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
The lie twists like a knife in my chest. All my life, the three of us—four of us, truly, because Vedran’s contributions cannot be understated—have been a bulwark against the world. The continuation of the family name, the legacy, has been our heart. Mother destabilized the balance. Father’s unpredic
Nods circle the table. First Kresimir, whose lands border Moonlight Hollow most closely. Then Edvard, with the distant look of someone still struggling to catch up. Last, reluctantly, Juraj’s aging head wags in agreement.I meet Father’s eyes down the length of the table. When he first put me on the
“King Alden is on the fence,” I tell him just as Anwen would have. “He’s furious about what Queen Maris did, but he doesn’t exactly crave bloodshed.”Kieran’s gaze flicks to me for a second. “Xander?”“Diplomat.” I think. He still wears his usual bravado, which mutes down many of his expressions int
Xander“Apologies.” Lord Edvard bows, dark hair braided back away from his face, and hurries to his seat at the council table. “There was word of a skirmish at the edge of my lands, and it required my attention.”Father gestures dismissively. “There are rumors of skirmishes on all our lands, Edvard.







