RAVENI knew he was watching me. Kieran always watched. From the corner window on the east side of the packhouse, behind that damn sheer curtain like it could hide him. But I didn’t look up once. I focused on raking through the herbs stacked in the wooden crates, pretending that every dried leaf I picked out wasn’t screaming with the reminder that his gaze burned into my back like a brand.The more I thought about him, about them—the more I felt this heat build in my chest. That pack. That damned pack of his. All their lies and their legacy of bloodshed. I wanted them gone. Not just punished or weakened—I wanted them erased. Obliterated. Annihilated to the point where no one would even remember they ever walked this land.But I couldn’t let that part of me speak. Not yet. This was too delicate.“Vee,” Rowena’s voice came from behind me, soft but pressed with urgency. She never used my full name unless something was off.I turned slightly, enough for her to know I was listening, even i
KIERANI sat by the window, arms folded, eyes locked on Selene from across the room as she sat up and reached for her water. There was a softness to her movement that gave me hope—like her bones weren’t aching anymore, like the endless fatigue was slowly fading. Day by day, she was healing, and I could see it, damn near feel it in my chest. But I couldn't celebrate it fully. There was a bitter taste in my mouth, one that came from suspicion I couldn’t shake.It kept gnawing at me—the thought that her recurring illness wasn’t natural. That maybe, just maybe, Vee had been giving her something. I didn’t want to believe it at first. Vee had always seemed... dutiful, loyal in her own chaotic way. But too many things weren’t adding up, and my gut kept screaming. Every time Selene coughed herself to sleep, every time she fainted for no damn reason—I should’ve looked closer, should’ve asked harder questions. Now that she was getting better, now that Vee had been gone for a while, things just
RAVENNow that I had finally been released from the dungeon that Kieran had tossed me into like some diseased mutt, the air outside almost felt foreign. I could still taste the iron in my mouth, feel the sting of the chains around my wrists even though they were gone. I knew better than to assume this meant I was free—no. Kieran was watching, always watching. He didn’t trust me, and truthfully, I didn’t blame him. I wouldn’t trust me either, not with what I had planned. Every move I made now had to be calculated, silent, intentional. I couldn't afford even the faintest whiff of suspicion.So, when I heard the soft knock on my chamber door that night, my breath caught. Three soft raps. A pause. Then two. It was our signal. I rushed to open it, and there she was—Rowena, hood drawn low over her face, cloak soaked from the rain."You're late," I whispered, tugging her inside."I had to make sure I wasn’t followed," she said, voice low, eyes scanning the dimly lit room."Kieran’s guards ar
KIERAN“I’m telling you this for the last time, Kieran,” Dorian said as he stood across from me, his eyes sharp with quiet frustration.“You keep her here any longer and you’re going to push this whole thing off the edge. Vee’s not just any prisoner—you know that. She’s not going to break the way others do. And when she does snap, if she does, we’ll have a bigger mess on our hands than we can clean up.”I sat back in my chair, fingers drumming against the armrest. I didn’t look at him right away. I just stared ahead, jaw tight.“So what, I’m supposed to just let her go? Walk out like none of this ever happened? You think she’ll just forget how she barged in here, insulted me, acted like I’m beneath her?” I finally turned to face him.“You think letting her go now makes me strong? No, Dorian. That's a weakness.”“It’s not weakness,” he said, more gently this time. “It’s wisdom. There’s a difference. You’re not bending to her, you’re protecting your own back. Do you know how many people
RAVENI sat there on the cold stone floor, my back aching from the stiffness of being in this wretched dungeon for more than a damn week. A week. No light, no word, no Kieran. Just silence, shadows, and the endless dripping of water from somewhere above me that had started to sound like mocking laughter. I still couldn’t believe it.That bastard—he was the one who locked me in here. Me. After everything I’d done. After I held back when I had the chance to burn this whole fucking place to the ground, I chose mercy. And what did I get in return? Chains. Darkness. Betrayal.I clenched my fists as the thoughts kept spiraling, faster and faster, angrier and angrier. “I should’ve ended him when I had the chance,” I muttered to myself, my voice hoarse from lack of use.“I should’ve crushed his windpipe instead of warning him. I should’ve shattered every bone in his cursed body and walked away before anyone even blinked.”I didn’t know how long I sat like that, breathing in the musty air, fee
KIERANThe clatter of forks and knives against ceramic filled the dining room as we sat at the long polished table, the usual soft hum of conversation weaving between bites of roast and sips of red wine. I didn’t feel much like eating, honestly—my mind was still wrapped around the last heated exchange I’d had with Vee before she was dragged off to the dungeons. I stabbed at a piece of meat absently, chewing with a blank stare at the flickering chandelier overhead, when Dorian cleared his throat and leaned in just slightly, his voice low but firm."Kieran," he said, nudging his glass to the side, "are you really planning to leave Vee down there much longer?"I didn't even look at him at first. Just wiped my mouth slowly with the cloth napkin and gave a long exhale before answering."Yeah. I am. She needs to learn her damn place. You saw the way she spoke to me. Like I was one of her subordinates. Like I was some... some fool."He nodded slightly, his brows tightening with caution, and