Nobela ni Quill-Shadow

​The preparations for the Harvest Festival were in full swing. Servants scurried back and forth with garlands of dried winter berries and ribbons of deep crimson silk. It was chaotic, loud, and vibrant.​And in the center of it all, sitting on a bench with his bad leg propped up on a velvet cushion, was Riel.​"No, no," he said gently, pointing to a banner two young Omegas were trying to hang above the hearth. "A little to the left. The Alpha's crest should be centered. It demands respect."​The Omegas giggled, adjusting the fabric. Riel smiled at them—that soft, boyish smile that I remembered from summers spent chasing frogs in the creek. It was a smile that didn't look like it belonged on the face of a man who had been tortured.​"He seems… better," Wendy whispered, appearing at my elbow with a basket of linens.​I nodded, leaning against the stone archway of the entrance. "He does. Elias says the infection is clearing. The fever broke last night."​"He’s very polite," Wendy added,

​Peace.​It was a strange, fragile thing, lighter than air, and I carried it carefully, afraid that one wrong step would shatter it.​Three days had passed since the confrontation in the solar. Three days since Ares had, with a jaw tight enough to snap bone, agreed to let the cage doors open.​And in those three days, the sky hadn't fallen. The walls hadn't crumbled.​In fact, the sun had come out.​I stood on the balcony overlooking the lower training fields, a mug of hot tea warming my hands. Below, the morning drills were in full swing. The rhythmic thud-thud-thud of wooden staves against shields drifted up, a familiar, comforting percussion.​But there was a new note in the symphony today.​Down near the weapons rack, leaning heavily on a cane but standing upright, was Riel.​He wasn't fighting. His leg was still heavily bandaged, stiff and useless for combat. But he wasn't isolating himself in the shadows, either. He was talking to Valerius.​I leaned over the railing, straining

​The walk from the Healer’s Wing to the Alpha’s solar felt like a march into enemy territory.I wasn't walking toward my mate; I was walking toward a warlord."I promise," I had told Cecilia.And I meant it. I would not let a scarred child and a broken man rot in rooms with barred windows just because my mate saw ghosts in every shadow.​I pushed open the heavy oak doors of the solar without knocking.Ares was there, surrounded by his generals—Kael, Valerius, and three other Enforcers I didn’t know well.They were hunched over the main table, moving markers across a map of the northern border.The air in the room was thick with tension and the smell of alpha aggression.When I entered, the conversation died instantly.Five pairs of eyes snapped to me.Ares straightened slowly. He looked exhausted. The lines around his mouth were deep, his silver eyes duller than usual.He saw the set of my jaw, the way my hands were balled into fists at my sides."Leave us," he commanded, his gaze nev

​I didn’t run. I didn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me flee.​I walked down the tower stairs with a measured, steady tread, even though my blood was boiling hot enough to melt the stone beneath my boots.​Go.​The word echoed in my skull, bouncing around with the memory of his back turning against me. He had dismissed me. Like a servant. Like a child who didn’t understand the grown-up talk of war.​I slammed the heavy door of our chambers shut, the sound a satisfying, thunderous boom that shook the tapestries.​"Arrogant, controlling, impossible bastard," I hissed to the empty room.​I paced. Eighteen steps to the window. Eighteen steps back. The rhythm that had kept me sane during my captivity now just fueled my rage.​I wasn’t a captive anymore. I was the Luna. I had executed a traitor. I had earned my place at his side in blood and silver fire.​And yet, the moment I disagreed with him, the moment I showed mercy to someone he hated, I was back in the box.​I walked to the t

​I woke to a cold bed.​The spot beside me wasn't just empty; it was icy. The sheets were smooth, Ares hadn't come to bed at all.​I sat up, the heavy furs pooling around my waist, and reached out through the bond. Usually, it was a roaring fire, a constant hum of his presence in the back of my mind. Today, it felt like a wall. A thick, impenetrable shield of black iron. He was blocking me out.​"Stubborn ass," I muttered, swinging my legs over the side of the bed.​I dressed quickly in the black training leathers. They felt like armor, and today, I felt like I was walking into a different kind of war.​When I opened the heavy door, the guards outside snapped to attention. They weren't the usual Enforcers. They were strangers. Stone-faced. Silent.​"Where is the Alpha?" I asked.​"The Alpha is inspecting the perimeter," one replied, staring straight ahead. "He left orders that you are not to leave the keep."​"I am the Luna," I snapped, my patience fraying instantly. "I go where I ple

​The morning sun did nothing to warm the stone floor of the solar. It just highlighted the tension that had settled over the room like a layer of dust.​Ares stood by the window, his back to me. He hadn’t spoken since I walked in. He was staring down at the courtyard, watching the Enforcers drill, but I knew his mind was in the dungeons below.​"He can't stay down there, Ares," I said, my voice quiet but firm. "Elias says the dampness is making the infection in his leg worse. If he stays in that cell, he’ll lose the leg. Or he’ll die."​Ares didn’t turn. His shoulders were a rigid line of black leather.​"Then he dies," he said. The words were flat, devoid of emotion. "He is an intruder. A liability. I gave him life when I should have given him a sword through the chest."​"He is my friend," I snapped, the exhaustion of the last twenty-four hours fraying my patience. "He is the heir to my former pack. He fought Tiana. He tried to save his sister. He doesn't deserve to rot in the dark