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Chapter1
My knees kissed the grass,my fingers digging into the cold, wet dirt beneath it. The damp, tangled black strands of my hair brushed the earth next to my knees. Tears stung my eyes as they scanned the dark horizon of a world I’d never dared imagine—all I’d ever known was cracked concrete walls and cold, cruel chains.
“Finally,” Akari breathed. She stood beside me, her pale arms spread wide and her face tilted toward the night sky above us. Her white hair, just as wet and wild as mine, fell below her ass with her head leaned back like that.
“Look at the stars,” Vena murmured. Unlike me and Akari, she stood with her arms wrapped around her middle, trapping her own ratted, dripping golden hair to her waist. We were all dressed in large, slightly blood-stained men’s clothing that belonged to the guards we’d been forced to kill during our escape.
Seeing our world was a relief for Vena and Akari, but it wasn’t new to them like it was to me. They’d been raised in the real world, but all I’d ever known was the prison that had held us for nearly twenty-one years. And though Vena and Akari were older than me, we all looked about the same age because fae stopped aging in our mid-twenties.
The scent of the world outside my prison and the feeling of being free were so new to me, so strange, that I almost didn’t know whether to embrace them or run.
My fingers dug further into the dirt, or soil, or whatever the hell was beneath me.
No, I wouldn’t run.
I was free.
“We need to go,” Akari finally said, after a few moments of silence. The wind rustled my hair, blowing against my skin, in a way that only struck me with more awe.
“Ready, Diori?” Vena asked me, her voice quiet.
I couldn’t find the words, so I dipped my head in a nod.
Akari’s hand slid gently around my bicep, and I stood without assistance despite her soft, unfamiliar grip.
Though we’d spent two decades together, we had never touched. The chains we’d worn hadn’t allowed it.
And though I had never been outside my prison, over the last few years, Vena and Akari had told me everything they knew and had seen, so I was somewhat prepared.
Akari released my arm when she was sure I was steady on my feet, and then together, we ran.
By the timewe stopped at an inn, we’d been running for half a day. We were all starving, but hunger wasn’t new to us.
Akari pulled a few of the coins (we’d taken them from our captors) out of a pocket on the stolen mens’ clothing we all wore, and the three of us ignored every stare sent our way while we dropped into chairs and waited.
Someone brought our food over, and I tried not to stare at the bowl of stew set in front of me. It smelled like nothing I’d ever imagined, so hot it was steaming, and was served in a pretty off-white bowl.
Knowing I was being strange, I forced myself to pick up the spoon, and began eating slowly. I’d used to inhale food like an animal, but Vena and Akari had taught me how to be a person—a woman, in particular.
So I ate at a “normal” pace, despite the pit in my stomach and the other-worldly taste of the stew.
With our hunger sated, we headed up to our room quietly. People had been staring at us, but we didn’t care.
Not after what we’d survived.
The inn had a bathroom with running water, which I’d heard about but never experienced. We took turns in the shower, and I kept my shock at the running water to myself as I scrubbed multiple years’ worth of dirt off my skin.
After we were all clean, dressed only in the dirty shirts we had stolen from the captors we’d killed, we sat on the single, large bed together. Its softness shocked me, but I kept that shock to myself, as I did most emotions.
“We’ll stay for three more days, and purchase clothes and weapons,” Akari said, her icy blue eyes meeting Vena’s, and then mine. “We’ll eat, gather strength, plan… and then, we find the kings who cursed us and get our revenge.”
“And our freedom,” I murmured.
“And our peace.” Vena’s voice was barely above a whisper.
Our hands met. For the first time, they were all clean.
The magic that had been forced upon us twenty-one years ago leaked and whirled and grew over our hands and arms where they were physically connected. Mine was the magic of shadows, Akari’s was the magic of moonlight, which was called night magic, and Vena’s was the magic of an all-consuming darkness.
