BOOK 2- Chapter 1

I stood on the balcony of the Crystal Palace, the world below me a shimmering expanse of blue, silver, and white. The Water Kingdom was beautiful, breathtaking even, but its beauty couldn’t touch the chaos swirling inside me. The soft breeze that rose from the ocean below carried the scent of salt and serenity, but it did little to calm the storm in my mind.

I glanced down at my hand, the sunlight catching the edges of the intricate, sparkling ring on my finger. It glittered, almost as though it had a life of its own, a perfect circle of crystal and silver that shimmered in the pale morning light. I still couldn’t believe it. I was engaged. Not just to anyone, but to Kaden—the most feared king in all the kingdoms. Kaden, the Elemental King. My mate.

I had accepted him. I had chosen this path, but something inside me hadn’t fully settled into it. There was this heaviness in my chest that never quite went away, like a shadow looming over every thought, every decision I made. As beautiful as the ring was, it reminded me of the future ahead, a future as Kaden’s queen. A future where the kingdom would look to me, where I would be expected to lead. But how could I think about leading when my heart was still tied to a promise I’d made to Claire?

My gaze drifted to the horizon, where the sea met the sky in a perfect line. My thoughts wandered to Dravonia, that cursed place where I had barely escaped. The night I left was still etched into my mind. Claire. Her face, her voice—everything about her haunted me. She had saved me that night, risking everything to help me escape. I owed her more than just my life. I owed her a promise. And I hadn’t kept it.

The people of Dravonia were still trapped behind that cursed barrier, still enslaved by Kyrell’s people and the Harvesting Games. Claire’s voice echoed in my mind, the urgency in her eyes when she made me promise to find a way to get them out of there.

How could I think of my own happiness, of planning a wedding, when they were still suffering? How could I marry Kaden, knowing I had failed them?

I let out a long breath, feeling the weight of guilt settle deeper into my chest. The Harvesting Games were coming. I could feel it, like a clock ticking away in the back of my mind, counting down to the moment when innocent lives would be ripped apart for Kyrell’s twisted pleasures that his people would continue in his honor. Every day we failed to break the curse, to shatter the barrier, was another day closer to the slaughter.

The thought made my heart tighten, and I closed my eyes, trying to push the images away, but they wouldn’t leave me. The blood, the screams, the hopelessness in their eyes the last time I was at the Harvesting. I couldn’t forget. I wouldn’t. It was forever imprinted in my mind.

As if sensing the turmoil inside me, Kaden appeared behind me. I didn’t hear him approach, but I felt him—the warmth of his presence cutting through the cold knot in my stomach. His strong arms wrapped around my waist from behind, pulling me against him, and I leaned back into his solid frame, welcoming the warmth that his touch brought.

He nestled his face into the crook of my neck, his breath warm and steady against my skin. “ Are you okay, little one?” His voice was soft, gentle, like it always was when he spoke to me. He had a way of making everything feel like it would be okay, even when I knew it wasn’t.

I hesitated, not wanting to burden him with the weight of my thoughts, but I couldn’t keep it inside any longer.

“ I was just wondering…”

“ Wondering about what?” he asked, his voice still calm as he turned me around gently, his hands resting on my waist, his hazel eyes searching mine. His gaze was filled with concern, and I hated that he could see the sadness in me so clearly.

I swallowed hard, my voice barely a whisper. “ About Dravonia.”

I saw the flicker of understanding in his eyes before I even finished speaking. Kaden knew about the promise I’d made. He knew how it weighed on me, how I couldn’t let go of the people I’d left behind, no matter how hard I tried.

“ That night when I escaped,” I continued, my voice trembling with the weight of the memory, “ I made a promise to Claire. She saved me, Kaden. She risked everything for me, and I told her I’d do anything to save them. The people there… the things happening in Dravonia… they’re horrible. And every day that passes without us breaking the curse, without us freeing them, is another day closer to the Harvesting Games. Another day where more innocent lives are taken.”

Kaden’s expression tightened, and I could see the struggle in his eyes, the pain of seeing me so torn. He hated seeing me like this, I knew that. It broke something in him to know that I was carrying this weight on my shoulders.

“ My sweet little one,” he murmured, brushing a strand of hair away from my face, “ you’re going to make a wonderful queen one day.”

I didn’t respond to that. I didn’t feel like a queen. I didn’t feel strong enough to lead, not when I couldn’t even figure out how to free the people I had sworn to help.

“ If you want,” Kaden continued softly, “ we can put the wedding aside until we finish training and find a way to break the curse. I understand, Meara. You don’t have to choose between your promise and us.”

I looked up at him, surprised. I hadn’t expected him to offer that, to be willing to delay the wedding. But then again, Kaden always seemed to know what I needed before I did. He had a way of understanding me, even when I couldn’t quite put my feelings into words.

Before I could say anything, he added, “ Luckily, I have good news. Deon is on his way back from Calenthe, and he’s bringing Cassandra with him. They’ve been looking into ways to break the curse, to bring down the barrier. Let’s hope they have something that can help.”

“ I hope so,” I said softly, but there was a part of me that was afraid to hope. Afraid that even with Cassandra’s help, we might not succeed. And if we didn’t, what then?

Kaden’s hand tightened on my waist, pulling me closer to him. “ We’ll figure it out,” he said, his voice firm, as if he could will the solution into existence by sheer force of will.

I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that we could find a way to free the people of Dravonia, to stop the Harvesting Games before they claimed any more lives. But the fear was still there, gnawing at me, whispering that maybe we weren’t strong enough. Maybe the curse was too deeply rooted, too ancient, for us to break.

I rested my head against Kaden’s chest, closing my eyes and listening to the steady beat of his heart. His arms around me were a comfort, a reminder that I wasn’t alone in this. We were in this together, and I knew he would stand by me no matter what.

But even with Kaden’s strength beside me, the weight of the promise I had made to Claire, to all the people trapped in Dravonia, was heavy. I couldn’t forget them. I wouldn’t.

“ I’m not giving up on them,” I whispered, more to myself than to him.

“ I know,” he said softly, kissing the top of my head.

“ And neither am I.”

We stood like that for a long time, the sound of the ocean filling the silence between us. The sun was rising higher in the sky, casting a golden light over the palace, but the shadows of Dravonia still loomed in my mind, dark and unrelenting.

“ We’ll find a way,” Kaden repeated, his voice full of quiet determination. “ We’ll break the curse. And when we do, you can keep your promise.”

I nodded against his chest, but deep down, I knew that breaking the curse wasn’t just about keeping a promise. It was about freeing myself too—freeing myself from the guilt, the fear, the weight that had been pressing down on me since the night I escaped Dravonia.