LOGINEsmeralda's POVThe winter that begins in the Silverwood was very harsh, but then it was the warmest I had ever known. The city was full. The granaries is stocked, and the fires in the Great Hall never went out.We held a feast to celebrate the winter as its was. There wasn't a royal gala with stiff protocols and those of fake smiles. It was rather a riot of noise, laughter, I sat at the high table with Killian and Oliver. My son was nearly walking now, his grip on my finger strong and steady. He didn't have the violet glow in his eyes anymore, but then he had a spark of something else—a bright, curious intelligence that reminded me of my father.Lily and Marcus were sitting nearby, their hands linked under the table. They had then announced their mating the week before, and the joy on Lily’s face was the greatest gift I could have asked for."A toast!" Killian shouted, as he stood up and raising a flagon of ale.The room went silent almost immediately, but however it was a comfortab
Esmeralda's POVEverything that had happened was like being unmade.I felt as though my memories being stripped away. It was the smell of the forest after rain. I felt feeling of Killian’s fur under my fingers. The sound of Oliver’s first laugh. They were all being drawn into the Great Oak, used as fuel to burn away the rot Silas had planted.Silas screamed as the light passed through him. He couldn't handle the purity of it. He disintegrated into ash, his physical form unable to contain the sheer volume of power I was channeling it for some reasonBut then I couldn't stop. The oak was a bottomless of a flickering pit, its thirst for healing and endless. I felt my knees hit the dirt. My vision was fading. The silver scar on my arm was glowing so brightly it was blinding.Esme...I heard Killian’s voice in my head. It wasn't a whisper; it roar. He was back at the city, miles away, but the bond was screaming.Don't go. Don't leave me."I have to," I say, and myvoice lost in the roaring
Esmeralda's POVAfter the battle, the following weeks came were consumed by the mundane and the monumental. Silverwood was no longer a dream, not like the kind of land you had wanted for some reasons. We had integrated nearl a thousand Royalists into our ranks—men and women who were tired of being pawns in a Council’s game.But then again peace brought its own kind of exhaustion.I spent my days setting disputes over land and my nights stares at the ceiling, waiting for the shadows to return.I still stayed at the private solar and looked into a silver-backed mirror I had salvaged from the old palace. I try to pin my hair back, but for some reasons my fingers were clumsy. I looked at my reflection, and for a split second, I didn't see myself.I saw the shadow-woman.was she standing behind me?, yes her ash-colored hand rested on my shoulder. She wasn't screaming or lunging. She was just even there."You can't wash it off, Esmeralda," she whispered, her voice was like wind through a to
Esmeralda's POV I see the river was at the line in the sand. On the other side was the hope of the new world—the Rogues, the defectors, all families all wanted the chance to live. On the another side was the weight of the old world—the Royal Army, were ten thousand stronger, their armor all gleaming with a cold, soulless perfection. Aria was standing at the front of all the army, her white wolf form a stark contrast to the dark forest behind her. She wasn’t with Thorne. He was still locked in the dungeons, he was King in name only. Killian sat on his horse beside me, his black wolf form already pacing restlessly in his mind. I could already feel his battle-rage, hot, golden fire that threatened to consume everything."Don't lose yourself, Killian," I say, reaching out to touch his hand. "We need that very man today, not just the beast." He looked at me, and the golden fire softened. "I'm here, Esme. I'm right here."Aria gave us a signal. The siege engines groaned, and a rain
Esmeralda’s POVThe borderlands did not look the same when we came back.What used to be tents and rough wood had changed.Stone walls were rising everywhere.Men were carrying blocks. Wolves were hauling timber. Smoke rose from fresh fires where builders worked day and night.A city was being born.I slowed my horse and stared.For a moment I could hardly believe it.Right in the center stood the Great Hall.Its walls were tall and wide, made from heavy gray stone. The roof was still missing, but the shape of the building was already clear. A huge circular space meant to hold thousands.Light poured into it from every side.Not dark like the temples in the south.Open.Alive.Hopeful.When we rode through the gates, people saw us.At first there was silence.Then someone shouted.“Alpha!”Another voice followed.“The Queen!”Suddenly the entire place erupted.They were cheering.Not just Royalists.Not just rogues.Everyone.Their voices mixed together until the sound filled the whol
Esmeralda's POVThe water was not just cold, It was warm a bit.It felt like a liquid silver was being poured into my veins, making me feel like I was hurnted by the black poison and burning it out. I screamed, but the sound was swallowed by the depths. I was sinking, the surface of the pool got further and further away until it was just a tiny pinprick of light. Let it go, I heard a voice saying in the depths. It was not the shadow-woman. This voice was old, ancient, like the shifting of tectonic plates. The pain, the betrayal, the crown. Let it all go, or you will drown in the weight of it. I began to see images of my life flash before me. Thorne’s sneer as he rejected me. The sound of the sword falling on my father’s neck. The cold nights in the forest when I thought I wouldn't survive. Each memory was a stone, dragging me deeper. I saw Aria laughing as she wore my dress. I saw the villagers' burned homes. I saw the blood on my own hands. "I can't," I gasped, the silver wa
Thorne POV I watched as my warriors fought one another, each of them fighting with so much fervor and strength. They all knew I was watching them and what that meant. If I noticed anyone slacking, they might be demoted.But what they didn’t know was that I wasn’t really watching them. My eyes were
Esmeralda POV Killain lifted me up and carried me out of the confrontation site, his eyes and entire body on full alert. The place was still filled with remnant of smoke from Aurora’s powers.The dark magic still tainted the air, reeling deeply of smoke. I didn’t say anything as Killian carried me
Esmeralda POV “I’d rather die than to see him save you one last time.” Aurora growled angrily, coming straight at me when she saw that my attention was divided and I had all my gaze on Killian.With every energy in her, she stretched out her hand and directed the remaining venom in her to me, aimi
Killian POV I wanted to be so mad at her, especially when I heard the reason the fight happened. I was furious at first, but Esmeralda had me wrapped around her little fingers so that I couldn’t just get mad at her because the anger ebbed away the moment I looked into her eyes.Aurora got to this







