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It was the most horrible shame. I walked forward, stole those jewels, and collared myself. I had no choice. I’m not a fighter like Cora.
I chained myself with a dead woman’s trophies.
“Kai—”
“No, Cora,” I spit. “You were thrown to the monsters and came back leading them.” My eyes soften at the stricken expression on her face. “You were always so great at changing the status quo, but I’m not you. I was given to a monster, but I did not come out the victor.” I choke on my next words. “I came out this . . . this . . . hollow shell. I’m no longer the sister you left behind.”
“Don’t say that!” Cora cries, still trying to convince me.
“It’s true,” I choke out. “You were always meant to be great, Cora.” I release her face and take a step back. Cora’s eyes are on me, and I can tell she’s horrified at my words. “You sacrificed yourself for me and gave me a chance at happiness, but I was never going to be happy. I wasn’t meant for that.”
I take another step back, and another.
“Kai, what are you saying?” Cora asks, stumbling after me, her hand outstretched, but I recoil from her touch.
If she touches me, I’ll stain her.
“You sacrificed yourself for me,” I repeat, placing my hand over my heart as I take one final step backward. The backs of my thighs hit the wall along the edge, pressing against old bruises and scars that will never fade. “I won’t let you sacrifice your happiness for me again. I’m not me any longer. The king killed who I was.” I know my next words will hurt, but it’s better that she understands everything. It’s better that she hates me by the end of it all. “You were too late,” I rasp. “I’m just another ghost to haunt these walls.”
“Kai—”
“You were too late,” I repeat. “I love you, baby sister. I always will.”
Then, before she can stop me or understand what I’ve planned, I let all of my weight fall backward. Everything slows around me, the world pausing for a moment so I can focus on my sister’s face. Her eyes widen as she reaches for me, her fingers too far away. Her mouth opens on a scream I can’t hear as she reaches forward. Her face disappears when she throws herself after me, but one of her monsters stops her.
Good. They will protect her. They will heal this pain I’m causing.
Wind rushes past me, my hair whipping around my face as I plummet toward the water below. Above me, I see the gargoyle spread his wings, but I know he’ll be too late. I’d hoped they would be.
As I fall, I close my eyes, holding Cora’s smiling, radiant face in my mind, the newfound power making her glow. It’s her I see before I plunge into the water and everything goes black.
Blissful, painless darkness claims me, and I float into the ether with a smile curling at my lips.
Free at last.
I’m free at last.
Chapter
One
KAITO
The castle has always been an interesting place to rest, since the fighters have trouble spotting me in the turbulent river that serves as my home, my sanctuary. The water always calls to me, softening the blow of the world around us, even if I shouldn’t risk being this close to the enemy. I’ve long since given up any hold on life. When my time to die comes, I’ll embrace it, but until then, I won’t live by constraints imposed by humans.
This world belongs to no one. There are no walls that will hold me.
I’m a bit prejudiced toward humans after what the king did to me.
I’m nothing more than an experiment, just like many of the others who live beneath the Gilded Lands. Unlike them, I am neither monster nor man. I don’t belong anywhere.
I’m an in-between monster that no one will ever claim.
Still, the powers I was given have come in handy so many years later. I may have the traits of the fey that live in the Dead Lands, but I have other traits as well. I can breathe beneath the water and control it when needed, and I can live beneath thesurface undetected, unbothered, and unchained—like I’d been before I’d escaped the castle.
They searched for me. The king didn’t want word of his precious experiments to get out, especially since I was one of the first, but I knew not to run to the humans. I’d be killed on sight for my unsightly gray skin, the horns that grow from my temples, and the claws that tip my fingers. Though I still have human traits, they’re not enough to convince anyone I was once human.
They see a monster, and they don’t look deeper.
