KennaThe dining room table in the castle can seat twenty-four people. It’s insane, really. I’ve been to both formal and informal dinners here during my brief and scattered trips to Crescent Falls. Normally, the family only gathers in Maatua, and there we like to spread out on the grass, or the patio, or the beach for dinner….But there’s no food laid out. No breakfast spread, no snacks. Nothing to drink or fiddle with.I lace my fingers together in my lap while I sit on one of the chairs near the head of the table. Ryan sits across from me, his legs crossed as he drums his fingers on his knee.Sydney and Aunt Maddy are upstairs with Uncle Isaac.Misty walks into the room, her eyes red, bloodshot, and full of tears. A smear of mascara peppers her left cheekbone as she looks from me to Ryan.I shoot to my feet. “Misty, what’s the matter?”She pouts, her lo
EvanderThe moon is still high in the sky when the first blacked out SUV pulls out of the driveway moving toward the security gate. Princess Misty is inside the vehicle with her suitcases. I didn’t watch the heated exchange she had with her parents. I could hear it, though. The Princess of Crescent Falls is not happy she’s being sent away for the summer.I cross my arms over my chest and lean against the hood of a similar SUV, checking my watch. It’s 4:00 in the morning. Kenna and I will set out for the port in twenty minutes, taking a different route than Misty and the Ghosts assigned to escort her to Maatua.Royal warriors in their wolf forms move through the surrounding woods like shadows, searching for threats.I check my watch again. Fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes until I’m stuck in a car with Kenna, alone–for two hours, if I respect the speed limit.I roll my lower lip between my
KennaI blink. I blink again, confused about the sudden rush of night air against my right cheek. Evander’s voice is nearby, distorted and hazy. Sparkles cover everything… or maybe that’s just my vision coming back. “Kenna? Goddess, Kenna? Are you okay?” Evander sounds frantic. I reach over and try to pat his hand, but I suddenly lurch forward. The sound of metal on metal erupts in my ears, causing them to ring. I scream, and then I’m thrust back into reality. We’re moving at what feels like the speed of light. I’m in a car. The window at my side is shattered, and the door is crushed inward. By some miracle, I’m okay. I’m covered in glass. The windshield in front of me is splintered but intact, and on the horizon, the lights of the port come into view. We’re barreling toward a private dock. The ferry sits at the very edge of it, but it’s raising its ramp. We’re rear-ended again. Evander grabs my arm. “Are you okay?”“I’m okay,” I rush out, reaching up to wipe tears from my eyes.
KennaCleo, the wife, mother, and matriarch of the property where Evander and I fell through the sky into their chicken coop, sets a huge clay platter on the kitchen table–an old, gnarled table graying with age and wear–and smiles brightly as she lifts the lid. Fragrant steam wafts into the air as roast chicken and an assortment of vegetables come into view. I’m starving and still riding a high from jumping for the first time. I honestly can’t believe I did it. But now we’re in Eastonia, and we’re so far away from the Roguelands that neither of us can mind-link with our families back home. So, we’re stuck. For the meantime, at least. I don’t mind in the slightest. We’ve been here for several hours. Cleo immediately took me inside their cozy home and found me a change of clothes–her youngest son’s shirt and pants that are so long I had to cuff the sleeves and roll up the pants by several inches–but I’m warm, and my body isn’t as broken as I thought. My back is sore from breaking th
EvanderI’ll give credit where credit is due and admit that Kenna is fast. She darts across the grassy expanse of wide open farmland at a speed I hadn’t expected, and I find myself jogging to try to catch up to her.She cuts between two barns and disappears into a shadow of silver mist.“Kenna,” I pant, looking around for the tell tale signs she’s near.A twig crunches in the distance. I whirl around to see footsteps shifting through the grass. They disappear as Kenna–invisible to the naked eye–climbs over a fence and down an embankment.She came into this ability as a child. I vividly remember the day it happened and how jarring it had been. One second, we were playing in the woods surrounding Old Moonrise while her grandmother, Cressendra, forged wild herbs, and the next, Kenna was simply gone.But not really. I could hear her screaming for help but could
Kenna“Kenna.”I reach up to rub my eyes, my back stiff from sleeping on the ground.“Kenna, wake up.”Someone shakes me gently.“Hey!”“What?” I groan, blinking into amber light shining directly in my face. I squint, and Evander’s features come into view, his expression washed with concern. “Ev? What’s going on?”“You need to get up and come with me.”As I come back to reality, unkindly thrust out of a dream I think had to do with the upcoming Rite, I hear voices outside.Evander wastes no time. Suddenly, I’m standing, and he’s laying a cloak over my shoulders, clasping it over my sternum. He works deftly in silence.Fabric brushes against my collarbone, and I feel a sudden spark of familiarity at the touch. I step back, feeling like I just experienced a shock to my system.
KennaEvander steps closer, but I’m still draped in my shadow. I love this power of mine, honestly. It’s my favorite of the arsenal of magic that dwells in my veins. I can just… disappear, or harness the power and turn myself into a writhing mass of the darkest kind of shadow and cause all kinds of chaos, but I’ve never done that.Blending into the shadows? Yes. All the time.But Evander can see me. He crouches in front of me, knitting his fingers together while resting his elbows on his knees.“Your uniform looks stupid,” I grumble.“I’ve been told women love men in uniform.”“You look like an underfed dragon.” It’s true, in my defense. Black, thick fabric envelopes him from his neck to the tips of his toes–every inch of him covered in strange scales of a depthless onyx. Leather armor covers his chest, forearms, and thighs. It hugs them like a glove, which makes sense, given that all of this is possible
KennaEvander shuts the door. The lock clicks, and for a moment, the only sound I can hear is my heartbeat racing in my own ears.He looks… conflicted. Unsure–and unsteady.“You–you smell like vanilla candles,” I whisper, unsure if I say the words out loud or only in my head.But he looks at me, holding my gaze. “I do?” he asks quietly, his voice taking on a tone I’m not accustomed to. It’s softer than before, less on edge.I nod, finding it impossible to swallow past the lump forming in my throat.“Why?” I ask, because it’s the only word frantically bouncing around my skull.“Why do I smell like the vanilla candles you like so much?” He takes a step toward me, then another, but there’s still an incredible amount of distance between us.“Yeah, why?”Evander’s jaw clenches, and his eyes dart to his boots. Guilt clouds the fine features of his face.But I