Excerpt

Prologue- Celyse

Through the thin trees, between the bark and brush, I could see the shimmers hovering over Torch Lake. The mysterious, glowing orbs that provided a gateway from the faerie realm to the human realm were a rare sight to behold. No one was allowed a viewing without permission. Even then, such access was rarely granted. Even for me.

"We should not be here, Celyse," Jaid whispered.

A palace guard and my best friend since we were little, Jaid reluctantly indulged my foolish pursuits, including my requests to access the area, showing me unguarded paths to the lake. Not that I asked too often.But Mother and Father were away on official business of Strong Haven, as they almost always were as the High King and High Queen of Faevenly, and my twin

sister Malena and I were left alone for a few days with our minder, Maid Rell. After finishing our morning lessons, Malena retreated inside for a nap while I sought out adventure. And there was nothing more exciting than the shimmers.

"Oh please, Jaid." I rolled my eyes at the tall, slender, silver-haired, violet-eyed fae. Even though his allegiance to duty was boring, I most certainly did not want him to get in trouble. I lifted my skirt and pulled out the black onyx knife I kept strapped to my thigh. I pressed it to his neck. "If we should be caught out here, you may tell everyone I held you at knife point."

He swatted my hand away. "Come now, Celyse. You know I am rising in the ranks. If discovered out here with you, violating my directives, I could lose my position." His gaze scanned the area. "Besides, you know full well unauthorized lake visits are on the rise. It is not safe." Then he muttered under his breath, "As if anyone would believe you could best me with a knife."

Although I knew Jaid was right, I did not think a quick visit would be dangerous. I could handle myself. Plus, I had him with me. I put the knife back in its place, then lowered myself on the ground and placed my head on my hands, as if settling in to watch a play or performance.

"Let me have a few moments, and then we can leave."

After a long pause, he sighed, like I knew he would, then joined me on the lush grass. "What are you even looking for?" He waved his hand about. "There are sentinels posted along the perimeter, as usual. The shimmers are floating along the water, as usual. There is grass, there is sky, there are trees. Everything is the same."

"You see nothing, Jaid," I mumbled, keeping my gaze on the glowing orbs in the distance. "I, on the other hand, see magic and beauty and possibility."

I had always been curious about the human realm, and often dreamed of going there so I could see and experience the things Maid Rell had taught me and Malena in our lessons.

"You are impossible, Celyse."

I shrugged as I kept my gaze on the lake. "Perhaps I am. But what is wrong with wanting to see another world where people watch moving picture stories on giant white screens? Travel the skies in oversized jet-propelled airplanes, and the seas on floating ships as big as villages? Villages, Jaid! Do you not wonder about the human realm?"

"I do not. And you would do well to banish those fancies. Humans are our enemy, Celyse. As a princess of Faevenly, you should not forget it."

I threw him a curious look. "You do not want to know what pizza tastes like?"

A clanging rang out. Yelling met my sharp ears. My attention zipped to the lake, where the sentinels were fighting three fae with spears and swords.

"Thunderation, not again," Jaid spat out, jumping to his feet. "Get back to the palace," he ordered as he rushed toward the melee.

He did not have to tell me twice. I knew the wrath of my mother, the High Queen. If she found out I had been here, she would not be pleased at all. I had heard tales of how she could kill with her eyes when she dropped her glamour. It was not something I wanted to see.

Lifting my skirt, knowing that Jaid and the sentinels could handle themselves, I dashed off. I zig-zagged between trees, jumped over rocks, and ducked low-hanging branches. When the palace spires came into view and the grounds began resembling a well-kept garden, I slowed my stride. I thought of the three fae who were skirmishing with the sentinels. No doubt they were dead by now since anyone approaching the lake waters was executed on sight. But who would attempt to breach Torch Lake at midday? It was a fool's errand at any time, but doubly so in full daylight. Most breaches occurred at nightfall. I would have to ask Jaid about it later.

As I continued at a normal pace, a lone white feather drifting in the wind caught my eye. It twirled and danced as the breeze directed it to a cluster of nearby bushes. And when it came to rest on a pile of red and brown leaves, looking angelic and pristine against the earthen backdrop, I thought I should have it.

Surely such a sighting was not happenstance.

Approaching the quill, I bent down for it when a glint of light caught my eye. My breathing hitched. My hand trembled. And I could hardly believe my eyes. Amid the foliage nestled a shimmer. But how? Every shimmer had been moved to Torch Lake after the Great Shimmer War several hundred years ago. Was this one overlooked? Had it drifted away from the others while no one noticed? Or maybe it had recently separated from the stratus and floated down from the sky?

Scanning my surroundings, I realized I was alone with a lost shimmer and a chance at a private viewing of the human realm. A chance I might never have again. I crept forward, my mind recalling everything Maid Rell had taught me about the shimmers, like how they could be handled and manipulated at the edges. How you could see through them but not hear any-

thing. How it was dangerous to go through them unless you were specially trained. How time between the two realms moved at the same speed. How they were either attached to a person or a place. Sometimes both.

I wondered who or what this shimmer was attached to.

With my heart racing, I reached out, grazing the round glow with my fingertips. A warm misty sensation connected with my skin, like vapor from a boiling pot of water. I eyed my surroundings again, then cupped the shimmer with both hands and brought it to my face. Peering through, I saw a bedchamber, but I could not make out much detail. I would need to stretch the shimmer so I could see better.

But not in the open.

With my newfound treasure in my grasp, I increased my distance from the palace, rounding my

way out of sight and to an area of tightly packed trees. I crouched low and shuffled my way through a small opening. Surrounded by the pines and sitting on a bed of leaves, I studied the shimmer in awe, thinking it the most beautiful and spectacular thing I had ever seen. I slowly stretched out the glow by pulling at the edges. When it was big enough to offer me a proper viewing, I released it and let it float in front of me.

The bedchamber came fully into view. Pulling my legs up to my chin, I studied the room. It had blue walls and a white ceiling. A small bed took up the middle of one wall, and across from that were bookshelves and a desk. Over the bed hung a painting of a foot clad in a strange shoe with spikes on the bottom kicking a white ball. The bedsheets were crumpled and unmade, and piles of clothing dotted the floor.

Covering my mouth, I chuckled at the mess, thinking it perfectly splendid, and wondered what it would be like to leave my bedchamber like that. I did not think Maid Rell would like it.

Suddenly, a person walked into view. I sucked in my breath and backed up as a gorgeous tall human with dark, disheveled hair, brown eyes, full lips, and sun-kissed skin strolled across the room, eyes down as if looking for something.

"My lady, Celyse!" It was Maid Rell, calling for me. "Where are you?"

With a swipe, I collapsed the shimmer until it formed a small ball, then threw a pile of leaves on it. Calming myself, I peered through the trees. Not seeing Maid Rell, or anyone else for that matter, I crawled out and dashed away from the spot, not wanting her to see where I had come from. I dusted off my skirt, then patted my long silver hair to make sure it was not a mess.

"I am here!"

Maid Rell hurried over to me. Short and stocky with strong arms and thick legs, she waddled when she walked and moved people into action with her booming voice. Yet for a dwarf, she was actually on the taller side.

"My lady," she huffed. "You are late for your afternoon lesson!"

"My goodness! My apologies, Maid Rell. The time must have gotten away from me."

"Indeed, it has." She clapped two times. "Now come."

For the rest of the day, while I practiced archery, my head stayed in the clouds as I thought of the beautiful human I had seen in the shimmer. My mind was already calculating when I could sneak away to see him again.