LOGINOn 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
For once, Cirocco answers first. “How long has it been? I didn’t think you’d forget me that quickly.”A slow smile grows on Amval’s face. His brother shines with determination, with offense at ever having been questioned that reminds me just a little bit of Finn.“Our family is under attack,” Cirocc
AmvalThey’re gone again. It’s just me and the crates. The echoes of my siblings’ laughter and Ingrid’s smile all fade too fast. I end up lying on the burlap sack, staring at the rocky ceiling, not quite sleeping.Just thinking.When I let my mind wander free, it wanders to Kaloni. Her coronation go
Ingrid“I still can’t find him,” Joli whispers as she hands me a clump of nauseatingly sweet wildflowers I’m apparently supposed to hold during this shitshow.“Of course you can’t.” The stems groan, threatening to snap in my hands. “He’s gone.”The doors to the temple swing open, and I step inside t
She drapes her arms around my neck. “This isn’t dancing.”I brush a kiss against her temple. “Oh, I know. I’m also good at improvisational dancing, but I wanted to hold you.”Her chuckle vibrates against my shoulder, so close to my mark that it feels like a lightning strike. “And here I thought we w







