CHAPTER 1
Elexiandra tried not to crumple the invitation thecrow had delivered as she read it, but her blood pressure roseuntil it pounded in her ears. The neat, embossed gold lettering wasfar too cheerful for the words written on the thick parchment.
She’d bet a lot of these invites had gone outthrough the mortal and Shadow Realms, and that at least a thousandimmortals would accept and attend. She didn’t reside in the ShadowRealms, but—much to her dismay—King Tove of the dark fae must havedecided to include at least some of the immortals who lived in thehuman realm on his invitation list.
“What is it, Lexi?” Sahira asked as sheappeared at Lexi's side.
If Lexi showed her, Sahira would make her go.Her aunt would prattle on about proper etiquette and how excitingit was for them to get the chance to visit the Gloaming, the darkfae realm. But even if Sahira didn't force her to attend, Lexi hadno idea how to get out of this.
How did she say no to the king of the darkfae?
She didn't, that was how. But why did heinviteher?
Sure, her father was a general on the winningside of the war, but he perished in that war, and she was a halfvamp, half human who had never entered a Shadow Realm before. Theonly things separating her from mortals were that she drank blood,as well as ate food, and she was an immortal.
She had no special abilities, no powers, andthough she was stronger than a human, she wasn’t as strong as afull-blooded vampire. She was a nobody holding an invitation fromone of the most powerful immortals in all the realms. And she wouldprefer to throw it away.
Lifting her head, Lexi pushed back a loosestrand of auburn hair as she studied the large manor only fiftyfeet away from her. At one time, the thirty-room, gray stonebuilding was beautiful and in pristine condition.
Then her father entered the war on the sideof the “let's make our existence known to the humans” faction andeverything changed.
But then, her father never really had achoice. It was either fight or die, and at least he chose thewinning side, even if it wasn't necessarily the right one, but shewouldnevervoice that opinion out loud.
However, if he'd chosen the losing side, thenthe Lord would have most likely taken the manor from them ordestroyed it, and she and Sahira would be on the run like all theother rebels.
She was still staring at her home when Sahirasnatched the invitation from her hand.
"It’s an invitation to a ball!” Sahiragushed.
Lexi winced and braced herself for what wasto come. She didn’t want to attend some fancy ball, but the sparklein Sahira’s eyes said her aunt was already planning what they wouldwear.
The invitation specified attending in theirfinest attire, which meant ball gowns. That was all well and good,but she didn’t own anything fancy, and she wasn’t in the mood to goshopping.
“It’s to celebrate the end of the war,”Sahira said, “and the king of the dark fae’s sons for helping theLord win.”
Some of Sahira’s enthusiasm vanished as shespoke. She may love the idea of a ball and fancy gowns, but they’dboth lost a lot during the war and didn’t have anything tocelebrate.
She’d lost her dad, and Sahira lost her halfbrother. They’d lost the luxurious life they once lived and most ofthe humans who once lived at or worked the manor grounds.
But they weren’t the only ones who lost alot. The human realm lost its innocence about the existence ofimmortals as well as countless lives. Every day, they continued tolose more.
And the dark fae king planned to celebratethose losses. Lexi found this a little strange considering he’dlost more than half his sons in the war.
She bit her tongue as she lifted her head togaze into the crow’s black eyes. When it tilted its head, the suncreated a rainbow hue of colors throughout its feathers. The crowwas the dark fae’s messenger, and it was waiting for herresponse.
She didn’t know what to say. The idea ofgoing to the Gloaming was tempting, she’d love to see how the darkfae lived, but she still didn’t understand whyshewasholding this invite.
She’d never met a member of the royal darkfae before. She knew Colburn—or Cole as he was more commonlyknown—and Brokk were the only sons the king had left on his side.Out of his nine sons, five died in the war, and the other twosurvivors fought for the rebels.
Like everyone who chose the losing side, theywere stripped of their titles, land, and money. They were beinghunted throughout the realms.
Many of the rebels ended up in the mortalrealm where there was less magic and they were harder to track.Many others hopped through the Shadow Realms to avoid capture anddeath.
“We need gowns,” Sahira continued, and Lexiclosed her eyes. “We’ll have to go to the marketplace to purchasethem. It will be fun.”
The two of them had drastically differentideas of fun, but at four hundred and fifty-three years old, Sahirawas four hundred and twenty-nine years older than her. Her aunt hadgrown up and lived through far different times.
Sahira once attended balls held by kings andczars in the human realm while Lexi grew up in jeans and T-shirts.Sahira would sometimes talk about the old days with wistful sadnesswhile Lexi’s old days were bowls of cereal in front of her favoritecartoons.
