Chapter Prologue—01

Year: House of Leone 1129

Planet: Zorovia

System: Ursuna

Darkness spread out around me in the castle's gardens as I waited in my hiding place among the skullbushes. The black smoke that filled the air was so thick that each shallow breath burned my lungs and eyes. My planet, Zorovia, had fallen. I didn't need to see the lifeless bodies of the royal guard scattered on the grounds to know that.

Something moved nearby. I stopped breathing. Darkness brushed my skin, and I knew the noise I'd heard wasn't my father coming for me.

A scream built in my throat, but I swallowed it. Empresses weren't supposed to hide. Not even twelve—year—old ones. The need to fight rose up and the closest skullbush began to smolder thanks to the heat of what flowed through my veins. But, what I possessed wouldn't be enough to win.

I rose to my feet and sprinted from my hiding place. The pointed leaves caught on my dress but I kept going. The fabric ripped and tore as I shoved through the thick hedge at my back. A branch slid sharply over my cheek, but I shut my eyes, tucked my head and kept going, gritting my teeth through the pain.

I broke free of the skullbushes and landed hard against a body on the other side. My shriek was silenced as a hand landed over my mouth.

"Shh! It's just me. You're safe." The familiar voice of my best friend calmed me instantly, and I grabbed his hand, pulling it away from my mouth.

"Xander!" I sucked in a gulp of air and threw my arms around him.

He lifted me off the ground in a tight hug that ended too fast. Then he grabbed my arms and drew me away to study my face. Sharp blue eyes held mine, and I drank in the safety they offered. Xander was a permanent fixture for me and even at twelve—he was thirteen and he never let me forget it—I knew he always would be.

Xander equaled safety.

"I've been looking for you. Are you hurt?" He didn't wait for an answer before his gaze swept up and down my body.

"No, I…" His thumb brushed a trail down my cheek and I winced. The branches must have left a mark. "How did you find me?" I asked.

His reply was halted as a roar rose up behind us. We exchanged a look and even with the worry in his eyes, there was a reassurance. A promise to protect me no matter what.

"We have to move," he said.

"Where?" I asked.

"I'll show you. Your mother is waiting."

He grabbed my hand, and I held tight as we ran.

Around us, I could see movement through the haze, but Xander never stopped or even slowed. I stuck close, pushing my body to its limits and beyond. If we stopped, we were dead.

"This way," Xander said.

He led us to the corner of an outbuilding—the one that housed our cruiser pods. I half—expected him to duck inside, but he only veered around it and cut a path into the trees that lined the wall.

My mother was here?

A circle of crystals had been laid out and Xander steered me toward it. Standing just beyond the circle, two figures loomed. I slowed, squinting to make them out as Xander urged me forward. "It's okay," he assured me. But his voice had changed. His eyes, which had sought me out every three seconds during our wild run, were distant now.

"Xander?" I asked.

"Alina?" my mother called.

Finally, we came to a stop in front of the figures—directly inside the crystal circle. My mother stepped out of the fog and grabbed me in a tight hug. Her dress was torn and her arms were bloody, but she was alive. I hugged her back—too scared to be embarrassed that Xander was watching.

Just like Xander had done, she pulled away too soon. Her eyes did a quick search of me, assessing. "You're all right?" she asked, smoothing my ratty hair.

I nodded, holding her wrists just so I had some physical connection. "Where's Dad? He never came back."

Her mouth tightened into a thin line. Instead of answering me, she gestured to the person beside her. Peter, my tutor, stepped up beside my mother, his face gaunt and lined with worry. His dark eyes were glassy but focused.

"I have everything ready," he said.

"Ready for what?" I asked, looking back and forth between them.

"What's going on?" I demanded, dropping my mother's wrists in order to whirl on Xander.

No one answered me.

My mother laid a hand on Xander's arm. "You have done the most brave and noble thing, Xander Hart. They will not forget."

His eyes flicked to me then back to her. The pain etched in his expression hurt my heart. "Are you sure this is the only way?" he asked.

My mother nodded. "It's her best chance."

Xander sighed. "That's all that matters then." He turned to me. "Alina, I…" He took a quick breath, let it out again. His eyes held so much pain.

"Xander, what's happening?" I asked, crying even though I didn't know why.

"I have to go. You…have to go too," he said in a thick voice.

"Will I see you again?"