Fae Monarchs Spin Off Story

Chapter One

200 BC, ATLANTIS

Fractures of light glistened on the beaded icicles of my moon spilt gown. My mother's delicate hands grazed my arms, weaving an ice lace pattern down to my wrists. The chilly material clung to near translucent skin, blue-green veins dulled under the surface.

Long, deft fingers trembled as she moved them to my hair. She used magicka to lift sections of silver-ash locks, twisting under a tall headdress. Her headdress. The dryad bark draped in spider silk fanned out on my head like a crescent moon. Crystal jewels circled my forehead; a large tear drop hung in the center. She redirected straight blonde wisps down my back.

I noted the strained expression on her face. Her lovely reflection in the looking glass was displeased. Pale blonde eyebrows set in a furrowed line.

"Ama, what troubles you?"

"Nothing, odelifa. This is just a hard day for me." Her chin lifted to produce a false smile. Her skin was tight as she tried to hold the expression.

"I am no longer a child, ama."

"Unfortunately so."

"I do not understand why we are holding the Day of Love in the castle. That is a Summer Court event." I mused.

"The Summer King has to present his son to society. After all, Keegan is to be the new Summer King and you are to be our new Winter Queen. It is better to size him up now before the coronation. You two will decide whether we have peace or war." She slipped white flower blossoms into my hair.

"But I already know him. We played together as children. Remember?"

She bit her lip, drawing black blood. "How could I forget." Something in her voice betrayed a latent sadness, lurking in the shadows of her heart. I could have cracked her open if I wanted to, searching her mind to find the source of her stress. But I thought better of it.

Those tedious lessons father forced me to take to hone my control of ashalowen paid off. I had learned how to avoid prying into a fae's head, heart, and soul. The crystal hovering in the temple of Alexios' lands unveiled the world to the fae in a spiritual, otherworldly experience known as ashalowen, or self-awareness. It connected us to Atlantis and to our people on a psionic level, enhancing our senses to see the world as it truly is.

Such intimacy also meant there were no secrets amongst us. As a fae monarch, secrets were vital. In my lessons, I trained in the art of buffing the walls of my mind in a protective barrier. If someone wanted in, they would have to break their way through.

"Keegan is a man now, Renata. That is why you have to meet him again. Besides, it's been years since those days." She touched my lips and sapphire frost shimmered, coating my mouth in vivid blue. She finished my face, adding touches of silver snowflakes that glittered on my cheeks and crept over my temples. My flaring ebony lashes were a stark contrast to eyes that whirled in a blizzard of snow and sleet.

"Will Remi accompany the Summer Prince?" I chose my words strategically, taking care not to infuse emotion into my question.

She yanked strands of hair from my head. I clamped my mouth down to stop the shriek from releasing. "You'd do well to put that half-breed out of your mind. If your father sees you two conversing, who knows what he'll do."

"Rage war over a simple conversation?"

"This isn't funny, Renata. We've raged war for far less. We have a tentative peace with the Summer Court right now. Just one fissure and the whole thing shatters. Do you really want to spend your first few days as Queen preparing for battle?" Her harsh words rang true.