Chapter One

I thought my head might explode. My brain was buzzing with a million memories from guardians who’d gone before me – the magical inheritance I’d received at the moment of my father’s death. And now the four kings of legend stood before me, waiting for me to join them and play my part in saving Charnrosa from the evil Stalwart Emperor. Their strength and power had been remarkable when they’d only been inside my head. Face-to-face, they were overwhelming.

“Axxon.” I spoke their names as I looked at each one of them, reconciling what had been in my dreams with the men before me now. Dark-skinned, dark-haired Axxon was on the left of the group; I recognised the tattoos on his chest. “Vashri.” The king of air’s sun-burnished skin glowed, while his brow was furrowed in a vee of concern even now I was safely here. “Rey.” The slender, pale-skinned, dark-haired king of water had waded into the lake as though eager to pluck me bodily from the waves. “And you must be Zephon.” Last of the kings to awaken, I truly was meeting the tall, curly-haired king of fire for the first time.

He was grinning, his expression alight with pleasure. “Fon, please, Kyann,” he told me. “I’ll feel like a boy being told off by his mother if you use my full name.”

His smile was infectious. Some of the tension of the last hours sloughed from my shoulders. “Fon it is, then.”

“This water’s freezing!” Essa’s complaint shattered the moment. My sister scrambled towards the shore and grabbed the hand Rey had intended for me.

I shook myself. I couldn’t stay in the lake all day. If this was my destiny – one way or another – I should get out and face it.

By the time I reached the shore, Axxon had stepped forward to take Rey’s place. I grasped his arm, revelling in the sense of strength and security he offered. “It’s good to finally see you, Kyann,” he said, pulling me out of the water and into his embrace. I pressed against his warm chest and it was as solid and protective and right as I’d imagined. My life might have taken a massive step away from normality, but instinct told me that so long as I was with the four kings, everything would come right.

“Don’t hog the guardian, Axxon,” a voice chided.

I pulled back. Fon’s hand was on Axxon’s shoulder. Vashri hovered close by, and Rey had slung a blanket around Essa’s shoulders, but his attention was on me. Warmth unfurled inside me. I didn’t need a blanket, not when the kings were so close their heat radiated into me.

Fon squeezed my arm. “Welcome to the Silent Castle,” he said, his smile making his eyes dance.

“Are we going to hang around here all day?” Essa asked. I looked properly at my sister for the first time since we’d escaped the Stalwart Emperor. Holding the blanket with one hand, she pushed her damp hair off her face with the other.

“Are you all right?” I pushed between the kings to hug my sister. “You’ve had quite an ordeal.” Essa had been enchanted by the Stalwart Emperor. If I hadn’t gone with the kings to rescue her, she’d probably be his Empress by now, enchanted to do his bidding.

“I am now.” She looked down at her feet, then up to meet my gaze. “Thank you for coming after me.”

I pulled her closer. “There was no way I was going to abandon you to the Emperor. We stick together, remember?”

“That’s right.” Her eyes darted past me. “Essa and Kyann – and the four kings, who turned out to be real, after all.”

I laughed, remembering my arguments that the kings were nothing more than a myth. Hard to believe it was only days ago. “Yes, the kings are real.”

“And ready to launch our attack on the Emperor,” Fon said.

Rey elbowed him. “We plan first. You always want to rush in without thinking.”

“I do no such thing,” he protested.

Rey shook his head. “Ignore our arguments, ladies. Please, come inside and get comfortable.” He reached for my hand and led the way inside the castle, his other hand drifting to the small of Essa’s back to guide her.

His fingers were warm and solid. The other three kings were close by and I could sense the power radiating from them. It had the effect of making me feel invincible, although I knew that was far from the truth. I might be the guardian in name, after inheriting the role from my father, but I knew nothing about the job the guardian was supposed to fulfil. The kings had powerful magic and I had … nothing. I was Kyann, plain and simple, an ordinary girl from Myledene. The idea that I had a legendary destiny to fulfil to save Charnrosa and return the Empire’s magic to full strength might take some getting used to.

Essa was blissfully unaffected by my angst, glancing around with curiosity as we crossed through a grand doorway into the Silent Castle. “Where is this place?” she demanded as we passed the tall, strongstone walls. “How did we get here?” She looked back the way we’d walked, towards the lake. “And why can’t I see the Emperor’s citadel anymore?”

“The Silent Castle is protected by a shield spell,” Vashri explained. “We cannot be found by strangers.”

