Chapter One
REIYANA
The first ship arrived at sunrise, and with it, Princess Reiyana’s last day of freedom.
Her fingernails dug into the windowsill as the vessel carved through dawn’s blush, its black sails catching the first weak sunlight, bleeding to gold at the edges. Beyond it, two more slipped free of the mist—then five, then ten—until the bay of Nymaris bristled with masts, their banners snapping in the wind.
Not merchants, but Alphas.
Her lungs locked, a sharp pinch beneath her ribs. Six months ago, she would’ve flown down the palace steps, skirts lifted in both hands, eager for the news and treasures brought by traders from the Nine Issoirean Kingdoms—a glimpse of the world beyond her walls.
Now, the sight coiled cold around her heart, curling up her spine like frost.
Today, Alphas were coming forher.An Omega princess, a prize in a tournament.
A knock at the door broke through her reverie. The faint scents of lavender and starch seeped under the door, sharp against the salt-laced air driftingin from the sea.
“Enter,” she murmured, though her voice barely rose above the surf below.
The door creaked open. She turned to see her maid enter her bedroom. Fia’s slippers whispered across stone as she approached, a blue velvet box balanced in her palms.
“I’ve brought the pearls Her Majesty chose for you, Princess.”
Reiya’s fingers drifted to the wing-shaped pendant at her throat—hisgift, its crystal edges worn smooth from restless touches, from the nights she traced it like a prayer.
“I’ll wear this, thank you.”
Fia’s throat bobbed, her voice soft with the weight of orders she dared not refuse. “But the queen insisted?—”
Reiya’s lips curved, a flicker of sharp humour. “Please tell Her Majesty the pearls clash with my iron shackles.”
Then, from the doorway came a voice, smooth as polished glass.
“They symbolizeblessings, Reiyana. Not shackles.”
She watched her mother glide forward, sapphire gown pooling behind her, the limyerite crystal crown on her head catching the sunlight. For an instant, when the queen’s gaze fell to the pendant, something flickered in her light blue eyes.
Then, quickly, it vanished.
Warm fingers brushed Reiya’s nape, the necklace slipping away before it was placed gently in her palm.
“You will wear the pearls.” Her mother lifted the double ivory strands from the velvet box and fastened them around her neck. Their lustrous surfaces gleamed in the soft light, each orb perfectly round and unblemished—a testament to the skill of Aethonia’s pearl harvesters.
“Many Alphas came to join the tournament. Our people call you the ‘Pearl of Aethonia,’ the pride of our kingdom. It is only fitting that you wear them.”
Reiya’s fingers brushed instinctively to where her pendant had been. “It’s just… that one feels more like me.”
Her mother’s hand grazed her shoulders—a soft pressure, as if in comfort.
“They’ve been blessed at Luneth’s temple this morning,” came the gentle murmur at her ear.
A metallic taste filled Reiya’s mouth as her jaw tightened.
Luneth, the Moonfire Goddess of night, fertility, and guardian of Omegas. The pearls were meant to symbolize her favour, a blessing for the Omega princess destined to find her Alpha.
But they didn’t feel like a gift. They wrapped around her neck like a chain—delicate at a glance, but unyielding beneath her fingers. Cold and hollow. Beautiful, but only in the way something meant to bind could be.
As though sensing her thoughts, her mother guided her to the mirror on the other side of her bedroom. They stood side by side, mother and daughter, framed in the polished glass. The queen’s eyes carried no anger, no reproach—just the serenity of someone who knew she’d already won the battle.
