Chapter One

“LIVING THIS CLOSE TO the border of the wasteland, superstition and paranoia run rampant.”

The orchard manager ducked his head, embarrassed as he apologetically tried to explain the recent upsurge in strange rumors of a mythical phoenix haunting the area.

Xadi hummed noncommittally, which only seemed to make the man more nervous.

Tall and thin with a shock of white hair that didn’t match his youthful features, Sharl Pomeroy was the fifth generation of his family to oversee the Imperial Orchard of Daesar.

The poor man had been apologizing since Xadi arrived, clearly nervous and uncomfortable with the whole situation.

Xadi didn’t blame him. After all, it wasn’t every day the presumptive heir to the Imperial Throne showed up to investigate the bizarre sighting of a mythical creature.

Not that Xadi was technically the Imperial Crown Princess. Yet.

Born minutes after her twin, she was still only second-in-line behind her sister Xara. For the time being, anyway.

But it was an open secret throughout the empire of Daesar that the imperial family had been cursed by the fabled demon K’nomn.

Everyone knew the first-born heir in every generation was destined to die before they ever had a chance to claim the throne.

The gray, coiling sigil that appeared on Xara’s wrist moments after birth marked her as the curse’s next victim.

Xadi fully intended to make sure that never happened. She’d made a promise to her sister, and herself, that she would do everything in her power to help Xara break the curse.

Which was why she’d come all the way to the edge of the empire. Why she’d been eager to investigate the outrageous, impossible rumors. Why she was hoping against hope they were true.

All because of a few obscure lines on an ancient scroll Xara had unearthed in the oldest part of the palace library.

Only a cursed hero can end the scourge of K’nomn, once and for all.

And the death of the demon is all that can free the hero from the curse’s embrace.

The light of the firebird’s heart will lead the way to the monster’s cage.

According to the same scroll that held the oracle, the last known firebird had been unable to kill K’nomn. Instead, she’d sacrificed her flame to imprison the demon inside a strange, egg-shaped rock the demon used as a focus for his power.

No one had seen either the firebird or the Demon Egg since.

The legend of the firebird had continued down through the ages, but Xadi and her sister hadn’t been able to find a single mention of the Egg. Not a single reliable book of legends, tales, or history they’d laid their hands on made any mention of it.

Which made Xadi’s quest that much more impossible.

Unfortunately, rumors and ancient prophecies were the only chance she had left.

The light of the firebird’s heart will lead the way to the monster’s cage.

So if some kids and drunks believed they’d seen a flaming bird, Xadi needed to follow up. She needed to know everything about the strange sightings, because it might just lead her to a legend that could save her sister’s life.

“What, exactly, happened here?” Xadi asked, keeping her tone neutral. “What did your workers see?”

Sharl frowned, hat twisting slightly in his hands. “Your Highness, as I said…”

“I know, I know. Superstition and paranoia.” She smiled soothingly, keeping a tight leash on the impatience eating away at her insides. Unfortunately, Xadi knew firsthand that sometimes there was an uncomfortable amount of truth hidden within superstition. “Just tell me what is being said, so I can try to figure out what is really going on.”

There was no point in adding to the gossip about the stability of her family by revealing how much she wanted the outlandish stories to be true.

“Tales of the firebird are nothing new,” Sharl started hesitantly. “It’s a popular story to tell children. Several years ago, one of the villagers was sleeping off a binge in his field and swore he saw a burning bird in the sky. No one believed him, of course.”

The manager shook his head sadly. “A few months after that, a group of kids claimed to have seen the firebird swooping along the edge of the wasteland. Occasional stories kept cropping up, from time to time. Recently, though, the tales have become much more frequent.”

Sharl paused, chewing on his lower lip, and Xadi knew there was more that he was reluctant to share.

“And the most recent sighting?” Xadi prodded. “The one in the orchard? What happened here?”

“It wasn’t exactly in the orchard,” Sharl explained with a resigned sigh. “My son… He thinks he saw the firebird. Says it flew straight for the trees, but something stopped it. It kept testing the unseen barrier, trying to eat fruit from the outlying trees, but could only reach one or two. It got frustrated and flew away so fast that it was only a blur in the sky.”

Once more, he ducked his head, cheeks stained pink at the admission that his own son was one of the witnesses.

Xadi knew she should offer the man some soothing words, but her mind was too caught up in possibilities.

“Which direction?”

Sharl blinked at the sharp demand of her question but gathered himself quickly. “North. Almost always, they say it comes from the north and returns to the north. Most believe it was born of fire, and the wasteland is the perfect place to nest.”

“The wastelands,” Xadi mused, imagination caught up with possibilities.

Standing in the middle of the orchard with its towering trees, lush foliage, and abundant fruit, one would never know a devastated stretch of dangerous terrain lay less than a mile beyond its boundary.

A desolate landscape littered with deadly and unpredictable flaming geysers. The product of an ancient cataclysm, the wasteland formed a natural border between the Daesar Empire and the troubled kingdom of Darkhar to the north.

The only safe path through it led directly to the front gates of the Citadel.

An impenetrable fortress manned by the vaunted Phoenix Guard of Darkhar.

The upheaval that created the wasteland had wreaked havoc on the entire continent of Morroinn, making it impossible to move between the five kingdoms without passing through Darkhar. Giving the Dark Kingdom a sovereignty that lasted for centuries.

