LOGINEmber Frost’s POVMoon Goddess… What had I just heard? Seraphina was the Northern Duke’s daughter! My mind couldn’t process it.The revelation weighed heavily on me, making my thoughts sluggish and scattered.And the mother she kept mentioning? I didn’t need to guess. Who else could it be but the life-weaver witch?I never imagined the Northern Duke and the life-weaver witch had been involved during the war. There had to be another hidden story behind this tragic, astonishing love affair.The elders’ reactions were a show all on their own. The royalist supporters’ faces were tight with worry, brows knitted, and eyes anxious, while the anti-king faction practically beamed with satisfaction, their hands fidgeting with barely contained excitement.“How could you! "How could you consort with the enemy in the middle of a war?" The first critic barked at the Northern Duke. “They say mercy is the grave of heroes. Northern Duke, I’ve always feared you might have betrayed the werewolves. Other
Ember Frost’s POVElder Marcus exhaled softly, his expression clouded with worry. He didn’t argue or question anything; he simply fell silent, lifted his hands, and summoned a small flame that reduced the strand of hair to powder. Then he pricked the Northern Duke’s fingertip, took a drop of blood, and mixed it with the ashes. With steady fingers, she brushed the strange mixture across Seraphina’s forehead, shaping it into a star-like mark.The effect was instantaneous. Whatever force had tormented Seraphina moments before vanished, leaving her slumped in the chair. She didn’t move. She looked almost lifeless.“…You’re bound by a curse,” the Northern Duke said, his voice rough and low. “That man you serve—the night magus Nareth—forced you to swear on your family’s blood. You weren’t allowed to speak his name. Isn’t that the truth?”Seraphina’s chest shook as she coughed violently. Blood splattered from her mouth onto the stone floor, and then she let out a wild, cracked laugh.“Half r
Ember Frost’s POV“I want to go see her,” Eira whispered, barely raising her head. “She’s the only family I still have.”I sighed, trying to keep my tone gentle. “You know your grandmother’s mind is still very unstable. The doctor was clear—she needs distance from anything that reminds her of the past. A calm place is needed, one that is far from familiar faces and memories. I know you’re worried about her, but right now it’s better if you don’t meet her.”After she moved into the palace, Eira had tried visiting her grandmother once at the institute where she was receiving treatment.The moment the frail old woman recognized her, something snapped inside her. She tore herself free from the caregiver like she had suddenly found impossible strength, grabbing anything within reach—trays, pillows, even the metal stool—and hurling it in Eira’s direction in a wild panic. It took several nurses and the doctor to restrain her. When the chaos finally died down, the doctor gently told Eira that
Ember Frost’s POV“What? “The Stormspire Mountains?” Eira blinked at me as if I’d spoken in another language. “There are sorcerers living out there, too? That can’t be right. I’ve never heard of anything like that.”“I hadn’t either,” I admitted with a helpless shrug. “But according to what that witch in the confinement room told us, there’s supposed to be a hidden group living there completely cut off from everyone else.”Eira frowned immediately. “That woman thrives on twisting the truth. What if she made it all up just to mislead you?”“She couldn’t have,” I said gently. “Elder Marcus used a truth-detection spell on her. It didn’t react at all when she talked about the Stormspire Mountains. Like it or not… he believed what she was saying.”“The Stormspire Mountains…” Eira’s gaze drifted toward the window, her voice softening. After a moment, she murmured, almost to herself, “You know… I’ve never told you this, but when I was a child, my mother used to tell me a story that took pla
Ember Frost’s POVThere was truly no way to tame the Astral Eyes.No matter how I tried to steady myself, that harsh truth slammed back into me all over again.And if that was true… What about Eira? Was she going to meet the same early death Medina did?Elder Marcus placed a calming hand on my shoulder and spoke gently, “Don’t lose hope, Miss Ember. We’ll find a solution. Eira will be alright.”But how could he sound so sure? “Even the witches don’t know how to control that cursed eye,” I whispered, shaking. “And if Eira… if something happens to her because of me, how am I supposed to face her?”My chest tightened with guilt. From the very beginning, I was the one who dragged her into this. I was the one who spoke of “honor” and “greatness” like they were shiny toys. I convinced her to leave the quiet life she loved and step into danger she never asked for.How could I have been so blind? So selfish?Who was I to place the weight of her fate on my shoulders, as if I were some higher b
Ember Frost’s POV I’d had enough of circling around her arrogance. “Elder Marcus,” I said, my voice filled with impatience, “go ahead. Start the mind break.”Fear flashed across Seraphina’s face the moment Marcus’s power stepped forward. She thrashed against her restraints, her composure cracking like thin ice.“Wait—no! You can’t do that to me!” She thrashed against the chains, panic flooding her voice. “The Lycan King wouldn’t allow this! You don’t have the authority!”Of course she didn’t know I wasn’t planning to actually break into her mind, just frighten her enough to make her talk. But she didn’t need to know that.“If you’re this terrified,” I said, leaning in, “then answer the question before I let him continue. Your choice.”Seraphina glared at me from beneath her tangled hair, jaw clenched so tight I could hear her teeth grind. “You’re bluffing,” she hissed. “If anything happens to me, your precious Lycan King will have your head. I saw what happened in the hall earlier; y







