AvivaI wake from a dead sleep that leaves me in an absolute panic. I roll off the bed with a crash, and then Ryan’s voice cuts through the air in alarm over the sound of him ripping the sheets from the mattress in his haste to follow me out of bed. “Aviva–Goddess–” he grumbles, scooping me up right by my armpits and tossing me back in bed just as a wail echoes through the house. “Where’s Lexa?” I croak, my throat throbbing painfully like I’ve swallowed glass. I clutch my neck in alarm, swallowing hard past a massive lump nearly blocking my airway. I’ve never felt so terrible in my life. Ryan disappears and returns a few moments later with an incredibly fussy Lexa and a giant glass of water for me. Then, he fusses over us, propping me up against the headboard with several pillows and whisking Lexa away when she’s done nursing, all while I sit there in a haze, my head pounding and my joints aching so badly it nearly brings me to tears. It’s early morning. I don’t even remember goi
Aviva“What’s your name?” I ask in the old tongue as I lead the boy through one of the pastures, shoving chest-height strands of wheat to the side to give us a path.He doesn’t speak for a while. I don’t press him for information, either. The fact that he’s following me is enough.“Logan,” he says after a moment, his voice calm and cool like the breeze coming off the rolling hills in the distance.“How old are you?”“Twelve.”“I thought so.” I look at him over my shoulder, smiling, but he doesn’t return the gesture. Dark circles line his eyes, and he’s incredibly thin, even for a boy his age, who all seem to be gangly and lanky. His dark, nearly black hair is pin straight and sticks up at all angles, rustling in the breeze, and he’s pale with freckles across the bridge of his nose.A scar wraps fr
MistyLogan is quite gaunt. That’s the first thing I notice as I linger in the doorway of the healer’s cottage, watching Cole check Logan’s ears. Cole is amazing with kids, and it shows, because Logan cracks a smile at something Cole says and Aviva interprets. But Cole’s eyes are heavy with concern when he turns away from the boy, his eyes scanning his notes before closing his notebook and setting it on the counter. Aviva, wearing Lexa on her back, takes Logan’s hand and leads him out of the healer’s cottage, closing the door behind her. I watch through the window as they walk away, into the rolling, morning fog. It’s a chilly late summer morning–the first truly cold morning since we arrived last week. It’s been four days since almost everyone fell ill, but thankfully that’s over. And, Kyra isn’t here right now. She’s off doing something in Endova, according to Cole and Ryan. I feel immediately more relaxed in her absence. “So? Is he going to live?” I try to tease to break the t
Misty“Aviva, stop!” I shout as she begins to turn toward the woods, her bow raised and arrow primed and ready. My powers ignite, stronger than they’ve ever been, and explode through the clearing in bright, blue light that sizzles into the ground. I swear, somewhere deep in the swirling, blue ether, I hear what sounds like a lock clicking–like I’ve just jammed a key into a padlock and wrenched on it until it turned–and then the ground shakes violently, a crushing, grinding sound beginning to echo through the clearing. Red eyes appear near the tree line–three sets–barreling toward us. Aviva roars as she pulls back on her arrow again, but then she… disappears with a surprised scream. “Aviva?!” I shout, then choke on her name as the ground beneath me falls away. My powers burn out. I’m falling through the darkness, reaching blindly for anything to grab onto. Something beneath me hits the ground with a crunch, and then I’m landing on top of the object, which turns out to be Aviva. We
MistyCole groans against my neck as I reach between, running my hand down his chest to the deep V of the muscles of his waist. He kisses me again, hungerly this time, his tongue sweeping over mine in a slow dance that has sparkles of pleasure rippling over my skin. I sigh against his mouth as he grinds his hips against mine, rocking us back and forth, his hands drifting down my sides and settling on my ass with a squeeze. He slides his hand beneath my shirt, revealing how naked I already am. “I didn’t bring any pajamas,” I admit, my voice pitched with excitement as he smiles against my lips. There’s no panties in his way tonight. A dull, throbbing ache radiates through my lower belly. My inner folds are already slick as he drags his fingers through them, lowering his head against my shoulder and trembling with anticipation. “Fuck, Misty, you’re soaking wet.”I close my eyes and arch when he presses two fingers inside of me, his thumb stroking slow, teasing circles over my clit. I
