MasukRaven 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
I blinked at that, then recalled last night—the play fighting in the hot springs. Had Ember heard about that? But Neil hadn’t been hurt, or so it seemed.“We were just—”“You insist on pampering yourself like a princess,” Ember continued, firing another arrow into the dummy. “Prince Neil finally got
Raven“I have no interest in you whatsoever.”Those words should have been a relief. In their own way, they were a promise—a promise that, once this whole ordeal was over, we would break our bond and I would return home unscathed with nothing tying me to the barbaric Lycan world.And yet… I couldn’t
The pilot, though…“Maybe there are alligators, too,” Neil continued, taking another step closer. There was a tiny smirk tugging at his lips, and the torches made him look even more impish. “Or perhaps piranhas.”“Stop—”“Hm. Or maybe there are sirens beneath the water who will drag you under and fe
Raven“It smells awful in here.” I tugged against Neil’s grip on my hand, digging my heels into the dirt. My nose wrinkled at the scent of something I couldn’t quite place—whatever it was, it smelled like death. And rotten eggs.“Stop struggling,” Neil growled, clearly annoyed with me. “It’s just a







