Between Dawn and Dusk_ A Prequel (Between Dawn and Dusk #1) - Jamie Schlosser

Zella

Pacing, pacing, and more pacing. It’s all I can do while I wait for my sister to return from the land of Dawn and Dusk with a letter from my beloved.

A piece of paper with some words on it isn’t enough—nowhere near it—but it’ll have to do for now.

My pink slippers shuffle quietly against the stone floor as I walk across my bedroom. I press my ear to the wooden door, hoping to hear something. Anything.

But all I get is silence.

I try the doorknob again, but it’s locked, just as it has been for the past month. Ever since Keryth asked my father to approve of our mating bond.

After my father adamantly refused, he decided the best solution was to ban Keryth from the Day Realm and shut me in my room for an undetermined amount of time.

King Keryth was our enemy, he’d said. The Night Realm wanted revenge against us. They wanted to defeat us. Take our home. Possess our sun, our water, all our precious resources. Of course they’d want to claim the princess, too.

Father had argued that Valora is only so big, and that Keryth had plans to rule all the realms—Night, Day, Dawn and Dusk, and even the endless oceans surrounding the land.

I shouldn’t have expected anything different from a deranged, delusional man. Paranoia rules his mind now. Rational thought is lost.

My father hasn’t been the same since Mother died seven years ago. The mysterious plague that swept through our kingdom was brutal and vicious, only affecting adult females and leaving hardly any survivors. With a ninety-five percent mortality rate, we had every reason to believe Zephina wouldn’t live through it either. She was just on the cusp of maturity at the time, only twenty-one years of age. Maybe that saved her. Or maybe it was the constant care I gave. I was too young to catch the illness, so I stayed by my mother and sister for five days straight while the fever ravaged their bodies.

On the sixth day, Mother passed away while my father clutched her hand to his chest as though he could keep her here with him if he held on tight enough.

She was his fated mate. His soul was tethered to hers, and now that she’s gone, his heart is anchored to nothing.

He will go mad.

Eventually. Slowly. Painfully.

Being separated from the love of his life will lead to unbearable misery until he either takes his own life or gets himself killed on purpose.

Which is why I don’t understand how he could keep Keryth and me apart. Father knows this pain. Does he want me to be just as miserable as he is?

Maybe he’s provoking the Night Realm king, looking for a swift death.

But Keryth would never hurt my family. He’s a good man and a great king. He’ll be the best father to our children.

If I can ever get out of here.

I press a palm to my aching chest.

I feel hollow on the inside. Every breath I take is unsatisfying. Food tastes like nothing. I can’t find joy in the hobbies I used to love.

As I trudge over to my bed, I look at my knitting project on the armchair by the barred windows. A couple years ago, I started a blanket—a baby blanket. It kept me busy while I waited to reach maturity. I was almost finished with it when my hopes and dreams were shot down.

I haven’t picked it up in weeks.

Just looking at it causes an unpleasant spasm in my heart. Hopelessness overwhelms me as I fall back onto my soft mattress.

My fingers tingle and twitch as I resist the urge to use my powers.

As a princess of the Day Realm, it’s fitting that fire resides in my body. I hold the power of the sun in my hands. I could light this palace up anytime I wanted, but it would mean destroying the only home I’ve ever known and putting countless people in harm’s way.

And so I stay here, waiting for my meals to be brought to me by my personal servant. Kalla draws a bath for me once a day and helps me change my clothes. It’s a good thing, too—I simply don’t have the motivation to take care of myself.

The only thing I have to look forward to is Zephina’s return from our monthly trade deal with the Night Realm.

Four years ago, that became my job; attend the trade to ensure a fair transaction. The two rival realms had agreed a member from each royal family