LOGINKaneThe 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,
SeraIrina’s smile vanished. She sat perfectly still, her chest rising and falling in short, pained hitches. The arrogance drained out of her, leaving something hollowed out. She stared at the crystal, her pupils dilated with the realization that she had no cards left to play. She was trapped.I watched her process it. I saw the moment she accepted the cage. Keeping Torin alive was the only move that kept her head on her shoulders."You wanted us to kill him, didn't you?" I asked, pocketing the crystal, and crossed my arms. "You were pushing Yvara. You were taunting them. Because you knew killing Torin would undo the face graft on Bram. You wanted the illusion to fail. You wanted the council to see the guard’s face."Irina didn't say anything. She just stared at me, her eyes hard as flint.I let out a heavy breath, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "Thank the gods I stayed patient. If I’d used my exhausted brain to just go on with the plan, everything would be chaos right now. That was e
SeraI walked back into the room alone. The heavy oak door groaned on its hinges before the iron latch clicked, sealing the mess inside with me. Fenris had gone to handle the elders, leaving his scent behind—iron and that dark musk that usually settled my nerves. Right now, it didn't help. The air in here was thick. It carried the metallic sting of blood and the sharp, medicinal bite of the healer’s camphor. Feathers from the sliced mattress were still drifting through the air, settling on the floorboards and sticking to the red stains around the chair.My mother sat there, propped up with pillows. Her face was pale under the layer of sweat, her blonde hair matted and messy. She didn't have her crown. She didn't have her dignity. She only had the bandage wrapped tight around her ribs.I didn't go to her. I stood by the table, staring at the shredded silk of her crimson dress."We didn't do it," I said. My voice sounded flat in the quiet space. "We didn't cut him open."Irina’s eyes na
SeraI looked at her in genuine surprise. Yvara hated my mother. She had treated her like an animal during the extraction. And yet, she defended her honor. I realized then that Yvara wasn't defending Irina, the woman. She was defending the Volkov Crown. Her loyalty was a clinical, absolute thing. She respected the rank, even if she despised the mother of the person holding it.Torin groans, clutching his jaw. He didn't try to get up. He stayed in the dirt, sobbing quietly.Fenris let out a low, guttural grunt. He crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes fixed on me. "He is right about the risk, Sera. I would enjoy watching him scream until his lungs gave out. I would take pleasure in the mess. But I cannot gamble the throne on your mother’s word. She is a coward. Cowards lie to stay relevant."He let out a heavy breath, the sound carrying a weary weight. "I would cut down anyone who stands against me. I would paint this mountain red if I had to. But I am willing to take a different p
SeraDungeon air always tastes of wet pennies and old piss. It’s a stagnant, heavy quality that stays in the back of my throat, making every breath an effort. I stood in the shadows of the corridor, my back pressed against the weeping stone masonry, and tracked the rhythm of my own pulse. It was slow. Methodical. Entirely too calm for a woman who had spent the last forty-eight hours orchestrating a murder and a magical identity theft.I looked at my hands in the dim, flickering orange glow of a wall torch. They were clean, but my skin registered a phantom weight. I could still experience the exact moment I ordered Kael’s end. I could still hear the wet, heavy crack of his neck. In the span of a few weeks, I had stained myself with more blood than I thought existed in the world. Some of it I spilled with my own fists in the dirt ring. Most of it I spilled with my words.The guilt was a dull ache, not a sharp one. That part scared me. I was becoming a version of a woman my father would
LyraWe slipped out of my bedroom. The castle corridors were dim and silent, the stone walls lined with the painted portraits of my ancestors. I hated looking at them. They all had the exact same cold, calculating eyes my father had.We moved quickly, keeping our footsteps light. We bypassed the ma
SeraFenris took a slow breath in through his nose. His massive fists clenched at his sides."The alliance between Ironmaw and Valdris was supposed to be simple," Kael continued. He pushed his luck. He pushed right against the blade. "Dimitri understood that well enough. If Dimitri were here right
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
SeraThe sound changed first.The open, biting wind of the trail died away, replaced by a deep, resonant echo. The wagon wheels stopped crunching over frozen dirt and began to strike something solid and smooth. Stone. Large, fitted blocks that sang under the horses' hooves. We were passing under an







