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Chapter 1
UREKAI:
In the days of old, the Urekai stood out as the strongest beings in the world.
The ancient tongue called them ‘fearsome beasts’ for:
They could transform into beasts like werewolves.
Like vampires, they consumed blood.
And walked among humans with no one the wiser.
The ageless, peaceful, selfless beings preferred to keep to themselves. Despite being feared and distrusted, they never responded with aggression.
They granted passage to any species wishing to enter their lands beyond the great mountain and welcomed everyone.
But five centuries ago, an unexpected species attacked the Urekais during their one night of weakness. The humans.
While protecting his people, Grand King Daemonikai lost control of his mind and became a danger to the very people he had sworn to protect.
Although it seemed impossible, the Urekais managed to capture their king’s beast form, imprisoning him in a secure cage, ensuring he could never escape.
But, consumed by hatred for humans, the Urekai plunged themselves into darkness.
Becoming the fearsome beasts others had always feared them to be.
Wearing their monstrosity with pride.
HUMANS:
After invading the Urekais, a mysterious virus outbreak struck.
No one knew where it came from, but many speculated their attack on the Urekais brought it on.
While most males eventually recovered after a long struggle, the virus proved fatal for the majority of females.
Survivors rarely gave birth to female children. Those left or born became scarce and sought-after commodities.
In many kingdoms, greedy fathers sold their daughters to breeding houses. Some were forced into pleasure houses, existing solely for men’s enjoyment. Some faced terrible abuse in exchange for protection. Even the wealthy and the privileged could not guarantee the safety of the females in their lives, as the mere sight of a female, be it an infant, a young girl, or an elderly woman-drew unwanted attention. Female children faced constant danger.
They are not safe in society.
PROLOGUE
HUMAN LAND: THE KINGDOM OF NAVIA.
“It’s a girl, your highness.”
Prince Garret froze.
As he turned, looking at the palace healer, his hands resting on his exhausted wife’s body, shook uncontrollably.
He had secretly arranged the delivery months ago, and now they were hidden in one of the underground rooms in the palace, where his beloved wife, Pandora, was giving birth. “What did you just say to me?” Prince Garret hoped he heard wrong. Perhaps it had been a mistake.
Please, gods, let it be a mistake!
But the pity in the older man’s face couldn’t be disguised. The palace healer turned the little bundle. “The baby is a girl.”
Terror crossed Pandora’s face as she adjusted herself to get a closer look at her baby.
“No. Oh, the gods, please no…” She shook her head vigorously, fresh tears gathering in her eyes.
Tears welled in the healer’s eyes. “I’m so sorry, your highness.”
“No!!!” Pandora cried out, burying her face into her husband’s waiting arms, sobs ripping from her throat.
Garret felt numb as he held his wife.
His first daughter, Aekeira, wasn’t even four yet, and the king was already negotiating with the kingdom of Cavar to sell her to the highest bidder.
Because, apparently, Navia ‘could use more funds.’
King Orestus might be Garret’s brother, but he was a tyrant, and his word was law.
Now, another girl child? Two daughters?
Tears filled Garrett’s eyes as he looked upon the crying bundle wiggling around in healer’s arms.
The world was not safe for either of his daughters.
“I’ll raise her like a boy,” Pandora declared suddenly.
The healer’s eyes widened. “Are you suggesting we keep her identity a secret?”
“Yes,” Pandora affirmed, her resolve strengthening. “This child will never be seen as a girl. No one will ever find out!”
“B-but, it’s impossible to hide something like this, your majesty.” The healer panicked. “The king will order our execution!”
“Then, we take the secret to our grave.” Pandora’s voice was fierce. “I was unable to protect my first daughter, but by the Light-gods, I will protect my second.”
Too dangerous, but Garret was all for it too. This was their best chance to keep their daughter safe, and they would take it.
“As far as we are concerned, the child I bore today was a male.” Pandora looked at the baby. “His name is Emeriel. Emeriel Galilea Evenstone.”
