ELENA"Yes, I’ve spoken with him. Twice," my father said, sounding exasperated. He rubbed the bridge of his nose with two fingers and looked at me across the desk. "Our best attorney, the one who handled the Silverclaw-Moonstone land dispute? He’s with Maggie now. Everything’s in motion. You can sto
“Nevertheless,” I said through my teeth. “I want her gone.”The Priestess turned.Started to walk into the trees.“Will you do it?” I called after her.She stopped. Looked back over her shoulder.“It’s too late,” she said.My heart dropped. “What do you mean?”“By coming here,” she said slowly, “by
LOGANThe Blightwood stood before me like a promise and a punishment all at once.Branches arched high above, skeletal and twisted, their tips clawing at the bruised sky like they wanted to tear it open. The air was damp and metallic, thick with the scent of rot and old things buried deep. Even the
My lungs forgot how to work.Oh Moon above. He knows.He knows.Panic surged through me like wildfire.He knew. About Maggie. About Elena. About the wedding day.I opened my mouth, but my tongue felt thick. Dry. My mind raced for something—anything—to grasp.“Is… is that what he said?” I stammered.
CASSANDRAThe numbers weren’t adding up, and Father was livid.I sat stiffly at the table in the packhouse’s formal office, a fan of expense reports and ledgers laid out in front of me like a criminal record. My criminal record, apparently.“You bought what?” he barked, his voice bouncing off the wa
I realized—struck suddenly, sharply—that I had never done this before. Never just... laid with her. Offered comfort without expectation.When she had been with Silverclaw—back before everything shattered—I would fall asleep with her sometimes after long, heated nights. After I'd taken her to bed w
DEREKI would deal with Cassandra. But not yet. Not before I took care of the woman in front of me.Elena sat on the bench like her bones might give out at any moment. Her skin was pale, almost ashen, and her hands trembled faintly even though she tried to hold them still in her lap. The wind caug
I had chased after him, or tried to. My body hadn’t responded the way I wanted it to. Every step had felt like dragging my soul uphill, barefoot and bleeding.By the time I caught up, he was already barking orders at the Captain of the Guard. Already demanding arrests. Already setting things in moti
DEREKFor a moment, I didn’t move. Didn’t breathe.Maggie’s confession echoed in my ears—loud, ugly, final.Cassandra.Cassandra had hired rogues to attack Elena. The day of our wedding.I stood rooted to the floor, staring across the small interrogation room at Maggie’s battered figure, my heart