Chapter One

By Sara Aziz

______________________________________

I stared silently out the window, ignoring the hissed conversations of my captors.

Dead. She was dead. I wonder if that meant anything to anyone besides me. Lorkai didn’t care, if he’d approved her death, approved my capture by any means.

“Shut up, Achar,” the hunter growled, and my pointed ears flicked in his direction. “The king will not be pleased.”

Lorkai was no king, but I supposed in his mind, by the people he ruled and the land he controlled, he was. What power flickered in the hunter’s eyes?

“Who are you.” Not a question, but a command I was surprised they allowed me to make.

“Aiden,” the hunter said. No family name, nor title. Did he not know his? Was he illegitimate? His face tightened as he seemed to read the thoughts in my eyes. “It’s not your place yet to know who I am beyond that.”

I bristled, and Achar huffed a growly laugh. As I turned back to the window, face flaming, I cursed myself for allowing him to hurt me. Why was I insulted by this callous killer? I felt someone slide beside me as we went over a particularly bumpy part of the path.

“What’s your name?” I stiffened as the questioner breathed against my neck, hot and far too close. Achar.

“Nothing I wish to tell you.”

“So I will call you Fawn,” he murmured, and my hatred flared in a blinding heat as I stilled. His harsh, cold fingers ran down my throat, tracing my collarbone, trailing lower, lower, and I screwed my eyes shut to avoid the inevitable touch, till they suddenly stopped. Opening my eyes, I dared to glance over at the reason behind this lack of movement and saw Aiden gripping Achar’s hand in a death hold as they engaged in a silent staring contest.

“Don’t touch her,” he ordered, and I blinked. “The king will be…displeased if we return his daughter as the damaged goods you no doubt intended.”

My lips quirked in a smile that lacked humor, and it caught Aiden’s eye as I winked. He scowled, and I wrinkled my nose in distaste. Aiden may want me safe if only for my father, but it was safe nonetheless. I would need to keep him near once we arrived at Lorkai’s castle -or fortress?- and hope his fear for my father kept me alive. Mother would have said to ‘watch, wonder, listen.‘ Keep my mouth shut and my ears open. My lips twitched as Aiden moved to the seat across from me and leaned in, expression conspiratorial. Which was pure bull.

But for Achar, for stopping that touch, I would allow it.

“What is your name, Fawn?”

I considered him, considered the merits of telling my name, and tilted my head in faux acquisition. I never agreed to anything I didn’t want to.

“Gianna.” My voice was deliberately soft, my eyes wide and sad, and his own softened. By the gods, the man was a fool. “My mother calls me Gia, though.” She didn’t. But the false moniker lured a smile onto his hard lips, and he leaned back, satisfied with his findings. He’d already forgotten the wink after Achar’s touch, the spit that had spilled from my lips as I vomited when they forced me into the carriage. I buried the flicker of disappointment beside the endless pit of rage deep inside me. The rage they’d incited with the thoughtless murder, the planned execution.

“I believe I will still call you Fawn.” Aiden’s eyes once again traced my grass-stained clothes, and I shivered when they heated. What was wrong with me? I stuffed that strange feeling right into a box labeled, Things I Will Deal With When Drunk. Achar snorted, and my gaze cut to him.

“Why do you laugh?” I blinked innocently after the question, but there was something in his eyes I couldn’t decipher, an understanding of sorts.

“The strange thing about fawns,” he said, falling deeper into his seat with his eyes closed, “is when a hunter’s around, they always get shot.”

No one spoke for the rest of the ride.

___________________

I sucked in a breath as the seemingly endless array of pines and elderwoods thinned as we entered the center of the Korinaj. Lorkai’s home…I gazed out the window in wonder as a building reminiscent of the castle of the skies came into view. Cold and imposing, it was grand in a way that was both terrifying and awe-inspiring. Mother would have despised it. I jolted as I realized she had despised it. And Mother would have had no problem voicing it. Luna always had been brave.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Aiden’s voice was amused, and I felt a burning humiliation flash through me. He thought it was funny, the wild girl of the woods just encountering civilization. Keeping my face smooth, I cast him a saccharine half-smile.

“It’s rather ugly, isn’t it?” I relished the way his smile dropped and the way the confusion in his eyes conflicted with a dormant resentment. “The stone is so cold and dramatic against the woods. It’s almost an eyesore.” I affected a shiver after that, keeping my voice open as he nodded, swallowing every word.

“It’s meant to be that way, and even so, it grows on you.” He smiled, and I feigned struggle before letting a small one flash. Mother would be so proud of me.

“It’s incredible regardless.” Achar’s sharp voice cut through, and I unintentionally stiffened. Achar was…unnerving. He was suspicious, watchful, distrustful. Him, I would need to avoid. For my sanity, and my life.

