Page 7 of War of Her Heart

I shuddered at the thought of what the shadow king would do if he found out about me and Calum. I just had to trust that Celine’s attempts to keep the news of our relationship within the castle walls worked. And trusting Celine was a scary thought.

It took us a few days to make it to the Night Realm. The one exciting part about going to the Night Realm was getting to see what the outside world looked like, but I was utterly disappointed. We had to travel through the Ice Realm and for as far as I could see, it was nothing but flat land covered in ice. We traveled through a part where there were no cities or villages, so we couldn’t find shelter to rest at night. We had to sleep in the carriage while Celine forced the guards to stay awake to continue our journey.

When we made it to the Night Realm, I expected to see what I saw in the drawings in the books I had read, which was darkness, dead trees, and no signs of life. Instead, we traveled on a green path with large firs lining both sides of the path. Oddly enough, it looked exactly like the Mountain Realm.

Celine was just as confused as I was. She had never been to the Night Realm before, but she knew what she saw wasn’t right. She said the Sovereign must’ve done this to welcome his new family.

I nodded in response, but I didn’t believe that could be the reason. Why would the shadow king care? He cared for no one.

Awe overcame me when we arrived at the gate of the castle. The walls were tall and made of black stone with wrought iron lining the top and battlements placed every so often, but it was nothing like I pictured. I expected spikes at the top of the walls with the heads of innocent faeries; instead, it all looked elegant and yet intimidating at the same time.

A long cobblestone road led us further into the land of the castle until we came to a stop in front of the castle itself. The castle was made from the same black stone as the walls, was taller than it was wide, and sat on a hill. Several turrets stood tall and added to the overall detailing of the castle.

I was surprised to see only what I would assume were a few servants, based on their attire, and a beautiful fae waiting for us at the castle entrance. I knew it wasn’t the Sovereign’s sister because this fae had long fiery red hair, whereas the sister had to have black hair, given her Night Realm blood. Where was Calum? I assumed he would at least be here for his mother’s arrival if anything else.

When the carriage stopped, Celine motioned for me to get out first. As I climbed out, a cool breeze hit me. It was warm when we left the Mountain Realm and freezing in the Ice Realm, but I knew that each realm was like its own little world, each different in so many ways.

I snapped out of the daze when Celine cleared her throat. I looked back to see she was still in the carriage but had her hand out. Was she seriously waiting for me to help her out?

I guessed since she couldn’t bring her ladies with her, she was using me as their replacement. I knew better than to object to her, so I played the part. As she stepped out of the carriage, she looked around with an offended look on her face.

“Where is my son and his fiancée?” she questioned the beautiful red head, obviously thinking the same thing I was.

The fae was taken aback by Celine’s snappy tone. I hadn’t even noticed it given that it seemed to be the only tone Celine had.

“They are actually on a short holiday. They will be here tomorrow. We didn’t let you know because we thought you might like to rest some before seeing them after your long trip,” she said, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, where is your Sovereign?” Celine responded as she crossed her arms. I shuddered at Celine’s question. “I would have expected him to be waiting to greet his future family.” Celine snarked.

The servants looked at each other nervously.

The fae’s eyes narrowed at Celine. “He has more important things to handle than greetingNathara’snew family.”

Nathara. That must be the Sovereign’s sister. She put an emphasis on her name insinuating that the Sovereign and his sister’s affairs were completely separate.

“Please, let me show you to your chambers so you can settle in for the night.” She motioned towards the castle.

Celine rolled her eyes before she began walking. I stayed back with the servants. I wasn’t sure of my place because I truly had no idea why I was even here.

The female turned around and said to me, “Well, aren’t you coming?”

As I opened my mouth to answer, Celine cut me off and said, “Oh no. She can stay wherever you board your servants.”

The fae looked confused as she looked at me and my clothes. The fabric of my dress showed I wasn’t a servant, but I wasn’t really sure what you would call me.

I didn’t thinkCalum’s loverwould go over well here.

“Who are you?” the fae asked, taking a step towards me.

“I’m—”

“She’s our Commander’s daughter. She is fine to stay in the servants’ quarters,” Celine interrupted before I could answer for myself.

The fae looked at Celine with pure astonishment.

“Finnel,” she motioned at one of the Night Realm servants, “please show Calum’s mother to her chambers. I will escort our other guest, the Commander’s daughter, to her chambers.”

Celine was pissed that she was passed off to be escorted by a servant, but she knew her place. She wasn’t in her realm. She was aguestin the most dangerous realm of all. She hesitantly followed the servant.

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