Starkeeper of the Fractured Crown

Her Familiar, something that only existed in her world, stood beside her, ears pinned, death in his dark eyes. A wolf, only slightly larger than the Vigils and werewolves, but one with the ability to speak to she, Aeron, and Landon, the other two who had been blessed with Familiars before they left their world and came here too.

“Will your dog bite me?” I asked as my shadows swirled lovingly around me, warning me of the Fae Knights that stood all around the outside of this room.Smart, but if I wanted Penny dead, she’d be dead. No one would be able to save her, let alone measly little knights.

“Yes,” Penny answered, her voice steady and clear, her crisp blonde hair falling around her in gentle waves.

The beast wouldn’t get the chance. I glanced around the room. It was much lighter than the meeting room within the mountain. Rose would have liked it.

“Why did you request a meeting?” Penny asked when I didn’t respond. “Three centuries and I’ve only had the pleasure of meeting Meeria Valium. Why not send her?”

“I like doing things myself from time to time. How is your little tiff with the pixies going?” It was more than atiff, but I was curious, and perhaps I could get information from her while I was here.

Penny frowned deeply. “Why are you interested in the politics between the Fae Court and the Pixie Court?”

Because I was sure that one of the people in charge of this group of people I’d been hunting was a pixie. “Awe,” I cooed. “Are you worried I’ll steal her attention away from you.” I clicked my tongue. “Cute.”

Her cheeks burned with anger. “Take your shadows and leave.”

“Touchy,” I sang. “But I’ll have to decline as I have a question only you can answer,” I revealed before she had the chance to turn away. “It’s imperative to me that I get the answer today.”

Penny took me in, studying me carefully. Maybe she was sizing me up, memorizing me for later. Not many people had the pleasure of looking upon me. This was her chance to realize that even she and her strangepower could not end my life.

She finally lifted her chin. “What?”

“Don’t let her see the truth,”my magic taunted.“She’ll steal your precious pet away. Claim her as her own.”

I slid my hands in my pockets, ignoring the voice. “I’ve come across someone who has requested that upon her death her younger sibling would be brought here. Why?”

Her eyes narrowed, confusion touching them followed by curiosity. “What species is she?”

Curiosity was a nasty partner. Even in the most dangerous of circumstances, she’ll force you to stay. To satisfy her. It’s what kept my Angel coming back for more. “Does it matter?”

“Yes.”

I sighed, my own frustration growing. This wouldn’t end well. “Human.”

There it was again, that fear. Dripping down her spine, filling the air. “Human?” She glanced towards the wolf, silent.

Yes, they must have assumed I was raping her. Removing body parts, filling her mouth with my seed only to make her scream in pain a moment later. She must assume that her prayers to the dead gods were a last attempt at forgiveness before her death found her.

Why else would I know something so intimate about such a weakened girl.

But Kyra wasn’t weak. She just didn’t know it yet.

Seconds ticked by before she finally nodded and turned back to me. “When I first took the crown, I put in place a new law,” she explainedcalmly. “One that was to never be spread by anyone other than the breathings of my wisps. It was a refugee law. If anyone were in dire need of help, of a safe haven, the wisps would visit them in the middle of the night and give them a word, explain to them in whispers and songs of an option they would have to come here.”

A promise of true safety. Noble. “And you’re claiming a human has never been in dire need of help?” If that were the case, and the wisps found her anyway, what did that mean of her situation? It made me hate whoever was touching her even more. So much, in fact, that the Eye burned into my chest as my magic clawed against my skin.

“The wisps don’t tell me who they visit,” Penny explained. “I only know of the ones who make it here. No human has ever stepped foot in Aelyria, not since I’ve been here.”

Well, I couldn’t very well blame them. “How would a human get here if they did decide to come?”

She shrugged. “I suppose like everyone else. They would need to find a magical being to help them.” She searched my eyes. “Is she a prisoner?”

“Yes,” I lied with ease, watching as she shifted on her feet, clearly uncomfortable. “If the wisps didn’t speak to this sibling and only spoke to her, would that sibling still be welcome?”

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, her nostrils flaring only for her eyes to narrow when she realized that she couldn’t smell me. “If this sibling knew the word the wisps had given to her then yes.” Worry touched her. “My wisps came to a girl imprisoned by you and youwant to save her family? Why?”

Just before I was about to answer, I heard it. An echo of a story not yet told. Familiar and beautiful and unknown to the person speaking it.