Page 1 of What Lies Beyond the Realms

Chapter One

Something’s burning! I struggle to breathe as the sharp and pungent smell of smoke burns my nose. I feel like someone just blew sand in my eyes, which sting from the heat. I quickly survey my surroundings and realize the forest is on fire. Black trees burn and fall, and animals flee. I see the orange flames dance in the night sky, ash raining down on me like black confetti, sticking to my skin and coating my throat with soot. I attempt to run, but my bare feet are covered in a wet, sticky substance. Despite this, I continue running. The heat is intense, and I feel like my skin will melt off my face. I shield my face with my arms, but the smoke thickens and forces me to the ground. I crawl as fast as I can, gasping for air. My hands and knees become covered in the black, viscous substance on the ground as I crawl under the thick branches overhead, which seem to be bleeding or crying the sticky substance.

As I try to crawl in the direction the animals fled, I realize I had turned around. I can only see a few feet in front of me. I hear a loud snap overhead and quickly look up just in time to roll back as a black branch falls and fans flames across the forest floor. The fire quickly turns everything it touches to ash. In shock, I watch for a moment before a hand grabs my arm and pulls me away. I turn to see who it is.

My eyes burst open, and I awake from my nightmare to a far worse one—Samael, my stepbrother, is on top of me. His long, lean body is pressed against mine. His hand covers my mouth, and I feel his breath on my cheek as his shoulder-length brown hair brushes my arm.

“Oh, sweet sister, you looked fitful in sleep. I thought you would be delighted for me to wake you,” he says while dragging his tongue across my cheek. His hot tongue glides across my face, the smell of smoke and liquor on his breath making me gag into his hand. As I look up at him, his eyes pierce through me with their malevolent darkness. Without warning, he abruptly peels away from me.

“What the . . .” he yells and looks down at Chepi, who’s biting at his leg and growling something fierce.

“You’re lucky I’m not in the mood,” he says, looking back at me and then kicking Chepi off him. He turns and leaves the room, slamming the door behind him.

Samael is a corrupt and vile Sorcerer. Our age gap is not the only reason that he and I have never been close. He’s thirty-five, and I just turned eighteen last month. His dad, King Silas, and my mother, Queen Macy, married when I was young after my father passed. Ever since, Samael has made it his life’s mission to torture and humiliate me behind closed doors. My parents are blind to it—I don’t know how, maybe he uses dark undetected magic on them—but everyone else in this realm knows he’s evil. Even the animals sense it and stay away from him. As a Sorceress, I’m left completely vulnerable until the age of nineteen when I inherit my magic, which makes me easy prey for Samael. I’ve managed to survive this long by avoiding him as much as possible and hiding my fear. I refuse to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much he terrifies me. Just the thought of his touch makes my skin crawl and twits my stomach into knots. A shiver runs through my body, and Chepi comes over to lick my face.

Chepi is a Glyphie, a rare magical creature found in the Dream Forest of the Faery Realm in Nighthold. He was gifted to me by my father when I was just a little girl, and since then he has been my loyal companion and best friend. With his small black body covered in short and silky hair, Chepi may look like an ordinary dog, but his violet eyes and bat-like wings that can materialize at will set him apart. In addition to his flying ability, Chepi has another gift that not many know about, including my own mother. My father always warned me never to tell anyone that Chepi also has the gift of invisibility. When I hold him, he can make us both invisible for a short time, which has come in handy on more than one occasion, especially when I need to sneak around the castle grounds.

A knock at the door rouses me from bed, and Lili strolls in along with her usual scent of vanilla and lavender. I am suddenly surrounded by a flurry of activity as she orders servants around my bedchamber. My rooms are much larger than I need, but it’s nice to have the space when I spend so much time in here. My bedchamber is adorned with delicate blue and beige throw rugs, softly laid upon the aged wood floor, providing a warm and welcoming ambiance. A grandiose bed, big enough for four people, rests in the center, its pristine white covers fluffed with a plethora of fluffy pillows, inviting me to nestle in. A quaint sitting area, complete with a table and two large cushioned chairs, their blue fabric stitched with delicate white flowers adding a touch of elegance and charm to my private haven. Next to the sitting area is a door that opens to a balcony with a beautiful view of the side gardens and forest just beyond. I have a spacious bathroom with a large claw-foot tub, a large closet, and a vanity with ample counter space.

Lili is charged with looking after me. She’s my parents' most trusted servant and has taken care of me for as long as I can remember—even before my father passed and my mother remarried.

Lili is one of the few people I can rely on in this place. Despite her age, which I can only assume is somewhere around fifty, she shows no signs of slowing down. Her long black hair is always tied into a tight bun at the nape of her neck, giving her an air of elegance and power. I know that, like me, she is a Sorceress, but unlike me she has pledged her life to serve my family. Her loyalty and dedication are unwavering, and I don’t know where I would be without her.

She looks at me with her soft hazel eyes. “Good morning, Princess Lyra—” She stops abruptly when she takes in my face, orders all the servants out of the room, and comes to sit on the edge of my bed. “You’ve had another premonition,” she says.

I nod slowly, feeling the weight of exhaustion settling in from having a poor night's sleep. I raise my hand to wipe away the beads of sweat that have formed on my forehead.

