Chapter 1
Ella
The purple flowers in my hair were, perhaps, a tad bit too much. I swatted at them while glancing in the mirror, rushing to get ready. I was already late, and punctuality wasn’t just expected in the crazy world of the Fae where I was heading—it was sacred.
“Ella! They’re waiting for you! The taxi is outside!” Mother’s voice carried up the stairs, sharp with urgency, as though I wasn’t acutely aware of my impending fate.
The door to my room swung open, and my sister stepped in, a smug smirk plastered across her porcelain-perfect face. “Late, big sis? I wonder how that’s going to go over at your fancy new academy.”
I stuck my tongue out at her, yanking the final purple flower from my hair. With a sigh, I gave my pink summer dress one last, lingering look in the mirror. It was designer—the most expensive thing I owned—a gift from Father for my first day at the prestigious Solaris Academy.
My mother and I had wandered the cobblestone shopping streets of Hazier Burrows last weekend, searching for new outfits. It had taken forever, but we managed to find a few perfect fits at the last store.
“Mind your business, Lia,” I muttered. She would never understand the fear of being a human, thrown headfirst into the Fae realm. Only the firstborns were granted entry in Faerie. A privilege bestowed upon us after the Nebulean war.
And I wasn’t just any firstborn—I was a firstborn heir.
Our father was the Oathkeeper of the Nebulae Wall, a prestigious position that had granted us the honor of living beside it all our lives. The wall was a symbol of what we won. Our human realm remained human and ours. As the Fae got to keep theirs. In the end wars all come down to two simple things, wanting what you shouldn’t have. And trying to get it anyway.
“Do keep in touch, big sis,” Lia said with a too-sweet smile, wiggling her fingers in a smug little wave before disappearing down the hall. I’d see her again at Yule break, but truth be told, I was eager for the months of peace her absence would bring.
I bolted down the stairs, two at a time, noting that my suitcases had already been loaded into the sleek town car waiting outside. “Bye, Mom!” I hugged her tightly.
She passed me off to Dad, who squeezed my shoulders reassuringly. “Listen to Carmichael, alright? He was my favorite professor, and he’ll look out for you.”
Dad had graduated from Solaris himself, and I’d grown up hearing the stories. Our Magic Theory professor was apparently a decent male—kind, even. “And remember Ella, keep within the wards of the academy, your power-“ his voice trailed off, concern etched clearly in that brown familiar gaze. His words carried an unspoken warning: I’d need to watch out for others. Not everyone would take kindly to a human in their midst.
Especially a human who possessed my kind of magic.
