Only 10 days left until the Raven Court series concludes! The manuscript is still in the hands of my editor, but I wanted to share an un-edited version of Chapter 1. Enjoy!
Becoming a Fae Queen
Raven Court Series, Book 4
By Joanna Reeder ©2023
Chapter 1 - Aria
She groaned as another’s magic was lost. Each was more painful than the last.
***
Stirring spaghetti noodles gives me a sense of calm. Until I remember that I’m a fae princess and stirring spaghetti noodles is something a servant would do.
My calm explodes. I twist my mouth and put my free hand on my hip.
That’s right. I’m a princess. Of Faerie. I can’t believe it either. Or at least, I couldn’t until the memories of my time in Faerie mingled with snippets of the memories I lost. Until being a faerie princess made more sense than not being a faerie princess.
It’s the reason I could be taken into the Winter Court when everyone told me a human could not enter. Because I’m not entirely human. It’s the reason I was able to use magic to escape the winter dungeon unseen and plug my ears with shadows when…
But the maelstrom inside isn’t because cooking noodles is servants work, it’s the realization that not only am I a fae princess, but I’m also stuck in the human realm. Again.
And I’m far away from home.
“It’s my turn to make dinner, Aria,” says my foster brother, Ian, as he enters the kitchen. He looks over my shoulder then opens the pantry for a jar of marinara sauce.
“I don’t mind,” I say, but don’t add that I’m doing it mostly for me, not him.
“I saw that twin of yours at school today,” he says, twisting the cap of the bottle, popping the seal. “What’s her name? Carrie?”
A flush of emotions passes through me at the mention of my sister who is also stuck in the human realm. “It’s Carys.”
“Carys,” he repeats, and I worry he’ll suggest she come live with us, but family or not, High Queen Carys stole my memories and made me forget who I am. It was only because the Winter Queen told me the truth before shoving us both out of Faerie that I even know that now.
Carys is the last person er… fae—whatever I want to see, let alone live with under the same roof. I was grateful when my foster parents—the humans who took me in—requested that she stay with another family.
“I think she’s staying at the group home near the park,” Ian says as he reaches for a saucepan dangling from the ceiling rack. “But she just enrolled at our school.”
I feel like he’s waiting for me to comment because he pauses to look at me before pouring the sauce into the pan and placing it on the burner. But I have nothing to say.
“She looked a bit like a fish out of water,” he adds, turning the knob on the stove. The burner flashes on.
“Yes, well, I imagine she’s never been to high school before,” I mutter under my breath into the hot steam.
“Look, I don’t know what happened between you two, it’s strange that you never mentioned you even had a twin sister, but it looked like she was struggling so maybe you could—”
I snap my head to him, stopping his words. But then check myself, and move to the counter to slice the loaf of French bread. I shouldn’t take it out on him. I’m the one refusing to tell him anything, he’s just trying to help. “I just… don’t want to talk about her.”
“I know.”
I couldn’t lie when Carys showed up on the King’s doorstep. Like literally. I’m a half fae and any percentage of fae blood in any humanoid’s system stops any lie instantly. I couldn’t feign unrecognition or claim she must be a doppelgänger stranger I’d never met because all of that would be a lie.
But not being able to lie didn’t mean I had to divulge everything either. My foster parents knew I had memory loss so a quick explanation that I didn’t know she was my sister until very recently and that I wasn’t thrilled she was here was the only thing I would say. And of course, both were true.
Ian opens the fridge for a bag of salad, then gets a bowl and stands next to me.
“They set a court date,” he says, dumping the greens into the bowl.
“What?”
“Lindsey and Blake. They’re almost finished with the paperwork, and they already set a court date for your adoption.”
“Really? When?” I set down the knife and turn to him.
“The day before the Winter Formal.” He smiles.
Less than three weeks. My eyes widen and I cover my mouth with my hand. I don’t know how to respond. All I’ve wanted since my memories were wiped, was to belong. To have a family. I like living with the King’s and I thought I wanted to become an official member of their family, but I already have a family. A big one. My parents are gone, but I have several brothers and sisters. Some who even look like me like—
“Aria!”
Geminia.
How ironic that I was just thinking about the sister who looks most like me—besides Carys—and she’s here! Maybe she’s come to take me back! I whip my head to the sound of my sister’s voice. Maybe she’s—
“You’ll never guess what I’ve found!”
I’m tempted to ask if she could show me another time. Sterling is waiting for me with Madseok. I was supposed to meet him earlier, but I got roped into another political meeting with him and Carys with some simpering praefectus who clearly can’t handle their stewardship. It was boring and pointless, and I wanted to slip out a hundred times, but didn’t want the wrath of my father or my sister for ditching out on my duties. Again.
Now I’m free to slip away and feel the spray of the sea on my face and the sun on my back.
But Geminia rarely wants my attention for anything. Not like Ophi and Sage, or even Rio and Leo. She’s my closest sister in age after Carys, but we’ve never been close. If I turn her away now, she might never want to share anything with me again.
“You’re right. I’ll never guess,” I say, playing along. “You’d better just tell me what you’ve found.”
Geminia looks up and down the corridor like we’ve become fugitives of the crown and cannot be caught by the searching guards, then she grabs my hand and pushes aside the old blue tapestry with a large stag embroidered in the center and pulls me through one of the hidden passageways behind it.
We shuffle through narrow, dark tunnels that wind through the palace. The clacking of our shoes on the stone floor is the only sound, but it echoes, bouncing off the walls and sounding like an entire legion of soldiers chasing after us.
