Chapter 13

"Good morning, competitor Blackwood. I trust you slept well?"

King Darius's voice was cold as winter steel. He stood on the raised platform overlooking the training grounds, arms behind his back, his face completely blank. Not a flicker of warmth. Not a hint of the man who'd held her through the night.

Aria kept her expression neutral. "Very well, Your Majesty. Thank you."

King Orion didn't even look at her. He was speaking with one of the judges, his posture stiff, his jaw set. When Aria walked past, he moved slightly—just enough to put more distance between them.

It stung. Even knowing it was an act, it stung.

"Don't let it get to you," Blake said, falling into step beside her. "The kings treat every competitor the same. It's protocol."

"I know."

"You don't look like you know. You look like someone kicked your puppy."

Aria forced a laugh. "I don't have a puppy."

"You have a wolf. Close enough." Blake handed her a training schedule. "We've got two weeks before the next trial. The Trial of Wisdom. Less fighting, more thinking. You should do well."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because you're smart, Aria. Smarter than you think." He paused. "Also, you managed your father's pack finances for three years. Half these women can't balance a checkbook."

She looked at him sharply. "How do you know about the finances?"

Blake shrugged. "I'm the Royal Gamma. It's my job to know things."

He walked away before she could press further. Something about the way he said it made her wonder exactly how much Blake Morrison knew about her.

The day dragged. Training sessions, group exercises, lectures on pack law and kingdom history. Through all of it, Aria felt the bond pulling at her. Orion was somewhere in the east wing. Darius was in his study. She could feel them both like compass needles in her chest.

Vivian, of course, made the day worse.

"That bruise is interesting," she said during the midday meal, sliding into the seat across from Aria. "On your face. It looks recent."

"Training accident," Aria said, not looking up from her plate.

"Funny. I train every day and I've never gotten a handprint-shaped bruise."

Luna kicked Vivian under the table. "Mind your business, Vivian."

Vivian smiled sweetly. "I'm just concerned for my fellow competitor. We should look out for each other, shouldn't we?"

She left before Aria could respond. But the damage was done. Aria could feel other women staring. Whispering. Wondering.

When evening came, Aria retreated to her room. She sat on the bed, counted to a hundred, and waited.

At the count of eighty-seven, a section of the wall behind her bookshelf shifted. A soft click, then a panel slid open, revealing a narrow passage lit by dim torchlight.

Orion emerged first, already grinning. Behind him, Darius ducked through, brushing dust off his sleeve.

"Secret passages," Aria said. "Of course this castle has secret passages."

"Every castle does," Darius said. "Most people just don't know where to look."

Orion crossed the room and pulled her into his arms, lifting her off the bed entirely. "I've been going insane all day. Do you know how hard it is to ignore you? I almost threw a judge into the fountain when he said your name during roll call."

"That would've been subtle."

"Subtlety is Darius's thing." He set her down and kissed her forehead. "You okay? The bruise looks better."

"It's healing."

"You still won't tell us who did it," Darius said. Not a question.

"No."

He didn't push. Instead, he sat in the chair by her desk and pulled out a small leather notebook. "Then let's talk about something else. The Trial of Wisdom is in two weeks. You need to prepare."

Aria blinked. "You're going to help me cheat?"

"I'm going to help you win. There's a difference."

Orion dropped onto the bed, pulling Aria down beside him. "Darius has been studying the trial format since last week. He's already figured out what the scenarios will be about."

"Resource disputes between allied packs," Darius said, flipping open the notebook. "Trade route conflicts. Succession crises. Standard political problems that a Luna would need to solve."

"And you happen to know all this because...?"

"Because I wrote half the scenarios." A ghost of a smile crossed his face. "The other half were written by Knox, which concerns me for different reasons."

They spent the next hour going over political strategy. Darius was a patient teacher—methodical, precise, breaking down complex problems into simple steps. Orion chimed in with real-world examples, stories about disputes he'd settled and crises he'd managed.

Aria absorbed everything. Years of quietly managing her father's pack had given her instincts she didn't know she had. When Darius presented a scenario about water rights between two packs, she solved it in minutes.

"See?" Orion nudged her. "You're a natural."

"I had practice. My father couldn't be bothered with budgets or trade deals. I handled everything from the time I was sixteen."

Both kings went quiet at the mention of her father.

"Aria," Darius said carefully. "The bruise—"

"Don't."

"—was it him?"

She didn't answer. Her silence was louder than any confession.

Orion sat up slowly. The playfulness drained from his face. "Your father hit you."

"Drop it."

"I will not drop it."

"Orion." She grabbed his arm. "If you do anything—anything—it will blow our cover. Everyone will know. And then what? The curse activates the second you claim me. Your enemies find out and use it against you. Everything falls apart."

He stared at her. His wolf was right behind his eyes, gold and raging.

"She's right," Darius said quietly. He didn't look happy about it.

Orion pulled Aria against his chest and held her so tight she could barely breathe. "When this is over," he said against her hair, "that man will answer for every mark he ever put on you. I swear it."

Aria closed her eyes and let herself be held. She didn't argue. Didn't fight. Just let the warmth of him chase away the cold that her father's hands always left behind.

Later, when the candles had burned low and all three of them lay tangled together in the dark, Aria listened to their breathing slow. Orion fell asleep first, like always. Darius lasted longer, his mind too busy to rest easily.

"Darius?"

"Hmm."

"Knox. The Royal Beta. What do you know about him?"

A pause. "Why do you ask?"

"He's been... friendly. Too friendly. Asking questions about my family, my wolf. Blake said he's been meeting with outsiders."

Another pause, longer this time.

"Knox has served the crown for twenty years," Darius said slowly. "He's ambitious, but that's never been a problem before. What kind of questions is he asking?"

"About my bloodline. About where my mother came from."

In the darkness, she felt Darius go very still.

"Don't answer his questions," he said. "And don't be alone with him."

"You think he's dangerous?"

Darius didn't respond right away. When he did, his voice was careful, measured—the voice of a king who was always three moves ahead.

"I think there are people in this castle who want something from you, Aria. And I don't think all of them want the same thing."

She waited for more. But Darius said nothing else, and eventually his breathing evened out.

Aria lay awake between her two mates, staring at the ceiling.

Two kings who couldn't claim her. A father who wanted to destroy her. A curse that might kill her. And now a Royal Beta digging into secrets that shouldn't see the light.

She turned her head and looked at Orion's sleeping face. Then at Darius's.

Whatever Knox was looking for, he was getting closer to finding it. She could feel it in her bones.

And when he did, none of them would be safe.