I lowered the practice blade. “Then say what you mean.”
His jaw ticked once. “You felt the bond flare.”
“I did.”
“And?”
“And what, Riven? What do you want me to say?”
“That it didn’t mean anything.”
I laughed, dry and sharp. “Would that make it easier for you?”
He stepped closer. “I just want to understand.”
“Do you?” I asked. “Or do you just want to be angry that you weren’t first?”
That stopped him.
His silence said more than words ever could.
Finally, he said, “You’re not a prize to be won.”
“Then stop treating me like one.”
I dropped the blade and walked past him.
He didn’t follow.
That night, the halls were quiet.
Too quiet.
Until the scream broke through the silence.
I was already on my f
A tearing sensation ripped through me, sharp and deep like claws from the inside out. I stumbled back, clutching my middle as my knees buckled. The sword slipped from my hand, clattering to the stone.My wolf screamed.A deep, guttural cry echoed inside me, not a howl, but a warning.I fell.Voices blurred in the distance. I felt someone grab my shoulders and roll me gently. Heat pulsed around me, and then someone shouted my name.Riven.He was kneeling beside me in the next breath, his face ghost-white.“Rory. Stay with me. Look at me!”“I’m fine,” I whispered, even as blood smeared my palm. My heart thundered in my ears.“You’re not fine. Thorne! Call the healer—now!”I tried to sit up, but Riven pressed his hand to my shoulder.“Don’t move. Just breathe. You’re bleeding—”That was when I saw it. The red seeping through the front of my tunic.And the pain… the pain was growing worse.“No,” I said. “No, no, no—”“Rory,” he said gently, his hand finding mine, “stay awake.”Thorne’s fo
The pulse in the bond didn’t let me sleep.It wasn’t Kael’s warmth or Thorne’s grounding calm. It was something else—twisted, cold, and pulsing with a quiet malice that made my skin itch.I lay awake long after the torchlights dimmed, hand pressed against my chest as if I could calm the storm inside me. But nothing silenced that pulse. It wasn’t just the bond between mates—it was something deeper. Older. Tainted.And it was coming from Celina.I rose before dawn, unable to bear the weight of the silence anymore. My wolf paced under my skin, restless. Angry. Grieving. But more than anything, she was alert.Something’s coming.I didn’t bother with armor. Just a cloak. Boots. Dagger.As I stepped into the hallway, I found Riven already waiting by the outer door.“You felt it too,” I said.His jaw tightened. “She’s pregnant, and yet the magic around her is wrong. It’s too dark.”“She’s a threat.”“She’s a symbol,” Riven corrected. “To the ones who still whisper behind closed doors—she’s t
I lowered the practice blade. “Then say what you mean.”His jaw ticked once. “You felt the bond flare.”“I did.”“And?”“And what, Riven? What do you want me to say?”“That it didn’t mean anything.”I laughed, dry and sharp. “Would that make it easier for you?”He stepped closer. “I just want to understand.”“Do you?” I asked. “Or do you just want to be angry that you weren’t first?”That stopped him.His silence said more than words ever could.Finally, he said, “You’re not a prize to be won.”“Then stop treating me like one.”I dropped the blade and walked past him.He didn’t follow.That night, the halls were quiet.Too quiet.Until the scream broke through the silence.I was already on my f
That night the courtyard still reeked of burnt herbs and blood.Smoke curled from the pyre where the two bodies had been reduced to ash, and the scent clung to everything—the stone, the sky, even my skin. I stood in silence, surrounded by people yet feeling utterly alone, watching as the flames died.Kael was gone.And so was she.I didn’t need to ask where. I felt it deep in my chest, like something cracking open.He’s with her.The wind howled outside the northern wing as Kael stepped into Celina’s chamber.The air inside was heavy, laced with incense, sorrow, and something sharper.Celina stood by the window, arms folded, eyes locked on the garden below where the fires still glowed. She didn’t turn when the door shut.“I told them not to light a pyre,” she said softly. “She hated fire. It made her feel small.”Kael’s voice was rough. “I’m s
“I know.”“I had to…” He swallowed. “I had to go to her. To make sure she was okay.”“You mean Celina?”He nodded.“And?”“I shouldn’t have. I… I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”I stepped aside and let him in.The door shut behind him with a soft click.He turned to me.“I didn’t come here for comfort,” he said.“Then why are you here?”He walked toward me slowly, firelight dancing across his skin.“Because everything is unraveling,” he whispered, “and you’re the only thread that’s real.”His mouth was on mine before I could reply.And when the bond flared,It didn’t just burn.It screamed.And in that moment, as Kael’s lips crashed into mine, the bond surged like a tidal wave of fir
The scream still echoed in my skull as we charged through the corridor, the air so thick with tension it was like running through smoke. My heart thudded hard, as if it too recognized the sound of death.We burst into the chamber, Riven first, Kael right behind, and me at their heels. The room stank of sweat and blood and something bitter, poison.The maid was on the ground, writhing. Her face was twisted in agony, a shattered vial clutched in her hand, the glass cutting deep into her skin. Her mouth frothed. She’d taken it.Too late.Celina’s mother knelt beside her, one hand clutching the maid’s collar, the other shaking. Her face wasn’t one of guilt.It was a triumph.“I told her to be quiet,” she spat, voice hoarse with rage. “Told her not to scream.”Riven moved forward, slowly now, the fury in his stance replaced by something colder: purpose. “You poisoned her.”