Chapter 1
The spell that was supposed to save the land from the darkness killed it instead, and the sun was gone forever.
At least that was what they told me when they blamed me for the death of the land. They wanted to hang me and leave me there, but the one I least expected to save me arrived at the last possible moment. The one everyone spoke of but didn’t know existed – the myth that was only spoken of in shadows.
A secret.
He arrived before midnight and walked as if swallowed by stars and black water – shiny and glistening. Our eyes met, and my pulse stopped for a moment. I knew it was him – the man everyone whispered about. I couldn’t figure out why, but I felt the truth in my bones, as if his name had been engraved there somehow.
“Lyra.” His voice was husky and dark, and he smelled of the forest – wood, dirt, and water, as if he had emerged from the ground itself.
“Yes… yes,” I stammered, barely keeping it together.
My chest tightened, and it felt like there were spirals shooting through my entire body, making me feel weak and tired. The feeling never left me and had appeared after my last spell – but also my first and only spell. The one that destroyed the last ray of sunlight.
“I have been searching for you.”
“Why?” It came off as an accusation, and I stared long and hard at him, waiting for him to answer me. And when he smiled, I could not stop the gasp that left me, the warmth that circled my veins, and the tremor that coursed through my body. It happened all at once.
He tilted his head, and the intensity of him made me prickle and my cheeks flush deep scarlet. I could not understand how he had that effect on me. No man had before.
“Who are you?” I asked before he could give me an answer. I needed to know his name; the knowledge called to me.
“I am yours.”
I laughed, dry and humorless.
He came closer and caught my wrist and held on tight, but not in a painful way. He felt safe — like being wrapped in a dark blanket.
“Let me go,” I whispered, but my words didn’t come across as convincing.
“No.”
“Why?” I repeated from before, but this time it was lower and more fearful, with a voice that shivered.
He smiled again.
“Because… my princess.” He leaned closer, caressing my ear, and he said his next words very carefully. “You have the power to change things around. All you have to do is marry me, and the power shall be ours.”
“What is your name?” My voice was barely a whisper.
He chuckled. “Blake.”
