Mag-log in“No,” Raph corrects, voice dark and edged. “This is who grief has made him. Not who he truly is.” I want to believe him. I want to cling to that truth. But the memory of Tristan’s voice, cold, distant, dangerous, paints itself over everything. I wipe my face with the back of my hand. “He thinks I
The fire crackles softly beside me, but it does nothing to warm the cold that has settled inside my bones. Two weeks on the run, and my heart still hasn’t stopped pounding. Every time I breathe too deeply, I expect Tristan’s presence to slam into me—anger first, accusation second, violence somewhere
“You dare—” I dare when you’re destroying everything, he cuts in, including her. Good. Let him snarl, let him rage. It doesn’t change anything. Pearl ran. Pearl lied. Pearl shattered the image of the queen I had crafted so carefully in my mind. She left me drowning in unanswered questions and rumo
The moment Selene’s magic releases me and my body regains its rightful shape, I feel the shift through every muscle, every tendon, every buried instinct that has been screaming for freedom and two weeks trapped in feathers and humiliation. Two weeks of being dismissed, mocked, and controlled. A king
I rise, pulling Katia up with me. “Come, Ti Ti. It’s time I release Tristan. Pearl has had a two-week head start, and she does not travel alone. Demon and Gaia confirmed it.” “You already knew this, didn’t you?” She asks. I lift one eyebrow and give her a sideways glance. “Let’s just say Pearl has
They press on me to change the king back. It hasn’t even been that long, just two short weeks, yet they act as if centuries have passed. And still he has learned nothing. Still, he refuses to listen to the truth; every voice around him keeps trying to press into that thick royal skull. We have all t







