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“A hole in a ship is less deadly than the swinging blade of your enemy.”
There were more far out in the water too, un-Awakened Fae arriving in their droves from all four lands, travelling to this neutral territory for the age-old tradition of our kind, set in place by the Reapers long ago.
All four lands respected and revered the Reapers, following their teachings of the stars. Helle Fort was sacred just as Never Keep was, and bloodshed between the four warring nations was forbidden here, punishable by execution at the Reapers’ hands. It wasn’t just the threat of that fate that stayed the blades of our enemies and ours alike, this was proclaimed by the will of the stars, spoken to the Reapers directly from the source of our creators.
for Fae who were Awakened with more than one magical element would be taken by them too, hailed as an acolyte – a Reaper in training. Our star signs may have been linked to the elements of our lands, assuring that we would Awaken with the elements of our homelands, but sometimes the stars selected Fae for such a destiny, gifting a Raincarver with water and air, or a Flamebringer with fire and earth and so forth.
The un-Awakened Fae of the three elemental lands were entering through their own gates and tension snapped through the air as we took in the cut of each other.
The Skyforgers were clad in black battle leathers and had a generally pristine appearance, like they were striving to resemble the nobility that ruled their lands.
Flamebringers, taking in their own fashions. Some wore button down shirts peeking out from beneath leather jackets, or fine cloaks paired with battle straps, armoured plates and decorated sword sheaths.
The Stonebreakers had a barbarous look about them, from the ink lining their skin to the fact that they all seemed to be enormous, thick with muscle and intimidating in sheer size alone.
My people had thinner clothes that were generally more colourful than the other nations’. We favoured the blues of the ocean, turquoises, azure and cyan, or the colours of a sunset, like ambers, pinks and yellows. Our hair was adorned with braids, and most of our armour was a range of metallic blues and silvers.
The Sky Witch. She’d been there that fateful day when I’d lost my mother and my town had been torn in two. My jaw locked tight as I sidestepped the big asshole in front of me and I fell still as I found myself looking straight at her across the cobbled courtyard.
“You will be called forward one at a time to meet with your appraisers and be assessed in magic, mind and body for your place in the world. Those of you hoping to attain a position at Never Keep, wishing to take up the fight started by the four nations in a time lost to legend when Layetta, Rishan, Alrier and Kiana walked the world, their conflict casting The Waning Lands into the Endless War. Head down the steps when you are called and may the stars bless your fortune.”
The Reapers were the best of Fae kind – those destined for a fate far greater than the call of war, hence their position outside the authority of the four nations. They were blessed by the stars, the magic that was Awakened within them not constrained to the single element of their birth.
He was tall; even in this place of Fae and beasts, he stood a head taller than most and clearly dwarfed me. His curling hair hung to his chin, clinging to the deep brown skin of his sharp jaw and the dark clothing he wore, made of layered fabric which wrapped around his frame yet hung loose enough for free movement, marked him out as different. Even if everything else about him hadn’t screamed it for all to see.
Upon the Awakening of our elemental magic, any Fae whose Order form was a Vampire would Emerge, their fangs snapping out and an insatiable desire for blood consuming them instantly.
the Vampires were a law unto themselves. They didn’t care what elemental magic a Fae held in their veins, they only cared for their own kind.
The Vampires formed covens among themselves, the groupings so powerful when united that none could stand against them in battle.
Before me, three huge statues awaited, the twins of Gemini represented as glorious queens with wings that glimmered with golden light in a way which made them seem aflame.
blinked in surprise as I found another face among them. Prince Dragor’s pale eyes were bright with a possessive fervour that made my heart race powerfully. “You have been deemed a worthy warrior for the great and noble kingdom of air,”
Sexual desire was the least of what I could obtain from those who fell under the sway of my allure. I could see the shape of their truest wants and desires, be it wealth or glory, greed or power, love or lust. I could sway those desires too with enough will and time to work on them. I could twist them into something darker, more desperate, or simply more inviting. And if I helped them to act on any part of those wants then I could drain the magic right from their bones and steal it for my own power.
The secrets of true healing were one of the most closely-guarded gifts that the stars had bestowed upon the Reapers. They could perform feats of magic so powerful that they could return a Fae from the gates of death itself, mending their body entirely and remaking them no matter how grave the wound or illness.
“And as we travel, you will recall your vow to me. You will remember that wall which now surrounds you.”
“What a dark and forbidding creature you are, my Sky Witch,”
At the apex of the stairs was a jutting ledge of stone before a pair of iron gates big enough to admit a Dragon shifter – though no Dragons remained in The Waning Lands to test such a theory.
“Your arrogance will be your downfall,” he swore, the words ringing with a sense of prophecy to them which stilled the blood in my veins before his mouth took possession of mine.
