Mag-log inScarlet’s POVThe silver dagger lay between their boots, catching the dull gray light from the clouds.Nobody moved. Nobody reached for it."Pick it up, Damien," Joel repeated, his voice so quiet it barely made a sound against the wind blowing through the broken courtyard gate. "Do it before the sun drops.""Shut up!" I screamed, lunging between them and kicking the dagger across the stone. It skidded twenty feet away, bouncing into the dry drainage ditch by the stables. "Shut your mouth, Joel! You think you're being noble? You think dying on this dirt makes you a hero?!"My chest rose and fell in ragged heaves. Tears burned my eyes, turning the two men into wet, blurry shapes."I pulled you out of the ash after Morgathis burned your lands," I spat at Joel, jabbing a finger into his chest. "I used my own tears to heal your wounds on the battlefield. Damien sucked high-witch rot out of your flesh not two hours ago with his own teeth. And now you want him to slit your throat like a sick
Scarlet’s POV"Which one of us are you going to kill, Scarlet?" he asked again.I couldn't breathe. My hands shook so hard I had to tuck them into the sleeves of my coat."I don't know, Damien," I choked out, tears running hot down my face. "You think I wanted this? You think I planned to tie a noose around my own neck while you were gone?"Damien didn't yell. That was what made it worse. If he had screamed, thrown a punch, or shifted into his wolf and roared at the sky, I could have fought back. But he just stood there, looking hollow, like a statue."You took his mark," Damien said, his voice flat. "You gave him your bed, your body, and your soul. And now the elves come to collect the bill.""Damien, leave her out of it," Joel rasped, stepping up from the side. He held his bruised shoulder with his good hand, his knuckles white. "She didn't know about the royal curse. I didn't know my aunt's coven was even breathing. Punish me if you want, but don't look at her like she committed a
Scarlet’s POVThe courtyard felt like it was about to explode.Six elven guards drew their curved blades in one smooth motion, the silver ringing out in the cold air. Behind me, forty of our wolves bared their fangs, low growls rumbling in their chests like thunder rolling over the mountains. The elders scrambled backward like frightened mice, diving behind the map table.Damien didn't just bare his teeth—his whole frame expanded. The leather laces across his chest groaned as his inner wolf pushed forward, black claws extending from his knuckles, digging straight into the hilt of his broadsword."You threaten my pack on my own stones?" Damien’s voice was an unnatural, guttural roar that shook the gravel beneath our boots. "I tore my way through a coven of witches this morning. You think six pretty boys in silver coats will stop me from ripping your carriage to kindling?"Maeve didn't step back. Her green eyes were ice-cold, fixed entirely on the blade in Damien’s hand."Try it, beast,
Scarlet’s POVThe courtyard went deathly quiet.The clinking of tools at the armory stopped. The healers froze with their bandages halfway wrapped. Every single set of eyes turned away from the maps and locked straight onto Joel.Joel stood frozen on the steps of the healing porch. His face had lost every scrap of color, his dark eyes wide and fixed on the kneeling scout like he had just heard a ghost speak his name."Theandor," Damien whispered, his voice low and dangerous.He didn't look at the scout. His head turned slowly toward Joel, his jaw tightened."They were wiped out," Joel said, his voice coming out rough and uneven as he walked down the steps toward our table. "Morgathis tore through the high citadels before she ever marched on this valley. I watched the silver halls burn with my own eyes. My father, my kin—none of them survived.""Apparently, someone did," Damien replied, his tone devoid of warmth. "And they followed your scent straight to my gates."The heavy iron doors
Scarlet’s POVJoel’s question stayed in the air long after his words stopped.Who are you going to choose?I didn't answer him. I couldn't. Looking into his dark, tired eyes, my heart pulled in two completely different directions.Part of me remembered Damien’s face covered in tears over Kaeler’s cot—the mate who had broken iron chains and dragged his bleeding body through miles of dirt just to see his pups. And another part of me remembered Joel’s steady hand holding mine on the birthing bed, whispering that I wouldn't die while the doctors soaked the sheets in blood."Sasha," I said, my voice shaking as I turned my back on Joel. "Wrap the children tightly in wool. We're moving them up to the stone quarters on the third level. The vault smells too much of death.""Yes, Luna," Sasha whispered, scrambling to pick up Kaelia.Joel let out a slow, quiet breath behind me. He didn't press the matter. He reached down with his uninjured arm, lifted Kaeler's wooden cot with surprising balance,
Scarlet’s POVThe vault was dead quiet except for Damien’s muffled sobs into Kaeler’s blanket.I stood right behind him, my hand hovering over his broad, shaking back. I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck, pull him against my chest, and tell him the nightmare was over. But every time I moved, the silver mark on my collarbone pulsed hot, reminding me that the nightmare hadn't ended—it had just changed shape.Damien slowly lifted his head from the crib. He gently pulled his finger free from Kaeler’s tiny grip, tucking the wool blanket tight around the boy's chest before glancing over at Kaelor and Kaelia. His dark eyes were red-rimmed, wet with tears, but the wild, crazed look he had carried since walking through the courtyard gates was gone.He pushed himself up to his feet, groaning as his ribs protested. He wiped his face with the back of his dirty forearm, smearing soot into his beard, and turned around to face me."Scarlet," he said, his voice quiet, thick with emotion."Damien
Damien’s POVIt had been days since she left, and still, I’d heard nothing.Not another letter. Not even a reassurance that she was going to really come back—I’m left with just memories of her. My head spun as I wrestled with what to do next. That was when the guards’ voices boomed from the palace
Scarlet’s POV “Damien, what are you doing?” I gasped, fear laced in my voice. My breath hitched, as my chest rose and fell with sharp urgency. But… damn it. Why do I feel so wet beneath? What’s wrong with me? I’ve never been this close to a man. Never felt this exposed…this fragile. I placed
Damien’s POVI don’t know if it was instinct, but something deep inside me whispered that something was wrong.Even though she tried so hard to conceal it, everything was brought to light tonight. All through the night, as I took Scarlet again and again, she kept calling my name—and another.A nam
Scarlet’s POVI blinked, forcing myself back into the moment, steadying my breath as I looked up at Damien.He was still watching me, the soldiers standing rigidly behind him, guiding us forward.None of it was real.None of it had ever been real.I had only been standing there—watching Joel being







