Page 6 of War of Her Heart

But I could not stand it any longer.

Ihadto go outside. I loved being outside. I used to lie in the grass for hours reading about new things while Calum attended meetings with his Advisors or traveled around the Mountain Realm making appearances, kissing faelings—or whatever he did.

Would Celine really hurt me? For all she knew, her son was in the Night Realm, falling in love with the one she picked.

That hurt to even think about.

But there was no way she’s thinking about me. I could just sneak outside and go past the horse stables. She would never go over there. It’s “beneath” her.

I was going to do it. If I stayed in my room any longer, I would go insane.

I held my breath as I unlocked the door and slowly pulled it open. What was I doing? Celine would never be down here.

Again, it was beneath her.

Literally.

I made my way to the staircase and began to climb, allowing my fingers to trace the banister on my way up. After reaching the main floor, I walked as quietly as I could to the nearest door. As I rounded the last corner before reaching the large double doors in the sitting room, the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me occurred: I ran straight into Celine.

“I am so sorry, Celine,” I said as I looked down. I was so afraid of what she was going to do. I didn’t listen to my father’s warning, and I did exactly what I shouldn’t have done. Run into Celine.

“It’s alright, Violet. Please just watch where you’re going from now on,” Celine said as she nodded and walked away.

You’ve got to be kidding me. Celine had never been anything but nasty to me but now that Calum wasn’t here, she’s almost . . . nice?

It must’ve been because she thought I was no longer a threat to her plan. She could believe all she wanted that Calum was going to marry the sister of the Sovereign of the Night Realm, but he’s coming back to me.

Since I was no longer afraid of Celine, I spent every waking moment for the next seven weeks outside. I would lie in the part of the forest that was deemed castle property because it was inside the castle walls and listen to the critters run aroundand the birds sing their beautiful songs as they flew tree to tree. Being outside made the days go by faster, but only a little.

After almost three months, I woke up one morning to a knock on my door. With Calum gone, I had nothing to do, no one to see, so I was just living on my own schedule. So it was weird that someone was at my door, and even weirder when I opened the door to Celine standing there. I didn’t think she had ever been on this low level of the castle.

“Calum’s fiancée has asked that I come spend the rest of their engagement with them in the Night Realm, and you’re coming with me.”

My heart sank at those last four words. I hadn’t left the castle walls since I moved here over fifty years ago, and now I was supposed to travel to the worst realm in the kingdom? That wasn’t the worst part though. I was expecting the next time I saw Calum to be in a few months when he was back here, rid of his fiance forever. Now I had to see him with her. Even if he wasn’t giving her a chance, I think it would have been better for me if I never had to see her.

“What? I . . . I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I said as I shook my head.

“Well, I think you should go ahead and get to know the future lady of the castle. I mean you probably should befriend her if you plan to live here any longer. Once they are married, she may choose to throw you out of the castle. She may not be as nice as I am.”

“I—”

“Maybe she will let you be one of her ladies in waiting.” There was the Celine I knew. The snarky bitch was back. I don’t know where she was for the last seven weeks, but I knew it wouldn’t last forever.

“We are leaving tonight so pack your things. Make sure you pack something nice for their wedding. It’s only a few months away now.”

My insides were screaming at her, but she wouldn’t know from the look on my face. I gave her no emotion. She wasn’t worth it. And it’s not like I had any choice in the matter. I never had a choice.

I still didn’t understand why I was going to the Night Realm with Celine. She didn’t really give me a lot of time to process it. Her bullshit answer earlier was just because she was trying to get a response out of me.

I honestly didn’t understand why she was even going to the Night Realm so early in the engagement. Family usually only attended the wedding. Calum must’ve been ignoring his fiancée, and she thought bringing in his mother would fix things. This was good. Thishadto be it. Calum was doing what he told me he would do, and this was their last attempt to make the engagement work.

Even though that idea gave me a little relief, I still had a bad feeling about going with Celine. If the Sovereign or his sister knew what I was to Calum, I’m sure they would have me killed the second I entered the Night Realm.

The first Night Realm Sovereign was the most vicious in Queen Mother’s games. He played dirty, killed even when it wasn’t necessary, and made enemies with every other victor. This trait was passed down to every Night Realm Sovereign thereafter.

But the one ruling now . . . he made the others look like angels. He was born with the gift of wielding force fields—the gift all Night Realm Sovereigns had—but he also had other extraordinary powers, and a cold heart. He had no love for anyone or anything. He became Sovereign when he was still a teenager. He murdered his father andtookcontrol.

From the moment he killed his father, his powers amplified. They said that you could feel the surge of power radiate throughout the entire kingdom. His power was so strong that the shadows surrendered to him. They became an extension of him, and he could do anything through his shadows. They devoured his enemies without him having to lift a finger. His abilities were not like anything the kingdom had seen, so no one dared to try to stop him, not even the Queen Mother—which may be why she did nothing when he became Sovereign before he was of age.

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