Kenna
I adjust my apron strings to stop my hands from trembling. The corridor outside my dad’s office is unusually quiet and empty. Normally, warriors and higher ranking wolves would be walking back and forth or waiting on the benches along the wall for a meeting with him. Commanders would be speaking in low tones outside the door, not sparing a passing glance to the others waiting in the wings.
And beyond the windows behind me, the city of Moonrise would be loud, shiny, and glowing with activity, but now it’s gray and silent.
The wound on our precious, sacred city festers with every passing second my mother, the queen, is gone.
I chew my lip and rock on my heels.
“You had an opportunity to tell me the truth and you chose to lie–”
“She is my mate, and I will decide what is best for her!”
I close my eyes and let out my breath. I’ve been listening to Dad argue with Evander for the last ten minutes. Dad promptly shut the door in my face when I tried to follow Evander inside, so… whatever issue he has with finding Evander in my bed isn’t my business, apparently. At least, not yet.
I should go downstairs and help. I told Mary I’d be down to assist them with the care of the baby, and that was twenty minutes ago.
I pick at the hem of my apron and narrow my eyes at the door, wondering if they’ll even notice if I walk away, but the door opens wide, and Evander storms out. He comes to a stop in front of me, reaching for me as he leans down to speak into my ear, but my dad darkens the doorway behind him and snarls, “Go, now.”
Evander turns to look at him with a vengeful expression, his emerald eyes narrowed in a scowl of epic proportions.
But he turns back to me and his eyes soften. “I will see you soon. Tonight–”
“General Evander,” Dad seethes. “Now.”
“General?” I look from Evander to my father. “What?”
Evander leans down and kisses my cheek, and then he’s walking away, his footsteps echoing off the walls.
I huff a breath and turn back to my dad as he reaches out and grabs my arm, yanking me into his office.
The door slams shut behind him in a phantom wind. The air is sucked from the room as I round on him, shouting, “What the hell is going on? Why did you just call my mate a general?”
“Because Evander and I are going to Crescent Falls,” Sydney says.
I whirl toward his voice to find him leaning on the corner of Dad’s desk looking worse for wear. Dark circles line his eyes, and his dark copper hair is ruffled and unkempt. He hasn’t slept.
“Why are you here?” I growl.
Dad walks around his desk and sits down with a soft groan, and I remember that he was injured badly last night. “Are you all right?” I ask him, but he gives me a withering look that would make most men cower.
“How long have you known he’s your mate?”
“Why are you sending him away? Is that why? Because we’re mates and you don’t approve?”
“He lied about it. He sat here in my office and lied to his king–”
“Evander has done more for this family, for me, than you’ll ever know,” I snarl, edging toward the desk. “You have no right to send him away. You have no right to force him back into your army and use him–”
“Crescent Falls was attacked last night, Kenna,” Sydney says in a low whisper, his eyes on his lap.
“Several rebels were captured by your uncle's warriors and interrogated,” Dad continues.
I look from man to man. “What does this have to do with Evander?”
“He’s leading a group of Ghosts into the city to try to locate the twin sister of Gabriel.”
My brow furrows. “A sister?”
My mind reels over what I know about the Draven Coven. Atticus, their leader, was the twin sister of Petra, who terrorized my mother and went behind Queen Ravenna’s back to lead King Kane’s armies into Moonrise twenty or so years ago. Atticus survived and vanished.
Now his son Gabriel leads the rebels, and Gabriel has a vendetta against the royal families of the Allied Kingdoms.
But I never knew he had a sister.
“Why–”
Sydney clears his throat and meets my eyes. “Apparently, this woman defected from the Draven Coven as a young teenager and has been hiding in Crescent Falls for close to a decade.”
“Then she’s not behind these attacks,” I counter, looking at my father. “Why bother finding her?”
“We have information from the rebels that Isaac and Ryan interrogated that leads us to believe this woman has powers that Gabriel needs, and he won’t stop his assault on Crescent Falls until he finds her.”
“So we have to find her first,” Sydney says, looking grim.
“That’s stupid,” I tell him. “And a huge waste of time–”
“The Draven Coven is a disease born from the time when Kane ruled,” Dad seethes. “We are going to do anything we can to stop them.”
“And where the hell is Mom?” I shout, losing my temper. My eyes flare with silver flames.
“She’s fine,” Dad grumbles, tapping his fingers on his desk. “I’m in contact with her.”
“She’s gone, Dad! She was taken by the Draven Coven–”
“She went willingly in exchange for them stopping their attack on Moonrise.”
“Well, they didn’t stop attacking,” I growl. “Now what?”
“Your mother has a plan,” he says calmly. Too calmly. His eyes betray the steadiness of his tone, however. He flexes his jaw and grinds his teeth like he’s doing everything in his power not to jump to wherever he thinks Mom is. “Your mother has been through this before, and I doubt this is the last time she’ll lead herself into danger.”
“So you’re just going to sit back and let her deal with this herself?”
“They have Lady Amanda as well and are likely using her against Aunt Ella,” Sydney says steadily. “Our hands are tied.”
“So, that’s it, then? Mom is on her own, and you’re sending Evander away–”
“I have the full force of my armies surrounding the only known location of the Draven Coven,” Dad growls. “Evander has a job to do. We need to find this woman if she’s really as powerful as they say so we can have full control over this situation and eradicate Gabriel’s coven.”
“And if she’s just a wolf?”
“She wouldn’t be,” Sydney cuts in.
I slowly turn to meet his gaze. “What are you not telling me? What exactly does Gabriel want?”
