Kenna
The 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 lower lip jutting out. “They’re sending me away for the whole summer!”
Ryan and I exchange glances as she sinks into a seat beside me. I gently rub her back in little circles as she absolutely comes apart at the seams. Her bright pink T-shirt rumples under my touch as she leans into my shoulder and starts to sob.
“It’s all right.” I coo, but down the mind-link I ask Ryan, ‘What is going on?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Why aren’t you upstairs with them–’
‘I’m not a future king, Ella.’ His voice is stern and hoarse in my head as he meets my gaze, narrowing his eyes. ‘Whatever’s happening, I’ll find out with you.’
I inhale sharply through my nose and continue comforting Misty, who is absolutely beside herself.
“M-my friends–they get to go to the festival and the concerts this summer but I–I have to go to Maatua and hangout with Gramma and Papa instead!” She’s practically wailing.
“We love Gramma and Papa,” I remind her, patting her head like I would a little kitten. Her silken strands of golden hair feel like satin between my fingers. “You’ll have the best tan out of your friend group when you return for your first year at Wellington. And… your hair might be blonder, too.”
She sniffles. “I don’t care. I don’t want to go!”
I give Ryan a pleading look, but it’s lost on him as Isaac and Sydney walk in, followed by a forlorn and nervous looking Maddy.
Steel seeps into my spine as I sense the unease pouring off all three of them.
Uncle Isaac looks down at Misty, his bright blue eyes darkening with sympathy and guilt, before he clears his throat and meets my gaze. “I just spoke with your father.”
“Okay…” I manage to reply. My chest feels heavy, and it’s not because Misty is wrapping her arms around me and trembling with sobs. I continue patting her head and toying with her hair just so my fingers have something to do.
Maddy steps up, placing a hand on Isaac’s forearm. “Kenna, darling, you and Misty are being moved to Maatua for your own safety. Your father is going to meet you there and escort you back to Eastonia.”
“Why?” I ask.
Maddy inhales deeply but shakes her head, her lips parting as she tries to find the words.
I realize that everyone in the room is uncomfortable saying anything with Misty, who just turned sixteen, in attendance.
Something serious must have happened for my family to want to move us to Maatua for our safety, which is the only reason why they would. I’m here for the festival.
There isn’t a festival on Maatua, that’s for sure.
I suck in a breath. I’m an adult. I can handle whatever it is they’re about to tell me with grace and bravery. My mind reels over the possibilities. I know something happened last night–something that was a lot more than a brawl.
“Misty?” I say, giving her a little nudge. “Can you do me a favor and go up to your room and find me a different color for my nails? I want something more colorful than this if we’re going to the beach.”
Misty lifts her head to inspect the glossy, cream colored manicure on my fingertips.
She meets my eyes–eyes the same shade and shape as Grandma Isla’s eyes–and nods. She’s smart enough to know this is just a distraction to get her out of the room. She doesn’t want to be here anyway.
She’s gone in a flash of golden hair and purple pajamas.
I roll my shoulders, putting on the face I’ve practiced in the mirror for years. The face of a Luna, of a queen, of someone much braver and more capable of making hard decisions than I am.
Sydney catches the change and seems impressed, but only a flash of that shows behind his eyes.
Isaac looks at us–the adult children. “The rebel threat has arrived in Crescent Falls, and they’ve made themselves known. Your father and I, Kenna, believe they’re here for you.”
I nod–because it’s all I can do.
He continues. “Maatua is the safest option. You can’t be in Crescent Falls until this threat is taken care of.”
“I understand,” I choke out, biting back the strangled sob built by sheer disappointment and heartbreak.
I think of the man from last night. It’s like a dagger in my heart. When I woke up this morning, he was the first thing on my mind. I can still taste him against my lips even though I brushed my teeth this morning.
I won’t get a chance to find him again.
I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I won’t be leaving this castle until I’m escorted by armed guards to the port.
I feel myself sinking into the seat, trying to make myself as small as I can as Isaac continues telling us what’s happening. I barely hear him over the thundering echo of my heartbeat in my ears. He’s saying something about… about a plan. How me and Misty are going to put in separate vehicles taking separate routes to the port tomorrow morning before sunrise.
I hear my mother’s name and blink, looking at my uncle. “Is she all right?”
“Your parents are fine but worried about this situation. They want you home.”
“I’ll be okay,” I say, more to myself than to anyone currently staring at me. “I’ll go home.”
