MasukOn a whim, I try to roll him over, not expecting the iron cage of his arms to so much as shift. But he flips easily with a soft noise of surprise. I pull back, worried.“Apologies.” He smiles ruefully and taps the bandage on his face—on the side I rolled him to. “I think this will take some getting
“Oh.” I glance at Amval. Cirocco waits by his shoulder, clearly about to demand something similar. All the pressures of life suddenly descend back into place. With Kaloni dead, Amval has no rival for the crown. There’s going to be a coronation and then months of cleaning up what happened here. I’m g
Ingrid“The Goddess’ will is often far more complicated than any of us can guess,” Halit says, blood streaked on her cheek from the arrow she took to the shoulder before fleeing the altar.Laughter ripples through the temple. I know, from my second march up here, that the healthy hold up the wounded
And that is his mistake. The heartbeat he wastes on gloating gives me just enough time to slash at his unprotected throat, tearing through fur and old scar tissue.Blood waterfalls onto me, hot and fast. I wriggle out of the way before he crumples. Dead.Or at least it seems so. My halved vision mak
Amval“She will never be ready to marry my brother!” I shout as I storm into the packed temple, a sword lifted high above my head and a trail of allies collected from every corner of the palace behind me.Gasps ripple through the crowd, buoying my name forward. Ingrid turns, her jaw falling slack. T
I suck in a breath through my gritted teeth as Halit intones about the complexities of fate, how perhaps Amval dying was all part of Her cosmic plan for Cirocco and I to end up together. Maybe it was part of Her cosmic plan for me to punch a holy woman in the mouth.No. Joli is counting on me. Light
She opens her mouth to respond as the firelight shifts, and for a moment, she looks exactly like Mother. Perfectly poised. In complete control. And about to say one of the cruelest things I can imagine with a smile on her lips.Kaloni didn’t call him Lord Corwyn. She just called him Corwyn.“They di
IngridWhen one of the strings on my lute snaps under my fingers that night, I finally have to admit how fucking angry I am.Angry and fucking tired.If I wanted to sit around waiting, I could have gone back home. Crossed my fingers and hoped somebody ever bothered to wonder if my mate had been murd
But he hasn’t said a word about it since he made sure I was safe and put me back on my feet. Not a joke, not even an insinuation. He hasn’t mentioned climbing as part of our plans again either.It’s a tiny detail, but I don’t know anyone else who would do it. Honestly, I don’t know if I would, if I
***That night, I knock on the door to her quarters, wearing one of my more beautiful gowns. Most people would dress down for a private dinner like this. When she opens the door wearing not only a gown but her royal crown, I know I guessed right.“Ingrid.” She smiles warmly. “You look wonderful.”“S







