INICIAR SESIÓNOn 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
Because I am going to kill my mate.I lunge across the sand again, claws sprouting from my fingertips. The element of surprise has been the cornerstone of my training. If I don’t shift, no one sees me coming. Not even my so-called mate. I slash out, shredding his uniform to pieces and drawing blood.
Amval“All right.” Nur crosses her arms, standing before the line of us grooms. “I’m sure you are aware of why we’re all here.”“Sadism,” Tek hisses in my ear.I smother a smile. My head pounds, a side effect of another night at the Gruesome Pony, but I’m growing used to the balance of our early mor
His brows furrow. “Who did you mention it to?”“Sahin, right afterward?” I scan the crowd beginning to gather around the long, outdoor table for the large man. “I was interrogated.” “Oh, before we knew Amval was sick.” He relaxes. “I meant signs of the Pox. I keep trying to remember if I missed any
AmvalI lay on my side, sucking in mouthfuls of beach air and twirling my wrist lazily to suction the sand out before it reaches my lungs. Violets and ink fight the salt spray for attention. Someday, I’ll figure out how to play the way they smell together. Constraint and wildness, light and dark, th







