Solar Reign

p r o l o g u e

IT WAS dark and damp in the alleyway. The smell of wet, decaying leaves wafted up from the cobbled streets as the two men walked down the street. One wrinkled his nose at the smell, but the other was used to it.

"I think it's a real shame," the taller of the two said, his grip on satchel slung across his shoulder tightening. "The Spring Court is supposed to be seelie. What a joke."

The other man snorted. His shoe kicked a pebble down the alley, and he watched as it bounced into the shadows. "The Spring Court has always been treacherous. I heard Fallis may join the Guard. He was spouting out about his duty to serve. I think it's a deathwish on the Spring Court. I mean, three against one?"

"I think it'll be over before it begins. Hate the Queen all you want, but she has the support of Prince Puck, and that alone-"

A shadow darted across the exit of the alleyway, and both men took pause, their steps faltering. It had been quick enough to be a trick of the eye, yet both fae felt a sudden chill in the air that was not typically attributed to the Autumn Court. The hairs on the back of their neck stood on end as they froze in the darkness.

The taller fae glanced behind him, gauging the distance between them and the entrance, but it was too far back. There would be no time to casually turn around and escape, not without running.

"What was what?" It came out in a hushed whisper. "You never said this shortcut was dangerous."

"Something is wrong. I can taste it in the air."

The night had been brisk, the air fresh. Both men wore thick sweaters to combat the climate they lived with every day. However, the sudden smell of rot filled the alley, an eye watering stench that had the fae taking a step back.

"There is no way the butcher is still working. That's what this has to be, right? It always smells of death around his shop."

Another flash of dark passed the exit again, darting too quickly to really catch a glimpse of what it could be. On the side of the street was a flickering lamp, but the light it spread was thin and offered low coverage. It flickered a few more times as both men stood still, their hearts beginning to accelerate in their chests.

"Should we turn back?"

Just as the two made the move to turn around, a shadow clung to the mouth of the street, moving forward slightly. It was close enough now to be identifiable, but neither of the fae had ever seen this creature before, with its hunched body and inky substance dripping from its limbs.

"What is that?" The shorter one demanded.

The other took another step back. "I think we ought to run."

There was no chance to run. The daemonium was upon them in a single moment, two more following behind it. It took mere moments to destroy both of the men, screams of terror and pain echoing across the Autumn Court, too late in the night to cause a disturbance. It was over quickly, leaving nothing but a scattering of ink-covered bones and rivulets of blood soaking the street.

The daemonium meandered on, looking for their next kill, trapped above Moribund without direction on how to return home. It was what they were designed to do when it came to the living.

The two fae would not be discovered until the early rays of sunlight, when a shop clerk would be passing by on their way to work, gasping upon the sight of red stained cobblestones and bones. There would be house calls, trying to find the missing men, to figure out who was killed. It would take days to come to the conclusion of who the bones belonged to when they never returned to work.

It wasn't the first time, nor would it be the last. But it did seem to plague the Autumn Court with fear for who would be next, for what was happening in Anlithamy. And it would cause Princess Carling to make late correspondences with the Queen of Anlithamy, begging for answers and for protection.

"There must be an open gate," was all the queen could surmise. And by then, it was too late.