“A flaw that cannot be fixed. Not by our hands or any other. Basilisk venom leaves scars not even healing magic can repair. The stars have deigned this your fate, you would do well to bow to it gracefully. Now please make your way from the arena and return to the dock.”
The Reapers resided in their own quarters within the Keep so far as I knew, a place the rest of us were not permitted to enter. And once his training was complete he could be sent off to any of the four nations, serving in an Astral Sanctuary or as an advisor to the leaders of the differing lands, perhaps working as a healer, but likely not in Castelorain.
“I’ll find you, Ever,” he swore, then his mouth was on mine and I was crushed to him as his arms went around me, forcing me onto my tiptoes so I could meet the ferocity of his kiss.
“I’ve waited far too long to do that,” he said in a low tone as my skin continued to buzz and spark from that kiss. “And now I realise how much time I’ve wasted thinking I would always have you, thinking there was no deadline on us. But I didn’t want to break what we have.
But I want you to train first, to chase your desires and land within the fate you have long been owed, and then and only then, will I ask you to be mine.”
From the back of the windrider, I could speed through the sky firing on my enemies without needing to focus on the magic which was propelling me through the air. I would also be able to imbue the runes which powered it with magic of my own now, meaning there was no limit to how long I could stay airborn anymore.
The wicked power she had trained me in was used for many things, some of which were rumoured to command power over the elements. To seek that knowledge was a blasphemy which would earn a swift execution for anyone foolish enough to attempt it, but when teaching me about the runes and their varying meanings, she had once whispered which of them had the potential to affect the elements aside from air.
Each nation prepared the strongest of their un-Awakened Fae for battle both before their time at the Keep and after, their tactics secret and ever-adapting. But only the kingdom of air sent those who hadn’t completed their training at Never Keep into battle – and it was only the Sinfair who faced that fate.
“Relax, sweetheart, I’m saving you for dessert,” Cayde replied dismissively, hauling the guy on my right out of his spot and dropping into it smoothly.
“Those of you who prove to be so weak of will as to succumb to the Order gifts of those surrounding you will not make the cut for elevation beyond the walls of Never Keep,”
I repeat – you will not kill within these walls. This is a place beyond the sway of war, a sacred sanctuary and to besmirch these blessed stones with the blood of your enemies is akin to spitting in the eyes of the stars themselves.”
I gave myself to the count of twenty to search their faces in hunt of the first name on my list, though as I only had a copy of an old portrait to go off of, I wasn’t surprised I didn’t spot him.
My gifts hadn’t slipped past mental shields anyway, they weren’t a psychic ability so couldn’t be stopped in that way. It was strength of character and self-control that held Fae back when falling under my influence.
My eyes fell on the Raincarver girl who had headed into her Combat Trial first yesterday, her wild hair and wilder clothes making her stand out even from her position in the back row where the shadows clung to her. She was easily noticeable among the bland masses of Fae who were dressed to match their comrades, and I found I liked the uniqueness she offered among a sea of sheep.
We weren’t going to be spoon fed our magical instructions here; the knowledge was imparted, then it was up to us to learn how to practice it well.
She had a habit of adopting the orphans born from the losses of war, raising them as warriors branded with her name, only to send them out into the very wars their forebearers had died in.
“You know the punishment of making blood-ties with any Fae of Never Keep,”
The weapons in the window display were beautiful pieces, and my gaze lingered on a double-bladed sword with a red hilt that looked as though it were crafted from Dragon scales. Unlikely, considering there hadn’t been a Dragon shifter seen in years.
“Like I said, doll, my loyalty lies up there.” He kissed the amulets and pointed to the roof, meaning the sky I guessed. “I’m a neutral party.”
“You can have anything in this world if you know who to offer your value to. But be careful, lass. If you’re not prepared, then you’ll find yourself licking the soles of the sovereigns of this world, begging for a mercy they won’t ever grant.”
I knew those eyes, black as nightshade and as empty as the open sky. I had seen him in every dream, every vengeful wandering of my mind. And now I was abruptly and irrefutably eye to eye with him, caught so off guard that I didn’t even have my blade in hand.
his mind wielding my body with the unholy power of whatever Order he had claimed. His eyes were darkest red, and he was all I could see as he bent me to his will, that terrible power making my hands return to my sides, my fingers working to sheath the dagger.
My enemy’s fingers were inked with the tail of a bird that disappeared out of sight up his right arm, and a gold signet ring adorned his little finger marked with the magpie of The Matriarch, the name Kaiser Brimtheon curving beneath it.
recognised the voice as the Flamebringer who went by the name North, the one who had fought with
Terror and pain wracked my bones as they changed into my mother then threw themselves at me, knocking me to the ground on my back.
And with a jolt of clarity I knew, in the depths of my bones, what Kaiser was. A creature of legend, a rarity among Fae, possessing an Order so terrible it was said few survived the cruelty of their wrath.
