, hiccupping a tear-filled breath. No time wasted, I descend, taking two steps at a time, slipping on the debris, but I don't stop. I can't stop. On the ground floor, I pivot to the left, to the front entrance.

The castle's coming down around me—fallen ceilings, blocks of stone, a thick puff of dust filling the air.

Desperately, I charge to the rear entrance on my right, just off the kitchen, leaping over fallen furniture and skidding but catching myself before I tumble over.

My heart pounds in my throat.

There it is—the double doors hanging off their hinges.

I burst out into a plume of smoke and ash, following the path I know is there. Screams come from all around me, and I can just make out silhouettes darting through the smoke and chaos. The ground trembles beneath me, and fear smothers me.

Regardless, I press forward.

Before me, two figures emerge, the smoke unfurling around them. I blink, clearing my vision, and recognize them.

My chest beams at the sight.

Father!

He's back from hunting. Broad and tall, the Silvercrest Kingdom needs him now more than ever. The ing of our realm.

In front of him stands his vassal, General Bren, in charge of our military.

"Father–"

The ground starts to rattle violently, stealing my words.

Crack!

The piercing sound echoes through the air, the ground tearing apart and leaving my skin crawling.

Terrifying screams flood the air.

With no relief, I catch my balance from the swaying ground, my father and the general blurring in and out of the moving smoke that clings to everything. Each breath grows raspy, my lungs burning.

Snippets of General Bren's deep grumblings to my father reach me.

"Ruined… Kingdom… Change is coming. I will rule." His voice is a low growl, dripping with venom.

I clench my fists, anger rising through me, fury pushing me to take a step closer to the reality of what I'm hearing.

My father has always told me he trusts the general, but as my father bellows back at him, words I can't make out, I notice the curl of the general's mouth.

In that heartbeat of a moment, he wrenches his elbow back, close to his body, then he plunges a blade right into my father's gut, deep and forceful.

I shout, my response lost in the panic around us, in the croaking sound I'm making.

Father slumps forward, a white-knuckled fist grasping the general's jacket. His face is twisted, broken, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, eyes wide, filled with pain.

Bren shoves my father aside just as fast, and he crumbles to the ground.

"Father!" I shout, my legs shaking beneath me, rage cutting through me.

The sight of him lying there, lifeless, sends me spiraling. I lose all control and lunge at the general, who still hasn't seen me.

Vengeance . It consumes me.

But before I can reach him, a tremendous explosion sounds behind me.

I glance back to see the castle coming down.

Crumbling.

Boom .

The collapse reverberates through my body, shaking everything. A sudden rush of air and dust slams into my side, throwing me off my feet and tossing me aside.

As I'm flung, the weight of death is closing in.

And with it comes my father's words.

Death comes for us all…