LOGINLucian's POVThe battle was a slaughter.We were holding, barely. My warriors fought with the desperation of men who knew what waited for them if they fell. Women too. Even some of the older children who had gotten their wolves had taken up swords, defending the walls their fathers had built.But it was not enough.Darius had numbers. Siege weapons. Witches who threw fire from the edges of the battlefield. Every time we pushed them back, they surged forward again. Every time we killed one, two more took his place.I cut down three soldiers in quick succession. The first fell with my sword through his chest. The second lost his head. The third stumbled back, tripping over the body of his comrade, and I slit his throat with my claws before he could scream.Blood sprayed across my face. Hot. Thick.I did not wipe it away.Darius stood at the back of his army, surrounded by his elite guard. His silver eyes were fixed on me. On the walls. On the palace beyond.He was smiling.I wanted to k
Elara's POVThe voices pulled me out of the darkness.They were faint at first, like echoes from the bottom of a deep well. Then louder. Closer. One of them was old and tired, the other younger, sharper. They were arguing about something. Herbs. Potions. Whether to try another ritual."Her pulse is weakening," the old one said."No, it is stronger. Feel it. She is fighting."I opened my eyes.The ceiling above me was made of dark wood, crisscrossed with beams. A fire crackled somewhere to my left. The room smelled of smoke and herbs and something metallic. Blood.I turned my head.Two men in the room. The older one was bent over my wrist, his fingers pressed to my pulse. His face was lined with wrinkles, his eyes tired but kind. The younger one stood at the window, his back to me, staring out at something I could not see.The older man glanced down at my face.His eyes widened. His mouth fell open."You are awake!"The younger man spun around. He crossed the room in three quick stride
Elara's POVI sat on the glowing floor for a long time.My back was pressed against the door I had just closed, the wood cold against my spine. My eyes were probably red from all the weeping, my chest felt like a large rock was dropped in it. My mother's screams still echoed in my ears, and every time I closed my eyes, I saw the fire.I should have been stronger. Should have stood up. Should have walked to the next door and kept going.But I could not move.The hallway of light stretched before me, endless and indifferent. Doors lined the walls, some open, some closed, some locked. Each one held a piece of my past. Each one demanded something from me. I had given so much already. My tears. My grief. The last shreds of the numbness that had protected me."Elara."I lifted my head.The voice came from nowhere and everywhere. Not from behind a door. Not from a memory. From outside. From the world beyond this strange hallway of light."Elara, you have to fight this."It was old. Tired. De
Elara's POVThe next door felt different before I even touched it.Cold radiated from the wood, seeping into my fingers, my palm, my wrist. The handle should have been warm like the others, but it was not. It was ice. I almost pulled my hand away. Almost walked past.But I could not, I opened the door.The memory unfolded like a wound, how did I have this memory without actually being in it?I was already away with maid Phoebe's sister, wasn't I? This was never supposed to be a memory I had.I ignored the questions that flooded my mind and concentrated on the memory.My parents' great hall. The same hall where I had played as a child, where I had hidden behind my mother's skirts when the Lycan Queen visited. But everything was different now. The light was dimmer. The air was heavier. And the girl sitting at the high table, in the seat that should have been mine, was not the Liora I remembered.She was twelve when the switch happened. Thirteen now. Perhaps fourteen. Her golden hair was
Elara's POVThe hallway of light stretched before me, endless and glowing.I walked past the doors I had already opened, the memories still fresh in my mind. My mother's butterfly. My father's fear. The Lycan Queen's cold fingers brushing against the cloth that hid my white hair.Some of the doors ahead were different.They were locked. Dark energy seeped from the cracks around their frames, cold and wrong. I stopped in front of one and pressed my ear to the wood. Silence. But not empty silence. The kind of silence that waits. The kind that watches.I stepped back.I did not need to see those memories. Not yet. Perhaps not ever.I walked past them, my bare feet silent on the glowing floor, until I reached a door that was not locked. Its handle was warm. Inviting. I placed my hand on it and pushed._____________The room inside was a garden.Not the same garden from before. Smaller. More private. Hidden behind high hedges and climbing roses. A stone bench sat beneath an old oak tree, a
Lucian's POVNothing worked.I sat on the edge of the bed, Elara's cold hand in mine, and watched Gwen and Gaius move around the room like ghosts. Herbs were ground. Potions were mixed. Incantations were whispered. The air smelled of sage and something bitter, something that made my eyes water.Nothing worked.Gwen pressed his palms to her temples. The runes on his staff glowed faintly, then dimmed. He shook his head."The potion is deeply woven," he said. "Her mind is fighting, but the magic is old. Strong.""Try again," I said."I have tried. The ritual requires her participation. She must want to wake. She must choose to fight." He stepped back from the bed. "I cannot force her."I looked at Elara. Her face was pale, peaceful, her white hair spread across the pillow. She looked like she was sleeping. Like she would wake at any moment, stretch, smile, ask for tea.But she did not wake.Gaius approached with a small vial of dark liquid. He tipped it to her lips. She swallowed reflexi
Elara’s POVI felt hurt and bad that he could get angry like that even after our morning encounter. The teasing, the laughter, the way he had stayed with me through the nightmare — I thought things had changed between us. But the moment I stepped into that room, his anger returned full force, sharp
Lucian’s POVI burst through the palace gates with the unconscious girl cradled against my chest. The full moon still hung high, bathing everything in cold silver light. My bare feet slapped against the stone courtyard. Blood from the rogues still coated my skin and matted my hair.The two guards a
Lucian’s POVI burst into Elara’s chambers without knocking, the door banging against the wall hard enough to rattle the hinges.The royal physician was already there, bent over the bed, pressing a cool cloth to her forehead. Elara lay under the covers, cheeks flushed, skin glistening with sweat. S
Elara’s POVThe cage bars dug into my back as I pressed myself against them. The metal was cold and rough, smelling of rust and something sour that made my stomach turn. I wrapped my arms around my knees and tried to breathe slow. My heart hammered so loud I could hear it in my ears.This was worse







