Mag-log inSeraElara gaped at me, shaking. "Where... where do you expect me to sleep? I can't go back to..." She bit off the words, her eyes darting to Amara sprawled motionless on the furs. "I can't go back."I raised my eyebrows, slowly uncoiling to my feet. "That's not my problem."She stared at me, her chest heaving, then turned on her heel and plunged out the door.I stepped into the corridor to watch her. The lone torch cast deep shadows, making the walls loom. Elara turned away from the stairs and headed down the long hallway toward the far end of the keep.The hulking warrior who had been her shadow all evening pushed off the wall and followed behind her.I turned to the warrior at my door. "She's gone. Why don't you go eat? You've had to stand there all night."There was a pause, then a low mutter. "It's my post. I can't leave it."I glanced back into the room, at the hearth. "I have Amara. And I've had enough of your ears for one night." I looked at him. "Go."He hesitated, then shrug
LyraI sank onto the edge of my bed and stared at the packed bag at my feet. Mother's voice was still in my head."Aldric isn't your father."I'd frozen. Not because I was surprised, exactly. Mother had been sleeping with other men for as long as I could remember; it wasn't far-fetched. And somewhere deep down, it wasn't like the idea had never crossed my mind.He was just so different from me.It was only strange, hearing it out loud."Does he know?" I'd asked her, my voice flat.She'd gone quiet for a moment. Then she'd shaken her head, slowly, and sighed. "I think so," she'd said. "I think he knows.""Hmm," was all I'd said.Then I'd sighed. "Thanks for letting me know."And with that, I'd walked out and left her standing in the doorway, wrapped in that sheet.Now, in the quiet of my own room, the scene kept replaying. Her face. The sheet. The way she'd fought for the words. Father.The word felt strange now, foreign on my tongue, like a coat I'd been wearing for years that turned
LyraBut I didn't leave. I paced the cramped sitting room, once, twice, then sank into the one chair and ran my hands through my hair.Behind the bedroom door, the noises had stopped.A moment later the door opened and Mother came out, clutching a crumpled sheet around her. "Lyra, please, just listen, I..."I didn't answer. The sight of her, red-faced and wild-eyed, her hair all over the place, was more pitiful than anything else. I didn't have the energy to be angry.She kept talking anyway, faster and faster. "Sweetheart, you didn't... I'm so sorry, you should never have seen that. I didn't know you'd come here. Nobody comes here anymore, I thought... Lyra, please, look at me. It's not what it looks like."I cut her off. "It's not what it looks like? You mean weren't taking a monster cock from a giant?"Her mouth opened. Nothing came out. She clutched the sheet tighter, and in the end all she could manage was a mutter. "I'm sorry."I shook my head. "No, you're not.""I am. Lyra, I a
LyraI sat on the edge of my bed with the bag at my feet and scrolled to the last number in my call log. Sera's number. The one she'd called me from.I tapped it and put the phone to my ear, waiting for the ring, but there wasn't one, just dead air, flat and empty. I hung up and tried again and got the same nothing, so I lowered the phone and sat there staring at it.My eyes drifted down to the bag at my feet. It didn't matter whether Sera picked up today or next week.I was going North; that part was decided.But every time I looked at that bag, Mother was there at the back of my mind, the same way she'd been for days, ever since I'd started packing. If I went now, I'd be leaving her behind without a word.Mother and I hadn't really talked in a long time.I had to talk to Mother.I walked down the gilded hallways to her private chambers and knocked. No answer. I knocked again, then let myself in.The sitting room was empty. Through the open door to her bedroom, a servant girl was smo
SeraI poured myself a cup from the jug on the table and took a sip. I didn't offer her one. Elara stood there, silent, her hands gripping the edge of her cloak. I swallowed and set the cup down, watching her.I smiled and leaned forward, resting my elbows on the table.Her lips tightened, and she took a breath. "I...""The guest wing isn't far from here," I said, almost apologetically. "I don't think there's a wolf on this floor who didn't hear you and your husband tonight. And one of our warriors has been following you since the moment you walked out on him."I tilted my head, as if the thought had only just occurred to me. "You know, the two of you can't even come apart quietly. The whole keep has had a front-row seat since you rode in." I picked up my cup again. "I keep trying to decide whether it's stupidity or just how you both are." A sip. "I suppose it doesn't matter. The result's the same."There was a beat of silence. Elara's hands flexed on her cloak. Her breath caught."It
SeraI let Fenris and Yvara handle the chiefs without me. I was hours late with the oil, and I wasn't going to sit in front of the chiefs sealed thin. I'd stood a few feet from Kane most of the morning, and the day had run away from me.The little clay bottle sat on the table.I snatched it up and worked the stopper loose with my thumbnail.I tilted my head and drizzled the oil along my throat, my hands shaking. I rubbed it in with my fingertips. I moved to my wrists next, dipping my fingers into the bottle again.The scent curled into my nostrils, faint and bitter. I lifted my jaw and smeared it into the soft hollow behind my ear, then dragged my wet fingers down my neck.Pulling my tunic loose, I bared my belly to the last of the light from the window. My fingers traced a path of cool oil low across my skin, where it mattered most. I closed my eyes and breathed. My hands weren't as steady as I wanted them to be.The light outside had nearly gone when I finished. I leaned back in the
SeraNight fell fast, and with it, the temperature plummeted. We had three fires going, but the heat didn't seem to travel more than six inches past the flames. I sat on a log by the middle fire, pulling the wagon fur around my shoulders, shivering so hard my teeth were literally clicking together.
LyraShe ignored me. She dropped to her knees, her hands sliding down to the waistband of my trousers. She shoved her fingers inside the fabric, gripping my hips tight. With one sharp pull, she dragged the pants and my underwear down to my ankles. I stepped out of them, kicking my boots off in the
Lyra"Tell the girl to step into the room," he said."Leave her out of this," I said. My voice came out as a pathetic, raspy whisper. I cleared my throat, trying to find some spine. "She didn't do anything. It was my idea to come in here.""Tell her to step into the room," he said, his eyes going d
LyraThe voice didn't belong to Nadia. It didn't belong to me. It came from the metallic object resting directly behind my hip.Nadia froze. She pulled her mouth away from me and yanked her fingers out of my body. She stood up quickly, wiping her wet mouth with the back of her hand, her chest heavi







