Mag-log inTheron POVThe morning was already a disaster because the courtyard was full of nervous warriors and the smell of the dead messenger was still hanging in the Great Hall, so when a black carriage with the iron seal of the Mercenary Guild rolled through the gates, I knew things were only going to get more complicated. I walked down the front steps with Marcus trailing behind me, while the guards stepped back to let the carriage stop right in front of the main entrance. A man stepped out who was wearing a heavy grey coat and a silver monocle, and he looked at the dirt on the ground with a look of pure disgust before he turned his eyes toward me. He was the High Arbiter of the Guild, the man who handled the contracts for the most dangerous killers in the world, and his presence here meant that the Huntress was more than just a hired hand to them."Alpha Theron, I assume your hospitality hasn't improved since the last time a Guild member visited this territory, though I heard you’ve been
Hecate POVI watched through the thick, hazy steam of my cauldron as the girl scrambled through the brush toward my hut, and I had to smile because her movements were so jerky and desperate that it was clear the blood-bond had finally started to eat away at her certainty. She burst through the hanging vines that served as my door, and she was panting like a hunted animal while her bone mask sat crooked on her face, but I didn't move from my stool because I wanted her to feel the weight of the silence in the room first. The candles flickered as she stomped toward me, and I noticed the violet stains on her collar where she had fed on that boy Theron, so I knew the magic was already weaving its way back into her heart whether she wanted it to or not."You look like you've seen a ghost, Keira, or maybe you've just realized that your own mind has been lying to you for half a decade," I said, while I picked up a small wooden spoon and started to stir the thick, bubbling liquid in front of
Keira POVI was still pressed against Theron’s neck while the heat of his blood calmed the screaming in my veins, but just as the hunger began to fade, a sudden and violent flash of light exploded behind my eyes that didn't belong to me at all. I wasn't in the garden anymore, because I was suddenly seeing through Theron’s eyes on that night five years ago, and everything was blurry and loud in a way that made my head spin. I saw the river bank and the rain was pouring down in sheets, while I heard a version of Theron who sounded younger and absolutely desperate, since he was screaming my name until his throat sounded like it was going to tear. He was fighting against his father’s grip, and I watched Silas hold him back with a look of pure coldness while a girl who looked exactly like me walked away into the trees without once looking back.I pulled away from Theron so fast that I nearly fell off the stone bench, and I scrambled backward through the lavender while I wiped the violet a
Theron POVI had been looking for her for nearly twenty minutes because she wasn't in her room and the guards hadn't seen her pass through the main gate, so I finally decided to check the one place I thought she might never find. I walked down the hidden path toward the lavender garden with a heavy feeling in my gut, and as soon as I rounded the corner, I saw her slumped on the grass right next to the stone bench I had spent so many nights building. She was gasping for air and her fingers were digging into the dirt like she was trying to anchor herself to the earth, while her bone mask had slipped slightly to the side to reveal the black veins pulsing along her jawline."Keira, what's happening, are you sick or is it the silver from the other night still messing with your system?" I asked as I rushed over to her side, but when I reached out to touch her shoulder, she let out a sound that wasn't human at all.She looked up at me and her eyes weren't violet or even the dark red I had s
Keira POVI couldn't stay in that cramped room any longer because the air felt like it was suffocating me, so I slipped out of the side door of the Alpha wing while the sun was starting to dip below the trees. I wandered toward the far edge of the estate where the forest grew thick and tangled, but I stumbled upon a hidden path that looked like it had been recently cleared of weeds and debris. I followed the trail around a bend of jagged rocks, and then I stopped in my tracks because I found myself standing in a perfectly circular garden that was hidden away from the rest of the world. It was filled with rows of purple lavender and bushes of white roses that were all in full bloom, and the smell was so strong that it made my head spin since those were the only flowers I had ever truly loved when I was a girl.I walked deeper into the garden and noticed a small stone bench in the center, and next to it was a flat granite marker that had no name on it, but it was covered in fresh petal
Marcus POVThe house was in a total state of panic after the Huntress killed that messenger, so I used the chance to slip away from the main hall while Theron was busy shouting orders at the border guards.Everyone was so focused on the threat of Alpha Kaine that nobody noticed me doubling back toward the older wing of the estate, which was where Silas kept his private study and the library that he usually kept under lock and key. I had always known that Silas was hiding something about the night Keira disappeared, but after finding that empty grave by the river, I was convinced that the answers were tucked away in his personal records. I reached the heavy mahogany door and looked around the empty corridor for a second, then I pulled out a small set of tension tools I had borrowed from the armory and started working on the lock.It took me longer than I wanted because the mechanism was old and stubborn, but eventually I heard the familiar click and the door swung open to reveal a r
Theron's POVI wasn't about to just take her word for it and go back to bed, so I walked away from her door and headed down the stairs to the back exit because the smell of silver was getting stronger by the second.I pushed open the heavy glass doors that led to the gardens and the cold night air
Kiera's POVI stayed leaning against the cold stone wall after the lights went out, and I could still hear Theron’s breathing on the other side of the door even though he had finally walked away from me.My hands were still shaking from the way his voice sounded when he talked about that girl, beca
Theron's POVI couldn't settle down at all that evening, so I just kept pacing back and forth in my bedroom while the clock on the mantle ticked away the minutes until the start of the first watch.I had intentionally propped my heavy bedroom door open about halfway because I wanted to see her, and
Marcus POVI walked down the hallway toward the guest wing while the sun was just starting to peek over the trees, because Theron had been on my back all morning about getting the Huntress moved into the Alpha wing as fast as possible. I still didn't think it was a good idea to put a masked strang







