LOGINOwen“What the…” Diego sputters out as I slam the door behind us. I’ve brought us into the music room which is empty save for a smattering of instruments.I stare Diego down more intensely than I mean to. “What of Natasha?”My brother seems immediately on his guard. “What of her?”“Did they believe
Owen“Isaiah,” I call from the threshold to the library. The first shelf has been completely redone, and its sisters line the walls in various forms of completion.One of my most trusted guards, the one who befriended Amelia, the one who I struggle to be near for the way he reminds me of her, approa
NatashaI don’t stay at the campfire for long after Carolina and Missy are dragged off to bed by the man I found out is their uncle.I didn’t have the heart to ask where their parents are.“I think I’ll get some sleep,” I say as I stand. I’m surprised when people I’ve just newly met through Carolina
Sebastian’s smile grows impossibly wider. “Of course. You don’t have to ask my permission to talk to her.”“That’s what I said!” a male adult a few seats away says. He must be their dad or otherwise guardian.“Yeah, but,” Carolina says, glancing nervously at me again. She lowers her voice as she ret
NatashaDante was brought back to the kingdom this morning. He spent one night in the First Quarter, and warriors took shifts watching over him as he slept.Sebastian and another Sun Warrior I don’t know bagged him at dawn and walked him back to the Red Forest to find his way home. I wanted to go wi
Diego angles himself so he can see me and Marion. “This morning, before you arrived at the palace,” he says, nodding to me, “the Alpha Prince informed me of a plan to sniff out our mole.”“What mole?” I ask.Diego raises his eyebrows. “Me.”“What?” Sebastian asks. I’m confused, too.“The beheadings,
AmeliaIt’s been less than an hour when a knock sounds on my bespelled door. Part of me flutters at the idea that the prince couldn’t stay away as long as planned, but my embarrassment at how he left earlier stops me from teasing him about it as I open the door.And a good thing, too, because it’s n
OwenI shut Amelia’s door closed behind me, rushing down the hall to my own bedroom.I stop short when the dahlias on the table catch my eye. Her new favorite flower.Part of me hopes that in the brief moment I’ve stopped, Amelia will come bursting through her door, asking me for something. Anything
AmeliaMy heart skips as Prince Owen’s mouth brushes against my hand. His lips are softer than I could have imagined. A warmth involuntarily blossoms between my thighs in response.His eyes that are still locked on mine flash gold like they sometimes do, drawing me in. His graceful fingers tighten e
“This way, miss,” he points away from the palace, into the gardens.I’m not sure where we’re going, but I don’t ask as I change direction. These small acts of kindness, of dignity, of calling me “miss” and allowing me to walk unbound and unhandled…I do not want to take advantage of them. I do not w







