“I don’t think pushover is in your vocabulary.”

  She didn’t say anything more. Her mouth closed, refusing to say another word.

  Calliope and I walked off the castle grounds and into the village. There was an immediate shift in the air. The meadow was devoid of faeries, and her eyes darted from side to side, asking without words—Where is everyone?

  This wasn’t the Faylinn she remembered, the Faylinn she knew. There was order now. Our Keepers stood at their posts at every corner of the kingdom, keeping watch and maintaining peace. As we observed, silence blanketed the kingdom. It was calm, unlike the disarray that was the usual in this kingdom.

  “Do you not feel that?” Her voice was strained with tears. “What has your father done?”

  When I didn’t answer, she peered up at me. The intensity of her gaze seared the side of my face. My expression remained blank, my mouth set in a straight line as I scanned the village, trying to see what she saw. There was organization and stability, but to her it must’ve seemed like imprisonment in comparison to how Faylinn was run before.

  I couldn’t look at her or reply. Her eyes judged me, assessing my opinion of her new kingdom. I didn’t know what to say. This was all I’d ever known. This was Rymidon.

  “You know what Faylinn was like before, Sakari. You’ve been here plenty of times to know. Did it ever feel like utter chaos to you?” She paused, letting her words sink in. “No, that was happiness that your brother was feeling. Obviously he doesn’t know the meaning. Just because they don’t have my direction at every single moment of every single day, does not mean there’s no order. They know their responsibilities. They finish their tasks in a timely fashion. And enjoy what they do. This,” she said, sweeping her arm out, “this is oppression. A prison. This is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s wrong. It’s all wrong.” Her voice trembled at the last part.

  I finally looked down at her. Her eyes lit with a fire of anger, fury burning inside. How could I not be drawn to that blaze? Her passion would fuel the kind of kingdom I wanted to rule. She cared so much. It was in her nature. All that goodness she possessed could not be contained in such a small body.

  Calliope turned away and began walking with purpose through the meadow and into the village.

  “Where are you going?” I asked, rushing to keep in step with her.

  “There’s someone important I need to go see.”

  “Who?” She didn’t stop or answer me. “Calliope,” I prompted, but it was clear she was finished with our conversation.

  We hadn’t walked far when she stopped in front of a squatty cottage built into the base of a large sapling. I took hold of her arm. “Are you walking me into an ambush?”

  She looked down at my hand clutching her and then scowled at me, but didn’t pull away. “You let me walk all this way and just now decide to ask?”

  “Well, I figured you wouldn’t be so unwise, but I’m having my doubts.”

  “And if I were walking you into an ambush, you really think I would tell you? That I would actually want to warn you?”

  “You’re not a liar. I merely wanted to gage your reaction.”

  “That would have been a smart move,” she said contemplatively. “If only I had thought about it before. I’ll tuck that one away for the future.”

  I frowned, but let her go. “So, who lives here?”

  “Let’s knock and find out.” Her expression turned sly, an eyebrow raised, testing me.

  I took a step forward and placed my hand on my dagger. “Why should I trust you?”

  She raised her fist in front of the door and said, “If we’re going to bond, trust is kind of key. Clearly, this relationship is not built on trust.” She knocked before I could respond.

  I pulled out my dagger.

  Chapter Four

  CALLIOPE

  After a couple knocks Lorelle hesitantly opened the door, peeking around it. The dread in her eyes gave me pause for thought. Who did she fear would be at her doorstep? I turned to see Sakari with his dagger in hand.

  “Really?” I snapped.

  “It was merely a precaution.” He tucked the dagger back in the sheath at his waist. “I apologize.”

  When I turned back around, Lorelle’s face brightened, and she flung the door open, throwing her arms around me.

  “Calliope!”

  I hugged her back and buried my face in the shelter of her shoulder. Without my parents here, it became clear why I came to her. She was the closest thing I had to family.

