Beginning of Book 3*Isla*Water laps at the boat as we glide across the water. The larger waves we encountered a couple of days ago, waves that made me question my decision to do this and think that there was a good chance I was going to end up in the ocean, have died down, and now, it’s just a calm, rolling motion that makes me want to fall asleep.But I can’t do that.I haven’t been able to sleep for days, weeks, not since I had decided that this was something I had to do, even when Maddox had forbidden me to leave the castle.Fighting with him absolutely breaks my heart, but I have my reasons for being here. He didn’t understand that. He didn’t want to listen to me.I’d taken advantage of the problems he was having, and now, I am here… even though he may never forgive me for what I’ve done.Rubbing my hand along my abdomen, I stare out at the ocean, pressing my aching back to the bench behind me. Traveling while so very pregnant is just as uncomfortable as Mystica had warned me th
*Isla*Six months earlier…I am two months pregnant, and I can tell when I look at my reflection in the full-length mirror.Poppy says I’m glowing. I’m not sure about that, but I think my hair looks a little thicker, and maybe my eyes are a little shinier. I swear my nose is beginning to change shape.And then there’s my abdomen. It’s not noticeable to anyone else, I don’t believe, but I can see a slight change. It’s kind of like when I’ve eaten too much, or I’m bloated. I smooth down the front of the sequined red dress I’m wearing and stare at it for a long moment. Yes, I can definitely see a change.I haven’t gained any weight yet. Mystica says that’s typical since I’ve been having a bit of morning sickness. Anything I eat or drink tends to come right back up. She gave me some medicine, and that helps, but I am leery of taking anything since I don’t know how the baby might be affected by the poison I was given when I was just barely pregnant with him.Satisfied that I look good, I t
*Maddox*I need to get up and get back to work, but I can’t. Lying here with Isla cradled against my chest, the smell of our lovemaking still heavy in the air, is soothing, and the rest of the world is cold and angry.Going back out there seems senseless. Why would I do that when I can simply stay here with her?“What is it, Maddox?” she asks, her voice heavy with sleep. “I know something is troubling you. More so than usual.”I can’t help the chuckle that escapes my lips. She knows me so well. “I was going to say, since when is there a time when something isn’t bothering me?”She turns her blue eyes on me, and I smile at her, brushing my thumb across her cheek. “Have you had any progress whatsoever?”A sigh slips out of my mouth, and I tell her, “Yes and no. It’s a slow process, baby. We have to go pack by pack, person by person, and convince them all that turning against me as the rightful king is a huge mistake.”“But there are so many packs that have been infiltrated in one way or
*Isla*Saying goodbye to Maddox is always impossibly difficult to do, and the more pregnant I become with our baby, the harder it becomes.A few days after he introduced me to Commander Pepelos, the amber-eyed man is walking just behind us as I escort Maddox to the vehicle that is waiting for him.“I’ll call you as soon as I can,” the Alpha King says, patting his pocket where he has a cell phone. They are not common among our people, as most of us prefer the old-fashioned ways of communication and don’t necessarily trust this new technology, but I insist that he have one to call me with when he’s out this far away, where the mind-link won’t work.“I will be waiting to hear from you.” Perhaps I should say something more comforting, like I understand he’ll be busy, and he should take his time, but I don’t. I want him to know that I will be expecting to hear from him because I am already feeling anxious just knowing he’ll likely be gone far longer this time.Not to mention, he’ll be nego
*Isla*“Lift the curse?”I can’t help but repeat the phrase Commander Pepelos has just said to me. Confusion washes over me, not for the first time. “What are you talking about?” I ask him. “How do you know all of this about Maatua?”He shakes his head. “I don’t think this is the right place to discuss this, Your Highness. Why don’t we go inside, into your private chambers, and we can discuss it there.”“My private chambers?” Nothing he has said makes the statement sound suggestive at all, but I am wondering what people will think if they find out I have some strange man in my room, not a half an hour after Maddox has left the castle to go find out what is happening with the war.“Or the library. Whatever room you think is most secure.” He walks to the exterior door and pulls it open, gesturing for me to walk inside first.I do and nod my thanks, and the two of us are relatively quiet as we walk down the hallway.I am leading him to my room. Not on purpose, but I’m considering everyth
*Maddox*The drive to Cliff’s Edge pack will take several hours. If so many of the packs between our territory and Alpha Charlton are hostile right now, it’s best if we take our troops around them. The last thing I want to do is give the impression that we might be moving in, planning an invasion, because some of these packs have been rumored to be aligned with Beach Front.As we meander through the countryside, my long convo of military vehicles following along in parade order, my mind goes back to the information I’ve gotten from my commanders in the field. Both Commander Vember and Commander Givens have supplied me with plenty of information. I need to make sure that my alliances are strong in the few packs that are closer to Beach Front that might still might be willing to help me.“We are expected by Alpha Charlton, but he is a bit leery of our arrival,” Seth says from his seat next to me in the second row in the SUV. “He’s afraid that the other packs in the area might decide to
*Maddox*Alpha Charlton hasn’t changed that much since the last time I saw him—at the funeral.He does have bags under his eyes that were not there before, back when he had no reason to lie awake at night and stare at the ceiling, asking why.Back when we were all happy and full of light and hope.I can tell when he shakes my hand he does so with reservations, and I can’t blame him. He still has unanswered questions, as do I. But from his perspective, someone who wasn’t there when everything happened, he is not only relying on what he knows of me but the rumors and whispers that began coming out of the castle right after the incident, whispers that continue to come from the castle still.I’ve never blamed him for not fully trusting my side of the story. I still have moments when I don’t trust it myself after all.Now, as he welcomes me back into his home, I am reminded of the feeling of excitement I had the last time I stood in the ballroom, waiting.Waiting for her.I follow a servan
*Maddox*Trying to concentrate on the discussion around me is difficult when I’m standing in this particular room—this ballroom. I have several Alphas in front of me mentioning what it is that they need from me in order to be confident enough to send warriors to support our cause, and all I keep thinking about is the first time I was here.“You know, if you really want all of us to come in on your side, there’s one thing that would do it for certain,” one of the younger Alphas says. He’s in his early thirties, and apparently he’s had enough to drink that he’s a little loose-lipped because the other Alphas try to get him to shush. But Alpha Evan will not yield.“What’s that?” I ask him.“Simple. Give our daughters a chance.” Evan takes another swig of his champagne, and some of the other Alphas clear their throats or shuffle their feet. It’s a sign to me that they agree with whatever he is getting at, though they don’t want to vocalize it as has.“Your daughter?” I ask, confused. I kno
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.