MAERWYNN POVMist clung to every surface—stone, wood, railing, even the leaves—soft and cold like breath held in the air. It was the surest sign winter was near. Back in the village of Ferngrove, we used to stick a glass deep into the ground to measure the season. The higher the mist crept inside it, the closer the snow would come. It was an old trick. But it worked.“Have you ever been to the main town?” Caelora’s voice broke through my thoughts.I let my fingers slip from the frost-slicked edge of the balcony. “No,” I said, blinking back into the moment.“We’re heading out to get some jars,” she said with a smile. “Want to come?”Before I could answer, Lira and Calia descended the marble steps from the upper chambers, deep in conversation. Both of them wore soft velvet dresses—the kind that shifted in the light. Lira’s was pale blue with silver-threaded stars, Calia’s a deeper shade of green, her usual gold jewelries twinkling gently against her skin.“I’ll come,” I said. “Might be
MAERWYNN POVRhaenan doubled slightly, letting out a grunt of pain but not defending himself.“You didn’t tell me?” she spat. “All this time, and you kept it quiet?”“I was drunk,” Rhaenan rasped, breath still catching. “And honestly... I thought you knew.”Lira looked like she might hit him again—her fists clenched, wild curls falling around her face like a storm barely held back. Her eyes sparked with betrayal, with something else too—but after a long pause, she turned sharply on her heel and stalked toward the far end of the chamber. Her boots echoed off the stone floor like a warning bell.She paced, once, twice, and the rest of us just stood there—watching her unravel in silence.Then she spun around, flinging her hands up. “Fine. Ugh, you are such a cunt,” she snapped, fury still thick in her voice.“Well, that’s something that’s been proven,” Caelora said sweetly, clearly unbothered. She stepped up behind Lira and laid a calm hand on her shoulder. “Try not to kill anyone. It’s
MAERWYNN POV“Faeries are bloody promiscuous and a bunch of horny folks,” Thalen’s voice booms from the dining room, carrying into the corridor.Caelora doesn’t miss a beat. “You would know. Pretty sure I saw you with those herbs last night, Thalen.”I descend the stairs slowly into the freshly arranged hall, now bustling with voices and too much morning energy. Sunlight floods in through the high windows, and the scent of strong tea and fae bread wafts from the side tables. The group were laughing, talking, retelling stories from the feast as though war wasn’t slowly crawling toward all of us.Calia spots me first, her eyes narrowing like a cat who knows too much.“Great, she’s up,” she announces loudly. “We were wondering if Valen had utterly destroyed your will to walk last night.”I stop mid-step, heat flooding my cheeks. “What?”Thalen and Aric snicker. I square my shoulders and keep walking, ignoring the grin threatening at the corner of Caelora’s mouth.“Sadly,” I reply with a
RHAENAN POVThe night was still young, the party only just warming up. Food was cast aside and the music was louder than the din of voices. Everyone was chattering and drinking and dancing like we were born to do it. The halls glowed with golden light, laughter echoing against the high, arched ceilings. It should have felt like celebration.But it didn’t.No matter how much I tried to laugh, tried to smile and be the High Lord’s right hand, my head was somewhere else. My thoughts kept pulling me down like weights tied to my ribs.I needed to see her. I needed to know she was okay. I’d pretended I was fine when Maerwynn told us about the prophecy Themorathe had spoken over her—the one that named her a darkling. I’d tried to act calm. I’d tried to be Valen’s anchor.But I was losing it.I downed another glass of fae blossom wine and let it drop to the table with a sharp clang. No one noticed, not with the music and the wild energy in the room. My eyes drifted to the door, to the dark sk
MAERWYNN POVSuddenly, the wine in my system was gone, replaced by cold dread.Valen’s eyes shifted from me to the sound of boots behind me. Baelorin came to stand at my side, looking perfectly composed. He didn’t look sorry—if anything, he looked like he’d just had a quiet victory.“What were you two doing out here?” Valen asked finally, his voice calm and soft, but it carried something deeper. I froze. Did he see us? The lake wasn’t visible from the doorway, but the way he looked at us made my stomach twist.“I… I was just taking in some air,” I stammered, forcing a smile. “Baelorin was kind enough to make sure I didn’t fall into the lake.”I glanced at Baelorin, praying he’d follow my lead. The bastard had the nerve to smile at me, a flicker of amusement in his green eyes.Valen raised a brow, his gaze lingering on Baelorin for a long, quiet second. “I see,” he said at last, stepping forward and wrapping his arm around my waist. “Well, I’ll take it from here.”I let him guide me ba
MAERWYNN POVBy the time I started eating the roasted meat piled high on the table and the feast was in full swing, I felt lightheaded and floaty from the fae blossom wine. Valen’s hand on my thigh sent sparks up my spine, a quiet heat that had my thoughts unraveling at the edges. I could hear laughter even when no one was laughing.Valen had warned me once—two cups of fae blossom wine was my limit. But it seemed I hadn’t listened. Now he was across the room at another table, talking with other guests. His hands were clasped behind his back, his posture straight and regal. Every inch the High Lord.At our table, Aric and Thalen were up to some kind of performance, half a game and half a show of strength. The others cheered and clapped, the air alive with laughter and easy warmth. But I felt like I was drifting—my focus flickering like candlelight.Questions about me kept circling the table. Lira leaned in closer, her voice bright with curiosity. “You’ve been working with Valen, haven’