1 Prologue

Sun shone through the library window of the Neverborn Manor, lighting up even the dark corners of the room. Tobias leaned his head against the side of the windowsill, his mop of curly blond hair flopping onto his forehead. He could see the districts from here, rows upon rows of apartments and villages filled with mortals. Tobias's mother had always said to stay away from those creatures, but-

"Hello?" Tobias looked up, the drawling voice of his tutor snapping him out of his reverie. The old man looked at him with scorn. "Have you been listening to anything I've been saying?" He asks, pushing up his spectacles. Tobias has been playing this game with his tutor for weeks now, Though it wasn't particularly a fun one.

"No," Tobias said plainly, sliding off the windowsill. "I don't give a damn about literature or math, I just want to learn how to use my talent." He crossed arms, very much aware that he was being unreasonable.

His tutor's expression went from scornful to pitiful, as it usually did when Tobias brought this subject up. He hated it.

"You know your father is a mortal-" The tutor started, but a noise at the door cut him off. They both turned to see Tobias's mother was standing in the door frame, her electric green eyes grazing over the tutor and landing quickly on her son.

"Tobias." She says, in the commanding voice of a queen that he'd gotten accustomed too. "Mother," Tobias starts, trying not to sound too eager, She wasn't usually around the manor during the day, though Tobias didn't have the faintest idea what she did in The Courts all day. "Now that you're here, you can convince-"

She silenced him with a gesture. "Not now, Tobias I need to talk to you", Her knife like gaze shifted to his tutor who promptly got the hint and scurried out of the room. But Tobias barely noticed the man, he was too busy wondering if he did anything wrong. Usually, when his mother ordered people out the room like this, it was to yell at him about his drinking addiction or never paying attention in his studies. But on those days her eyes held pure fury. Today she looked tired, as she usually did, but also resigned and disappointed. Tobias was used to those emotions when it came to his mother.

His mother looked him up and down, and then started without preamble, "I've heard from multiple tutors that you have refused to do your lessons."

"Well, that's the thing-" She cuts him off with a gesture before he can say anything more. "So I've decided to take it upon myself to assign your lessons myself."

Tobias's brows knitted together in confusion. "What?" He never thought his mother would be the one to teach him, even the old tutor would be better than that.

His mother ignored him, swiping dust off of the regal violet gown, she had on. Purple used to be the color of Vanishing-talents when the war was going on. Even Tobias knew that from his studies. Yet, now it was the color of wealth and prosperity.

"I have an assignment for you tonight," she said finally, "I have a feeling you might like this better than the others" And then she grinned, an off-kilter smirk that any other day would have made Tobias's bones chill, but tonight, Tobias grinned back.