LOGINZeth’s POVThe throne of Aurion was not made of stone. It was made of sun. Gold light poured through the glass roof above me and hit the floor in long, clean lines. It caught on the armor of my guards and turned them to fire. It warmed the wine in my cup until it smelled like summer. I was drinking when the doors slammed open.“Report,” I said, without looking up.“My King,” one of my captains said. “The Moon King is at the gate. Under flag of truce. He asks to come in.”My cup stopped halfway to my mouth. I set it down. “Shift,” I said. “All of you. Now.” The sound of twenty wolves hitting the floor filled the hall. Claws on gold, and their growls low in their throats. My guards formed a wall between me and the doors. “Bring him in,” I said. “One man. Unarmed. If he so much as breathes wrong, kill him.”The doors opened again and Xander walked in alone, his guards remained outside.Snow was on his boots. His cloak was torn at the shoulder. He looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks
Xander’s POV Today the sky over Noctaryn was gray and low, like the gods were pressing down on us. The wind moved through the field of stones and carried the smell of smoke, iron, and wet earth. Forty-seven cloaks. Folded. Laid out in a line. At the front, the largest one. Deep blue with silver trim. Lord Mirelle’s. He had taught me how to hold a sword when I was ten. He had told me to never turn my back on an enemy, and to never turn my back on my people. Yesterday he had done both and died with a Crescent wolf claw wound in his chest. I stood at the head of the line. Ashton was beside me. His hand was in mine, small and cold. He hadn’t slept. I could see it in the bruises under his eyes. But he stood straight. For me. For them. Behind us, the whole of Noctaryn had come. Servants, guards, mothers, children. Hundreds of them. No one spoke, no one cried out loud, but you could hear it. The moaning in their hearts. The priest raised his hands. “We send them to the stars
Ashton’s POVThe scratch came again. It was light and deliberate. Like fingernails on wood. My heart slammed into my ribs so hard I thought I’d choke on it. The sword was already in my hands. The same bloody sword from the hallway. The blood was dry now, flaking off onto my palms. Fear was so much it made my hands tremble. But I was so tired of being afraid. So tired of sitting on the floor and waiting to die. I moved slowly toward the door. Every step echoed. My fingers found the bar. I lifted it and I pulled the door open in one fast motion, sword raised, ready to strike. Nothing. The corridor was dark, cold and it smelled like blood. I stepped out of the room. My legs were shaking. The High Tower was silent except for the sounds far below. The war had moved, or it had ended. I didn’t know which was worse. I didn’t close the door behind me, I just walked. The floors were covered in blood and bodies. Royal guards. Crescent Wolves. Torn apart and left where they fell.
Brenda’s POVThe citadel was falling and it was perfect. Screams carried down the halls like music. Steel rang against steel. Somewhere far below, Xander was roaring and tearing things apart, and every second he was distracted was a second I was free. No one was watching me. No one was watching the Consort. That was the problem. For weeks I’d watched him get fatter, softer, more beloved, while I was left in the council room to sign papers and smile like a good little advisor. The raid gave me what months of poison and whispers couldn’t. Chaos. I moved through the servant passages with my head down and a guard’s cloak over my shoulders. Blood on the floor, but not mine. A dead body in the corner, but not one I knew. The forged key was heavy in my palm. Iron, filed down in secret three nights ago by a smith who owed me coin and didn’t ask questions. It fit the lock to Ashton’s bathing room. Of course it did. I slipped inside and shut the door behind me. The smell hit me fi
Ashton’s POVI turned back one last time to see Xander. He was already shifting. Already moving. Blood on his face and rage in his shoulders and he didn’t look at me again. "Take the Consort to the guarded tower," he’d said, and his voice was iron. "Now. Ten men. No one gets past you. No one."Then he turned back to the gate and that was it. Two guards took my arms before I could argue. "My lord, we have to move," the captain said. I let them pull me because my legs felt like water, and because the last thing Xander needed was me fighting him in front of his men. The snow was still falling. The courtyard was on fire, screaming and the smell of blood so thick I could taste it. I kept my eyes on Xander as they dragged me toward the corridor that led to the High Tower. Midnight fur, massive, tearing through Crescent Wolves like they were made of paper, and still they kept coming. “Don’t look,” one of the guards muttered. I didn’t listen. We hit the doors and slammed th
Xander’s POVThe alarm hit me mid-sentence. “The law is clear...” I was saying to the Council, and then the sound rolled through the stone and cut me off. The border has been breached.The room went silent for half a breath. Then every man in that room moved. Chairs scraped. Swords were drawn. Brenda’s face went white. Merrick was already at the door. And all I could think was: Ashton.I didn’t say goodbye. I didn’t give orders. I ran. Down the hall, through the corridor, armor half-strapped to my body. Guards fell in behind me but I outpaced them. The courtyard was chaos. Fire burst from different directions. Snow. Screaming. The eastern gate was shaking on its hinges. I could hear them on the other side. Crescent Wolves in dozens. “Form ranks!” I roared. “Archers to the wall! Melee to the gate!” But I wasn’t looking at the gate. I was looking for him. A captain grabbed my arm. “Your Majesty, the Consort... we lost him in the chaos...” Lost him. Something cold a







