تسجيل الدخولAldricI looked at the captain."Hey," I said.He looked up. I smiled at him."Relax," I said. "Take a sip. It'll help, I promise you."He looked down at the glass. He picked it up — I watched his hand, the subtle shake in it — and he brought it to his mouth and drank. A real sip, a proper one.I nodded, watching him."There, there," I said. "That's good."I gave him a moment. Watched the color come back into him, the faint loosening that alcohol produces in a body that has been locked tight for too long."How are you feeling now?"He nodded. "Fine, my King. I’m better."Lies. But I nodded anyways.I leaned back in my chair, one hand resting on the arm of it, and looked at him for a moment. Then, pleasantly, as if it were a natural next question:"Who was it?"The captain's throat moved. He looked for just a moment genuinely scared. But he was able to compose himself fast enough."I don't know, my King. They had us locked away. I had no access to anything outside the cell." He paused.
Aldric"Apparently, our daughter prefers women."I watched it land. I watched her face — the way her brows came down into the small, immediate frown of someone receiving information that doesn't fit what they know. I nodded, letting it settle in. I held my cup out slightly, and chuckled."I was very surprised too," I said.Irina shook her head. "That can't be true," she said.I shrugged. My lips pressed together, even, noncommittal. "I’m just as surprised as you are."She stared. The information was still sitting in the air between us, unprocessed, too new to know what to do with it.Almost immediately, a knock, and the door came open. The senior maid — twelve years in this house, absolute discretion, knows exactly when to appear and when to become invisible. She greeted me with her customary composure, and then turned to Irina with a genuine smile, warm and unperformative."Welcome home, my Queen. We're so glad you're back.""Irina." I set down my glass. "I know this is a lot to sit
AldricI went to my knees in front of her.She followed me down with her eyes. Nothing else moved — not her hands, not her chin. She just watched me go down, and then she was looking at the top of my head, and I looked up at her.I smiled. Then I shook my head slowly, with the particular remorse of a man who means it.I reached up and took her face in my hand. My thumb moved across her cheekbone, back and forth."I'm sorry," I said. "You shouldn't have had to do any of this alone. That was too much."I started to check her over — her jaw, her neck, the line of her collar. Looking for anything the journey had left behind, any sign the attack had gotten closer than the story suggested. After a moment I looked up at her."Were you hurt anywhere?"She shook her head. "I'm fine," she said. "Just exhausted from the running, and the hiding—" She stopped. Shook her head again, and then the tears came, suddenly and properly, spilling down her face and dropping onto mine where I was kneeling be
AldricThe steward had sent word the moment their carriage came through the gate. Two survivors, he'd said. I'd had enough time to decide, before they walked in, that two was a more interesting number than three.The door opened. Irina first, then the captain behind her. He pulled it shut with both hands. I set down the letter I was reading and looked at them — and then at the space behind the captain's shoulder where the door had closed."Where's Torin?"It was the captain who answered. He said they'd been attacked on the return journey. Rogue wolves. Two days out from the border. Torin and the guards hadn't made it. Only the two of them came out of it.I was quiet for a moment.I looked at Irina. Then I tilted my head, just slightly, taking her in. She was standing with her back straight and her coat still buttoned, her hair done — she'd have fixed it before coming up, stopped somewhere to manage herself before this meeting. I'd expected that. What I hadn't finished deciding was what
KaneThe iron head of the club clipped the top of the white ball with a sharp, dry thwack that echoed off the limestone cliffs bordering the eastern edge of the field. I didn't watch it fly. I didn't need to. The vibration that traveled up the shaft and into my wrists told me everything I needed to know about the shot. It was shallow. It was weak. It was going to end up in the mud.I stood there, the weight of the club dragging at my right shoulder, and watched the grey mist roll across the grass. The air carried a heavy scent of wet mulch and the sharp, metallic tang of the river. It was a cold, oppressive morning, the kind that settled into your bones and stayed there."Twenty yards short. Again," Jace remarked.He was standing ten feet to my left, leaning on his own club.I didn't turn my head. I focused on the red flag fluttering in the distance. "The wind shifted.""The wind didn't do shit, Kane," Jace countered. I heard his boots scuffing the damp grass as he walked toward me. "
SeraMy mother’s eyes flickered, the pupils contracting as if I’d shone a torch in them. She didn’t scream. She didn't throw another judgment. A small, thin smile pulled at the corner of her mouth—a ghost of the woman who knew how to survive a king's temper."Good luck then," she answered.I reached for the iron latch, my fingers wrapping around the cold metal. I paused. I looked back over my shoulder."I actually have a surprise for you," I said. I let a bit of the ice bleed into my expression. "You'll love it."Irina shifted against her pillows, the movement making her wince as the fresh stitches pulled at her skin. "What is it?"I shrugged, the wool of the tunic rubbing against my bruised ribs. "It wouldn't be a surprise then, would it?"She gave a single, jerky nod. I turned away, the latch clicking as I prepared to step out into the hall."Seraphina."The use of my full name stopped me. I turned around, my spine rigid.Irina was struggling to her feet. She pushed the furs aside,
Sera"It’s getting pretty hot in here," Mina said.The shawl hit the floor before I could catch it. I immediately pulled my arms across my chest, hunched forward to hide the plunge of the neckline. Fenris’s eyes didn't just look at me; they felt like they were stripping away the last of the silk. I
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.
SeraThe light coming through the ceiling vents was fading into a deep violet. Torches were being lit, their orange glow reflecting off the polished stone. I sat on the wagon, feeling the cold start to seep back in, wondering if I’d just been forgotten.The warrior returned, bringing a girl with hi
SeraI watched Kael. His chest heaved sporadically. He was choking on the blood flooding his windpipe."Hold his shoulders down!" the healer yelled at Yvara. "The bone is completely displaced."I knew exactly what that meant. Taya’s arm had healed crooked because her wolf biology kicked in before t







