Princess Noxx had smuggled three mortals out of Shadowfen this month, and tonight she meant to ask her father's blessing to build them a home. She stood outside his throne room, one hand pressed to the cold stone. Beyond the door, hunters burned succubi in the mortal lands. Noxx wanted a haven where her kind could love mortals openly, without fear. But her father was the demon king, and no one asked King Malachar for mercy. She had rehearsed the words a hundred times. She would not name the marsh. She would not name the mortals already hidden there. She would only ask for land. The doors opened before she knocked. Her half-brother stepped out first. Prince Baelor wore red and gold, and he moved like he already knew her secret. He caught her arm. "You smell like the outer marsh," he said quietly. "And like human sweat. Sister, whatever you're about to do, don't." Noxx pulled free. "Then don't listen." Inside, her half-sister leaned against the throne. Princess Lusine studied Noxx with dark, amused eyes, one boot crossed over the other. Lusine loved their father's favor too much to ever risk it. That made her dangerous. King Malachar sat above them both. His pale hair fell past his crown. He did not look up. "You've never asked me for anything," he said. "Speak." Noxx's throat went dry. Every instinct told her to bow and leave. She had never once defied him. But she thought of the mortals hiding in the reeds, and the succubi with nowhere safe to go. "I want land in the deep fen," she said. "A place I can govern. My own." "For what?" "For those with nowhere else." Lusine laughed softly. "She means her pets, Father. Succubi and mortals. Sharing a bed." Noxx's heart stopped. Lusine had guessed everything. Malachar finally looked at his daughter. His red eyes were flat. "Mortals hunt us. And you would house them?" "Some don't hunt," Noxx said. "Some love us. I've seen it." "Then you've seen weakness." He stood. The room seemed to shrink. "There will be no haven. You will name every mortal you've hidden, and every succubus who helped you." The demand landed like a blow. If she named them, they died. If she refused, she defied the king to his face, the thing she had never dared. Noxx lifted her chin. "No." The word rang through the throne room. Baelor closed his eyes. Lusine sat up, delighted. Malachar's voice dropped low. "Then you are no longer welcome under my roof. Leave. Take nothing. And know that I will find your little marsh myself." Guards moved toward her. Noxx turned and walked out before they could touch her. She had her answer, and it was worse than a no. She had no blessing, no home in the castle, and a father now hunting the very haven she had come to protect. Her plan was exposed. The race for Shadowfen had begun.

The guards did not follow her past the gate. Noxx walked into the cold with nothing, her father's words still in her ears. She had no home now, no plan, only the mortals hiding in the marsh and a king who meant to find them. She turned toward the stable. If she was leaving, she would not leave on foot. Inside, the black shire horse waited in its stall. It stood taller than her, broad and calm, its coat glossy in the low light. She had raised it from a foal. It pressed its warm nose against her shoulder, and for one breath she let herself lean on it. Then she reached for the bridle. "Taking Father's horse now, too?" Noxx froze. Lusine leaned in the doorway, arms crossed, a smile on her lips. Her red gown caught the lantern light. This was the half-sister who had smiled while their father cast Noxx out. The one who had spoken Noxx's secret aloud before Noxx could. "The horse is mine," Noxx said. "I raised him." "Nothing here is yours anymore." Lusine pushed off the frame and stepped closer. "He'll send riders after your little marsh at dawn. You know that." Noxx tightened the girth strap. "Then I'll ride faster." Lusine tilted her head. "You won't reach them in time. Not the way you're going." She paused. "There's a marsh path the hunters don't use. Cuts a full day off." Noxx stopped. She studied her sister's face and found no warmth there, only that same amusement. "Why would you help me?" "Who says I'm helping you?" Lusine shrugged. "Maybe I want to see if you actually save them. Or maybe I want Father to owe me nothing." She smiled wider. "Take it or don't." Noxx did not trust her. Lusine had already sold her once. But every hour mattered now, and a day was a day. She swung up onto the horse's broad back. "Tell me the path," Noxx said. Lusine told her. A dry ridge behind the reed banks, then a fork left at the dead willow. Noxx repeated it back until she had it. The horse shifted under her, eager. "One more thing," Lusine said, stepping aside to let her pass. "When Father finds your mortals, and he will, don't come crying to me." "I won't come to you for anything again, you have always been jealous I am sorry you have no powers I truly am but it doesn’t mean you need to be cold." Noxx pressed her heels down and left her last words to her half sister to sting like the cold of winter. The horse carried her out of the stable and into the dark. Cold air stung her face. She did not look back at the castle or her sister. She had a direction now, and a mount strong enough to keep it. But the path was Lusine's gift, and Noxx knew what her sister's gifts were worth. She could be riding toward her haven, or into a trap her father had already set. Either way, the reeds were a day closer, and dawn was coming for them all.