“Don’t mind him,” Aiden chuckled, and I twisted my hands in a show – a rather impressive one- of being torn. “His mother was the architect.” At that, my head whipped towards Achar, who was staring out the window. His mother? Lorkai allowed a female to design his home? Achar’s jaw was clenched, and for the first time, I truly looked at him. His lupine features had vanished -called forth at will, I’d learned when he’d relaxed and his face gained features I would have said were Fae- and without them, his face was harsh. Carved of ice, born of snow. His hair was white, silver-colored eyes constantly flashing with streaks of gold in rage, along with an aquiline nose combined to create a visage I supposed some could call handsome. Achar caught my eye, raising an eyebrow, and I blushed. Sharias’s name, was I admiring him? After what he’d done?

No, I was merely examining him. Examining my prey. That had to be it. I swallowed, hard, as I looked back out the window. The accompanying guards had ridden outside with the coachman, and I pinched my lips as they opened the door now. The cold winds whipped my face, snow finding it’s way into my hair and onto my thin clothes.

“Will you go down yourself,” Aiden said, his eyes cold in the face of outsiders. “Or do I need to drag you before your father myself?”

I shook my head slowly, taking the humiliation he’d incited in those words and pushing it deep, within the same pit Achar had opened inside me. “I won’t fight.”

I heard Achar snort, but I ignored him, instead stepping out onto the cobble, ignoring the lingering stares of the guards. I will find them all later. Mother always said I had Sharias, the goddess of attraction and loves gifts. Guards always knew something from watching and protecting every day from their places. And very few were unsusceptible to a lovely woman’s invitation. I flashed a pretty smile at the tallest male guard and he flashed his white teeth in a wolfish grin that lasted for less than a second. I continued walking, ignoring Aiden coming in beside me, Achar following like the dog he was. I shivered as my slippers stepped into a particularly large pile of snow, pain shooting up my foot, and I let my eyes flicker over my shoulders for a moment to see Achar’s features had turned lupine again. I narrowed my eyes before looking ahead again, only hesitating for a second as I stepped into the castle. Entered my new prison. Achar grabbed my arm, his grip rough and biting as he dragged me down the halls. Stumbling, I desperately tried to stretch my legs to keep up with him, but Achar had to be at least six and a half feet. Looking up, I flushed when I saw he was already staring down at me, silver eyes almost completely gold. His lips curved, and I jerked my gaze forward, swallowing the rage he ignited. Looking around the halls, I bit my lip as I noted the expensive paintings and gold lining the walls. The lush carpets beneath my thin slippered feet. I reached up a hand to brush some of the snow out of my hair, and Achar locked on the movement for a moment, his eyes flashing pure gold before looking ahead again. Did I make him that furious just by messing with my hair? With a secret smile playing on the corners of my lips, I pulled my arm from Achar’s grip and began braiding my hair gently, slowly, choosing the most intricate design I knew. As I braided, I started actually looking at what was around us in the hall. My feet delicately stepped on the deep red carpets that had to have been custom-made, the cold gray stone of the walls emanating a foreign thing that wasn’t of this world. We were near Lorkai. We were near my father. I sucked in a breath as the guards near the door gave me an almost pitying look when Aiden stepped forward to open the door with ease. His face was cold as Achar grabbed me again and pulled me through the doors, the guards filing in behind us. I blinked at the dramatic change from the plush, luxurious halls to this almost dungeon-like room. It was bleak, dark and shadowy, the floor smooth cobble, the walls painted black and leaking cold. There was only one window, and my eyes darted to it and were arrested by it. The view was nothing short of incredible. The snow covered the grass in a bright, sparkling layer that reflected the sun in each falling snowflake. The sky was cloudless, and I was breathless as my body turned towards the window almost against my will.

“Your mother loved that window too,” a soft voice cut through the silence, and my head darted toward the deepest shadows nearest to the center of the wall. A tall man rose from a throne of pure white that reminded me of bones. A chill ran down my spine as my mouth dried. “Of course, now I realize it was because she wanted to run away through it.”

The man stepped out of the shadows, and I lifted a hand to my face as I finally saw the visage of Lorkai, Lord of the Night. I’d thought he would be ugly, old, burly. My father was none of those things, at least, not the last one. The first one, perhaps only on the inside. His face was sharp, crow-black black hair falling into dark, almost playful eyes. High cheekbones led to a full mouth, his black suit perfectly tailored to a lean body you could still see was lined with muscle. No wrinkle marred his skin, but a scar slashed across his eyebrow. Rather than taking away his looks, instead, it only gave him an air of mystery I could see how my mother had fallen for. Lorkai was the most handsome man I’d ever seen. Now, I understood the love that had always laced my mother’s voice.

“What is your name, little one?” His voice was still soft, a velvet covering for a knife’s edge. He called for her death. He allowed her to die. I felt the howling pit of rage climb up my throat, begging for me to scream and fight and break his ridiculously perfect face. My father’s face was mirthful like he knew every thought going through my head, every instinct telling me to hurt, to kill. To enjoy the screams that reigned.

“What is your name?” He repeated, and I let a smile ghost my lips.

“Gianna.”

