Seraiah should have gone to sleep hours ago, but instead, she sat staring at Nyrene bathed in the soft silver light of the full moon. It would have been beautiful if not for Gavaran’s new additions. She kept trying to picture the city as it had been on the first day she’d laid eyes on it, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't erase the gruesome heads planted around the outer walls. Every time Seraiah closed her eyes, she would see the faces of her friends staring back at her. Their empty eye sockets bored into her, seeming to ask why she hadn't done more to save them.

  It was enough to make her never want to sleep again.

  She wasn't the only one who couldn't seem to sleep tonight. Kestrel puttered around nearby, pretending to keep herself busy, but they both knew she was staring at the city as much as Seraiah was.

  Please let Ren return with good news. If not for me, then for Kestrel's sake. She needs this to keep going.

  Seraiah hugged her knees to her chest and rested her forehead against them. Maybe if she didn't look at them for a while, the heads would go away. She focused on breathing and shoved all other thoughts from her mind.

  In and out.

  In and out.

  In.

  And out.

  Her body slowly relaxed, and she drifted toward sleep. However, as soon as Seraiah's eyes fell shut, Wisteria's face appeared behind her lids.

  Or rather, what was left of her face.

  Patches of Wisteria's blonde hair had been ripped from her scalp, and what remained of the once silky strands hung in ragged, dirty clumps to frame cheeks where the skin had sagged and split, exposing the white bone underneath. Her jaw clicked open and shut like she was trying to speak, but her mouth no longer held a tongue.

  That wasn't the worst of it, though.

  No, the worst part was the maggots crawling in her empty eye sockets, their pale bodies writhing in and out of the shadowed holes.

  It's not real, Seraiah told herself. Wake up.

  Her eyelids refused to budge.

  Wisteria's jaw clicked open and shut again. Her teeth clacking and grinding against each other with the force.

  Wake up!

  It.

  Is not.

  Real.

  "Well, look who's finally coming back."

  Seraiah jerked upright, disoriented. Kestrel was still standing in the same place she had been before.

  "What?" she asked dumbly, trying to shake the image of Wisteria's decaying head from her mind.

  Kestrel pointed toward Nyrene. "Ren is back."

  Seraiah scanned the area Kestrel had indicated. "I don't see—"

  A figure separated itself from the shadows and darted forward. Another followed. And then another. And then . . .

  "Oh, gods. What has he done?" Seraiah mumbled, climbing to her feet. "Do you see that?" she asked, turning to Kestrel for confirmation that the multiple shadows were real, and she wasn't still dreaming.

  But Kestrel wasn't listening. One minute she was standing beside Seraiah—and the next she was gone.

  "No, wait!" Seraiah called after her. "What if it's a . . . trap." Kestrel was too far away to hear her.

  Seraiah felt for her dagger and then followed Kestrel.

  As she watched, one of the shadows detached itself from the group and went running to meet Kestrel.

  She was still a good distance away when Kestrel and the shadow collided and seemed to meld into each other. For a moment, Seraiah thought they were fighting, but as she drew closer, she realized they were hugging.

  "Eryx," she breathed in relief as she recognized the dark-haired elf. This was more than she could have hoped for. At best, she’d thought Ren might bring news of him being held as a prisoner.

  Her eyes skipped away from the embracing pair to the group approaching them from the other side.

  Who else could Ren have brought with him?

  A smaller figure broke away from the group and rushed toward her. The moonlight caught the strands of her blond hair, turning them almost silver like Sterling's.

  Seraiah barely noticed when Wisteria slammed into her, nearly knocking her off her feet. The girl was already chattering away, but Seraiah couldn't hear a word she was saying. She was too busy staring over Wisteria's shoulder.

  "Papa?" she croaked, staring at the man just behind Ren.

  "Oh! Yes, I found your father, or at least he says he is your father. He could be lying. You never know with people these days. He looks like you, though, so I don't think he is lying. Unless, of course, he figured out a way to disguise himself. I've never heard of that happening, though," Wisteria babbled. “I’m so glad you’re all right. Did I say that already? I was really worried. You should have seen what the city looked like.”

  Seraiah disentangled herself from Wisteria and approached her father cautiously, afraid if she blinked, he would disappear.

  He held out his arms to her and waited.

  "Is it really you?"

  "It's really me," he answered, tears sparkling in his eyes.

  The words broke Seraiah out of her trance, and she stepped forward into his embrace.