While the other kingdoms had chafed against Darkhar’s supremacy, for the most part its rulers were savvy enough not to push too far.

Until Aegron the Cruel came to power.

Greedy and ambitious, he ruthlessly used brute strength, cunning strategy, cruel tactics, and ever-increasing tariffs to grind the neighboring kingdoms under foot.

It was unsurprising that his end came at the hands of an assassin five years ago.

The surprise came after. Within moments of the king’s death, dark curses began to settle on each of Aegron’s children.

Including the illegitimate son he’d never acknowledged.

Raneir Teonet.

Captain of the elite Phoenix Guard and Castellan of the Citadel that guarded the only safe passage between Darkhar and Daesar.

Rumors claimed he’d become a demon in the wake of the curse. Or, at the very least, been possessed by one.

And that the curse was driving him mad.

None of that mattered to Xadi.

The only thing that mattered to her was tracking down the firebird. Tradition and legend insisted that the firebird was the key to finding the single relic capable of breaking the curse on Xadi’s family.

To save her sister, she needed that Egg. Which meant she needed to find a mythical animal that she wasn’t sure she believed truly existed.

If people thought something out there was a firebird, however, maybe it was close enough. Prophecy and oracles were filled with metaphors and symbols after all.

 Whatever was spurring the rumors, it might be enough to lead Xadi to the answers she needed.

“Where, exactly, in the orchard was the most recent sighting?”

“Ah, the northern border, near to the end of the main avenue,” Sharl pointed toward the wide path laid down the center of the orchard.

“Thank you. As you said, I’m sure it’s nothing. But it will reassure your people if I take their concerns seriously and at least walk the perimeter. I’ll let you know when I’ve finished.”

Xadi offered a soft smile to take the sting out of the clear dismissal. Then she hurried down the avenue at a fast clip, eagerly hoping to find any sign at all that the strange encounters were more than mass hallucination.

Even though, in her heart, Xadi feared Sharl was most likely right. The sightings were most like delusion and fantasy. A way to deal with unsettling upheaval the continent had endured in the years since Aegron’s assassination. And the curse. The news coming from within Darkhar was confused and disturbing.

Each member of the ruling family continued to struggle against the dark magics that plagued them. Along with the curses, each was also Trapped. Unable to escape the territory where they’d been struck by the curse. Leaving the rest of the kingdom floundering in uncertainty. There was unrest among the middle countes of Darkhar. Whispers of a traitor. Rumors that someone on the Dukes’ Council was planning a coup.

Then there was the strangeness of Raneir himself. He’d been spotted, more than once, galloping out from the Citadel with only his horse and his favorite dog. Riding as far as the magic would allow him, uncaring that he crossed into Daesar’s lands. The most worrying was that everyone who’d seen him told the same story.

Though clearly alone, Raneir would hold long conversations. And would then listen intently to unheard responses.

Some believed he spoke to ghosts. Some insisted he thought his animals were talking to him. Most, though, were certain it was the insidious voice of a demon that he heard.

Already nervous about their northern border, was it any wonder the local populace was jumping at the slightest shadow?

As much as she wanted the stories of the firebird to be true, Xadi steeled herself against disappointment.

So when she reached the last row of trees, Xadi was unsurprised to find no sign of anything out of place.

The trees were lush, healthy, vibrant, and undisturbed. The neat paths between the rows were methodically manicured. Even the detritus of pruning was piled neatly at the end of each lane, waiting to be taken care of.

In fact, nothing about the grove suggested that it had been visited by a man-sized flaming bird.

The tiny sliver of unsquashed hope Xadi had managed to hold on to evaporated. Frustration burned through her like lightning, and she kicked the nearest pile of leaves, scattering the clipped vegetation to the four winds.

Xadi grimaced at the mess she’d made. Kneeling down, she tried to gather the strewn branches and leaves back into some semblance of order.

Until a brilliant golden shimmer stopped her breath.

Carefully shifting branches and leaves, Xadi could barely believe her eyes.

A single feather. Shaded from the darkest red to the palest yellow and glowing with an inner light.

Xadi wanted to grab it with both hands and race back to the capital. Desperately wanted to bring the token of hope back to her sister.

Yet, she was hesitant to touch. Terrified the shimmering mirage would disappear the moment she moved.

Xadi sat and stared at the impossible plume. When it remained still, bright, and unchanging, she eventually gathered the courage to reach out and run her fingers over the soft length.

Heat shocked her skin but didn’t burn. Instead, a welcoming warmth encouraged her to curl her hand around the treasure.

Once certain the feather was real and not going anywhere, Xadi lifted her eyes to the horizon.

North.

The one direction all the stories agreed the firebird traveled from and to.

The direction of the wasteland.

And Darkhar.

And the Citadel.

A fortress manned for centuries by the elite Phoenix Guard. Named in memory of the first firebird, who’d sacrificed her power to imprison the demon responsible for the curse on Xadi’s family.

The demon who may or may not be possessing the man in charge of the Citadel at that very moment.

Every sign, every clue, every legend Xadi had been tracking for years to save her sister, solidified into one inescapable conclusion.

If the Demon Egg truly existed, there was only one place it could be.

The answers she sought, and maybe the very relic she desperately needed, resided within the impenetrable walls of the Citadel.

Xadi was going to get inside.

One way or another.