“Ah.” Essa smiled. “Hidden in plain sight.”

“That’s right. It can only be found by the four kings and the guardian. And those we bring with us.” Vashri smiled. His face was transformed with the gesture. He was usually so stern and worried, but now we were all together he seemed to lighten up.

“The Emperor can’t find us here?” I challenged.

“That’s right,” Rey answered, grinning. “Especially fitting, since we’re right on top of his citadel.” He frowned. “Or perhaps underneath, I never did quite understand how the spell worked. Come inside, there’ll be time to study the detail of the magic later.”

Rey led the way inside. I dragged my fingers across the rough stone as I passed through the doorway into the castle of legend. I stopped, and Axxon, Fon and Vashri nearly barrelled into me.

Rey turned back. “What’s wrong?”

I shook my head. “It’s just…” I looked at the castle, then at the four men waiting for me to speak as though I were the only person in the world. “I’ve stepped into a legend. It’s a little unsettling.”

Essa laughed, moving away from Rey to join me, slipping her arms around my waist. “I felt as though I were in a dream when the Emperor enchanted me. I’m not sure I’m not still dreaming. It’s amazing, isn’t it?”

Her arms were warm and solid. I knew I wasn’t dreaming, but as my attention slid from her to the four men with us I understood exactly what she meant. How could this be real? How could this be my life?

And yet, I was the guardian, the last in a long line of guardians reaching from the four kings’ time to now. My father had died to ensure I could reach the kings, so they would awaken. I would honour his sacrifice by making sure I helped the kings overthrow the Stalwart Emperor.

I pulled away, catching Axxon’s eye. “It’s not a dream. And we have work to do.”

“Come along.” It was Fon who took my hand this time, drawing me farther into the stone edifice that had been the kings’ home for at least five hundred years.

Fon’s hand was hot, as befit the king of fire. It was a contrast to the cool air inside the stone walls. I didn’t understand the enchantments that had sent the kings to sleep, but there was no trace of it now. The castle looked as though it had only just been constructed. There wasn’t so much as a layer of dust on the sills or the furniture.

Fon led us into a grand chamber where the plaster walls were painted to make it look as though residents were out of doors, in a forest glade. The only concession to indoor life was the wide fireplace in one wall. Fon flicked a hand in that direction and the logs laid ready burst into flame.

“Show off,” Rey grumbled good-naturedly. He guided Essa to the seat closest to the fire, making sure she was settled before he turned to me.

Essa nodded in response to some question Rey asked, but she barely glanced at him, huddling close to the fire. It was as though the kings were no more than ordinary men for her.

Didn’t she feel it? The aura that surrounded the kings… I wasn’t sure whether it was magic or something else, but if I closed my eyes I knew I would still be able to pinpoint that Axxon was on my left side, Vashri slightly behind me at my left shoulder, Rey moving towards me on the right-hand side and Fon behind me, looking for something at the back of the room. I might have wanted to deny the legends, but I couldn’t doubt now. The four kings and their guardian were connected.

“How do we stop the Emperor?” I bit my lip. The kings might have been able to destroy him while we were inside his palace, if I hadn’t been there with Essa. If they hadn’t needed to help us escape, perhaps this whole situation would already be over. “How am I supposed to help you?”

“You are the guardian—” Vashri started to reassure me.

I flung up a hand to silence him. Slightly to my surprise, the king obeyed. “What does that even mean? It seems to me I’m the weak link here. You all have remarkable abilities, while I have no magic; I’m not especially strong; I’m not fast.” I ticked all my shortcomings off on my fingers until Fon took my hand so I couldn’t.

He bent close to look into my eyes, his blue ones burning into me. “You’re not our guardian, Kyann. You’re the guardian of Charnrosa.”

“How is that different?” I pulled my hand away, tilting my head expectantly.

He sat back, folding his arms and grinning. “You are a servant of Charnrosa, as are we all. You’re the equal of any of us kings, Kyann.”

How I wished that were true! “But I’m not,” I protested. “You’re all super-strong, and powerful, and I’m…” I didn’t want to say the word “feeble” that wanted to leap off my tongue. “Not,” I finished.

“We are tied together by the magic that first drew us together to keep Charnrosa safe,” Vashri said, setting a hand on my shoulder. “You might not have slept alongside us, but you are a part of it.”

I didn’t speak, but he must have read my thoughts on my face. “You are descended from the first guardian, who sent us to sleep. You do know that places royal blood in your veins, don’t you? You’re directly descended from the Radiant Emperor.”