  "I never thought I would see you again," she mumbled through her tears. "When I went home, you were gone. Everyone was just gone. I thought—I thought—"

  Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

  "Shhh, it's all right. I'm here now," Papa said soothingly.

  It only made her cry harder.

  "Isn't this a touching scene?"

  "Shut up, Virelai," Wisteria said. "Nobody asked you."

  Seraiah lifted her head from Papa's shoulder and found it was indeed Virelai left standing next to Ren.

  Her mood changed instantly. "What is she doing here?" Seraiah hissed, stepping out of her father's arms.

  Ren had a lot of explaining to do. They’d specifically told him to avoid Gavaran's daughter and instead, he had brought her with him.

  "Um. Well. You see . . ." Ren shifted nervously as Seraiah advanced on him.

  Virelai rolled her eyes. "What this stammering fool is trying to say is that none of these people," she waved her hand to indicate Wisteria, Papa, and Eryx, "would be alive if it weren't for me. We are on the same side."

  Seraiah jerked to a halt. “What? Since when?”

  "Wow, Virelai," Kestrel commented, having rejoined the rest of the group, "who knew you had a heart."

  Virelai scowled.

  It didn't escape Seraiah's notice that Ren was slowly distancing himself from the rest of them. She was just about to comment on it when Kestrel spoke again.

  "What happened to your face?"

  Seraiah glanced back at Virelai and immediately saw what Kestrel was referring to. Virelai's right cheek appeared swollen, and there was an angry looking cut below her eye.

  "Courtesy of my father. It’s taking a while to heal," Virelai said, lifting her chin as though daring them to say anything else.

  Kestrel, of course, dared.

  "What did you do to piss off daddy dearest? Were you being a naughty little princess?"

  To everyone's surprise, it was Eryx who came to Virelai's defense.

  "What she said is true. We wouldn't be here if not for her. And when Gavaran found out she was hiding Wisteria and myself, he locked her up and intended to have someone kill us. She could have walked away then and let him do it, but she didn't. She was coming to get us out when your new friend showed up."

  "I do have great timing, don't I?" Ren said.

  They all ignored him.

  "Why?" Seraiah asked. "Why would you even bother with them? With your father as king, you're a princess now. Isn't that what you always wanted? More power? You’re one step closer to making yourself a queen."

  "They asked me the same thing." Virelai nodded toward Wisteria and Eryx. "I'll tell you what I told them. It was never about making myself Queen for the power. Have you met my father? He has been planning to steal the kingdom practically since the old Queen died and none of you lot seemed to notice. I love this city and don't want to see it razed to the ground. Someone had to step up and do something about it. I tried to help Kaimana as much as I could, but even that didn't work."

  "You could have told one of us," Kestrel pointed out, "instead of playing games."

  "If I had, I would have given myself away and then had to flee like the rest of you. At least by staying here, I learned my father isn't really the one in control. Someone else is pulling his strings. Someone who, last I heard, had you.” Virelai looked at Seraiah.

  “You’re sure?” she asked. Virelai could only be referring to the Winter Queen. But what would the faery queen have over Gavaran?

  “Of course I’m sure. I overheard their conversations. I’ve never heard my father grovel like that before. I also learned they plan to put your sister on the throne. I’m sure my father is positively livid about that. What? Why are you making those faces?”

  Seraiah exchanged a look with Kestrel. “My sister is not going to take the throne. That’s why we are here. We plan to stop it from happening.”

  Once Sterling had found out how close they were to Nyrene, she pushed them to continue riding through the night, and nothing Kai said could change her mind.

  He shifted in his saddle, trying to relieve a cramp in his leg. At this point, he both dreaded and looked forward to arriving at the Elven city. It would be a disaster, that much he knew, but it would also be a relief to get off this blasted horse. Even when he, Kestrel, and Seraiah had been fleeing from mages, he hadn't pushed them this hard.

  Kai glanced over at his sister to see if she showed any signs of tiring, but her eyes were fixed on the horizon. He rubbed at his now healed wrists as he watched her. He hadn’t forgotten the way something had threatened to choke him when she’d thought he would try to stop her from taking back the city.

  If she wanted the city, it would be hers, and there would be no standing in her way.

  "Is that it?" Sterling asked, her voice a hushed whisper. Her eyes were clear and bright as she stared ahead.

  Nyrene had come into view up ahead. It was hardly a speck in the distance, but there was no mistaking the spires of the castle rising against the night sky.

  Before Kai could answer, Sterling kicked her horse into a gallop, leaving him in her dust.

