LOGINANDREW'S POV, “That seems premature. We're at a delicate point in the discussion—” “Which is exactly why we need a few minutes,” I said, holding his gaze. He looked away first, and I continued. “To discuss your proposals in private and speak our mind without you listening to us. Unless there's a r
ANDREW'S POV, I noticed the guard first. Not his presence, his absence. The post in the east corridor had been manned every time I had checked it since we arrived. It was a consistent, unremarkable detail that I had catalogued the way I catalogued everything in a room like this one—automatically,
ELENA'S POV, The report came in fragments, the way bad news always did. It wasn't clean, nor with the kind of clarity that made decisions easy. Just pieces, arriving one after another through channels that were supposed to be secure and reliable, and each piece landed worse than the one before it.
ELENA'S POV, “I don't need a recess,” I said and my voice came out flat. It wasn't cold, nor sharp, just flat, emptied of the performance of composure I had been maintaining since we walked through the door. Al'thor blinked once, and for the first time since this meeting began, I watched fear fli
ELENA'S POV, I don't know how long I stood there before Andrew noticed. He didn't say anything at first. He just shifted around, closing the distance between us by half a step, the way he always did when he sensed something was wrong but didn't yet know what shape it had taken. It was a small thin
ELENA'S POV, “During what?” I asked, not caring that I cut him off from finishing, or that my voice was loud. I had spent years making sure others were happy with what I was doing, and I wasn't the reason for any of their troubles. Now I wanted to be better than that, for myself, instead of being
ANDREW'S POV,“We can, but it won't be easy,” Ryan said, his voice calm in a way that mine hadn't been ever since the signing of the treaty. “But we will have to be smarter with our strategy.”I looked at him for a long moment, searching his face for a glimmer of doubt or hesitation. For any crack t
ELENA'S POV,“Talking about the prophecy... to make Ryan believe that you're with me, I might have told him that you agreed to give me the throne.”Andrew's expression tightened a little when he heard me, but I didn't see anger or suspicion in his eyes. “Okay... but I haven't agreed to that. Why wou
ANDREW'S POV,“You speak boldly for someone who required President Ryan's intervention to steady his own people,” he said smoothly, which had the people behind him cheer. “Do not forget, Prince Andrew, that Ryan is not a king like your father. He is the President of a democratic nation, elected by h
RYAN'S POV,I wanted nothing to do with the crowd around me anymore.I was too tired to fight again, but I knew things wouldn't go down easily with the members of the council or the elders from my pack. I threatened war on a foreign country without consulting them on the matter first. They kept quie







