FAZER LOGINEvanders POV
"Are you seriously asking me that?"
"Yes," he replied with a smile, his tone casual but his eyes sharp. "You are known for your wisdom, are you not? I am seeking your counsel."
"Interesting," I said, forcing a light tone. "But I'm afraid I don't have an answer for you."
Alaric watched me for a moment longer before turning away and walking back towards the window with his hands still clasped behind his back.
"I have been thinking ab
Ravena's POV Lady Vivienne looked at me for a moment, and then, moved by something, she pushed the fold of bank notes towards me across the carriage."Please take half," she said. "You must. None of this would be mine without you, not a single coin of it. It is only fair that half of it is yours. Please, Ravena. I want you to have it."I put my hand over hers and pushed the money gently back.
Ravena's POV Marianne counted out the rest of the money with a face the colour of ash.Her hands were not quite steady as she did it, and she wouldn't look at me, and every note she laid down she laid down as though it were a piece of her own skin. I stood and watched her do it and I didn't feel one drop of pity. I had passed the point of pity with this woman a long time ago.
Ravena's POVMarianne's jaw tightened. The needle hadn't gone in. So she reached for a crueler one."Family?" she sneered, and her lip curled. "Is that what you are? Do you know, Luna, my daughter here once had a great deal to say about you, before you were quite so grand. About the kind of woman my nephew was bringing into the royal house." Her eyes glittered. "A woman married once already and cast off. A woman with a used name and a second wedding. Cressida had her doubts about whether such a one belonged among us at all, and she was not wrong to have them, wha
Ravena's POV In the end, Marianne chose to pay.She gave the order through her teeth, and her steward went to the room and came back with a thick fold of bank notes, and she had them set down on the table in front of me rather than placed in my hand, as though passing them to me directly would cost her something more than the coin.I didn't take offense. I just drew them towards me and started to count.
Ravena's POV I had my hand on the door and Vivienne behind me and the whole stack of books held tight against my body when Marianne broke."Wait."I stopped, but I didn't turn around, not yet. I let her say it again."Wait." Her voice was tight, forced out through her
Ravena's POVThe Ministry of Justice. I had said it plainly, and I had said it on purpose, because I knew something that these two women knew even better than I did. The Ministry of Justice, the kingdom's own house of questioners and judges, did not answer to some distant lord. It answered to my husband. Evander held it. The prince who commanded the armies also commanded the men who put hard questions to criminals against the crown, and every soul in the capital knew it.
Evander’s POVI chose not to answer her and instead focused on tending to the cut on her face. Even with the smoke in the air, her eyes stayed locked on mine, shining brightly.“Stay still,” I whispered.I regretted not stopping her from going to the ridge at that moment. But unfortunately, I could
Ravena's POVOne night, the camp was filled with screams and explosions that shook the ground under our cots. I woke with my heart in my throat and the taste of smoke in my mouth. Mira was already holding the lamp, her face pale.We quickly pulled on our royal guard uniforms, made of dark leather w
Ravena's POVBefore Evander could respond, I chimed in. “Of course not. He specifically requested to speak with just me.”“But we…” Rhea started, but I gestured for her to stop.“Just… go and rest. We’ve had a really long day.”I sensed their curious stares and their silent questions, and when our
Lucien's POVThe chandeliers in the grand hall burned bright, but the light felt cold on my skin. Dressed in a black tailcoat with a tight collar, I stared at the white flowers that lined the aisle.It had been two weeks since Ravena left. I had hoped anger would toughen me, yet all I felt was a du