I feel Ryan nudge my foot under the table in solidarity as I drop my gaze back to my lap and try to not to look like I’m about to burst into tears.
It’s not that I’m scared. I’m just… I hate putting people in the position of feeling like they need to protect me because I’m not capable of protecting myself. I know how powerful I am. I know how to use those powers. I’ve trained for something like this–a threat to my freedom and my life–since I was a child.
Because I am the sole heir to an entire kingdom.
It’s a crushing burden.
I wish I was more like my mom. If she were in my position, she wouldn’t be slouching in her chair like I am. She would be standing, shoulders squared, as she made the calls instead of listening to the plans being made for her.
I just wanted to find love. I wanted to find my person. Maybe even my mate.
And as the memory of the kiss last night drifts back to the forefront of my mind, I feel another crushing blow to my chest as the man’s scent gets stronger, almost like he’s here.
“General Howard,” Isaac says, his voice full of gravel from talking for the last half hour while I zoned out completely. “Thank you for coming.”
I look up and freeze. My blood stops rushing through my veins. I’m sure the floor is falling beneath my feet as two men walk into the dining room.
Evander is dressed in all black–the familiar uniform worn by the warriors of Eastonia. The scaled onyx armor fits him like a glove, and he’s so… big. So strong. So different from the last time I saw him five years ago.
He towers over the unfamiliar general by five inches at least. His golden hair shines with copper undertones in the hazy light pouring through the windows behind him.
But his eyes–the color of polished emeralds–don’t shift in my direction at all.
I can feel Sydney’s gaze on me, burning into me. Ryan, too, shifts his weight in his seat, but his foot remains against mine as if he’s trying to keep me grounded.
This day couldn’t get worse.
But then Evander says, “Princess Kenna has been followed for the last week by a band of three wolves, all of which are confirmed rebels from the Draven coven. I’ve seen them at every ball she’s attended and spotted them following her and Alpha Ryan around the festival during the day. Last night, we killed them during a raid on a safe house in the woods toward the far edge of the Silverhide territory. It’s confirmed she was their target.”
My stomach hollows out. “You’ve been following me around?” I speak without meaning to, and the heartbreak and confusion in my voice is clear. I’m looking right at Evander, but he will not look at me.
No one else speaks. My voice echoes through the room.
“How long have the Ghosts been following me around?” I ask, tearing my gaze from Evander to my uncle and aunt.
“Since you arrived,” Isaac says, and Maddy looks stricken.
“Isaac, why didn’t you tell me?” I hear her whisper.
What the hell is going on?
My gaze falls on Sydney, and my heart cracks. “You knew, didn’t you?” He knows what I mean. He knew Evander was here following me around while I tried to find my mate. Sydney knew, and he made it impossible for anyone to approach me, to talk to me. He knew I was in danger.
I look at Ryan who looks so angry that it gives me a shock.
Ryan didn’t know anything.
“What exactly is going on here?” Ryan asks in a low, dark tone that sends ripples up my spine. “Was Kenna brought here as bait?”
“No.” Evander’s voice is edged to a fine point. He finally looks at me, a brief glance. “She was not. We weren’t aware that the Draven rebels infiltrated Crescent Falls’ underground until the night of the first ball.”
I stand abruptly and walk out of the room. I can’t hold in my tears any longer. Several emotions flare at once. Guilt for putting my family in this situation. Disappointment for spending a single week in Crescent Falls and being so close to finding someone and failing. Heartbreak…. Heartbreak because… that kiss….
I duck into an alcove just as my powers ignite. My hands turn into shadows that creep up my arms, then over my chest, and down to my toes until I am nothing but a shadow.
It’s a gift of mine, a special one, something passed down from the Shadowsynger line. Even my dad can’t do this–turn into a shadow so dark I’m unseen by the naked eye.
I wipe my nose, sniffling.
Footsteps echo down the corridor I’m hiding in.
Evander comes to a stop roughly ten feet away, tucking his hands in the pockets of his leather pants. He looks around. I don’t know how he can do it, but he knows exactly where I am.
“I’ll be escorting you to Maatua personally,” he says.
I say nothing. I just watch him, watch the empty, emotionless look behind his dead eyes. These are the first words he’s said to me since our fight five years ago.
His lips part like he’s about to say something else, but then he grits his teeth.
He turns and walks away, leaving me in the shadows of my own making.