Shadow Princess

Chapter 1

Kit

She would be here soon. I tried to calm my excitement in front of my brothers, but it could not be helped. She was my best friend, and it had been too long since I had seen her last. She and her twin sister were the first female immortals born in almost 500 years. No one knows how this came to be, but my father, King Raivo, jumped quickly at the chance to seal an alliance between his and Queen Kaaos' kingdoms by having my eldest brothers marry the two new females when they came of age.

The alliance was crucial to my father as Queen Kaaos was powerful, in her own right, and untrustworthy if not tied to our kingdom. She was unpredictable, power-hungry, and often cruel to her subjects, both the noble immortals and the common humans. Our two kingdoms had been at odds with each other far longer than my 14 years, and this new alliance was meant to put an end to our long-winded hatred of each other. I doubt, however, that marriages to my two eldest brothers could truly form a bond between our two kingdoms that perhaps should not exist in the first place. Her children spent many summers here in our kingdom; my guess is to get away from their Queen. I had not met her yet, but I did not care. I only cared for one subject of the Kaaos court, and she would be here any minute.

My sister, Amika, placed her hands on my scrawny shoulders, stilling my movements.

"Be still, little brother," she said. "One would think you liked this girl with all of your dancing about."

"I do like her Ami." I admitted freely. "She is fun and likes to play swords and is not proper and snobby like her stuck up sister."

"Hush now!" scolded Ami. "You should not talk about a princess in such a way."

"As if you do not agree with him, Ami."

My second eldest brother, Kory, strolled up to us, late as usual. Rather than dress in his best suit, like I and my other brothers had to, he wore an old linen shirt that he most likely slept in, black trousers with one leg tucked into old riding boots and one hanging free. His raven hair, a family trait, looked like he had been raking his hand through it over and over again. Perhaps he was nervous at seeing his future bride again though she was far too young for marriage now.

"I pity our brother for having to marry that witch." Kory said, socking Kayden, my eldest brother and our crown prince, in the shoulder. "At least she has the potential to be a beautiful woman. Years in the palace of Kaaos will surely not improve her disposition."

Kayden scowled at Kory.

"Don't remind me." He growled. "I have no desire to intermingle with any from the Kaaos court. Demons and betrayers alike."

"Aww, come on brother." Kory joked." Your betrothed's sister has already smitten poor Kit. And if a Shadow princess has caught the eye of our finicky little brother then they cannot all be so horrible."

Kayden stared at me, longer than necessary, as if he meant to pry the mystery of how this young Shadow princess from the depths of my eyes. I squirmed and looked away, moving down the road closer to where her horse would arrive. She never rode in the carriage with her sisters. She preferred to join her brothers on horseback, keeping an eye on all of her surroundings.

I could still faintly hear my brothers' bickering and my sister's sighing behind me when the pounding of hooves reached my ears.

"They are here!" I shouted, running to meet the lead horse.

My brothers and sister turned to face our visitors as Jakob, the crown prince of the Kaaos court, rode his horse through the front gates, leading his brothers and the carriage containing two of his three sisters. They brought no others with them, showing trusting Kayden to keep his word about their safety within the court. I searched all three horses and behind the carriage but could not find her. I turned to the carriage, thinking that perhaps she had decided to ride with her sisters for a change. But when the carriage opened and only her two sisters stepped out, I began to panic. Surely she would not abandon me. In all of the visits the Kaaos court has made here, she has never once missed. She promised.

I began to back away from the visitors, shaking my head in disbelief, even as the twin princes, Ragan and Talon, grinned at the trees above me. I was about to run back into the palace when I felt a light weight fall onto my back. Skinny little lags wrapped around my midsection, while scrawny arms slinked around my neck. The breeze blew long, snowy white hair into my eyes as a soft cheek pressed against my own.

The attacker leaned in close and whispered in my ear, "I win!"