MasukSierra “Out said,” Asher. I nearly burst out laughing at that but I was out of breath. Two steps at a time we ascended the narrow staircase. I forced myself to keep up even though the ascent burned through my legs and into my lungs. Now was not the time to slow down. As we ascended we heard the sound of pursuit and it was getting quicker. We ran out into the open air through the top door. My head cleared in an instant as cold, clean and fresh aye struck my face. Once more we were behind the stables but this time we were farther away. Behind us the palace loomed, its windows dark and watchful rather than peaceful, its walls pale in the moonlight.Jace didn't hesitate. “Guy,” he said. “This way.”We made our way across the yard dodging low fences and piled supplies before squeezing through a small opening in the outer wall that I would not have seen on my own. “Tell me you were aware of that.”I said “I hoped,” he said. Asher remained near me so that I could sense his presence
Sierra.The silence was short. It began to thin first. I could only put it like that and as if the court itself knew what was about to happen the atmosphere itself changed. I was scared and didn't know what to do at this point.The horses in the nearby stalls stamped once, then again restlessly and before I did Jace heard it and in an instant all traces of dry humor vanished from his expression as he turned to face the passage we had just passed. “Those are not our men,” he said. The words came out clear and confident. Asher made a snap decision. He didn't waste time listening to us or seeking confirmation. I couldn't see the calculation that was going through his mind but I could tell by the way his body moved and his concentration sharpened. “Inside,” he uttered. His voice was unsuitable for debate. I and Jace turned the give each other puzzled glances.I didn't argue for once. We turned to face the passage but it was too late to slip away in silence. At the far end of the cour
SierraWith a sharp motion he lashed out at Asher, driving him off balance, after that his eyes found mine once more.He slipped up right there.His gaze landed on me like I was just a gap in the defense.A sliver of wood rested near my toes, heavy, splintered, just a chunk of box with a cracked tip. From the ground it came into my hand, almost on its own.Off he came, moving my way.The aound of Asher calling snapped through the air, yet everything else blurred into motion and reflex. Dorian charged forward, speed cutting across dirt - maybe aiming to grab hold before anyone reached us, maybe betting on using my body as a shield, maybe just eager to complete what that toxin started. No time sat between thought and action. When his shape filled the space near mine, the wooden board arced upward, driven by arms working together without asking permission.A sharp sound split the air when it hit his cheek - so loud it startled my own ears.He reeled.Up first was Jace. Smacking sideways
SIERRAFootsteps echoed off the walls, sharp as gunfire, each thud pulling at something deep. For just a breath, legs twitched forward despite knowing better, pulled by instinct more than thought.“Sierra, don't,” Jace said grabbing my arm.“I am not a sack of grain,” I hissed, pulling against his grip.“No, you are worse. Grain listens.”My voice might have cracked sharp then, only my chest felt too tight with each beat. Ugly shadows jumped across the narrow stone, cast by the light he held. That rag Asher found wouldn’t leave me - still there, crisp in thought. Dorian left that mark. Maybe just a man dressed like him. Doesn’t matter now. The path isn’t dead anymore. Breathing. Shifting.A thud cut through the air, sharper than before, as if a body had knocked hard against wood.Footsteps paused. "Asher," I said, voice cutting through the quiet without warning.From where he stood, a sound cut through - tight, quiet, telling him to hold still.Like that’s ever going to happen.Faces
“I defended her in my mind even after Rebecca warned us. I kept thinking there had to be another explanation.”“That does not make you foolish.”“It makes me blind.”“No.” His voice was firm now. “It makes you kind. The shame belongs to the people who used that kindness against you.”Something inside me shifted, a place I’d kept hidden.“Asher,” I said after a moment, “tell me the truth. If the poison did what they wanted, if I cannot give you an heir, what happens?”Quiet stretched so far ahead I already loathed what came next. He hadn’t spoken yet and the reply felt heavy in my chest.“The council would question my claim to the title.”“And us?”A gentle touch landed on my sleeve. “We stay just as we are.”I let out a small, humorless laugh. “That is a lovely thing to say in a palace where everything changes because of power.”He stepped in front of me, forcing me to meet his eyes. “Listen to me. Titles can be fought over. Councils can be challenged. Enemies can be buried. But you a
SIERRAThat night sleep stayed far from me. My mind kept wandering and no matter how hard I tried I wasn't at peace.It was as if something bad would happen again.A maid lay dead upstairs, her voice cut short before she named the hand meant to scar me. Peaceful? I wonder what would become of us during the next few days.Not far behind, Asher talked quietly with Jace by the doorway. Since I stopped talking, they assumed I wasn’t paying attention - wrong. Each whisper reached me. Men often mistake stillness for weakness. That idea never holds up. Stillness might mean a woman is collecting scattered fragments, shaping them into something strong.“The kitchen staff cannot leave the palace grounds,” Asher said.“They are already guarded,” Jace replied. “No one gets in or out without being searched.”“And the servants assigned to this wing?”“I placed two men at both ends of the hallway. They are watching everyone.”I turned my head slightly. “Watching everyone after someone already pois
SIERRAThe drive home left me spaced out. I kept playing the kiss over and over, how soft Asher’s lips had been, and how sure and protective his hands felt wrapped around mine. I had not even noticed that I was holding my breath, until I released it with laughter that was lighter than I had expecte
ASHERI saw her first before she caught sight of me. She was leaning against the doors of the rink with her hair a little messy, as if she’d just gotten out of bed, her backpack hung off one shoulder. She was speaking to Jace, giggling at something he uttered. Then for just a split second, nothing
Sierra The door would not budge for quite a long time nothing happened at all. The house seemed to hold its breath, walls tight around us, the air thick enough to suck on. Asher was leaning toward me, one hand extended back, fingers clasping mine like an anchor. He did not glance at me. His gaze
SIERRAThose few days after felt oddly soft, like the stillness after too long spent holding your breath.Nothing exploded. No visions slammed into me. No warnings, pack drama, whispered threats. Just quiet mornings and smiling evenings I went to sleep with.Asher would accompany me to class every







