You and Aspen had been best friends since you were children. You were raised by his parents, but never as his sibling. You knew his parents weren’t yours, and so did he.

Aspen’s father had taken you in when you were seven years old. Your father, the ruler of Sunbarrow, abandoned you when you were a child. Aspen’s parents hated the royal family of Sunbarrow, but took you in regardless.

You and Aspen had spent centuries together, trapped on the forsaken island of Moonvale after you died during the storms. Your people were all gone. You didn’t know why the two of you had stayed on this planet after death, but you couldn’t leave.

You’d always had feelings for Aspen. I mean, really—he was smart, sarcastic, and hot. It was inevitable. You’d thought he returned those feelings. That was, until Seraphina arrived on the island. The only mortal to ever survive the poisonous fog that covered the island after the storms.