“Gianna,” he said, almost as though he was tasting the name, and I stiffened against Achar who was still holding me. “A beautiful name. But I think I will call you something else Gianna. Perhaps, my little fawn.”

His eyes cut to Aiden, laughter dancing in their depths. He knew.

He was toying with us. Using every bit of my restraint, I kept my fists from curling, held myself back from any hint of emotion at all.

“You may call me whatever you wish, my lord.” I put a considerable amount of disdain in my voice, a gamble I hoped would pay off. Achar sucked in a breath behind me, clutching me tighter as he stiffened. My father’s eyes turned icy.

“You may leave now, Achar.” A command. Now I saw the Lord of Night in him, the tight fury bleeding into his voice, the dead eyes. The expression lacked any sympathy, any pity, at all. Achar released my arm, and I almost stumbled at the sudden loss of pressure. The dead eyes now had a fire in them that looked to almost explode at my quick loss of balance. Achar hurried out, a dog scurrying away with his tail between his legs. A quick jerk of his head had the guards leave quickly before sliding the door shut with a terrifyingly final click.

My father turned back to me, and his eyes were now cheerful and warm again. The sudden change would be frightening for anyone scared by quick shifts of emotion. My mother was one of those people.

Was.

“Is their contempt in your face, fawn?” There was a quiet note to his voice that caused me to meet his eyes with a courage I hoped he would see and appreciate. Remember.

“My mother is dead, my lord. And I was told it was because of you. May I feel a bit of contempt for the man who took away the woman who raised me?”

He shook his head, and one of his fists curled. For the first time, I felt I may have overstepped. Went too far. I stepped slightly towards Aiden, my utterly useless safety net. Yet instead, there was regret in his eyes.

“I never wished for her death, and you can be certain, my little fawn, the male who did it will be punished.” From the cold rage that flashed in his eyes, I knew he spoke the truth. And as the taste of blood filled my mouth with a phantom of the past, I wished I could be the one to let Achar feel the pain he’d let me feel, the pain he’d caused. Let the chaos control him as it did me. “But, my little fawn, we have important things to discuss, no?”

Blinking up at him, he walked towards me in a few long strides, grasping my hand as he pulled me with him, out of the throne room to a smaller, adjourning room which was as leisurely extravagant as the halls, leaving Aiden staring after us as the door swung shut. In the center of the room was a long table, covered with food.

“Who-who else will be eating with us?” I asked, turning towards my- no, Lorkai. He didn’t deserve to be called my father, not even in my mind. Not yet.

He gave me an affectionate look as you might an adorable dog than a sixteen-year-old woman asking a question. “No one, my little fawn. Just us.”

Leading me to the table, he pulled out a chair next to the head to which he then sat in himself. Taking my plate, he began filling it with rich foods, and the scents of exotic spices began to float in the air. My stomach growled quietly, and I was reminded of how little I’d had to eat today, how my meal had been interrupted. Mother would have made sure I’d eaten. Mother always made sure I was well. I swallowed the lump in my throat as I accepted the plate from Lorkai. I glanced towards the closed door and remembered Aiden standing on the other side. Was he laughing at me, at the “naive” wild girl he’d encountered in the forest? He must be, considering the luxury for which he lived.

“I am glad I finally get to meet you, my little fawn,” my father said, leaning his elbows onto the table as he met my eyes. “I just wish I could have been there for longer.”

I give him a small nod, and he sighs.

“My court is a deadly place, my little fawn, and they will not care if you’re my daughter or not.” His eyes were penetrating, and I swallowed the question rising in my throat. Did they care who mother was either? Did you care? ” I have no intention of losing you as well, my little fawn, so I’ve arranged the perfect opportunity for you to become one of my court and be accepted.”

A shiver ran up my spine and the fork I’d been fiddling with now felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

I set it down.

“What?” In my head, my voice seemed to come through an ocean, roaring and sloshing as high tide rose.

“A marriage, my little fawn. To the son of my most trusted advisor.”

“Wh-who?” I stuttered, my voice a little too high-pitched, and he laid his palm above my hand with a comforting expression.

“You’ve already met him. Aiden Evergreen, my little fawn.”

Aiden. I would have to marry Aiden? I felt suddenly nauseous, and I drew back my hand as I pulled my legs under me and curled up in the chair. I’d never wanted to get married. And now, I had to merely to get my revenge? My father rose with a sigh.

“I will give you a moment to understand your new situation. I wish things could have been different.” His eyes shone with regret I refused to acknowledge. “If only your mother had thought things through…”

With that, he turned on his heel and strode to the door, every movement assured, as though he knew he would get what he wanted.

Not this time.

Pulling out the button from my sleeve I’d stolen from my father’s suit when he laid his hand on mine, I fiddled with it as I began to scheme.

I would marry Aiden Evergreen over my dead body. Because the only way they were getting me to the altar was in a casket with lilies in my hair. I would sooner greet hell than marry Aiden. Now, all I had to do was convince him of that too.