Lili is the only one that knows about my nightmares, “premonitions” she calls them. They started happening about ten years ago, shortly after my father’s passing. Lili calls them premonitions because sometimes what haunts me in my sleep becomes a reality. But sometimes they’re just nightmares. This one felt rather ominous, and it’s the second time I’ve had this nightmare. I recite the events of the dream to Lili, and a chill creeps up my spine.

“Did it look like the forest surrounding the castle?” Lili asks. I swallow hard and try to shake off the lingering dread from the nightmare. “It didn’t look like any forest I’ve seen before.”

Lili purses her lips then shakes her head as if she could shake away what I said. “Try not to fret over it for now. You have a busy day ahead. I’ve had a bath prepared for you and clothes laid out. I’ll be back in a little while to do your hair. The king and queen are expecting an important visitor tonight at dinner and have requested your company. Your parents want me to prepare you for what is expected of you this evening.” Lili brushes my sweaty, slick hair out of my face and gives me a reassuring smile before leaving the room.

I hurry into the bath and begin to wash my hair, wondering who could be joining us for dinner tonight. It's a rarity for my parents to invite me to dine with them, as they typically serve my meals to my room, leaving me to eat alone. Their sudden request for my company can only mean that some dignitary or noble from another realm is visiting, and they want to present a flawless, yet fake, image of our family. As the leaders of the Sorcerer Realm and the monarchs of Cloudrum, which encompasses the Lycan Realm, Sorcerer Realm, and Lamia Realm, they must maintain an appearance of strength and unity, even if it is a façade.

Across the Feral Sea is Nighthold, which is solely comprised of the Faery Realm and its numerous territories. The thought crosses my mind that perhaps a Faery will be attending dinner tonight. Despite never having met one in person, I can still recall the stories Samael used to tell me as a child about their razor-sharp teeth and their supposed penchant for preying on newly-powered Sorceresses during the night, draining them of their blood and magic. Although Mr. Drogo, my teacher, had merely laughed off my inquiries about it, I wouldn’t dare ask my mother such a question.

My mother barely speaks to me. I know she loves me, but I’ve always thought she loved the idea of me more. She wants to raise the perfect princess to show off when people visit, but she doesn’t care to know me. She closely monitors my weight and makes sure I look the part. I can hear her now reminding me. She’ll say, “Suck in your stomach, dear. Sit up straight. Don’t speak unless spoken to.” Looks have always been important to her—how I look, how she looks, how the family is perceived. As for my stepfather, Silas, he isn’t very chatty. He’s the one who insists I have a private teacher; he wants me to be well versed. Silas is the one who confines me, and that’s why I often feel isolated and restricted. I can’t set foot outside the castle grounds thanks to him. Despite reading about other realms and their magic in books and learning from my teachers, I’ve never seen them in person. Imagining a life beyond these walls is the only thing I can do.

I have a small circle I socialize with. Lili, who is basically my second mom, Mr. Drogo, my current teacher, Samael and his occasional follower, and obviously the castle staff, but none of them speak to me much besides Lili. I only get to speak to people outside the castle boundaries once every few weeks when I’m invited to a formal dinner, where I’m not allowed to speak unless spoken to. I talk to myself and Chepi more than anyone else most days. Even though he can’t talk back, I know he understands me.

I finish washing up and throw on a casual light-purple gown that Lili left on the bed for me then go out on the balcony to get some fresh air and let Chepi out. He immediately runs toward the window and leaps through, his furry bat-like wings materializing as he disappears into the forest.

Must be nice to be able to fly away from this place. The thought of sitting through another formal twenty-course dinner is daunting. I wonder what poor exotic creatures were killed cruelly on the castle grounds this morning so my mother could impress her guests with another lavish dinner menu tonight.

“Come in here and let me start your hair before Mr. Drogo’s lessons. I won't have time to do it tonight before dinner,” Lili calls from my bedchamber, and I follow the sound of her voice to my vanity. I sit before its gilded mirror and watch her go to work on my hair.

My hair is long and wavy, falling just low enough to graze my hips, and it’s a very light shade of blonde. My mother always says it’s fitting for her daughter, who was born in the Tempest Moon District, to have hair the color of moonlight. My skin is rather fair, especially since I don’t spend much time out in the sun. I’m aware of my physical attractiveness; my full lips and petite nose have been frequently complimented, and my mother always mentions my bright blue-green eyes, the color of the Feral Sea. While I am blessed with a curvy figure, complete with full breasts and shapely hips, I’ve often found that my looks attract unwanted attention. At times, I can’t help but feel like it’s more of a curse than a blessing.

Lili makes a long braid down my back, leaving a few short wavy pieces to fall around my face.

“Please don’t mess up your hair before dinner. I’ll leave a dress out for you to put on tonight after you meet with Mr. Drogo,” she says while making finishing touches to the back of my hair.

“Who will be in attendance tonight? Who do I have to sit and look pretty for this time?” I roll my eyes in the mirror. I know it's not Lili’s fault my life is like this.

“Her majesty didn’t say, but she made it clear you needed to attend and mind your manners. Don’t ask questions. Don’t speak unless spoken to. If you’re asked about your life here, keep your answers short.” Lili smiles at me like she hasn’t recited this to me a hundred times before. “Now, you’re perfect. Go to your lessons before you’re late. We both know how Mr. Drogo can get crabby when kept waiting. I’ll put out your clothes and jewelry. Try to have fun tonight. I’m sure it won't be all that bad.”

“Thanks, and I’ll try. Leave my window open for Chepi,” I say to her on my way out the door.