Emeriel.
It’s a neutral name, and also means ‘Sky’s Protection’ in the old tongue. Garret liked it.
Fitting too, for their daughter would need all the luck and protection in the world.
“I agree,” Garret spoke aloud.
With the plan fully in his mind, Garret swore the two other men in the room to secrecy.
That night, Garrett and his wife stood by the baby’s small cradle, watching their newborn sleep. Across the room, their three-year-old daughter, Aekeira, lay curled under a blanket, her tiny chest rising and falling in peaceful rhythm. “In all my years on this earth, I’ve never seen anyone bear two female children, Garrett,” Pandora whispered, voice cracking.
She glanced up at him, eyes glistening with tears. “I don’t know what this means for us… or them.”
Garrett placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Maybe it means they have a great destiny to fulfill.”
“Or a great sorrow in their future,” Pandora’s eyes drifted to their eldest, worriedly. “I’m so scared for them. How could something like this happen?”
“Perhaps you’ve been touched by the gods, my darling,” Garrett said in comfort.
“I doubt that. Why me? Why us?”
He had no answer to that.
“If that’s true,” Pandora sniffled, brushing her fingers over the baby’s soft cheek, “may that god always protect my babies. We won’t always be here to do that.” Garrett pulled his wife into his arms, holding her close, fighting to hide his worry.
Because she was right.
What were the odds of a couple in these times bearing not just one, but two daughters?
None. Absolutely none.
As he gazed at their sleeping children, a prayer rose in his heart. Whatever god you are, please… protect our angels.
Chapter 2
PRINCE EMERIEL
Stepping outside the next morning, two warriors stopped before Emeriel. “The king has summoned you, my prince,” One of them said. “Your presence is needed in the courtroom.” Shit. That foolish minister wasted no time ratting on him.
Emeriel led the way to court. It’s just whipping. He will be fine.
But, as he walked down the hall towards the door, it was eerily quiet.
Something was wrong.
The court was always noisy from the outside. Mutterings, murmurs, arguments were always expected.
His worry deepened when the door opened, and all eyes didn’t turn to gaze at him condescendingly. Instead, everyone’s eyes were fixed at the center of the king’s court. Emeriel’s eyes followed theirs.
Two men dressed in all-white apparel robes, with long, straight, waist-length black hair, stood, appearing harmless.
But a longer glance had Emeriel noticing muscles barely concealed under their robes, their slightly tipped ears, and their incredibly unnaturally handsome faces that were completely expressionless. He froze.
Urekai.
These ones looked expensive and aristocratic.
Emeriel’s throat went dry. No one prays to meet a Urekai face-to-face.
“What do you say, King Orestus?” the Urekai with the long scar running from his cheek spoke. He looked the most intimidating.
“No, this cannot happen,” King Orestus protested, looking terrified, and doing a poor job of hiding it.
The frown on Scarred Urekai’s face deepened. Clearly, this was a being that did not take no for an answer.
“You are mistaken if you think we are giving you a choice, human king,” he said, taking a threatening step forward.
The ministers of the court gasped, shrinking back into their seats.
“Easy, Lord Vladya,” the other Urekai spoke, his voice gentler. Imploring rather than commanding.
The scarred Urekai, Lord Vladya, gave the king a hard look that would make any man tremble. “It is the least you can do, human king. Give us the princess, and we will leave quietly.”
“We are ready to pay for her,” the other Urekai added, reaching into his robe and withdrawing a large bag of coins.
Fear receded. The king’s ears perked up with interest. “Money?”
“Not just money, there are gold coins too,” The non-scarred Urekai said.
Everyone gasped, including Emeriel. Gold coins were rare and highly valuable.
The Urekai continued, “All you have to do is hand the princess over, and this bag is yours.”
Wait…
Princess?
They couldn’t possibly mean…
The grand entrance opened again as two guards led Aekeira into the court.
No, no, no, not my sister.