  He had no choice but to do the same to his own poor mount. The beast deserved to be set free after this journey.

  The city grew larger on the horizon as they hurtled toward it at an alarming pace. Sterling had a good lead on him, and Kai's horse couldn't seem to bridge the gap.

  Then, with no warning, she stopped, and the distance between them rapidly disappeared. Kai pulled hard on the reins. His horse tossed his head in protest against the sudden movement, but skidded to a halt just in time to avoid colliding with the reason Sterling had stopped.

  Standing in front of them was a group of people, three humans and four elves, most of whom he recognized.

  Sterling remained motionless on her horse, making no move to greet them, and Kai wondered if he was imagining things. Maybe he only wanted it to be his friends standing there in front of them.

  Kestrel raised her arms in the air. "Welcome to the party."

  And that's how Kai knew what he was seeing was real.

  He grinned back at her and dismounted. "I hope you weren’t waiting long. If you sent an invitation, it didn’t reach us."

  "It must have gotten lost, but don't worry, you're the guests of honor, so we couldn't start without you."

  Their words may have been light and playful, but Kai felt the undercurrent of tension in the air. Something had changed since they’d parted ways.

  More than they possibly knew, Kai thought, sneaking another glance at Sterling, who still sat on her horse looking down on them. Perhaps she planned to run them all down in her quest to get to Nyrene.

  “Good to see you again, Prince Kaimana,” Eryx said, coming forward and taking his reins.

  “And you,” Kai said, patted his shoulder. “I’m sure there is a story there.”

  “Indeed.” Eryx looked over his shoulder, and Kai followed his gaze straight to Virelai.

  She dipped her chin at him. “Prince Kaimana.” Next to Virelai stood the serving girl he’d assigned to Seraiah when she’d first come to Nyrene.

  What an odd group.

  “You’re here,” Seraiah said, pushing past the others. She’d been standing near the back of the group with the other two humans. “I knew you’d come.” She stood on her tiptoes and threw her arms around his neck.

  “Did you see me?” he asked, snaking his arms around her waist and hugging her back.

  “No,” she said, close to his ear, “but I have much to tell you.”

  Before he could reply, she pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth, and he forgot what he’d meant to say. He turned his head and caught her lips with his, pressing her closer. Gods, how he had missed her. It had been painful to watch her ride away from him, but now she was here, and he wasn’t about to let her go again anytime soon.

  Someone cleared their throat.

  Someone else clapped.

  Seraiah pulled back, cheeks flushed.

  “Hello, Papa,” Sterling said. She still sat on her horse, and there was no warmth in the greeting, as Kai would have expected.

  “Your father’s here?” Kai whispered to Seraiah.

  She nodded, face flushing again. “I forgot for a moment.”

  The older human man had tentatively approached Sterling’s horse. “Are you all right?” he asked her. “Has anyone hurt you?”

  “I’m fine,” Sterling said. “Hello, Ren.”

  The last unknown human in the group nodded to Sterling. Kai recognized him from the Cave of Faces. The necromancer.

  “What is he doing here?”

  “We—uh, we’re allies now,” Seraiah told him. She exchanged a look with Kestrel, who moved toward Sterling’s horse. “Let’s go over here,” she said, tugging him away from the rest of the group.

  When they were out of earshot, Seraiah stopped walking. “How is she? Have you seen the shadows? Has she called her magic?”

  Kai blew out a breath and looked over her shoulder at Nyrene. They were close enough that he could see the heads on spikes near the dragon gates. Where did he start to explain what had happened with Sterling?

  “She is—she is different.”

  Worry clouded Seraiah’s gaze.

  “She has called her magic, and unfortunately, it was in front of the human king. We spent some time in the human prison, but she freed us—with her magic. Then she insisted we come here, even though we hadn’t heard from you yet. She wants to take the city.”

  Seraiah nodded. “I had a feeling you would come. That’s why we are here. We had to stop you.” She stopped speaking and looked back at Sterling. She’d finally dismounted from her horse and was now surrounded by the others.

  “What is it?” Kai asked softly.

  Seraiah turned back to him. “I know why your mother sent Sterling away. It was to keep her from the throne. There is something inside of her that wants to destroy our worlds. My grandfather had a vision of it—of her as a queen. There has to be a way to save her, but I don’t know how yet. Until then, we must keep her from that throne. The vision cannot be fulfilled.”

  Kai swallowed. That was going to be a lot harder than Seraiah probably realized.