INICIAR SESIÓNChapter 88Lilith's POVThe council didn't wait around for Cassian to dismiss them. The second the scout hit his knees yelling about the lower trenches, the three hundred fighters that had some moments ago wanted me executed turned as one and tried to push through the door all at once.Cassian pulled his sword out of the cracked table with a hard twist, splintering the oak. He didn't look back at the elders, and he didn't give Morgana a second glance. He grabbed my upper arm, his grip warm and unyielded, and marched me straight out the side exit into the freezing air of the dark back yard."Brandon!" Cassian called out over the chaos of shouting men and clattering shields.Brandon jogged over from the perimeter, his sword already resting naked across his forearm. "The front line is holding the riverbank, but Kaelen brought heavy cavalry across the ford. We’ve got twenty minutes before they surround the whole valley.""We aren't staying for a siege," Cassian said, his tone flat and fi
Chapter 87Lilith’s POV"That's her...she’s a fucking traitor! She put a spell on his mind!"We were welcomed by her loud scream the very moment Brandon pushed open the heavy doors of the hall in council.Three hundred or more northern fighters were crowded inside the building, shouting so loud the roof shook. At the far end, standing on the stone platform under two iron torches, Morgana faced the elder lords. She had ash smeared over her face, white bandages wrapped around her arms, and her black dress was ripped at the bottom.She held up a broken glass bottle for everyone to see."Look at this!" Morgana yelled, she faked her voice in a cracking tone with panic to carry over the notion that what ever lies she had cooked up was true. "This is dust ash from the Eastern Ridge! She used it in Lord Cassian's room while he was laying sick! She poisoned his wolf, forced him to run with her, and opened the gates for Prince Kaelen's men!"The crowd started shouting in anger. Men in the
Chapter 86Lilith’s POV"Hands off the steel, or I chop of those fingers of yours!"Brandon’s voice echoed through the dark before the boat even dare to touch the gravel at the shore. He jumped out of the boat toward shore, his boots splashing water back into the boat as he drew out his sword pointing it straight at the three figures stepping out from the opening of the rock.Cassian shoved me down onto the wooden bench behind him, his broad shoulders blocking me from view. His fingers wrapped tight around the head of the sword, the leather making the creaking sound under his grip as he stepped over the side of the boat.The three men didn't run. They wore worn out furs, leather coats that absolutely didn't match and heavy steel chains wrapped around their forearms. Their eyes had a dull glowed, yellowish as if they were sick of not being exposed to sunlight. There were Outcasts. Lycan deserters who lived as mercenaries in the border caves."Look who we have here" the biggest of th
The wooden boat slanted gently along with the current, passing through the narrow underground cave. The sound of rushing water contantly heating off the wet stone walls, it was slowed down only by the rhythmic splash of Brandon’s oar at the bow.The air down here tasted bitter in my throat, it carried a freezing cool air from the mountain passes above.I sat leanimg forward and my head lowed in the middle of the boat, my ruined silk dress soaked through and useless against the cold. My shoulders, shivering violently and my teeth clicking together before I could wrap my arms around myself. I did know something heavy and thick dropped over my shoulders; it was a heavy wool mantle, lined with dense fur, smelling of pine, iron, and his skin.Cassian crowded into the narrow space beside me. He pulled the edges of the cloak heavily to together tighter around my neck, when his hands lingered on my collarbone; it gave me a familiar sensatin. He was still half-bare beneath his unbuttoned ve
Chapter 84Lilith’s POVBack up in the keep, Morgana didn't run. She knew that if she fled into the dark night, Cassian's scouts would hunt her down in nodistant time.Instead, she grabbed a heavy clay lamp from her desk, smashed it against the floorboards right over her overturned medical notes, and watched the flame catch the spilled oils. Thick black smoke flared up instantly, climbing the curtains and spilling out into the hallway."Fire! The shadow-snipers set the room on fire!" Morgana screamed into the dark corridor, her voice echoing with a perfect panic, it was impossible not to believe. She shoved a handful of ash across her cheek and grabbed her medical satchel. When Kaelen’s men burst through the main doors, shouting for the Lord of the North, Morgana pointed them straight down to the grand staircase toward the barracks."They went toward the courtyard!" she lied, her face tight with terror as she backed away into the smoke-like shadow. "They fled down the western stairs!
Chapter 83Lilith’s POVThe stone passage was cold, pitch black, and smelled heavily of damp earth and river water.Cassian kept his left hand firmly wrapped around my wrist, pulling me beside him as Brandon led the way down the slick stone stairs with a small, iron lantern. Torin brought up the rear, his hand resting on his sword handle, his eyes scanning the pitch-dark stairs behind us every few steps.We walked for what felt like ten minutes, going deeper into the earth beneath the old keep. Up ahead, the stairwell opened into a wider underground chamber; an old stone sanctuary built into the bedrock, lined with worn pillars and empty stone room."We take five minutes here," Brandon said, lowering the lantern onto a low stone bench. "Torin, check the door to the lower river gate.""Right away," Torin said, disappearing down the far side of the hall.The moment we stopped moving, my legs felt weak and unable to carry me any further. The heat in my chest did not just go col







