Chapter 1
Heels clacked on the marble floor. The sound ricocheted off the walls and echoed throughout the halls of the chilly palace.
The sound grew louder and more intense the more she walked. Although, her walking was quickly turning into stomping.
She brought her hand to her mouth and began to gnaw on her thumb's nail.
"Making such a ruckus and biting your nails. . ."
She heard the degrading voice and looked up to meet her brother's eyes.
His lips curled up into a cynical smile, "That's not very lady-like, Eve."
She lowered the hand she had been chewing on and let it rest by her side, but she by no means intended to be obedient.
"I'm not being lady-like?" she asked in a tone that said all too well how much she cared about the matter. "So what? Will that ruin my chances at getting married?" Her smile was quickly becoming identical to her brother's. "You're already sending me to my death, what's worse than that?"
The older man stopped smiling. He crossed his arms and lowered his head in a defeated stance. He sighed as he began to speak. "You're not being sent off to your death, Eve. You know just as well as the rest of us that your husband won't kill you. He can't."
He raised his head slowly. His eyes had a sudden darkness to them. "Not unless he wants the death of his entire family."
For the first time in a while, Evangeline Belva felt shivers go down her spine. She believed she had become accustomed to her family's capacity for cruelness considering she'd been stuck with them all her life, but it was times when she let her guard down that she remembered all too well how quickly things could turn.
Staring at her older brother made her feel like she was looking into a mirrored version of herself.
If there was one thing she had always wished for, it would be to not look so much like her older brother and father, but rather her mother.
Christine, the late wife of Emperor Arthur Belva, was brought into the palace by the emperor himself for her looks. Although, many thought she looked plain with her short ash brown hair that curled at the ends and her dark russet eyes. She had captivated the emperor nonetheless. Despite being looked down on, there was no one who had wanted to take her place by the cruel emperor's side.
Evangeline hated her raven dark hair that was straight and thin as thread, and her dark blue eyes that looked like the depths of a very cold ocean.
The only differences between Evangeline, Arthur, and Ira Belva were that the men were tall and broad and she was small and lanky. The subtle differences weren't enough to make her feel better whenever she looked in a mirror and saw herself or went outside and met the gazes of her subjects. She knew that they feared her and her family as they ruled with such tyranny.
"Do you know what our name means, Eve?"
Evangeline had to force herself not to roll her eyes. Whenever her brother would try to coax her into doing something she didn't want to do, he gave her the name speech.
"Solaria, our home, the very kingdom we have rule over from the sea to land, means sun. We are the vital part that keeps this place alive."
More like kills it. But there was no way she could say that.
"The people rely on us," he continued on, "we're like gods to them."
Ira began taking a few steps towards her. Evangeline had to force herself not to stiffen up.
"Since we're their gods, that means it's our duty to protect them." Ira spoke with such calmness and serenity that it was almost impossible to forget what a merciless person he was. A cold-blooded deranged killer. "Now, I know you haven't had to do anything before, you've lived your life with freedom, going around doing whatever you want when you want." He paused, his walking coming to a stop. He was only a few inches away from Evangeline. "But you're twenty-one now. Isn't it time you stop living only for yourself and do something for your people, the very ones who look up to you?"
Evangeline had to keep her mouth shut or else she'd instantly rebut him.
No one looks up to her. Despite being the lesser evil of her family, perhaps besides her younger brother, people hated her far more than them.
Whenever she left the palace walls and went outside, which was rare, and she walked along the streets, she was the center of attention. No matter where she went, there were always eyes on her. Not the eyes of admirers, who were charmed by her beauty, but they were the eyes of contempt; the eyes of hatred and fear.
Their gazes used to bother her, but now she thought they had been a mere inconvenience compared to what she was faced with now. Death. It didn't matter to her what Ira said, if her soon-to-be husband wanted to kill her he would and there would be nothing her family could do to stop it. Not with them being a whole sea away.
She was already called the Witch of Solaria; now, she would become the Witch of Wintermere.
Ignoring the loud beating of her heart, Evangeline answered him the way he wanted her to because Ira Belva was not a man to say no to.
"I understand."
He smiled and moved his large scarred hand and touched her head with such profound gentleness that it made her want to crawl into herself. He slowly moved his hand from the top of her head to her back as he embraced her.
She had to tell herself to endure it, as it didn't mean she had to embrace him back.
Eventually, Ira let go. "I'm glad you're finally seeing things our way." After saying that, he passed her, heading down the way she had been coming, leaving her with only her thoughts and feelings.
There was more cause to be concerned that her husband would kill her. In fact, she thought it would have been foolish not to be at least a little uneasy.
Solaria and Wintermere were quite a ways away from each other to be called neighboring empires, maybe if they had been neighbors that would have stopped the feud between them.
To call it a feud was an understatement. Arthur sought to wage a whole war on them. However, they lacked the strength to defeat the grand force that was Wintermere. True to its name Wintermere was a place of short summers and long winters. Despite having far longer and harsher winters, the place was very prosperous. It had many resources and the support of many other distant countries.
Arthur was jealous of their expanding power. If all the countries couldn't be equal to each other, then his empire should be the one in the highest position of power, not a gutless one. He wanted to invade their territory and conquer it. He and his son would kill the existing royal family and take their place.
It was an idea that certainly seemed possible at the time. Solaria had more blood thirsty warriors who weren't afraid of getting their hands dirty. While, Wintermere's champions lacked the stomach to do what needed to be done. So it appeared that Solaria would come out victorious without any other outcome, but for all their ruthlessness and cunningness, the Belva's underestimated the Thames royalty.
It was recorded as one of the bloodiest wars in history, with the Belva's nearly losing everyone they had sent out on the front lines.
Everyone believed it was wise for Arthur to take his losses and give up. To live contentedly with what he already possessed, but because Ronan Thames did not come to kill him when he had the chance, Arthur noted this weakness and sought to exploit it.
The Thames royal family and Wintermere would fall. All he needed to do was put a critical piece into shake their defenses from inside the palace, and the piece he chose to play was none other than his own daughter.
