Crown of Earth and Sky (Secrets of the Faerie Crown, #1)

by Emberly Ash

In the last millennia, only a handful of twins have been born to the elementals. My brother and I were among them.

Magic could be a convenient thing—if one was willing to pay the cost.

What do I want? A quick death. Barring that, I only dream of one thing—revenge.

The Brutal Prince. My betrothed. The monster of bedtime stories the elemental fae told their children to frighten them into compliance. Lucky me.

It is the crown of our court. Of the elementals, worn by Nimue herself and every heir after.

You can try to run, Princess, the beast inside of me growled. But I will always find you.

If this was a struggle for dominance, he would know that I was not his to dominate. I belonged to no one but myself.

He’d driven me right into his clutches, no better than an animal being herded by a predator. I would not be his prey.

“Come. I am done for the night. Escort your queen back to her gilded cage.” So I did.

“That is your mistake, Arran. You assume that your soul is the only one that is ruined. But listen when I tell you… this thing within me, if it is a soul, is blacker than the starless night above the Split Sea. And no one can save me—not even you. Because I do not wish to be saved.”

I had no magic. Now I had no family. But I had my blades.

“A table of destiny,” she cried in an otherworldly register. “Five shall be with you at Mabon. One is not yet known, but the bravest of the five shall be his father. When he comes, you will know that the time for the Grail is near.”

“The last is the Siege Perilous. It is death to all but the one for which it is made—the best of them all—the one who shall come at the moment of direst need.”

the elemental powers—water, ice, wind, fire, and weather.

“Then comes a queen, in the age of uncertainty, when shadows cast doubt upon the realm. Born under a double moon and marked by a radiant star, a faerie queen shall rise to command the depths of the voids of darkness.”

Twice blessed, the realm of shift and mist, when comes the awaited queen who shall possess ethereal might. With a touch, she will feel the heartbeat of her subjects, and she will unlock the secrets they guard within.”

The darkness tried to consume me. But this time, I looked up and saw the stars.

but power was not the same as strength.

“I know. But between us, here, not the High Queen and King, but… Veyka and Arran. No promises. Just truth. Whatever the cost.”

My mother’s crown on my head. Arthur’s sword at my waist. Arran’s ring on my hand.