KennaI’m not sure how two weeks have already passed since Evander and I fought in the shelter of the willow tree. Two entire weeks. I haven’t heard from him or seen him since that night, and maybe that’s for the best.I let my heartache turn to a dull chill that’s carried me on a wave of numbness. I walk the golden halls of the castle. I walk the gardens and city streets. I meet with friends for brunch along the shore of the lake and work at the midwifery clinic any chance I can get.I keep my hands busy with babies and preparations for the Rite.I keep my mind hollow and honed on maps and the paperwork covering my mom’s desk.I keep a smile on my face anytime I stand in front of my parents' magic mirror, listening to my dad fill my mom in on the movements of the allied armies now gathering in the Roguelands with him at the helm.In the past week, thousands of warrior
EvanderI think I might want to kill Sydney.For someone so stoic and all business, he’s also extremely sarcastic and has found every opportunity to push my buttons the last twenty-four hours or so.Thank the gods we can’t mind-link because I’m sure he’d be rattling off insults and jests in my ear every waking hour we spend traveling back to Moonrise.We’re close to the sacred valley now. Close enough I can sense the wards Ryatt put up around the city to keep it hidden.I pull on a shirt as I look out over the mountainous horizon. Summer is in full swing, and the rolling mountains are nothing but emerald green trees.There’s a lake in the distance that sparkles like diamonds over a sheet of the purest turquoise, but no sprawling, golden city in sight.“We’re here,” I grumble, stooping to tie my boots.Sydn
KennaWhat I don’t know, as I kneel on the furs, is that Evander came here looking for me only to find out he’s still part of the Rite. Mystics surrounded him at the lake shore and followed him to the temple entrance, hurrying him along, telling him he was late. He came here for me. Maybe to stop me from doing this, or for another reason I don’t know. It’s clear, however, that he feels some sense of relief finding me well and whole, regardless of the situation.But I can tell he’s trying to free himself from the yoke of the eclipse that’s blurring the lines between us right now. He’s trying to be logical about this. He’s trying to hold onto some kind of rationality but is failing just as miserably as I am as I lie back against the furs. He’s watching every move I make. I can feel his heart thundering through our bond. I feel like I’m in a haze as he covers me with his body. I reach up and run my fingers through his soft, golden hair. He smells so good–like the forest after a heavy
KennaEvander looks down at me and goes perfectly still.“What was that?” I whisper. It could easily have been the fireworks the elder council in the coven ordered for the festivities.Another Earth rattling boom shakes the underground temple to the point dust and bits of rocks tumble from the ceiling.I don’t even have a second to take a breath before Evander rolls off me, pulls me to my feet, and grabs his shirt. He yanks it over my head and deftly buttons it, but his body is so still, and his head is cocked to the side as he listens to whatever is happening beyond the sanctuary of the cave.His mark on my shoulder burns, and blood seeps into the white fabric of his shirt, which is large enough that it brushes over the top of my knees as he steps away and quickly puts on his pants. “Where is your cloak?”“Evander, what is going on? It’s just the fireworks&ndash
EvanderI’m not sure what I expected Kenna’s wolf to look like. I hadn't expected this, however. Her night-black fur shines in the faint light cast from the windows where magic is whizzing through the air as a battle ensues outside. Her fur is so dark that it sucks the light from the room and turns it to diamond dust that falls from her as she moves toward me, her silver eyes blazing with mingled worry and surprise. She’s small–smaller than the average wolf, for sure. The top of her head barely reaches my shoulder as she brushes against me. I feel her power the second she touches me.Unmatched strength. Ungodly powers I’m sure even she doesn’t comprehend. She is a hybrid of several forces combined into one tiny wolf, and I have no idea what to do with her now. I have it in mind to find the nearest closet and lock her in it, preventing her from putting herself in danger, but we need to find her father. Sydney returns from surveying the castle for more threats, his golden wolf an i
KennaI arch my back and brush my mouth over Evander’s jaw. His proximity is overwhelming to every single sense, and I drown in him. He lowers himself to cover me wholly with his body, pushing the sheets down to the end of the bed with his feet. This feels different than it did in the cave. Despite our obvious desire for each other that has spanned weeks at this point, we were performing the ritual together. It was something we had to do.But this… this is just for us. Because we want to. Because, despite everything that happened last night and what’s happening now, we need this from each other. His touch is the perfect distraction. His hand roaming down my side is enough for my mind to go blissfully blank. Every other feeling is set aside for now, and that’s okay. For a few moments, we can just be mates. Soon, I’m sure every waking minute of my life will be consumed by worry for my parents and my kingdom. Falling back into the spiral of anxiety and grief, I clutch his face and dr