AvivaTo say I’m relieved to be home is an understatement. Our group is greeted with enthusiasm, especially after it’s revealed that we snagged enough deer and elk to see us through nearly the entire winter, and a huge banquet is held in celebration. Notably absent from the dinner is Misty. Lexa sleeps peacefully in my lap while my gaze drifts across the packhouse. I sweep past Ryan to a new face in the crowd. Well, not entirely new, but new to the dinner held here every night. Kyra, wearing a dark green cloak, stands close enough to Cole that I feel a sudden jolt of unease as she reaches into her cloak and pulls out a vial, pressing it into his hands. Cole nods in thanks, but the line between his brows is evident. He looks like he’s in pain as he turns away from her, his skin slightly pale and eyes watering enough that I feel myself rising from the bench in an effort to walk over and ask what’s wrong, but then he turns back to the conversation he was having with a group of men an
AvivaI barely slept that night. Actually, I didn’t sleep at all. I paced the living wishing for the first time since Lexa was born that she’d stop sleeping through the night to give me something to focus on other than the fact Logan saw two white wolves. Sure, some wolves have white fur. Like Sarah, for one. Misty, too, is a pale gold, but neither of them have sightless, silver eyes. Another chill snakes up my spine as I pace across the living room again, rubbing my eyes. I did my best to convince Logan he’d seen some of our pack members, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that’s not the case. The last time I saw two white wolves was before the war, and I now consider them a warning. A warning of things to come, of trials coming my way, of the threat of death. Part of me hopes it was just Maddox and Isla paying us a visit, but the creeping sensation in my chest makes me think otherwise. I don’t have powers. I don’t have visions. But I see these fuckers when no one else can…
MistyCole moves through our little kitchen in a hurry. He practically jumped out of bed this morning, grunting and bumping into the dresser and the doorframe in his haste to get dressed. It’s not even light yet, and the usual dense morning fog that swirls through the village hasn’t yet lifted, but Cole is making so much noise that Addy wakes up in a fuss, his little face twisted as he begins to wail in my arms. I’ve been up with him for an hour now, at least. Cole, who’s been amazing with divvying up the nighttime wakings so we each get a few hours of sleep, didn’t even stir. In fact, when I rose from bed to take Addy out of his crib, Cole rolled over and covered his head with his pillow. I shouldn’t be angry, but I am. He acted strange all night–distant, and quiet. More quiet than usual, I should say. It was like he was in a trance, and after an hour of trying to talk to him when he returned from dinner at the packhouse, he’d simply laid down in bed and passed out cold. I hate t
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.
LoganBrie looks exhausted, but otherwise… happy, thank the Goddess, as she sits between her mother and Misty, listening to their conversation and picking at a sandwich. I lean my elbows on the table across the room where I’m sitting in silence, alone, still waiting for my mind to catch up with my body after Maeve jumped with us from the middle of the ocean to Veiled Valley. A shadow moves into view, crossing through the doorway before a shadow breaches the informal living area. Ryan looks around before turning the corner, beelining for me, waving away several rushed questions coming from the group of women on the couches nearby. He braces his hands on the table beside me, leaning down to whisper into my ear, “I need to speak to you in private before Ryatt returns. Can you come with me?”I glance at Brie, who’s watching us with her brows furrowed in worry. I suck my teeth before nodding, and Ryan moves back a step so I can stand. Brie and I have been using the mind-link as much as
BrieI pull the stool out from under my vanity, sinking down and facing Blake. I’m older than him by a few months. We’ve always been close, even when we were younger, and he tended to want to play rowdy boy games with Aris. He always sat quietly and played tea-party with me, though, without fail. He’s also the pariah of the family and knows it. His powers rival Ryatt’s, which is a terrifying thought. In fact, I often question who’s more powerful–him or Maeve? But that’s not a fair question at the moment, given that Maeve’s powers aren’t even fully developed yet. Blake, however… he exudes energy that makes my skin tingle as he sits in my desk chair, resting his elbows on his knees. “You found us, didn’t you?” He nods, a flash of guilt darkening his irises. “I admit I didn’t even look until Maeve cornered me. She felt you, she said. Sensed your arrival back in our waters.”I wonder how much Logan told the family. Probably everything, I’m sure. That man can talk, and I love that abou