Virelai leaned over the railing of her balcony, closing her eyes. Then she reached for the wind.

A light breeze swirled around her, playing with the ends of her hair, but she couldn't seem to call anything stronger. Her magic ability had never been anything more than average, but this was pathetic, even for her.

She sighed and opened her eyes, resting her chin on the palm of her hand as she stared out over the water. It was frustrating to slowly lose her ability to call the wind. She couldn't understand why her father wouldn't want their queen to return. The longer the elves remained without her, the weaker their powers would become until they disappeared entirely. Without their abilities to manipulate the elements, they weren't any better than humans.

Sucking in one last breath of salty sea air, Virelai straightened, preparing to return inside. A slight movement on the beach below caught her attention, and she paused.

No one should be on the beach.

Gavaran was carefully regulating who could enter and leave the city, and to her knowledge, everyone was forbidden from stepping foot on the beach, including her.

Virelai leaned over the railing, squinting to get a better look. She expected to see some sort of sea creature or another wild beast, but to her surprise, it was neither of those things.

"No, it can't be," she breathed as she watched the scene below.

Those were people shuffling along the sand, and it wasn't just a few people either. There had to be well over a hundred of them down there, a slow-moving mass pouring over the beach. It was hard to tell from where she stood, but they didn’t appear to be wearing elven clothing.

These couldn’t be humans, could they? Where would they have come from? There would have been gossip if this many of them crossed the portals. She would have heard of it, surely.

A light breeze lifted the ends of Virelai’s hair again as she continued watching the flood of people.

This had to be her father’s doing. A group this large couldn’t pass the city unnoticed, and she heard no cry going up from the walls. The sliver of city she could see from her balcony remained calm, and the wind brought no voices to her.

When her gaze returned to the horde, she spotted a uniform that looked an awful lot like a palace guard. As she scanned the crowd again, she spotted more of them, recognizing the rich colors and gold or silver braiding along their shoulders. They seemed to be staying around the edges of the group and guiding it forward.

Yes, this was certainly her father’s doing, but the question was, why? He despised humans.

Pushing away from the rail, Virelai headed back inside, intent on finding out what was going on. She strode across the room and ripped her door open, startling the guard that was standing there. Supposedly, he was at her door for her protection, but Virelai knew better. He was there to watch her, and if she wandered off, he would report it.

"What can you tell me about the people on the beach?" she demanded. She’d learned long ago that it was better to command than ask nicely. It brought more results, faster.

"I don’t know what you mean, my lady. There shouldn't be people on the beach," the guard answered, his eyes flicking to her face and away again.

He was young and nervous. Easier to manipulate, she decided.

"I'm aware, which is why I want to know what they are doing there, and you," she jabbed a finger at his chest, "are going to tell me or find out. It could be a matter of my safety," she added.

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Let him think she feared whatever was happening down there and was not merely curious.

"But I . . ." he stammered.

Virelai held up her hand, and he immediately fell silent. "Now."

He quickly bowed and scuttled off down the hallway. There was a chance he was running to warn her father instead of finding her answers, but she was willing to risk it. Virelai turned on her heel and retreated into her room to wait.

The guard returned half an hour later with a soft knock on her door.

"Well?" she asked.

"The people on the beach are humans who have been brought here to work. It is nothing for you to worry about. You will be perfectly safe as long as you remain inside the city walls." He stumbled over his words as he stared at his feet.

"I assume this is by my father's order?"

"Yes, my lady," he said, still not making eye contact. “That is what I was told.”

“By my father? Or someone else?”

His answer would decide her next move.

“By my superior, my lady. I am not permitted to seek an audience with our king.”

Virelai sniffed. She supposed it was better for her purposes that she had a low-ranking guard, but it still rankled that her father thought she wasn’t worthy of better.

She rose from her seat and bypassed the guard, heading straight for the door.

She’d already slipped out and was halfway down the hallway before she heard the staccato of his boots behind her on the stone floor, running to catch up.

"Where are you going, my lady?" he asked breathlessly.

"I'm going to speak with the king. Not all of us are of such a low rank we would be turned away.” She gave him a sideways look to see if the insult registered. When it didn’t appear to have, she sighed and said, “Follow along if you must."

She half-expected him to drop back and let her go, but instead, he kept pace at her heels.

This one was brave . . . or stupid. Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference.

Virelai located her father in the council room, conversing with former Councilman Harloth. She walked in without knocking, and they immediately stopped speaking and turned to see who had interrupted.

Upon seeing it was her, Gavaran dismissed Harloth with a nod, and he scurried past her out of the room, giving her a smile that was more of a leer as he went.

Virelai stepped forward on her own, her guard having waited outside the room. Perhaps he wasn't as stupid as she first thought.

"Virelai, my favorite daughter, to what do I owe this visit?" An undercurrent of irritation ran through his words. He was anything but pleased to see her.

"I wanted to speak with you about a matter of safety. Not just for our city, but for myself.”

He raised a brow. “Go on. What could be a danger to you here in the castle? Do I need to assign more guards to you?”

That was the last thing she wanted. She had to tread carefully or she’d never get back to her house.

“Well, you see, I was on my balcony not an hour ago, enjoying the fresh air, when I saw the most curious thing on the beach." She strolled up to the table, the picture of sweetness. The mask she wore for her father was all innocence. As long as he thought there was nothing but air between her ears, she was safe—or safer. She wasn’t sure anyone was truly safe around him.

"And what would that be?" His irritation now manifested itself in his fingers as he tapped them against the table. “I don’t have all day to indulge your worries. Get on with it or take it up with your guard.”

If only he realized how useless her guard actually was. She wouldn’t be surprised if the man tried to hide behind her if there was an attack.

"There were humans,” she said, putting a tremor in her voice. “A lot of humans."

"Mmm," he responded, noncommittally.

"I do wonder," she stared off at the ceiling, pretending to think, "how they got there? Don't you think it's strange?"

"I think you needn't be concerned with it. That curiosity of yours is going to get you in trouble one day. I would hate to see anything happen to you."

Virelai knew a threat when she heard one.

"I was merely worried for our safety. What if they try to attack us?”

“You are in no danger, Virelai. I have everything under control. You need not concern yourself with anything, but planning your wedding. Harloth and I were finalizing the details of your betrothal.”

“M-My betrothal?” she asked. This time, the tremor in her voice wasn’t faked. She had not expected him to actually force her to marry. “To who?”

She had a bad feeling about this.

“Why, to Harloth, of course.”

Virelai’s stomach plummeted. No. Absolutely not.

“Once the details are finalized, we’ll make the announcement and then I imagine the wedding with be shortly after. It could be as soon as a few weeks. You’ll want to get started planning, I’m sure.”

“Of course. I’ll start right now,” she said, dipping a curtsy and backing to the door.

Her father didn’t need to know her plans would not include a wedding.