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Prologue
Thehallwassosilent that no matter how much I tried to suppress the noise of my chewing, it sounded deafeningly loud in the cavernous, echoing stone room.
Father tore a piece of meat off the bone with his teeth at the head of the table, making me jump in my seat. Sirena spared me a disapproving glance from across the table before elegantly continuing to eat her meal.
“Father,” Sirena began, saccharine sweet as always. “I can’t help but be concerned that although Levana has reached her age of majority, she is poorly equipped in her role assisting with the running of the estate.”
Traitor, I told her with my eyes, holding myself stiffly in my seat as I waited for Father’s reaction. What was she saying? Sirena was the heir, my role was just doing whatever Father said until Sirena inherited the family seat, and then it would be doing whatevershesaid, just like Uncle Yestin did for Father. I was more than capable.
“What are you saying?” Father snapped, glaring at Sirena the way he did every time she spoke.
“Just that defending the estate is traditionally the purview of the second child, and Levana has had no training.” No matter how biting Father was, Sirena never rose to it. “Perhaps some retired members of the Guard would be willing to stay on the property to train her—”
“Absolutely not,” Father interrupted, ripping through the meat on his plate and looking at Sirena like he wished it washerflesh he was tearing into.
Why had she suggested that? Father hated havinganyoneon the estate who wasn’t the three of us or the few trusted staff members he’d selected.
As he liked to remind us daily, the last time he’d had guests on the estate, Mother had run away with one of them.
“This is oursanctuary,” Father reiterated. “We do not let anyone else enter. You know what happened the last time I was foolish enough to make that mistake.”
Wehappened, though he never seemed to make that connection. Mother had left right after I was born, abandoning us both here, andof courseFather was still distressed by her terrible treatment of him. But occasionally, I couldn’t help but remember that Sirena and I wouldn’t exist if not for Mother, and Father didn’t like to acknowledge that at all.
“It is,” Sirena soothed. “I’m sorry, Father. It was a foolish suggestion. I was thinking too much about the future safety and protection of the estate and not enough about our happiness living in it. Uncle Yestin will be a more than adequate mentor.”
Father sat back, his flash of temper disappearing after her placating words. Not for the first time, I wondered if there was more to Sirena than there appeared. She was only a few years older than me, but sometimes the age difference felt much larger.
“Youareill-equipped to defend us from intruders,” Father said, turning the full force of his furious gaze on me. There hadn’t been anintruderfor centuries, but I knew better than to point that out.
“Yes, Father,” I agreed, looking down at the table.
“And Yestin has probably forgotten everything he learned duringhistime in the Guard. Your sister has been working hard to learn how to run the estate. What have you been doing, Levana?”
“Finishing my education,” I said in a small voice, already missing Liriene, my tutor. I’d gone to her home most days—a tiny little cottage on the coast—and absorbed every piece of knowledge the elderly Shade could impart.
“Well, what good is that?” Father snorted. “You don’t need to be educated, you need to bestrong.I should have pulled you out far earlier—Liriene was hardly going to give you combat lessons.”
“Yes, Father.” Perhaps there was another local Shade whom Father would send me to for combat lessons? I perked up slightly at the idea of getting to leave the house each day again.
“The Guardwould,logically speaking, be the best place for you to learn,” he added, chewing loudly as he spoke. “After all, what use are you alone if we are on the receiving end of a full-fledged attack? No, you’ll need allies. Fellow trained Shades you can call on in times of need for the benefit ofour family.”
He said the last two words pointedly, looking between Sirena and me to reiterate why this conversation was happening at all.
“Yes, I have come to the decision that a short stint as a member of the Guard would serve us well. You have an impressive family name and enough raw power to be accepted without any issue.”
I was too scared to even raise my head, worried that he’d change his mind.Jointhe Guard? Live away from the estate and train in combat with the finest warriors of the realm? It was too good to be true. I couldn’t let myself believe it.
I’d never gone more than a few miles from Erith, the family estate where I’d been born. I’d never shadow-walked. My first trip to the human realm to feed was to happen tomorrow, with my father as an escort.
“Yes, this is a very good idea of mine,” Father said decisively. “It goes without saying that your loyalty is first and foremost to our family.”
“Of course,” I agreed hurriedly, stumbling over the words.
“But you also need to beuseful, or what is the point of this all? So yes, you will join the Guard and hone your skills. But when I call you home, Levana, make no mistake that you will come. You only exist because of my graciousness. Your privileged life is a gift I have given you. You oweeverythingto me, to this family.
“When I call you home, Levana, you will return immediately, willingly, and gratefully.”
Chapter 1