Emeriel moved forward, but the guards who had escorted him stopped his movement. He bit his lip hard, trying not to draw attention to himself, but it was incredibly difficult. Surely, this couldn’t be what he thought it was. It had to be a dream.
There was no way the Urekai were here to buy his sister as a slave…!
The two guards leading Aekeira to the center of the court stopped a few feet from the Urekais.
The terror on Aekeira’s face mirrored Emeriel’s feelings.
“So, let me get this straight,” King Orestus began.“All I need to do is sell her to you, and all this money is mine? There are no other conditions? Nothing else?”
“Yes,” the non-scarred Urekai responded.
Lord Vladya moved forward, closing the distance between him and Aekeira, who was visibly shaking now.
Cupping Aekeira’s cheek, tilting her head to the side to get a better look. He appeared utterly disgusted. “She’ll do.”
King Orestus picked up his gavel and struck it hard on his desk. “Sold! From this moment on, Princess Aekeira belongs to the Urekais.”
“WHAT!?” The shout escaped Emeriel’s lips before he could stop it.
He ran toward the center of the courtroom and fell to his knees. “Please don’t sell my sister to them. Not to the Urekais! Please, Your Majesty.”
The king gave him a bored look. “It’s out of my hands now, Emeriel.”
It’s out of his…
Emeriel couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You can’t let this happen. She’s your niece too! How could you do this!?”
He wasn’t proud. His voice turned the high-pitch of a girl’s, as he practically screamed. But he didn’t care. “You know a fate worse than death awaits her beyond the great mountain! How could you agree to sell her to them?”
“As if he has a choice,” Lord Vladya scoffed, his deep baritone filled with cynicism.
Emeriel whirled around to face them, anger blanketing his features. But as he stared into those intimidating gray eyes, he couldn’t bring himself to give in to his rage.
He had read in one of the books that a Urekai had the power to take a life without physical contact. It might just be a rumor, but with his sister’s life on the line, he had no intention of testing that theory.
“I will go too. Where Aekeira goes, I go,” Emeriel said, lifting his chin defiantly.
Aekeira snapped her head toward Emerie, widening in terror. “No! What are you doing, Em?”
“I’m going with you,” Emeriel stated firmly.
Lord Vladya arched a perfectly shaped brow. “No. We have no need for you; we only need your sister.”
Emeriel stood. “I don’t care. Take me too. If you leave me here, I will always try to come to her. I will cross the great mountains if I have to!”
Lord Vladya laughed. There was no humor in the cold sound. “Without the rite of passage, the great mountain will swallow you whole. You’ll never make it to the other side.”
“I’ll take my chances,” Emeriel vowed.
“No! My brother is not coming,” Aekeira interjected, before turning pleading eyes to Emeriel. “Don’t do this, Em. I’m already doomed. I don’t want you to face the same fate!”
“If you come with us, you will be taken as our slave.” Lord Vladya stated, pinning Emeriel with a stare. “Urekai do not care if you’re male or female; you will serve in any way your master wants you. Whether it’s in the mines or the cellar, on your back, bent over, or on your knees. If you agree to be our slave too, your free will ends today.”
A shiver ran through Emeriel’s spine.
“Do you know what it means to be an Urekai’s slave, little human? You’re a pretty boy; you will not lack masters to service.”
Fear seeped through his core. If everything he had heard growing up and read in books were true, being an Urekai’s slave was worse than being a human’s slave.
And my dreams…
I should be running in a different direction…!
But he steeled his spine. “Where my sister goes, I go.”
“We did not agree to get two slaves,” the second Urekai said.
“That is settled then,” Lord Vladya continued as if he never spoke.
Reaching into his robe, the scarred Urekai pulled out another bag of coins, throwing both on the floor towards the king. “We will take both.”
“Sold!” King Orestus banged his gavel again.
Chapter 3
PRINCE EMERIEL
Aekeira cried for over an hour after they left the courtroom.
