Chapter One
“Don’t you find it odd?” I asked, sensing Tai’s presence, as usual, before he was near.
“What?” He knelt in front of me. In my periphery, his hazel eyes scanned my face.
“That we treat death the same way we do birth,” I replied, watching my cousin, Adria, over the bulk of his shoulder. The two-year-old dashed across the sitting area, waving a fistful of purple and red ribbons as she went. Heartache and an unrelenting sense of guilt burned a stinging path through me. “Addy thinks everyone’s here for someone’s festival day or baby welcoming.”
Tai glanced behind him. Adria was twirling about in front of Ma, the ribbons she held high dancing about her dark blond hair.
Despite a month having passed since my Aunt Marah died, Ma insisted that we keep to protocol and hold a farewell. She believed it would be disrespectful to my aunt’s soul for us not to acknowledge in some way her life and the joy she had brought to ours. After managing to get Khelan to agree, she had placed the customary bouquet of purple and red ribbons outside the front door, signaling the period of mourning. Since then, our home had been filled with neighbors and friends who offered heartfelt condolences for the loss of a loved one following, they believed, an unfortunate accident.
But they didn’t know the truth.
Ma gave Adria a small, indulgent smile then smoothed down the creases of her bright red dress before greeting yet another group of guests.
Tai turned to me with a scowl. “Are you doing penance?”
I blinked into his hard stare. “What?”
“Come on,” he said, holding out his hand. I saw the criss-cross pattern of scars in the center of his palm, telling me more than he ever would about the level of aggression required to put it there. “You’ve been here long enough,” he added.
When I didn’t respond, Tai took my hand and rose to his feet, pulling me up with him. I followed his lead without resistance. A break was probably a good idea. After all, I planned on being at the farewell for the entirety of the customary three days. It was the least I could do.
We were in the middle of the hallway when my brother appeared, having just stepped out of his old bedroom at the end of the hall.
Rhoan’s expression darkened. “Where are you two going?” he asked, standing in front of the door to the study, arms crossed.
Tai’s only response was to sidestep Rhoan, but he had to stop abruptly when my brother shifted to block his way.
Tai exhaled deeply as a scowl filled his face. “I need to speak with your sister.”
“Can’t you speak with her in there?” Rhoan dipped his chin toward the sitting room.
“What do you think, Rhoan?” Tai said with a curl to his lip. “That I’ll defile your sister in the middle of your aunt’s farewell?”
My brother’s nostrils flared. “I don’t know,” he said with a shrug that did nothing to lessen the contempt in his eyes. “You’ve defiled her before. Who knows where or when the mood will strike you next?”
“Rhoan, Tai, please,” I whispered, looking pointedly at a guest passing by.
Both of them ignored me.
Tai leaned into Rhoan, still holding my hand. “I thought we were past this,” he stated, assessing my brother.
Rhoan was a large man, but even he should have been intimidated by Tai. Nevertheless, he lowered his arms and leaned into Tai’s face. “My family and I have thanked you repeatedly for protecting Kira during and after the attack on Septima,” he said, his light green eyes sharpening as he bore holes into Tai. “Don’t take that as permission to continue fucking around with my sister.”
Tai’s hand tightened painfully around mine, and I glared at my brother. That was it. I’d had enough of his snide remarks over the last few weeks.
“Rhoan, this isn’t the time or place,” I hissed. “It’s in the past! Get over it!”
“Everything all right over here?”
Startled, the three of us swung around to find Khelan approaching. Tai gave my hand a gentle squeeze before releasing it.
Khelan glanced between us, our sudden silence making him frown. “What’s wrong?”
Rhoan slid his hands into his pockets, shifting his gaze from Tai to Khelan. “I was just thanking our resident protector once again for watching over Kira on Septima during the attack,” Rhoan said smoothly, his eyes returning to Tai. “He’s been such a good friend to our family.”
Tai’s eyes darkened to nearly black as he looked at my brother.
Khelan nodded, thankfully oblivious to the undercurrent of tension between Rhoan and his alleged best friend. “There’s certainly no limit to how much we can express our gratitude,” he said with a grave expression.
Tai frowned and tightened his jaw. “You’ve thanked me enough, Khelan.”
Khelan shook his head. “It will never be enough,” he said. “It’s not just for protecting Kira on Septima. It’s for everything before that as well.”
Tai hesitated, then gave a short nod, accepting Khelan’s thanks.
Khelan glanced toward the sitting area before stepping close, tightening our circle. “Have you heard anything about who caused the attack?” he asked in a low voice.
Tai braced his shoulders back. “Not much,” he said, matching the volume of Khelan’s voice. “Mostly speculation and rumors. Nothing worth repeating.”
“What about the factions?” Khelan pressed.
Rhoan and I exchanged an uneasy look.
Since Khelan had decided to avenge my aunt’s death by supporting the factions through Uncle Paol and a man named Maxim, we had heard very little of what had been going on with the three of them. Despite our attempts to change Khelan’s mind, Rhoan and I suspected he had been in constant communication with the other two.
It certainly wouldn’t have been the first time he’d kept the truth from us.
Tai studied Khelan. “They’ve started establishing more command centers, throughout the Realm,” Tai said. “Usually in remote but resource-rich towns.”
“Like Tholos,” Khelan noted, referring to the town where my aunt, his sister, had been killed.
Tai nodded, appearing deep in thought. “There’s a town called Tork, on Hale Three, that we’re monitoring closely,” he said. “Since their minister was killed, activity at that site has become more aggressive than anywhere else we’ve been monitoring.”
Khelan appeared grim. “And what of Prospect Eight? Any news about the rebels close to Merit?” He held Tai’s gaze as he asked about the town where we lived.
Tai’s eyes cooled. “No, I haven’t heard anything.”
The lines around Khelan’s mouth tightened as a knot formed between his brows. He glanced over his shoulder to Ma. She and Da were speaking with a neighbor. He turned to me with bleak eyes. “Your Ma is having a hard time explaining where Paol is.”
I frowned. We had all agreed to say that Paol had been called away on business for an extended time. It was the best excuse we could come up with for his prolonged absence and the need for us to watch over Adria.
“Maybe you should go to her,” I said, reading the concern for Ma in his eyes.
Khelan nodded but his expression was rueful. “I don’t know why I agreed to this blasted farewell,” he said. “I’m lying right to the faces of men and women I’ve called friends for years.”
The three of us watched as he walked over to Ma, who extended a hand toward him but then seemed to change her mind. She clasped her hands at her waist instead and stepped between him and Da, close to Khelan’s side.
A bitter taste filled my mouth at the irony of what he had just said. He had been lying to my face for years, hiding the truth that he was my biological father. My parents had explained their justifiable reasons, but the fact still remained that they had deceived me.
“I’ve been monitoring Khelan,” Tai said in a low voice.
I swung around, certain I had heard incorrectly. The only reason Tai would be monitoring Khelan was if Rhoan had told him about his support of the factions. I couldn’t believe Rhoan would go back on our agreement to keep that information from Tai. He had already done too much in the name of protecting our family. I didn’t want to add to the burden he was helping us carry.
I settled a scathing glare on my brother. “You told him?”
Rhoan gave me a disdainful look. “I didn’t tell him anything, Kira.”
I continued glaring at him, not believing a word.
“He’s in the blasted Protectorate,” Rhoan said through clenched teeth, then drew back his shoulders, staring down at me. “Makes...
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