  Almost instantaneously she stepped back and pressed her fingertips to her lips in embarrassment. “I’m sorry, My Queen. I didn’t mean to overstep. I’m just so grateful you’re all right. Come in.” She motioned us in, and Sakari closed the door.

  “Lorelle, please don’t do that. You don’t need to apologize. I really need someone right now who isn’t going to keep me at arm’s length because I’m a Royal.” The tears appeared; there was no preventing them as they fell down my cheeks.

  She pulled me into her arms again. “Oh, dear.”

  I kept repeating that I was sorry and she shushed me as her hand ran over my uncontrollable curls. There were so many things for which I needed to apologize. For letting Kai go. For not knowing where he was. For crying all over her shoulder and being completely improper as a Royal. Actually, no, screw being proper. I wasn’t sorry for that.

  “Calliope?” Violet’s small voice broke through the stillness. Lorelle and I pulled away from one another as I hurriedly wiped the tears from my cheeks.

  Violet appeared by Lorelle’s side, clutching her leg. I squatted, and she reached her arms out to me. “Hey, Violet.” Her little arms wrapped tightly around my neck.

  “I’ve missed you,” she said.

  “You, too.” It took everything in me to keep from crying more, but I forced myself to be stronger for her. Kai would expect that of me.

  “What’s he doing here?” She pulled back and pointed at Sakari who hovered in the entry with his hands clasped in front of him. He appeared so out of place in this house.

  Crap. I forgot he was even there. I peeked over my shoulder. “He’s around to keep me safe.” It wasn’t until then that I realized what him being in this house meant. The man I was supposed to bond with, standing in the middle of the home of the man I loved. Though I didn’t think Lorelle knew the extent of my relationship with Kai, it was disrespectful nonetheless.

  “Sakari, will you please wait outside?”

  “Calliope, I really shouldn’t leave you alone—”

  “Where am I going to go?” I asked dryly. “They surely aren’t going to hurt me. It’s fine. I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

  He didn’t appreciate the dismissal, but it wasn’t appropriate for him to stay. With a scowl, he saw himself out the front door.

  We waited a moment before Lorelle said, “I assume you haven’t heard anything from him.”

  The mere thought of Kai sent my heart into a tailspin, headed straight for the ground. I shook my head. “He didn’t tell me where he was going. I might have been able to get him to tell me, but Adair’s Keepers stormed into my room as he was leaving. He vanished before they were able to catch him.”

  She nodded and blinked back tears. For the moment we remembered ourselves, and she peered down at Violet hovering by her side.

  “Violet, why don’t you go make me a daisy wreath?” Lorelle combed the top of her head, brushing hair from Violet’s eyes.

  “But, Calliope’s here.” Her bottom lip trembled. It was the saddest face I’d seen in Faylinn so far, and it made me want to tear through the village and take down every Rymidonian I came in contact with.

  “I know, Lova. But I need to talk to the Queen alone.”

  Her shoulders drooped, and she let out a heavy sigh. “Okay. You’re going to come back and visit us, right, Calliope?”

  “Of course I am.” I nodded.

  “Okay. Good. Buh-bye, Calliope.” She waved.

  “I’ll see you later, Violet.”

  Her face brightened as she skipped to the back of the cottage.

  Lorelle faced me and I took a deep breath. “Lorelle, I’m truly sorry. If only I pushed harder, I might have been able to convince him to stay. He might still be here. For you.” He couldn’t be mine, but at least he could be here for his mom and sisters.

  She shook her head and tucked her fingers under my chin. “My dear, you have nothing to be sorry for. I know you’re hurting just as much as I am.” Her jaw tensed as she swallowed.

  Did she know about us?

  “Just as much as he is. He’s not gone forever. He does this kind of thing. We all know this isn’t the first time he’s disappeared. He’ll come back.”

  “It feels different this time, Lorelle. I don’t know what it is, but it feels different.”

  I knew she agreed, but she didn’t want to accept it. She set her mouth in a straight line.

  “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do,” I whispered.

  “You have to do what feels right.” Her indigo eyes bore into mine, filling me with equal parts courage and defeat.

