Page 1 of The Court of Secrets
CHAPTER ONE
We rode into Imperia. It was the main city in Magaelor, the kingdom I’d inherited to rule. Cedric, my boyfriend, and Adius, my head guard, accompanied me inside the carriage.
Cotton-candy-shaped clouds covered the slate-gray sky. Sunlight arrowed through gaps in the clouds, illuminating storefronts and cobbled streets. Winding roads ran into the heart of the city. The carriage jerked when we turned a tight corner. I let out a long, shaky exhale as home neared. It was my first day back in the kingdom since leaving Niferum, the fae’s kingdom in the north.
Pain pinched through me, and I earned a look from Cedric. I squeezed my eyes shut. Passing it off as heartburn, I turned my gaze to the curtain-covered window.
Being brought back from the dead was killing me. The darkness that had been residing inside me since I was pulled back from the other side tightened around my core. It was waiting for a crack in my thoughts, so it could rip through. I was keeping it at bay, but I didn’t know how long I could hold it off. I wanted to talk to the one person who could help me: Morgana. She hadn’t said much to me since we left Niferum.
She’d performed sacrificial magic, which was not governed by the elements. Unlike the solises—who used the four elements, fire, water, air, and earth—us lunas used spirit, the most powerful element, allowing us to access our ancestors’ energy. The spirit realm fueled the energy we harnessed, so we called it ancestral magic. Magic was the only thing that differentiated solises and lunas. Both were sorcerers, our names only given to tell us apart. The solises lived in Berovia, the largest kingdom in our world, and the lunas lived in Magaelor. My kingdom was small, but it was filled with soul and hardworking people.
Morgana, my mentor and friend, took a great risk bringing me back from death. It was a form of necromancy, and we had both been restless since. I should have died in the battle between my cousin and me for the crown. He had perished, but I’d returned to reclaim my rightful throne.
Yet again, fate had other plans.
Cedric’s full lips curved upward at the corners, a half-smile where his eyes didn’t wrinkle. I knew it well. He looked cautious but wanted to put me at ease. He was too good for me, a truth I recognized time and time again. For some reason, he remained by my side. It was my first day in the kingdom as queen ever since Blaise killed my cousin in the battle.
I pulled back the red curtains covering us from the crowds eager to see into the royal carriage. We grumbled over cobbles, pulling up a hill. Looming against the red-orange horizon was a castle of gray stone—Ash Court, my home.
I gazed at the swelling crowd in front of a set of market stalls, lining the sides of a wide street. Many waved, craning their necks to get a look at their new queen.
Cedric was busy looking out the window across from mine, gazing at the kingdom. “It looks nicer than I thought it would,” he said in earnest. “If not a little eerie.”
“It’s different.” I placed my hands on my lap and fumbled my fingers. “It’s unlike anywhere else in the world.” I looked at the slate-roofed homes stacked together and the pointed arches on our temples, then moved my gaze to the ornate designs on the buildings. I’d missed the city more than I knew. Before I had gone to Berovia—even before I’d been forced to live on the island of Inferis with my mother,—I had fallen in love with Magaelor, especially Imperia, the city where my castle stood. The biggest attraction in our modest kingdom was the vast evergreen forest in the distance, Ash Forest. Various sections were the burial grounds of our ancestors. Beyond the trees, carved out areas held the crypts of kings before me. The only area off limits was a good thirty-minute walk from the castle.
Only the high priest, monarch, and the priests or priestesses could go to worship the elders and ancestors. There, a river flowed, and it ran between the land of the living and dead. It was said to be where one could communicate with their spirit guide, a spirit from the other side to watch over them. Apparently, every luna got one, but they couldn’t see them. As queen, I would finally be allowed to go. The prospect of meeting my guide made being home all the more exciting.
I recalled when I’d run from Ash Court to Niferum, to escape my tyrannical father, what felt like years ago. I’d gone into the northernmost part of the forest and never felt anything so surreal in my life. Walking under the dappled light of the fir trees, touching the ash-gray bark and feeling the pulse of magic entwined with the roots and ground, had been a sensation I couldn’t quite explain.
Gripping my fingers into my staff, I felt the familiar flicker of magic shoot upward, a reminder I was safe.
We lurched forward, and the crowd dispersed, but a few stragglers remained. One man captured my attention. His sharp gaze was focused on me. He stood on the edge of the road, over the stone bridge. His lips unfurled into a sadistic smile. He looked behind him, where three men stood with their arms-crossed. All of them watched me pass, anger spilling into their hardened expressions. Dirt marked their features. They appeared as normal labor workers. I assumed they were angry at me for killing their treasonist former king, my cousin Edgar, or replacing their beloved former king, Amos, whom no one knew had died at my hand. If they did, I’d have already been executed for treason. It was by far the most dangerous secret on my lips, of which I had many.
Blaise had technically killed Edgar, but everyone knew it was on my orders. The battle had been fought for that reason. Neither of us could survive while the other ruled, not peacefully. There would always be those loyal to either side, wanting us to be replaced. There could be no argument of succession.
I looked at Adius, who had insisted on joining us on the journey home when we were picked up at the border for security reasons. “We have a lot of work to do.” I let out a weighted sigh, pulling the curtain over my window. I shuddered into the plush, red seat. “We must unite the people. Edgar taking the crown, unrightfully, has caused a division that may take years to heal.”
Adius nodded, then ran his hand through his brown hair, which was disheveled from when he’d taken off his helmet. “They need to see strong leadership, which you will offer them. Chaos has tired this kingdom for the longest time. Edgar brought instability, and your father… he brought war and battles.”
“So far.” I sighed. “I have brought them only death.”
“It was needed to take back your throne, and now you have it. You can give your people what they need.”
My stomach flipped when he said “your people.” Hearing it out loud made it real. “I’m going to do the best I can,” I said in promise.
“Naturally.”
Adius always had been matter-of-fact. I expected nothing less when talking to him, which was why I had made him my head of security. He would always tell me his honest opinion, no ruffles or lace, and sometimes I needed to hear the truth. Many would rather tell a queen what she wanted to hear.
Cedric averted his gaze from the window to me. He squeezed my knee, then grinned. “I’m looking forward to getting to know your people. It’s all very… intriguing.”
“It is.” His enthusiasm was contagious. “You’ll adore the castle. The walls are embedded with millions of tiny crystals. It’s quite something. Also, you’ll love your quarters. I’ll arrange for you to have one of the best guest rooms.”
He smirked. “I assume our days of sharing a bed are over?”
I blushed. “You know I can’t, not as queen.” I looked at Adius. “We only cuddled.”
Adius put his hands up, with a “none of my business” look.
