Prologue

Prologue: Child of Destiny

She fled for her life and the life of her son. On a white horse, across a bloodstained field cluttered with the dead
and wounded, through rain and thunder and the moonless night, she fled, clutching the reins in one hand, supporting
her son with the other. Behind her, the city rang with the clash of swords and spears, the shouts of victors, and the
screams of the dying.

She had left with nothing.

Only her clothes, her son, and the horse had come with her. Her husband had stayed behind, determined to fight
with the rest. Even now, he could be dead, but she tried not to think about it. All that mattered was her baby. She
had to get him to safety. She had to get him to the forest. It was the only place untouched by this awful war.

"Help me, please!"

A hand snatched at her foot, tearing away her shoe. Other hands grabbed at her knee, her arm, and her thigh,
trying to slow her down. Wounded men surrounded her, and she stormed through them, ignoring all for the sake of
her child.

A lightning bolt slashed the sky, illuminating the field for miles around. Two more bolts followed, and a peal of
thunder crashed, spooking her horse to greater speeds. Ahead, the carnage tapered out, leaving a wide path to the
forest, clear of debris.

Or so she thought.

The branch caught her at neck level, flipping her off the saddle and onto the grass, back first. Her son landed in her
arms, unscathed. The horse kept going.

Blood ran from a cut on her chin. Her shoulder blade had cracked, and her breath slipped away faster than her
ravaged throat could replenish it-but all that mattered was her son. She had to get him to safety.

Crying out at the pain, she pulled herself up, one arm braced around the trunk of the tree. Every muscle throbbed;
every bone seemed ready to break. Still, she ran, and when the child began to whimper, she cupped her hand
against its cheek and whispered her love.

"We're almost there," she said. "Father will come soon."

The forest loomed in the darkness. Another bolt of lightning speared the clouds, guiding her into the foliage. Her
horse had trampled a path through the brush; she took it gratefully, hiding her baby's head from the branches and
twigs that scratched her own face.

She hardly knew where she was going, but she knew she would run until her breath finally gave out. Her shoulder
continued to spasm with pain. Now her nose was bleeding, and her chest ached with the strain of running.

She broke into the clearing at full speed.

* * * * *

Blue eyes tracked the strange woman as she entered the clearing, carrying the baby. This girl had never seen an
outsider before. The woman seemed lost, like a child far from home.

"Who is she?"

"Hush." The girl silenced the fairy at her side with a quiet rebuke. She hid in the bushes at the edge of the clearing
and followed the woman with her eyes.

The woman stopped in the center of the clearing. A massive oak towered over her. She could have gone around
it; but instead, she looked up as if to plead with the tree. Finally, she collapsed, and the baby fell out of her arms.

"Oh my…"

The blue-eyed girl covered her mouth.

"Go!"

She felt the word echo in her head, and she knew then what she had to do.

* * * * *

As the woman lay dying, she stroked her son's face, no longer holding back the tears.

She had failed him. The baby would never survive without her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, nearly choking on the words. "I'm so sorry."

She barely heard the rustle, barely saw the slender shape racing towards her. By the time she realized there was
someone else in the clearing, she was beyond caring.

The mother of the child of destiny had breathed her last.