INICIAR SESIÓNCHAPTER 31 — InjuredI joined a patrol I was not even cleared for. The Silverling scout route had been sitting in my notebook for two weeks. I had mapped it, and memorized it. I was not going to sit back and let someone else confirm what I already knew.The patrol leader hesitated when I showed up. He looked at my face, at my clothes, at the way I carried myself. He wanted to say no, he should have said no. But I was Luna, and Luna did not ask permission."We move at dusk," he said.I nodded and fell in line.The patrol moved to the outer border as the sun went down. I kept my eyes on the tree line, my hand near the blade at my hip, my breathing steady. The wolves around me moved in silence, trained and focused. I heard the sound of an animal before I saw anything. I turned, my hand going to my own blade, but the Silverling scout was already there. He came out of the dark fast, faster than I expected, his eyes locked on me.The knife went into my side before anyone reached him.I fel
CHAPTER 30 — DemotionI stood with Tywin, chit chatting after the stressful meeting. The council had gone in circles for an hour about supply lines, and my head was pounding from holding my face still while Maris explained something I already understood better than he did.Tywin leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, his expression light in a way it only got when we were alone. "You lasted longer than I would have.""I did not have a choice.""You always have a choice, you could have walked out. You could have thrown something or told Maris exactly where he could put his supply routes."I almost laughed. "And ruined the Luna's perfect composure?""The Luna's perfect composure is overrated."He said it with a straight face, and that was what broke me and I couldn’t stop myself from bursting out laughing.Tywin smiled, reached over and placed his arm on my shoulders. I smiled at it but my smile froze when I felt something cold pressing against the back of my neck.I turned my head.
CHAPTER 29 — ErosionI walk out of Sailyn's chamber and into the main corridor. The fragments are tucked inside my sleeve, pressing against my skin, my mind is still turning over that I am not watching where I am going.A servant steps out of a side door. A young woman, maybe nineteen, carrying a stack of linens. She does not see me and I do not see her, so we collide.The linens spill across the floor. The woman stumbles back, her face going pale. She bows quickly, too quickly, stammering apologies."Luna, I am so sorry, I did not see you, I was not looking—"I snap at her."You should watch where you are going."The voice that comes out of me is cold, sharp and dismissive. It is nothing like mine. It is exactly like Sailyn. The tone she uses when she wants someone to feel small, the edge she puts in her voice when she is reminding a servant of their place.The woman flinches, her hands shake as she drops to her knees and starts gathering the linens. She does not look up at me. She k
CHAPTER 28 — StagedI go back to Sailyn's chamber when the packhouse is asleep. The fireplace draws me again like I did not search it well enough the first time. I was too eager and rushed. I take a deep breath and kneel on the hearth, the stone is cold against my knees. I reach deeper into the ash this time, my fingers scraping against the brick at the very back, where the shadows are thickest and no one would think to look.My fingers brush against something hard and I pull it out.A second piece of paper, much smaller than the first one and even more damaged. The edges are curled and black, crumbling between my fingers, but the ink is still readable in the center where the fire did not reach.It is a meeting location, I instantly recognize the name, it is a Silverling border post. It is on the maps in the war room, marked as hostile territory, a place no pack wolf goes without permission.I look at the date written next to it. It was two weeks before Sailyn’s kidnapping.I sit on
CHAPTER 27I am walking back from the library when Elder Corvus steps out from a side corridor and blocks my path.It is deliberate, he did not just happen to be here. He has been waiting, watching my movements, timing this moment for when I would be alone. The corridor is empty, the guards are at the other end of the hall, too far to hear. "Luna," he says. "A word."It is not a question.I stop and keep my face still. I do not step back, even though every instinct tells me to put distance between us."Elder Corvus."He inclines his head. His eyes are narrow, patient, the same eyes that have been tracking me across every room, every meal, every moment since Tywin told me he went to Damos. Up close, they are worse. They do not blink enough."I wanted to speak with you privately," he says. "Away from the formality of the council chamber."I wait, I do not help him.He folds his hands behind his back. His tone shifts, becomes softer, almost gentle. It is carefully kind. That makes it da
CHAPTER 26 — UninvitedThe morning strategy briefing is already going on when I reach the council chamber. I can hear voices through the door, low and measured, the same careful tones I heard the night I crouched in the corridor.I do not knock, I just push the door open and walk in.The room goes quiet. Elder Maris blinks at me from his seat near the window, Elder Tolland frowns, his pen frozen above his notes and the younger council members look at each other, uncertain, waiting for someone to tell them how to react.I do not look at any of them, I walk to an empty chair near the middle of the table, pull it out and sit down. I place my notes on the table in front of me and fold my hands on top of them.Damos stares at me from the head of the table, his jaw is tight. His pen is in his hand, hovering over his papers, he did not invite me here and he did not send for me. He made that clear the last time I asked to sit in on these meetings.I hold his gaze and do not smile or apologize
CHAPTER 12 — The ScarThe maid is unlacing my dress when her hands go still.I feel the pause and hesitation immediately. Her fingers have stopped moving against my spine and I can feel her breath catch somewhere behind my shoulder.I wait but I do not turn. I let her work through whatever is happe
CHAPTER 15 — I'll Find HerDamos pulls me into his office and shuts the door.The lock clicks behind me. He does not sit behind his desk. He stands in the middle of the room with his arms crossed, his eyes fixed on my face, and I know immediately that this is not about the kiss."The Silverling mes
CHAPTER 14 — The KissThe pack elder studies me from the moment he arrives.He is old, older than any elder in our pack, with grey hair that hangs past his shoulders and eyes that have been watching wolves for longer than I have been alive. He sits across from me in the receiving hall, his hands fo
CHAPTER 13 — The DarkI am already awake when he reaches across the bed.The room is dark, no moonlight slips through the curtains and no candle burns by the bedside. I have been lying still for hours, listening to him breathe, watching the shape of his shoulders rise and fall in the dark, my mind







