Chapter One
ADRI
a long way to travel for espresso
Crown Prince Frank of Niralen and environmental influencer Kaia Blue’s lavish engagement party had been the talk of society for weeks. The venue’s vibrant atmosphere fit their personalities perfectly—the glass sculptures were stunning, and on any other day, I could sit in the gardens with my drawing pad for hours, completely at peace. Instead, I longed for the quiet comfort of our island and counted the minutes until it was acceptable to leave.
While the happy couple danced, jumped, and laughed with their closest friends, the relentlessthump,thump,thumpof their terrible taste in music battled the crowd’s incessant chatter, torturing my senses. It was all too loud, too pressing. How did Frank stand this… constant cacophony?
Despite my noise filter dulling the worst of it, each beat made it harder to breathe, harder to focus. Yet, as his sibling and representative of our country, I was expected—required—to engage. While an engagement was a human custom, our mins—parents, as humans called them—considered it the perfect setting to forge new alliances and reinforce old ones.
My smile felt brittle, like an overclocked CPU. My throat feltraw. My carefully chosen outfit—a sleeveless tunic and layered skirts flowing from soft silver to midnight blue—grew tighter and more restrictive as the evening wore on in this overstimulated environment. The phrase“talking someone’s ear off”made so much sense now. Even when the music faded to bearable levels, they were all talking over and through each other, as if being heard was as essential as breathing.
Now and then, I caught glimpses of our mins through the crowd, their opalescent deep periwinkle skin a stark contrast to Kaia’s mother’s warm copper and her father’s freckled, pale tones.
Mins’ encouraging messages hummed along my core, warm but doing little to boost my confidence in fielding questions about our Bee Restoration Project. No one was interested in the technical aspects—my specialty as a tech mage. Instead, they wanted to be dazzled by the green walls, the seed bombs, the hives—the visible aspects that Frank and our mins, as biomancers, were much better equipped to explain.
“Hi.” A petite white human with long blond hair in a glittery, form-fitting orange dress beamed up at me, eyes crinkling as he raised his glass—brimming with a blue foamy cocktail that seemed popular.
He exuded the same bubbling joy many of Kaia’s friends showed. Or she, perhaps. Humans used many different pronouns besides he, which was the only pronoun we used.
I returned the smile. “Hello.”
“You’re Frank’s brother, right?” He pointed at my face with a sharp orange nail. “I recognized the marks on your forehead.”
“I am.” I kept my smile even, hoping it masked my irritation. Why did humans insist on pointing when they considered it rude? The energy lines shimmering beneath the skin on my forehead marked my royal lineage—the only lines we could show or hide at will. For high-profile eventslike this one, Min-Tess insisted we show them. Humans seemed obsessed with them.
“His are green, though, not blue like yours. Is that because you’re a tech mage and Frank’s a biomancer?”
Perhaps I’d underestimated Kaia’s friends. “It is. Yes.” Though he was the first who understood the distinction. It could be she or they, too, but asking for pronouns felt too forward when he hadn’t introduced himself.
“It’s incredible how your family can just… connect with the planet, you know?” He waved his arms with a passion belying his delicate figure and nearly spilled his cocktail. “Oops. I swear I only had two so far.” He set the glass on the nearest table. “Kaia and Frank’s podcast about bioenergy is so awesome. Were you at her open mic poetry event last month? Epic.”
I shook my head. I only attended gatherings my status—or Min—required of me. Though their podcasts were entertaining enough—despite their music choices—and a testament to how well-suited they were.
Kaia had read some of her poems after dinner recently, which made for a pleasant change, as Frank and our mins’ passion for biomancy dominated most conversations at home. As the sole tech mage, I couldn’t help but feel lonely, excluded. It gave me too much time to notice the way Frank’s energy lines glowed when he talked about Kaia and their podcast. That kind of deep connection—it wasn’t something I’d managed… yet.
“…and isn’t this venue divine?”
I blinked at the glass sculptures hanging above us and nodded, worried I’d appeared inattentive. While I gathered my thoughts, he continued, telling me all about the venue, the artist, and his work. Words tumbled out of him as if he were running out of time—his drink long forgotten—leaving me no space to respond. All I could do was nod, smile, and admire the excellent glasswork.
“Kaia told me it’s rude to comment on your eating habits—well, lack of—but I have to ask. Do you drink those ghastly lavender honey lattes Frank seems into this month?”
For the first time tonight, my smile felt genuine. “I only drink espresso.” The rich, bitter aroma grounded me, reminding me to slow down and breathe. I never understood Frank’s desire to change what he drank every month. Considering his own vile cocktail, though, his reaction seemed dramatic.
“Ohhh, I love a good coffee to wake me up! But espresso is too small, too serious. I prefer a large caramel macchiato after my morning yoga.”
I could have guessed he’d go for something sweet that only liminally resembled coffee. “Caramel smells… inviting.”
“Doesn’t it just? Anyway, this crowd is pretty wild, huh?”
That was one word for it. “Yes.” What else was there to say?
Waving enthusiastically at someone across the room, he picked up his forgotten cocktail with a bright smile. “Well, it was great chatting!” He downed the frothy blue swill and smacked his lips as if it were the best he’d ever tasted. “But it’s time to dance. Catch you later.”
Swinging to the rhythm of the thumping music, he danced away, giving a final twirl and wave before melting into the crowd. I envied his ease in this discordant cacophony, and Frank’s when he whirled past with Kaia, all beaming smiles and happiness. He in a tailored emerald tunic accentuating his broad, muscular frame atop a flowy, layered skirt. She in a wide-legged, deep-green jumpsuit, cinched at the waist. They made a beautiful pair.
Overwhelm and fatigue hit me with bright lights and flashes of cameras glinting off the vibrant glass sculptures. I circled the crowd to escape to the gardens, forcing a smile when someone addressed me, nodding at their inaudible comments and shaking their hands, always conscious of how their glancesdipped to my three elongated fingers curling around their five, however briefly.