At first, she had been furious, yelling at Emeriel for making such a reckless choice. But then her anger gave way to sorrow, and her sobs filled the tiny room they’d been locked into aboard the ship. Emeriel remained silent, the weight of his decision finally settling onto his shoulders.
By the Light-gods, he was now a prisoner. Stripped of his title, stripped of freedom. No longer royalty. No longer even a citizen.
And not just any prisoner, but a captive of the Urekai—beings notorious for their cruelty and contempt for humans.
“Someone like you won’t go unnoticed,” one of the guards had said, tone sharp with veiled warning.
A shiver traveled down Emeriel’s spine. He didn’t know what awaited them in this foreign land, but he feared it would not be mercy.
The worst images swirled in his mind—not just chains, but humiliation, obedience, silence.
His breath caught. Panic clawed at his chest.
“Breathe, Em. Come on.” Aekeira was at his side, rubbing his back. “In… and out… just like that.”
Her voice steadied him. Familiar. Gentle. Enough to pull him back from the edge.
She continued to soothe him. “Good. That’s better.”
Two Urekai entered then, speaking in clipped tones, and handed them each a small capsule.
Poison? Sedative? They weren’t told.
They wouldn’t spend so much to transport us here just to kill us, Emeriel thought grimly, swallowing the pill.
Moments later, the world faded.
…
He awoke to the jostle of a carriage. His head throbbed, vision blurred. Blinking hard, he stumbled to a wooden window and pushed it open. The cold air struck his face. What he saw made him gasp.
They were in Urekai land. Dark stone buildings towered in the distance, and Urekai soldiers patrolled every corner.
But what truly shocked him were the humans.
Dozens of them. Maybe hundreds. Working the fields, hauling cargo, scrubbing walls—all under sharp eyes and sharper weapons.
They were all slaves.
Is this to be our life now?
A groan behind him made him turn quickly. Aekeira was waking.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.
She nodded, still dazed. “Where are we?”
“Their kingdom. Urai,” he whispered.
The carriage slowed as they neared a massive stone fortress, its gates wide open.
“This place… it’s luxurious,” Aekeira murmured.
Emeriel nodded grimly. Luxury laced with danger.
Who had bought them? And what did they want?
…
They were led through long stone hallways and eventually into a surprisingly spacious chamber.
“This shall be your quarters for now,” a soldier said.
Soon after, footsteps echoed. The door opened.
An older human woman strode in, flanked by a younger woman and three Urekai males. Her sharp eyes landed on Emeriel.
“Well now,” she said. “You are a rare sight. Handsome doesn’t quite cover it.”
Emeriel instinctively stepped behind Aekeira, who spread her arms protectively.
The woman gave a small shrug. “Shame we didn’t come for you. Boys, see to the girl. Amie, prepare the bath.”
The Urekai males approached Aekeira. They handed her fine robes and began assisting with her hair. No violence. No harshness. But an eerie efficiency.
“What are you doing?” Emeriel asked, tense.
“Preparing her,” the woman said. “You may stay or go. Just don’t interrupt, or you’ll regret it.”
Emeriel wanted to object, but Aekeira gave him a subtle shake of her head.
He backed off, watching as they readied her for some kind of ceremony.
Eventually, he slipped out to explore. The halls were quiet. He wandered into a dim passage.
Voices.
He drew closer.
“What shall we do with the boy? He was not part of the plan,” said one voice.
“I do not care, Lord Ottai. Perhaps we will decide later,” came another—cold, commanding. Lord Vladya.
“For now, let us focus on the girl. Time is short. She must be in the forbidden chambers tonight.”
Forbidden chambers?
Emeriel’s heart skipped.
“Calm yourself, Vladya. She cannot handle the trial,” Ottai said.
“They chose this path,” Vladya snapped. “If she fails, I will fetch another from the next human kingdom. That is my only concern.”
A silence followed. Emeriel backed away, fear rising in his chest.
Service the beast? A trial? Death?
He had no idea what lay ahead.
But he knew they had to survive it—together.