“Where are you taking me?” I ask, a little breathless, but more from the exhilaration of the unknown than exertion. I let out a nervous laugh. “I can’t even see where I’m going!”
Geminia slows and turns back to look at me, her blue eyes glinting in the near darkness. “Stop complaining and let your fae eyes adjust.” She says, smirking. “Or are you telling me that I’ve mistaken you for Carys and you can’t handle a little adventure?”
“Touché,” I say and gesture that we keep going.
When we round a corner, two of our sisters, Celeste and Lyra, wait in the shadows.
Celeste aims an accusing finger at Geminia. “Did you tell her?”
“No. I want her to see it for herself.”
“Good,” Celeste says.
“What’s going on?” I ask, but I’m loving the intrigue.
“I’m not telling, but I promise it will be worth it. Come on.” Lyra takes my hand and pulls me through a narrow doorway and into a small, abandoned room.
The space is lit by a single, large window, paned with stained glass like those found in human churches. The filtered light gives the room a muted, colorful ambience that is immediately calming. The room is sparsely furnished with blue plush chairs and a small table. An old vanity sits in one corner with trinkets, but my attention is pulled to the portrait that takes up the entire southern wall.
A fae with long, white-blonde hair is the subject of the painting. She has iridescent dragonfly wings and an expression that says she’s full of secrets. I’ve never seen the portrait before, but by the short description my father has given, I know who she is immediately.
“Amberle Kindra,” I say.
“Amberle Kindra as in… our grandmother?” Celeste asks, her voice full of awe.
“Grandmother?” Lyra asks, unfamiliar with the word.
“She’s our father’s mother,” I explain. “Grandmother is a human term.”
“She’s… beautiful.” Lyra says and we all agree.
“There was more to her than beauty from what Father said,” I say.
“What do you know about her?” Geminia asks.
I turn away from the portrait to look at my sister. “Just a little. Father didn’t speak of her often.”
“I’ve never heard anything about her,” Lyra says.
“Perhaps this is a sort of… shrine to her or something,” I say, glancing around the room. “Look around, maybe you’ll find out more about her.” I turn to exit.
“Won’t you look with us?” Celeste asks.
I bite my bottom lip. The Sea of Neptulus is calling to me. I can almost hear the impatient snort of Madseok who is itching for a ride as much as I am. “Sterling is waiting,” I say. “But tell me if you find anything.”
“Aria?” Ian asks, pulling me from the vision.
I blink a few times at the emotion the memory sparked. I can’t remember any more of it. I can’t remember if my sisters found anything about our grandmother, or if I ever went back to that hidden room behind the blue tapestry.
I have the feeling I didn’t. I clearly remember the disappointment in all their faces—especially Geminia—when I excused myself for what I thought was more important: leaving to meet Sterling and Madseok. But I don’t think I remedied it. I wasn’t a very good sister.
“You okay?” Ian asks.
“Yes,” I say, truthfully. “I just got lost in my thoughts.” I move back to stir the boiling noodles.
“So… speaking of the dance,” Ian says. “Matt Green wants to ask you.”
“Matt Green, huh?” Blake says, entering the kitchen.
“Wait what?” I was grateful for the subject change from Carys, and that Ian didn’t pry after I zoned out, caught in that memory, but Ian is giving me whiplash.
“Yeah, it could be like a celebration after the adoption,” Ian says.
“Since when are you so thoughtful, Ian?” Blake asks with an eyebrow raised and takes a slice of bread from the cutting board, tearing it to eat.
“He has a point,” I say.
Ian rolls his eyes. “Since Matt said if I convinced Aria to go with him, he’d give me his cousin’s number to ask her.” He looks at me with pleading in his eyes. “C’mon Aria. We could double.”
“Isn’t Aria going with Sterling?” Blake asks around a mouthful of bread.
“They broke up, remember?” Ian says.
Blake turns to me with concern creasing his forehead. “Sorry, Aria. Yes, I remember.”
“It’s okay. It’s fine. I’m fine,” I say, and I know it’s the truth. “Sterling and I are better as friends. Really.”
I’m not sure if it convinces him, but he eats more bread.
Ian claps his hands together. “So… would you be up to going with Matt since you and Firell are no longer together?”
Firell was the last name Sterling went by when he pretended to be a teenage human football star at my high school. It was a little more human sounding than Firetail. Part of me wishes I could go back to that. Back to the stupid parties and the stupid games and act like I’m just a normalhuman teenager. Back to the simplicity of it all.
But I can’t. I’m a fae princess trapped in the human realm. And Sterling is trapped. A prisoner of the Winter Queen.
And I’m in love with his brother who I might never see again.
Tien. Captain Firetail. The fae who kidnapped me and brought me to Faerie against my will in order to save his precious Raven Court by putting me on the throne. That fae was the last guy I imagined myself falling in love with. But I did.
I try not to think about where Tien is—stuck in a trows lair dancing to his death—but my heart won’t let me forget because it’s my fault he’s there.
I thought I was doing something noble by saving the high queen from death-by-trows. Using my budding shadow magic, I stopped mine and Carys’s ears so we couldn’t be lured into their mound. But Tien was taken and it’s unlikely he’s alive.
A sharp pang in my chest twists and seems to cut the air from my lungs. I cannot think of that. He must be alive. He has to be. I would know it if he’d died, wouldn’t I?
“You’ll have to get Matt’s cousin’s number another way,” I say to Ian as I walk out of the kitchen. “Tell him no.”