Chapter One
Theodora Middlebright glared at the enormous rusty gate blocking her path. She tucked the braid at her left temple behind her pointed ear. She was knee-deep in weeds on an overgrown dirt road that clearly hadn’t been used for as long as this gate hadn’t been opened. She let out a long sigh that did nothing to make her feel better.
Stupid gate. Stupid town. Stupid exiled king. “Anytime you want to open up, go right ahead.”
Nothing happened. Of course it didn’t, because this wasn’t Limbo, and you couldn’t give commands to certain inanimate objects and expect them to obey like you could at home.
But then, if she were home, she’d be getting up right about now to go work at the bakery. Then in a few hours, she’d leave that job, rush home with whatever day-old goods she’d bought for breakfast, make sure her father was all right, then dash off to her second job of cleaning.
It was a hard life. Made harder by living under the rule of Queen Vesta. As monarchs went, she was probably pretty typical. She was as capricious as she was beautiful. She was occasionally kind, and she was occasionally cruel. Perhaps more than occasionally.
Theo believed that was the way rulers were, because that random cruelty kept their subjects from getting too comfortable. Her father always said there were two kinds of rulers. Those who wanted their subjects to love and respect them. And those who wanted their subjects to fear them.
Queen Vesta seemed torn between those choices, although in Theo’s estimation, Her Royal Highness leaned more toward fear with each passing year.
But everyone gave Her Grace some leeway because they knew Queen Vesta had been tormented by the exiled king. How the incredible anguish he’d put her through had left her scarred and fragile. How she’d risked everything to save the citizens of Limbo and Livion, their sister kingdom, from being enslaved to the orcs. For that, Queen Vesta’s cruelty was grudgingly tolerated.
It wasn’t like the citizens of Limbo had a choice.
Regardless, Theo would still rather have been home. Well, mostly. At least then she would have been with her father instead of standing in the middle of nowhere trying to get a worthless gate to open and let her in.
“Open, gate.” Nothing. She growled. Maybe she could pick the lock with her dagger, but with her luck she’d end up damaging the blade.
Her hands clenched. She knew this was a chance for a year away from her problematic life, but she still did not want to be here. She shouldn’t be here. But here she was. Dang it. All because of her father’s bad choices, her unrelenting sense of duty, and her stubborn unwillingness to see her foolish father die in prison.
Why did she have to be such a good daughter? Why did she have to be single? If she were married, this wouldn’t be happening. But to be married, she’d have to find a man willing to put up with her and everything that came with her. And she generally found that being around most people only added to her crankiness. She didn’t care if she had a reputation for being moody. Who wouldn’t be with her life?
And, of course, if she were married, her father would probably be the one standing at this gate.
That couldn’t happen. There was no way he’d survive what she was about to take on.
This was all because she loved him. That much was obvious. Perhaps she loved him too much. She might even love him more than he loved his wagering. Because that was something he loved dearly. Did he love betting more than he loved her? His inability to stop gambling away all their money and family possessions certainly made her wonder.
Her hand went to the little emerald-and-starstone pendant around her neck, one of the few things she had left of her mother’s. Certainly the most precious. Theo had managed to keep it from her father’s clutches by never taking it off.
She also locked her bedroom door at night.
She wasn’t sure he would have actually snuck into her room and tried to take it, but a locked door seemed like the best possible solution. Just in case.
Enough of this. She put her hands on her hips and glowered at the offending hunk of vine-covered metal. “Seriously. Just standing here. Waiting.”
The gate didn’t seem impressed. Not enough to move, anyway.
She sighed again, this time the kind of long-suffering, out-of-the-diaphragm, heaving sigh that seemed to clear out every last bit of air from her lungs.
With her next inhale, she thought that if her mother were still alive, she would have whipped Welten Middlebright into shape. His gambling had always been a problem, but it had escalated after her death. Which was when his illness had set in as well.
Caralynne Middlebright had been a sharp, loving, no-nonsense kind of woman. A little on the plump side, which had made for the best hugs, and a hard worker who’d always had a kind word and warm embrace for her only child. She’d smelled of sugar and vanilla and sometimes cinnamon. That’s how Theo remembered her mother.
She’d been the guiding light that had kept Theo’s father on the straight and narrow. She’d also kept a tight hand on the purse strings. She’d worked long, early hours in the royal kitchens as a pastry cook. That money had kept them in good stead and sent Theo to one of the best lapidary schools in the kingdom. Theo had been happy then. They all had.
And then Caralynne had gotten sick.
Theo sucked in a ragged breath as the memory of her mother’s passing came crashing down on her, along with the anger and bitterness that always followed.
If her mother had still been alive, Theo wouldn’t be standing here.
But her mother wasn’t. And Theo most definitely was standing here. She swatted at a bug that tickled her neck.
Theo glared at the gate a little harder. “Oh, for crying out loud, are you going to open or not? I know I’m not the one who’s supposed to be here, but I’m here to take his place. It’s all the same. You might as well let me in. I thought you were supposed to be magic, but I guess you’re just a dumb hunk of metal.”
The gate didn’t budge. Not even a creak from one of the rusted hinges.
That really didn’t leave Theo much choice. She’d walked here from the closest bus stop, which had to be six or seven miles away. She wasn’t about to spend the next couple of hours walking back. Besides, she didn’t have enough money for a ticket to the nearest portal to Limbo anyway.
And what good would going home do her? Or her father?
This big debt would still be unpaid. As would all his little ones, of which there were plenty. And all of that would only serve to darken her attitude further.
No, she was here for the duration. The good news was she had youth and persistence on her side. Plus, she was strong. And had a talent no one knew about. A talent she’d kept to herself since she was a child, when her mother had told her it would be useful to her one day if she kept it secret.
She glanced around to make sure she was alone and that her secret would remain that way. Seemed so.
With a frustrated groan, she grabbed the tattered bag she’d dropped at her feet earlier and gave it a heave up and over the gate.
It landed with a soft thunk on the other side. Then she shifted into her most favorite of forms and launched herself into the air.
She flew up and over the gate easily, making only the slightest sounds, and landed on the other side a handful of seconds later. The gate had looked even rustier up close. She ruffled her feathers once before turning back to her human form.