“Gabriel has powers he shouldn’t have,” Dad says as he leans back in his chair. “Shadowsynger powers, for one. Our bloodline is solid. You, me, and your grandfather are the only living people who possess shadows and the ability to jump, save for your mother, but that’s only because of the bond I share with her.”
Something clicks into place. All of those stories I was told about my parents and their fight to end King Kane’s reign converge, illuminating a disgusting truth.
“Is Gabriel… related to King Kane somehow?”
Kane and his stolen powers, his sick, twisted experiments on his enslaved subjects…
“We believe Petra and Atticus may have been his children,” Dad says. “And if Gabriel is really Atticus’s son, which is up for debate even within the rebel circles, Gabriel believes his father is the rightful Alpha King of this kingdom, and thus he would be the heir.”
My blood chills as my gaze sweeps the room. “What, exactly, is up for debate about that?”
“Petra’s mother was in the fringes of the Moonrise Coven. Her family believed in strict…breeding,” Dad cuts himself off, taking a breath. “Breeding for the sake of stronger powers. Your mother has had a hunch for many years now that Petra’s family secretly defected from the Moonrise Coven and aligned with Kane, and Petra’s mother offered herself as a breeder before she returned to the Coven and bore his twins.”
Male witches rarely come into powers, which is why Gabriel is such an enigma.
“But what of Gabriel and his supposed sister?” I ask, closing in on the desk. “Sure, he wants to be Alpha King someday, but you said some of the rebel’s don’t believe he’s truly Atticus’s son–”
“Your mother believes Gabriel is actually Petra’s son… and Atticus is still his father.”
My mouth pops open. “Gross!”
Sydney snorts, but Dad’s gaze bores into mine. “It’s not something to laugh at. This family breeds for power, like I just said.”
“But Kane wasn’t powerful. His power was stolen. And Petra’s powers of ice were minimal in comparison to anything we’re capable of–”
“We’ve had reason to believe, for several years now, that Atticus and Gabriel are in possession of some kind of relic that gives them their powers. Like the mask your mother….” Dad tapers off and looks suddenly uncomfortable.
I image my mother, her face hurdling into view, and see those strange silver scars that line her hairline.
King Kane’s mask… the one that harvested the powers of his slaves.
She became the mask, absorbed it somehow, when she uncovered the ancient Firestone cities and brought them back to life.
My stomach hollows out as I look at my father. “What if it’s not just a relic?” I step toward the desk, my mind going a million miles an hour.
But Dad already knows this. He looks down at his desk as the realization strikes me straight in the chest. “His sister… he was draining power from his sister, and that’s why he’s looking for her. That’s why he tried to kidnap me and Misty.”
“If Misty has powers outside of her wolf gifts, they haven’t shown themselves,” Sydney cuts in.
“Still, it makes sense, doesn’t it? Kane drained Mom of her powers once. If he does have a relic, he’d still need power. And if his sister is as powerful as the rebels say then….” I look at Sydney. “You and Evander can’t find her. You understand that, right? She’s hiding from him. She doesn’t want to be found, and she shouldn’t be found!”
“If she is like you, or your mother, she must be found and contained.”
“That’s awful, and you know it,” I spit, turning my gaze back to Dad. “And I won’t allow you to send Evander looking for her, forcing him to be a part of this madness!”
“It is not up to you,” he says sternly, his eyes going icy. “She is a threat to the Allied Kingdoms.”
“I won’t allow it. He is my mate. I get a say in this!”
“He is my Ghost, and I am the king. Pack your things, Kenna.”
“Where are you sending me?” I sneer. He has to be joking. All of this has to be a bad dream I’ll wake up from at any second.
“To Veiled Valley as planned. Your ascension ceremony is in two weeks, which gives your mother plenty of time to do whatever it is she’s doing and return to us. Your grandfather is on his way here as we speak to assist me in the recovery of Moonrise and our people.”
“I am the best healer you have. You cannot, and will not, send me away!”
He rises and towers over me with only the desk between us to separate me from his rage. But I’m also raging. My blood rushes as I square up to him. He looks down at me and says, “You may be my daughter, but as Luna of Veiled Valley, you are still my subject, and I am your king. You will do as I say.”
“Evander is my mate and will rule beside me. I will not ascend the throne without him–”
“Evander will never be Alpha of Veiled Valley,” he snarls. “Not after what he’s done.”
“What has he done?” I shout, my shadows burning to life.
But Dad’s eyes soften as he searches my gaze. “Do you not care that he toyed with your heart for years? You are my daughter, and he has proven he does not deserve you–”
“You will never understand the depths in which he had to travel to make his way back to me, Dad. How dare you separate us! I will never forgive you for this!”
“Kenna, wait,” Sydney tries to say, but I’m already moving toward the door. I throw it open, tears blurring my vision as I rush into the hallway and slam the doors shut behind me for dramatic effect, of course.
I thought Evander might have come back. I thought he’d be waiting in the hall for me, but… I’m alone.
I’m alone. Mom is gone and in danger of her own making. Dad hates Evander and is sending him on a wild goose chase for a woman who does not want to be found. And, worst of all, Sydney seems to be backing my father up.
I swallow hard and wipe my clammy hands on my apron. I’m dressed for a day full of healing and hard decisions, but my mind is wrecked by nerves, guilt, and worry.
I put on my best mask–one of cheer and optimism–and walk the empty hallway to the recesses of the castle.
I find Mary and turn my attention to the one thing that truly matters this very minute.
“Where is the baby?”