The woods at the edge of the royal property were vast and dark.

Countless tales had been told of the Fey. Coming out and stealing human children, swapping them with their own sickly young. Changelings, they were called. Wood nymphs dancing among the trees, enticing young men to join them, only to never return. Tree’s coming to life, impaling any who dared to venture too far beyond the tree line.

The stories were endless. Each one was more and more frightening. The woods from the outside appeared other worldly. Terrifying and ominous, as though they may come to life and peel the flesh from one's bones while their screams permeated the air.

Evelyn never once felt unsafe in the comfort of the forest. Strolling through its dark embrace, she felt protected. The sunlight that streamed through the canopy above gave the forest floor a green shadow. Dust twinkled in the filtered light.

Maybe it was because of her mother’s side. Out of her mother’s four children, she was the only one that felt comfortable and at ease in nature. The other half of herself, the one she desperately tried to suppress and deny, called to her. Beckoned her to accept who and what she was, but she ignored the call. The itch that crawled up and under her skin, begging to be scratched, to be released.

She strolled along through the forest, running her hands over the thick, wide trunks that towered over her human form. The essence within each tree was bright and vibrant, teaming with life. The rush of energy coursed through her veins, charging her body until the tips of her fingers began to feel heated.

Evelyn pulled her hand away, flexing her fingers until the odd tingling sensation began to die back down to a manageable level.

This may very well be her last night in Celia. The only home she had ever known. She was born inside of Castle Raloria. It had been a rarity if she even left the castle walls, let alone the grounds. A few rebellious outings to the village was the farthest she’d been from home. That’s if she didn’t count her kidnapping and she definitely didn’t.

Evelyn could scarcely remember the Prince of Leon, King Alexander’s oldest son. She knew that they had been formally introduced a few years before at the annual ball, but their encounter with one another was brief and cold. Prince Alexi rarely made public appearances and when he did, he usually kept to himself alongside his paramour, the lovely Genevieve.

Now Genevieve was a woman of substance. The vampire was nearly fifty years her elder and barely looked a day over twenty. Evelyn had had a few intimate conversations with her over the years and found her to have a strikingly beautiful mind. She wasn’t only stunning to the eye but fiercely intelligent as well.

Even though Alexi despised public events, Genevieve thrived off of them and often attended them without her royal escort, giving Evelyn the opportunity to bond with her. If the Prince did in fact choose her as his future bride, she wondered how that might affect the paramour and the Prince. They had been together for decades. Their affair was no secret.

Evelyn was so engrossed in her own thoughts, she failed to notice a man standing behind her, leaning against the trunk of a tree, watching her intently.

“I love the way you bite your bottom lip when you're thinking so hard.”

Evelyn spun around, reaching for the dagger in the fold of her dress when she stopped herself. A tall, willowy man pushed himself off the trunk of the tree and approached her. His movements were as fluid and smooth as the wind itself. His bare feet moved as soft as whispers against the lush forest floor.

“Nikel, you startled me,” Evelyn said, finally finding her voice. Her heart racing in her chest.