로그인Raven The heavy oak doors to the council chamber loomed ahead, and despite the many months of relentless preparation leading to this moment, my palms were still damp against Neil’s. I squeezed his hand tighter, grounding myself in the warmth of his touch. Six months ago, I wouldn’t have imagined
“Not today,” Neil said, the faintest hint of a smirk touching his lips. Serena was the last to approach, her steps slow and deliberate. Her eyes locked onto Neil, flicking between the knife in his hand and Edrick’s body sprawled lifeless behind us. I felt my stomach twist painfully. I moved to p
Raven When I had killed Hannah, I thought that there was too much blood. But now, as I watched Neil fall to the stone floor, as that guttural scream ripped from my throat, I knew that that was nothing compared to the blood pooling around him now. He was losing too much blood to survive. Befo
He raised his sword and easily parried an attack with one hand. “And what’s that?” “I may not be the full-blood prince, but I was chosen to take that place. Perhaps that is worth more than your blood ties to the crown.” I pressed forward, hammering him with a series of strikes, but Edrick met me
Neil The blade in my hand felt heavier than it usually did. Maybe it was just my exhaustion, or maybe it was the weight of the crown that I wasn’t wearing yet that was dragging me down. Or maybe it was the feeling of everyone’s eyes on me. The warmth of my father’s blood still coating my hands.
Castor exhaled, dragging his free hand through his hair. “Raven… I know you think you can help, but if they see you here, it’ll only make things worse. Edrick’s been feeding the court lies for weeks. They’ll kill you on sight.” Shaking my head, I reached into my cloak and pulled out the pendant th
Hannah’s eyes were wide as saucers. “My Queen—”“Hush, Hannah. Do not make a fool of yourself.” The queen corked the bottle and handed it to her servant, who pocketed it. Hannah seemed to tremble with rage, but finally went silent. The queen asked, “You’re well-versed in making perfumes, I take it?”
HannahI whirled around at the sound of the voice, meeting the sharp gaze of a beautiful woman across the room.She had silver hair that was coiled neatly into a plait around her head, on top of which sat a delicate golden crown that matched her shimmering golden gown. Her eyes were the color of hon
“I do not share a mother with my brothers.”The answer took me by surprise. I had no idea that Neil was an illegitimate child—since he apparently still had a right to battle for the throne, then it never occurred to me.“It’s complicated,” he added, sensing my confusion.With that, he turned to Edri
Raven“You will be meeting the Lycan King and Queen today.”Great, I thought as Ember carefully pulled my hair back into two ornate braids, affixing small golden cuffs around the end of each. That was just what I needed; to spend a day having to blend in with people who executed their own.After all