  “But none of this feels right,” I pressed. “What I want and what I need to do are at odds with each other. And not only that, what needs to happen could get everyone I love killed. You don’t understand the constraints Adair has me under.”

  “Then, for now, you must proceed with caution.” Her eyes shifted over my shoulder to the front door where Sakari stood on the other side. She lowered her voice. “Adair is a powerful king from a powerful kingdom, but he has weaknesses. No one is perfect. You have to find those weaknesses.”

  I nodded fervently.

  “Do not accept defeat. Fight, Calliope,” she urged, setting her hands on my shoulders. “If that is what your gut is telling you to do, then you must fight until the very end. Never give up on what you believe.”

  “I won’t.”

  “That’s all any of us could ask of you.”

  …

  After saying goodbye to Lorelle, I met Sakari outside. His intimidating figure stood with his arms folded across his chest. Maybe it was the all-black ensemble, or maybe it was his stance, but there wasn’t a soul near the cottage.

  “What did you do? Scare them all away?”

  He raised a questioning eyebrow.

  “Do you not see that you’re the only faery around?”

  He shrugged. “I think it’s the Rymidon Royal thing. I don’t think it’s me personally.”

  “I think it’s a little bit of both.”

  We walked in silence side-by-side back through the village. It felt disrespectful to even speak normally. The kingdom was without a heartbeat—dead. Fae worked with minimal communication as Rymidon Keepers hovered at every corner. There seemed to be more Rymidonians than Faylinnians. I wasn’t even sure how many of us we lost during the invasion. Evan would know. Where was Evan?

  “Do you know where Evan is?”

  “Who?” Sakari asked.

  “My advisor. Am I allowed to see him?”

  Sakari’s eyes turned down. “I’m afraid I don’t know where he is.”

  My stomach churned at the thought of anything happening to him.

  We walked passed Birdie and Willa who intently wove baskets outside Willa’s cottage, but they didn’t lift their heads or acknowledge me.

  “Birdie,” I greeted. “Willa.”

  They looked up for a moment with growing light in their eyes, but when their gazes landed beyond my shoulder, the light dimmed, and they immediately bowed their heads, returning to weaving their baskets without saying a word.

  Peering over my shoulder, I met the stare of a couple Rymidon Keepers who appeared to have stopped mid-step. Shifting my eyes back to Birdie and Willa, I noticed Willa subtly looking up, but instantly resumed her weaving. When I looked back, the Keepers nodded once, as if pleased with their intimidation tactic.

  Rymidonian Keepers infiltrated the lands. They lined the boarding forest and patrolled the pathways between cottages and huts. I caught sight of a few more familiar faces as they walked from one destination to the next, but every one of them kept their eyes to the ground as they continued whatever task was at hand. Some of the pathways appeared to have been singed. Where lush green once was, charred black patches took over. Our once peaceful and lively kingdom was wrought with darkness unlike anything I’d ever known.

  This is what Adair wanted? This is what Sakari was supporting?

  An elephant sized weight compressed my heart. Where is my kingdom? My home? How am I supposed to fix this?

  “I overheard some Keepers mention a Faylinn faery who got away when we took over,” Sakari said gently.

  My breath caught.

  “I’m guessing it was Kai,” he continued.

  They’d chased him down. And he’d still gotten away. Thank the Fallen Fae!

  “You’re not just upset that we invaded your kingdom,” he deduced.

  I couldn’t speak. I didn’t want to. What was I supposed to say? It was none of his business.

  He didn’t take my silence as the end of the conversation like I wanted him to. “And that was Kai’s mother.”

  “Yes,” I responded shortly.

  “So, you and Kai…” He let his question hang in the air.

  If he wanted me to expand on that he was sorely mistaken. “Kai and I… what.”

  “Forgive me for overstepping and stating the obvious—”

  “Then don’t,” I cut him off.

  Sakari sighed. “Even if we weren’t in this situation,” he continued, “he’s not a Royal.”