KennaI adjust my apron strings to stop my hands from trembling. The corridor outside my dad’s office is unusually quiet and empty. Normally, warriors and higher ranking wolves would be walking back and forth or waiting on the benches along the wall for a meeting with him. Commanders would be speaking in low tones outside the door, not sparing a passing glance to the others waiting in the wings. And beyond the windows behind me, the city of Moonrise would be loud, shiny, and glowing with activity, but now it’s gray and silent. The wound on our precious, sacred city festers with every passing second my mother, the queen, is gone. I chew my lip and rock on my heels. “You had an opportunity to tell me the truth and you chose to lie–”“She is my mate, and I will decide what is best for her!”I close my eyes and let out my breath. I’ve been listening to Dad argue with Evander for the last ten minutes. Dad promptly shut the door in my face when I tried to follow Evander inside, so… what
EvanderI look down at a pair of familiar black gloves. They feel heavy in my hands, but that might just be the crushing ache of what's to come and why these have been given back to me.The barracks in Moonrise suffered damage in the attack, but they’re still intact enough to house the unmarried and unmated warriors who reside in the city. I came here because I had to meet with Commander Artyom to get these fancy gloves back, and since every warrior is out in the city canvassing for hiding enemies, I’m alone.I sit down on a random cot and stretch out my legs, going over the conversation I just had with King Ryatt.I know this mission wasn’t given to me because I am the best in the field and the only chance of the Allied Kings finding this woman, whose name isn’t known. I am being forced away from Kenna while her father, the king, decides whether or not I’m worthy of her affection.I don
BrieI wake in the early hours of the morning to soft sunlight brushing over my cheeks. I’m sure I cried myself to sleep last night. I forgot where I was, but only briefly, reality rushing in, reminding me that I made it to Emberfyll alone. I roll in the furs, letting the warm, morning sunlight play over my face, but then I hear a commotion coming from outside. Yips and barks dance through the air. I rise, clutching the windowsill for support as I squint into the sun and see a dozen wolves racing through the flattened, charred space that used to be the front garden. Smoke rises in the forest from chimneys, the villagers waking for the day, but I can’t see past the trees and their thick summer canopies. The wolves are racing into the forest. I whirl to heavy footsteps running into the room I was given to use as my own last night. Seamus braces himself in the doorway, panting like he ran all the way here from the depths of the castle. I wait for him to tell me we’re under attack, or
Logan“BRIE!” I shout toward the trees. My voice carries through the night but doesn’t bounce back to me. It just keeps going, and going, and I’m at a complete loss as to where we are or where my mate could be. Maeve murmurs at my feet where she’s lying flat on her back. I woke up five, maybe ten minutes ago in so much pain I could barely breathe, let alone stand. Now, I’m stumbling from spindly tree to spindly tree, using them to steady myself as I scream my mate’s name into the night, but she doesn’t answer. Through the trees, I can just see the ocean, the storm raging in the distance. Lightning in shades of crimson and deep violet split the clouds as wind rushes toward the mainland. I can feel the electricity in the air, even from miles away. I can taste the thick, metallic stain of magic on my tongue. That storm… Maeve created it. It’s her powers drifting away from us, stirring up the sea. But Maeve is currently unable to even speak as it stands, and she’s cold to the touch whe
BrieI open my eyes as I’m falling through thin air. I don’t even have time to scream before my body drops into water. Deep, rough water that drags me under the second I suck in a salty breath. I flail against the waves, trying to find the surface, but the undercurrent drags me down again, pulling me by my dress and tossing me upside down. My head hits something hard, and I screech, but the sound is empty. I suck in water, choking, and realize quite suddenly that I’m drowning. I go as still as possible, using the last of my energy to start moving with the current instead of against it, which turns out to be the best idea I’ve ever had, especially under duress. I open my eyes underwater, staring down at the shallows. It’s sunny. Daytime. And below, seaweed waves between large, gray rocks. Pockets of sunshine dance through the water, illuminating seashells in shades I’ve never seen before. Another wave crashes over the top of me, sending me rolling into even shallower water, and fina
MaeveCole and Misty have a beautiful suburban home in Shadowcrest. It’s always the same–always smells like freshly baked cookies and the flowers she keeps in vases all over the house. Tonight, as my toes brush the ground, and my powers funnel back into my body, it smells like… popcorn. “You pig! You’re not going to eat all of that.” Josie’s voice, so similar to her mother’s, drifts down the hallway. I landed in the foyer, which is dark, soft moonlight drifting in through the windows and casting the stairs and framed photos of the family in silver shadows. “If you wanted more, you should have added it to the order,” Adrian argues then yelps after a smacking sound reverberates toward me in the gloom. “Give me one of your tacos–”“Or what?”“I’ll tell Mom.”“She’s in Eastonia, dumbass. Hey!” A scuffle ensures. I have two seconds to jump into the shadow of Misty’s study just off the foyer when Cole walks down the stairs, still wearing his hospital scrubs. The sound of a shower running
