FOR HER, HE WILL SET EVERY KINGDOM ON FIRE.
Kyron LeFur never wanted to be king. He may have united a torn people and ended a bloody war, but none of that matters without his queen. She sacrificed her crown for him, and now he will stop at nothing t...
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Heights, I hate heights. Yet here I am, perched on the thick branches of the tallest trees I've ever seen. Granted, I'm not literally sitting on a limb with my legs dangling over the side, but it doesn't make it any less terrifying. I have four walls around me and two sizable windows to look out of, but a structure—no matter how sturdy—has no business looming in the treetops. Leave it to the Allaji rulers of the past to defy reasoning, make their own rules, and build their capital above the ground.
I rest my head against the cool glass of my tower room window and curl my legs beneath me on the built-in seat. The book in my hand beckons me to get lost in its pages, but I can't help but take in the breathtaking panoramic view. Various shades of green leaves kiss the clouds stretched across the blue sky. Under the trees' canopies sits a bustling town. Wood and rope bridges connect one building to the next. They are rickety monstrosities that sway in the slightest breeze and set my nerves on edge. Homes and stores are constructed of a hodgepodge of old ships, carriages, and other wooden structures that blend in with their surrounding. Children run, skip, and jump along planked walkways spiraling the thick tree trunks. They race toward the outside diners and playgrounds built on broad balconies. Life in Allaji isn't that different from Lucent, yet it is.
The sound of groaning wood penetrates through the glass, intensifying the anxiety brewing within me. The shifters pay no attention to it, carrying on with fuzzy, pointed ears perked, beaks agape in what can only be smiles, and tails swishing behind them. Deep down, they know their living arrangement is precarious. That's why they remain in their human forms with hints of their animal counterparts on display. It is unnatural for anything but birds and squirrels to reside in the trees, but here I am, trapped amongst the constant rattle of three-pointed leaves and guarded by shifters.
I might enjoy the uniqueness of it all if it weren't for the location. My captor doesn't need to confine me to a jail cell or a dank dungeon. Allowing me to roam free through his sky-high city is torture enough. Not that I would step foot outside of Zek's palace and risk plunging to my death. Besides, I have no reason to leave the comforts of these walls. It's not like I can scale down the trees and run. The only way out of here is on the back or gripped in the talons of a shifter. And if I did make it to the ground, I wouldn't make it far. The seaside village is swarming with seedy characters. Allaji mingle with Outlanders who are loyal to no kingdom and claim the sea as their home. The minute Zek realizes I'm gone, a bounty would be placed on my head. I wouldn't make it to the shoreline before every being on the ground set out to hunt me.
A knock fills my quiet room, followed by the soft melodic voice of the servant Zek has assigned to care for my every need. "It is time, Your Majesty."
I roll my eyes at the title and set my book aside. My quarters are fit for royalty with its over-sized dark wood furnishings adorned with hand carved vines and flowers. I sleep on the finest satin and my body is draped in expensive silk. My captor parades me around his court with sparkling jewels of red, blue, and green around my neck, but I'm not a queen. The Allaji use my formal title to humiliate and remind me of what I've lost.
