Page 1 of Kingdom Of Veil And Vow

Prologue

My stomach churns at the sight of the Spell. Four years have gone since I saw it last, chased through the magic as men cackled and reached for my tail—fingers brushing against my thick white fur. I had no choice. I knew it would kill me. At least it would be a quick death. Or that’s what I thought. The fear of seeing it again is all too real, and I almost stop altogether, the urge to run making my muscles twitch.

Until I hear her voice.

“Oh my gods.”

I look over my shoulder at Rhea, her hair glowing beneath golden sunlight as she laughs. She looks happy. Happy to be out of the tower and away from the king. Happy to be with him. Flynn. Mortal guard and friend. He is kind. Gentle. It isn’t difficult to see, even for me. Even with how my mind has been slipping into madness, stuck in this form as I am. Just like my father. I huff out a breath through my snout at the thought of him. There is no room for those thoughts right now.

I shake my head and look back at the Spell in front of me. Its rules are simple—anyone who passes into a kingdom not their own dies. That’s what should have happened to me. My memory is hazy for those first few days after, but there was pain—so much pain—and then there was a guard. A tower. A woman with honey-golden hair. Darkness as more pain rippled through me and then light, brilliant light. And then I was fine. Alive. No longer wounded, sick, and dying.

I questioned how. How did I survive what should have promised death? But then I tried to shift to my mortal form, and the cost of my survival became clear. My mortal form was gone.

Leaves crunch beneath my paws, but it’s the sound of a nearby snapping twig that forces my gaze to the right. The fur along my back rises in warning, but it’s too late. Rough hands grab me. I smell sweat, the scent overwhelming as I jerk back, two men surrounding me. But a heavy weight—a rope—slips over my head and tightens at my neck, holding me in place.

“Now that we have the dog, we can use it to make them surrender,” one says, clamping his hands over my snout when I snarl in response.

“This is a white fox, you moron,” sneers the other, his light blond hair sticking to his temples as he tugs harder on the rope.

Run. Run. Run. I shake my head viciously, trying to free myself. My instincts roaring so loudly within me that I can’t think clearly. Panic surges, and I wrench myself from the man’s grasp only to be hauled into the air by the rope at my neck, my front paws kicking up dirt and leaves as they slide against the forest floor.

“Call your magic back, or we kill the fox!” the blond guard shouts. I glance to Rhea and Flynn, but they are too far away to help me.

“Bella!” Rhea screams.

My ears pick up her heart racing in her chest, the familiar beat one I could recognize anywhere. Gold flashes on either side of me, and I writhe against the rope to get free. Run. Run. Run. I can’t let them use me as bait.

“Call your magic back now! Or so help me, I will have her killed.” More guards appear—one with a bow in his hand, the arrow drawn and pointing at me.

My heart sinks at not only the fear on Rhea’s face but the glow in her hand. She had spent so long hiding it from the king, afraid he would use it against her or others. Now everyone will know she has magic.

“You are going to come with us. If you do so peacefully, your fox will return home with you as approved by His Majesty.”

No. No. No. She can’t ever go back there. Not back to him.

“You—” The guard points to Flynn, whose own hands cradle dark purple and black magic.

My eyes widen in surprise. He has magic?

“—will be allowed to live so long as you go through the Spell. Alone.”

Flynn growls.

Run. Run. Run.

“You already have two guards’ deaths on your hands, Princess. Do you want to add your fox and friend to that tally as well?”

When Rhea doesn’t respond quickly enough, I’m lifted entirely off the ground, air sweeping beneath my paws as my legs kick. The rope binds around my neck so that I can’t breathe, and white spots flash in front of my eyes.

“Please, stop!”

The guards drop me back down, and I crash into the ground as I suck in a breath.

“I have to go! They are going to kill her. Flynn, let me go!” Rhea’s voice sounds farther away, but when my vision clears, I find her banging at Flynn’s chest, his hands gripping her shoulders.

“Rhea, I’m not giving you to him,” he says, his heartbeat skipping. The guard next to me chuckles. I push up onto my paws again, my chest heaving.

“You promised me that you would do whatever I wanted. Even if it destroyed you,” Rhea cries, clutching at his chest. “You promised.”