LoganRyatt and Evander walk out of sight across the bridge connecting the barracks to the main streets of the city. I look out of my old bedroom window at the sunny glare casting shadows over the valley. The shadows move as the clouds dart across the sky toward the castle, toward my wife, who I’d much rather be with right now than here. I… I don’t have anything to pack. Anything that meant anything to me–my laptop, my fucking glasses–were lost in the shipwreck. I have the clothes on my back, and even those were borrowed from who-knows-where, left on the dresser in Brie’s bedroom by the ghost that haunts her house. She’s all I have, and it’s not like I can pack her in my duffle bag and take her with me. I crank open the window to let in some fresh air to cut through the overwhelmingly male smell of the barracks. I turn to my empty duffle bag with a sigh, bracing my hands on either side of it on the bed, and hang my head, but a whoosh of air rushes out behind me, and I turn in time
BrieThe moment my bedroom door closes behind us, Logan’s mouth is on mine. The lock slides into place with a soft click, and an even softer groan leaves his mouth when I reach up to run my fingers through his damp curls. He smells like rain and leather. Like the promise of warmth and comfort through another stormy night. And now this man–this loud, obnoxious, opinionated man… he’s mine. He presses a kiss to the ring he bought today on a whim. It’s a simple band of gold–that’s it. “I'll give you a better one when I return,” he promises, kissing the palm of my hand before his lips find mine again. “A ring with a diamond the old gods can see from the heavens.”“I don’t care about that.” I giggle as his hands glide down my sides, pulling me close. Outside, thunder booms, the room lighting in ribbons of blue as lightning splits the clouds, but in here, it’s warm. It’s private. It’s just us. He removes my cloak. It falls to the ground in a heap at my feet. He’s careful with the dress,
MaeveBrie is… radiant. She glows in her simple white dress of lace and satin, her hair falling loose over her back and shoulders as Logan slowly, tenderly, lowers the hood of her dark blue cloak. The temple is quiet and dim, moonlight flooding the altar. Logan knits his fingers in Brie’s and brings her knuckles to his lips, pressing a kiss against them. They’re bathed in silver, the windows behind them dancing in starlight. It’s beautiful, really. It’s what I envisioned for her, one day, what I thought would be… years from now. I watch my sister–the person I love the most in all of the world–intertwine her soul with someone else, forcing myself to unravel the ribbons binding my heart to hers. She doesn’t belong to me anymore. Logan looks at her as they kneel before the priestess in her silver robes. They lean into each other like being inches away is too far apart. And the look on his face as he brushes his lips over her temple… he loves her. He’s devoted–body, and soul. My heart
Brie“Tonight?”“Yes, tonight.”“How?” I laugh, taking a step away from him. “We-we can’t.”“We can,” he says breathlessly, shaking his head. “The temple stays open all night. We’d just need to find a priestess.”“We’d need a witness,” I whisper as the cogs in my mind start turning. “I’d need a dress–”“I’d marry you like this,” he says, taking my hands. “But please, for the love of the Goddess, marry me before I go.”I blink up at Logan, my heart swelling and squeezing simultaneously. There’s still a whisper in my mind that warns me that he could change his mind, that he can’t really want me, but I… banish it, giving myself to him fully. “Are you sure?” I ask, scanning his eyes. “I’ve never been more sure of anything. I want you to be my wife, Brie.”“I’m already your mate.”“It’s not enough.” He brushes my hair out of my face and kisses me, but a rush of air alerts us to a visitor making their way up the stairs to the tower. I pull away as a soft knock sounds on the door. Neither
BrieLogan steps into my dad’s office. All eyes turn to him as he scans the men–Sydney, Grandpa Ryatt, my father, a few others that serve both my father and grandfather as generals, captains, and commanders. Logan’s eyes are like polished, imperfect emeralds as he eyes my grandpa wearily, like he’s not entirely sure he understands what Ryatt just said to everyone in the room. “Brie, you don’t need to be here for this,” Aviva whispers behind me, knitting her fingers in mine. But Logan growls, “She stays.”A silent, heavy, creeping hint of tension scatters around the room. The entire castle would explode if someone lit a match right now, I’m sure. My spine tingles as Logan turns to Ryatt and says, calmly despite the bite in his voice, “There’s nothing in Emberfyll.”“Quite the contrary,” my grandfather replies immediately, rounding my father’s desk, his shadow powers simmering and coiling around his fingers, “Debris has been washing up on the southern shore of Tarsian for decades now.