  “Thank you, Captain Obvious.” I didn’t care whether he understood the phrase or not. I didn’t even know why I was still responding to him.

  “How exactly were you going to make that happen? You don’t seem like the type to give in to the forbidden.”

  Even though I didn’t feel he deserved a response, I replied, “I’ve been researching and contemplating how to change a few things around here.”

  “Change what, exactly?”

  Begrudgingly, I said, “I wanted to make it possible for fae to have the opportunity to choose… what colony they want to be in, who they get to bond with, and so forth. We deserve agency.”

  “Essentially the exact opposite of what my father is proposing,” he stated.

  “Proposing? Is that what he’s doing?” I couldn’t hold back my disdain. I stepped in front of him, blocking his path, and he moved back, startled by my abrupt stop. “How do you not see it, Sakari? I know you have a heart, unlike your brother and father. It’s in there somewhere. I’ve seen it. I know that you know what he’s doing is wrong. We’ve spent enough time together for me to know that much. You just don’t have the guts to defy your father.”

  He tightened his prominent jaw. “It’s not that simple, Calliope. There is so much history you don’t know. There are so many fundamentals that have been discarded over the centuries that could make us the most powerful race in existence.”

  I shook my head and walked inside the castle gates without looking back at him. “Why does that even matter? Why do we need to be all-powerful? Why can’t we just live in peace? It’s not like we’re fighting for world domination here. If your father doesn’t like the way everyone else is running his or her kingdom, then he should mind his own dang business. Seal off your kingdom. If he feels he has the solution to making you powerful, then do it on your own. Leave the rest of us alone.”

  “That’s just it, Calliope. He needs you. We need you.” Sakari took hold of my arm and pulled me back. I turned brusquely, and he paused, letting his sunshine eyes wander, memorizing my face. A butterfly fluttered in my stomach, betraying me. “I need you,” he said softly.

  I knew what he was really implying, but I refused to acknowledge it. “Right. Stupid True Royal Bloodline.”

  His expression fell, and he paused. “You don’t even realize how important you are to every faery in existence, do you? You’re very powerful. We need you more than you understand.”

  It wasn’t a secret that I was more powerful than most Royals because I was of the True Royal Bloodline. That fact had been ingrained into my brain, but I didn’t feel any more powerful. And if I was this omnipotent faery, why couldn’t I protect my own kingdom? Why was it falling to pieces before my eyes?

  “What makes me so special? Just because I’m a True Royal. Why am I more powerful? Enlighten me.”

  Sakari shrugged meekly. Whether he shrugged because he honestly didn’t know or he didn’t want to tell me, I couldn’t be sure.

  “If you know I’m so powerful, why don’t you know what I can do?” I pressed.

  “Because I’m only a Royal. I’m only privy to certain pieces of information and history because I’m not of the True Bloodline. True Royals possess the keys to everything. And you’re the last one.” He paused to let his words sink in. “You can thank Favner for that,” he said dryly.

  Keys to what?

  I shook my head and sighed. “There haven’t been any other Royals around to teach me these things, Sakari. How am I supposed to know what your father wants from me? All I know is what Declan and Kai, or Evan, taught me, or what I learned in the archives of the atrium. What if I can’t do what he thinks I can? What if Adair has captured me for no reason? What if I can’t give him what he wants?” True Royal or not—if I couldn’t give him what he wanted, he would have no use for me. I was disposable. “If I’m the only True Royal left, who could possibly teach me all the things that you don’t know?”

  Sakari looked at me apologetically, and then peered off into the distance.

  My father. Like being struck over the head with a dunce cap, I knew the only person who could tell me what I needed to know was the one person I wouldn’t be able to get to in time.

  “I don’t suppose your father would let me back into the atrium to do some research?”

  “That’s probably highly unlikely.”

  “It was worth a shot,” I mumbled.

  Sakari drew his gaze back to me. “I’ll take you back to your room. I need to meet with my father now.”

  “Fine.”

 

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