The morning after felt different. Not because of the sunlight—though it poured in through the shutters, warm and golden—but because of the way the air in her quarters carried his scent. Cael’s scent. It was in the folds of her blanket, in the way her wolf settled when she breathed in too deeply, in the faint imprint his hand had left on her waist while they slept. She should have risen early, before the camp fully woke, before anyone noticed she wasn’t in her own bed at the hour she usually was. But for a time, she stayed still, eyes closed, tracing the memory of the night across her skin. It had been… more than she’d expected. Not rushed. Not consumed by the bond’s urgency. Just them. And yet—there was no ignoring how quickly her mind returned to the truths she’d been holding back from him. The spy. The meeting at the river. Hale’s smirk when he’d glanced toward her hiding place. The warmth from the night before was real, but it was layered now with the weight of what she h
Cael caught her scent before he saw her.He’d been pacing the ridge above the eastern wall for over an hour, restless, that strange hollow ache in his chest worsening with each breath that didn’t bring her closer. He’d tried to bury himself in patrol duties, in the quiet efficiency of the warriors stationed here, but his mind kept circling back to the moment he’d let her walk away.And now — there she was.Emerging from the treeline, moving with that careful, calculated grace that told him she hadn’t just been wandering. She’d been hunting something. Or someone.Her hood was down, mist tangled in her hair, cheeks flushed from the cold. But her eyes — gods, her eyes were sharper than he’d seen in days.She tried to pass him without slowing.“Liora.”The sound of her name in his voice made her hesitate, just for a heartbeat. Then she stopped, turning enough to meet his gaze.“You’re out early,” he said, keeping his tone low, casual, though his wolf strained against the leash.“So are yo
The river carried the morning mist like a shroud, soft and silver against the jagged banks. Hale liked it this way—when the world was half-hidden, secrets felt closer to the surface.He didn’t move when Risa emerged from the trees on the opposite bank. She approached without hurry, her boots barely making a sound on the damp ground. The girl had learned well. He’d trained her himself in those first months after she defected.She didn’t need to speak for him to know she’d brought what he wanted. He caught the faint glint of rolled parchment in her hand, the ribbon dark with river dew.“East wall,” she said simply, handing it over.Hale unrolled the map, scanning the marks she’d made—guard rotations, weak points in the watchtower coverage, supply storage locations. Her handwriting was small and neat, her angles precise. It was almost art, the way she could take in a fortified structure and dismantle it on paper.“Good,” Hale murmured. His voice was calm, but inside, the wolf in him prow
Liora had learned long ago that sometimes the best way to find an answer was to stop looking for it directly.It was a lesson from Elias, back when she was still young enough to think patience was for the weak. He’d taken her into the woods, told her they were tracking a deer. She’d stormed ahead, sniffing for its scent, scanning for movement, certain she could catch it first. She’d missed it entirely—spooked it with her noise. Elias had found it, silent and steady, by not chasing.That memory sat with her now as she slipped along the eastern wall just before dawn.She wasn’t chasing.She was watching.The camp was still, the air cool with lingering mist. The few warriors on watch paid her little attention. She’d been on these walls enough times to make her presence unremarkable. But her focus wasn’t on the guards.It was on the gap in the tree line about fifty yards out, where she’d seen movement the night before.Her wolf’s ears were pricked, nose lifting to catch scents. The wind s
Liora didn’t remember falling asleep.She only remembered the dream.Running through the forest, the moon a silver slash above, the sound of something—someone—following her. Her wolf moved in perfect sync with her body, paws striking the earth, breath coming sharp and fast. But when she looked over her shoulder, it wasn’t rogues that chased her. It was a shadow. Tall, lean, wearing the faint smirk of someone who already knew they’d win.When she turned forward again, the forest had changed. The trees were taller, older, the air heavier. The ground beneath her paws shifted, slick with rain, and she realized she was heading toward the river.Only—when she reached it, the water wasn’t water at all. It was black, still, and in it she saw not her reflection… but someone else’s.Her eyes. But not her face.And then she woke.The light spilling through her window told her it was already mid-morning. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed, rubbing her face with both hands. Her wolf was u
The first thing Risa learned as a rogue was that the best way to disappear was to be seen.Not noticed. Not remembered. But seen in the way people see a leaf drift past or a shadow at the edge of their vision. There, and gone. Forgettable.She'd been playing that game for years, and it had kept her alive long enough to find someone worth staying alive for.Hale.Tonight was no different. She moved through the high branches on the eastern ridge, each step deliberate, her weight balanced perfectly so the bark barely creaked under her boots. From here, she had the perfect view of Crescent's outer wall.And of the girl.Liora walked the perimeter like a wolf itching for a fight she couldn't name. Risa studied her for a long time, her copper-green eyes narrowing.Hale had been right—there was something about her. She moved like a warrior but carried herself like someone still half in the shadows. Not Crescent by blood. Not Shadowclaw either. A stray given a place and told to guard it, neve