EllaAmanda shifts her weight beside me as we stare up into the ceiling of the remains of the observatory.After I destroyed Ravenna’s crystal castle in Old Moonrise to save my friends’ lives, I offered to have this palace rebuilt.The mystics refused–flat out.They said it was a gift and a message from the Goddess that the orrery survived the devastation. It sits in the remains of the palace, warded by Ryatt’s powers against the elements, and has a view of the night sky as I wait for the mystics to arrive. Metal arms twirl in a circle, holding up the planets of our solar system–the moon and the stars around it.This room has been the meeting place of the mystic’s for millenia, since long before the veil ever came down around Eastonia.And one thing I’ve learned about the mystics during my time in Eastonia is that they cannot handle change.A w
KennaNight falls, and Evander and I haven’t said a word to each other. In fact, he’s been pretty much unseen for most of the dozen or so miles we hiked today, all of which were done with me blanketed in my shadow and him running somewhere in his fox form.Or wolf form. I honestly have no idea. All I know is that whatever happened between us last night has made us both unwilling or unable to even look at each other.I know better, which is the worst part. I know better than to kiss a friend and think everything will go back to the way it was before. That’s like, a cardinal rule in friendship between opposite sexes, right?Maybe it did go back to the way it was before, actually, because now we’re not speaking, and I have no idea where he is or what he’s up to.I let my shadow fade and huff out a breath as I come to a full stop in a moon-soaked clearing, my legs aching and feet blistered a
EvanderFlynn and Connor found us right in time. I feel like I’m hanging on to the only shred of self control I have left, and the guilt of keeping the truth of what’s building between me and Kenna is eating me alive.Flynn, thankfully, has taken over entertaining Kenna. For the past day, we’ve been traveling as wolves with Kenna riding on my back, but we’re closing in on the border between the Highlands and the Roguelands now, and we paused to take a break, and Kenna demanded to walk.So, we’re walking, and I’m watching Kenna and Flynn tease each other, and I’ve been purposefully slowing my pace to give them more space.They get along, and while his obvious flirting grates at every single one of my nerves, she’s smiling. She’s also giggling and blushing as Connor, and I walk a few yards behind them down a rough trail leading out of the heavily wooded mountains.&
KennaI just killed someone. I watch the unfamiliar man twitch on the ground as foam bubbles from his mouth. His eyes glaze over–eyes I wonder if he inherited from his mom… or dad. I wonder if someone who loves him is waiting on him to come home. If he has a mate and children. Brothers, sisters….I tear my gaze from the dead man and look out over the dark forest at the shadows creeping toward me. There’s more of them. More men. More Rebels. We’re being attacked. My body acts on instinct as my mind tries to catch up to what just happened, and I whirl to where I saw Evander get stabbed repeatedly while he just–he just stood there and took it. He stood there, screaming my name as I got carried away and didn’t even blink when he was being brutalized because I…“You’re distracting in every way….”His words from the night we kissed in Tiscoln rush through my head as I take a single step in his direction but pause. He’s not moving. His chest isn’t moving. Oh, my Goddess. No. No. No,
Kenna“You’re not jumping like this,” Dad says sharply as he slams the door shut in the room he just booked for me in an inn in Opal Hill.I tuck my trembling hands behind my back and squeeze my fingers to stop them from shaking. He spirited us here, thank the Goddess. If I had to spend another second in Evander’s company, I would have lost control of my already exhausted powers, but I’m still on the verge of dropping into my shadow, and Dad knows something is wrong.His silver eyes–the same shape and shade as mine–hold my gaze with an intensity that makes me want to look away and submit, but I stand my ground.“I want to go home.”“To
EvanderI have the urge to yank Kenna into a sitting room, or a closet, or a fucking darkened hallway the second my feet hit the ground in Moonrise.I can’t, though. Not when our mothers are barreling toward us, and their faces are drawn with so much worry that it could easily break my heart, if I still had a heart to break.I let go of Kenna’s hand and feel the absence of her touch like another blade in my side.But my mom throws herself against me and sobs.I slowly wrap my arms around her, resting my chin on the top of her head. The throne room takes shape all around me–the soft cream curtains, the murals on the walls and the ceiling, the windows overlooking the lake.
Kenna“Don’t say anything else,” Evander growls. The sanctuary of the willow tree darkens to the point I can barely see his eyes gleaming in the faint moonlight filtering through the leaves. He takes a step toward me, trying to close the distance between us again. “We have to. You don’t want this.”“You have no idea what I want.”“Then tell me,” I cut in, my breath catching. “Because I can’t–I can’t pretend like everything is okay anymore. What do you want? If it’s not me, then we need to reject each other!”“I want you. I want you more than anything, Kenna. You are all I think about. You are on my mind every second of every day–the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I think about before I fall asleep and dream about you. I can’t get you out of my head.”“That’s what the mate bond is, isn’t it? An all consuming, wholly encompassing–”“The way I feel about you has nothing to do with the mate bond.”My mind goes blank. All I can see is him, and all I can hear are his
EvanderI’d walk off a cliff if there was one nearby. I’m sure if I ran deep enough into what was once called the Deadlands–the old home of creatures like rogues–I’d find the swift death I’m looking for. Instead, I’m drunk in an inn somewhere in the Roguelands… but not nearly drunk enough to wash the taste of every word I said to Kenna out of my mouth.The inn is full of warriors from all three major kingdoms. The Tarsian warriors are notable by their sandy colored leathers and desert sun-tanned skin. It’s interesting to watch them confer with the Rogueland warriors, of course. The allyship between the Tarsian and the Roguelands is precarious, based wholly on how Alpha King Ryatt and Alpha King Jaxon feel about each other at the moment. Queen Ella split Eastonia in two during the first years of her reign, giving Jaxon full authority of the lands past the river that once walled the Roguelands off from the lost city of Rifthold. I’ve heard Alpha Jaxon likes to hold the fact Alpha K
BrieThe castle glows like liquid gold from the light of what must be hundreds of tallow candles. The gathered crowd shuffles to find a spot to sit or stand in the wide, toppled ballroom of sorts. I’m not sure what it used to be, but only so many rooms are still fully enclosed. The weather in Emberfyll is mild. I imagine when the forest grows back, it’ll be borderline tropical. A feast of fish is laid out on makeshift tables or on long strips of fabric where people are seated on the floor, passing pewter plates down the line into hungry hands. Others break bread or pour tea and mead into mugs. I watch from the front of the room where I’m seated against a backdrop of the ocean and the clear, star filled sky. Maeve’s still asleep. She’s been sleeping all day, since the moment she arrived, but I imagine that won’t change for a while. I’m worried about her–have been checking on her all day while also juggling creating a plan of action with Logan and Seamus for when my father’s warriors
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