Mag-log inI don’t remember drifting off to sleep. The room is hot and stuffy without the air moving beyond the window. Summer heat bakes down on all of Illure and is trapped within the four walls. We’re still lying atop the covers, but fully dressed. I’m far too hot, sweat coating my skin beneath my clothes. One minute Thade and I were talking about magic seeping away from Illure and trying to replace it by increasing the population of Otherworld and then there’s just oblivion. Dreams I don’t remember as I lay awake, the sun beating down on the forests and the fields beyond as I watch him in his sleep.He looks peaceful, the lines of his face softened. His beard has grown back in the weeks since the wedding and covers his jaw and top lip. His mouth is soft, lips full beneath the line of his nose and the heavy set of his brows. Have I ever seen him so close in daylight? His lashes are impossibly long and beautiful. I want to let him rest. He clearly needs sleep. Yet there’s a gnawing worry in my
Thade’s POVI stroke my thumb over Lana’s cheek. It’s hard to define what I feel when I’m close to her. A longing to be closer still. To meet Kilak’s demands and make her my bonded mate, to claim her as a Wolf and mark her. It’s a demand that’s growing harder to fight, especially when she looks up at me with her beautiful green eyes, with trust.I take a slow step back and offer my hand to my wife. She accepts, frowning in a way I’ve come to recognise. She’s not sure of my intentions but she’s willing to play along for now.‘We should get some rest,’ I offer her what I hope is a comforting smile. I feel completely drained, but at least Lana no longer thinks I killed my old friend and mentor, Adulphus. I wanted to talk outside of the room where he died, because it’s not somewhere I enjoy standing.I lead Lana out into the corridor where Moira has been waiting patiently. She looks between us and I can hear her scorn in my head.Seriously, you’re playing nice with the Nix?I don’t reply,
'What do you see?' Thade's voice was a low vibration, barely audible over the sudden, thrumming silence of the room. He kept his distance, a predator giving its prey just enough room to breathe, yet his presence was a heavy weight against my skin. I closed my eyes, forcing myself back into the jagged shards of that memory. The room in my mind began to shimmer, the mundane furniture dissolving into a complex web of arcane energy. It was a suffocating lattice of light, criss-crossed with a magic that felt both ancient and erratic.'You,' I whispered, my voice trembling as the vision intensified. 'I see your magic. That raw, power that pulses like a second heartbeat when we're close.' I found myself chewing on my bottom lip, the metallic tang of blood a sharp contrast to the ethereal sights. 'I see it beneath your skin sometimes, a swirling blue choked with storm-clouds of grey. Back then, the entire room was saturated with it. It was like breathing in lightning.' I let out a long, shaky
Thade has this habit of making me feel as though the world isn’t the right way up anymore. He’s done it again, I feel as though I’m floating above the floorboards. No longer connected with myself, I stare at him. ‘I don’t understand,’ I say the only thing I can manage. I’m completely baffled, struck by his admission. He takes a slow breath and looks at the door. ‘Can we talk?’ He asks, quiet and I swallow.‘We are,’ I protest but really I’m clinging onto this moment. It feels as though there is something tangible in the air between us. As though the world has a chance to fall into place. If we move, or whisper or even think the wrong thing, what if it all falls apart? Thade looks across at the window, and I wonder if he’s thinking about jumping out and running away. I don’t enjoy these difficult conversations with him.‘I don’t understand,’ I repeat myself and he turns to face me. Taking far too much of the room, my heart thumping an uneven melody whenever I look at him. ‘I was ma
The rhythmic thud of hooves against the damp earth was the only pulse the world had left. The countryside beyond the walls of Soln didn't feel like the lush, verdant kingdom I would expect in the height of summer. Beside me, Thade rode with a grim silence that seemed to mimic a landscape that felt tinged with wrongness.. He looked every bit the usurper king, his shoulders broad and rigid under a heavy travelling cloak, his silver eyes fixed forward. He was a man of shadows and secrets, a man who had threatened to keep me in a "gilded cage" to ensure my compliance. And yet, when the wind shifted, I caught the scent of him, old parchment, and that underlying, primal musk of the wolf that always made my heart betray my mind.Lady Moira rode slightly behind us, her presence a cold weight. She had been Thade’s shadow since we left the city, her expression unreadable beneath her hood. I didn't trust her, but then again, I didn't trust the man I had married either.The tavern, The Hollow He
I can’t keep living like this. The weight of the master bedroom feels like a physical press against my chest as I stamp after Thade. Every footfall on the plush, midnight-blue rug seems to echo the frantic rhythm of my heart. This was a room designed for Royalty, dripping in the kind of royal opulence that stands in mocking opposition to the muddy fields where we first met and the simple freedoms of my old life. Gold leaf traced the intricate, swirling molding of the vaulted ceiling, catching the low light like frozen lightning. The heavy velvet drapes around the tall windows swallow the moonlight that had followed me like a ghost from the study, leaving us in a cavern of shadows.I can still feel the grit of the study floor on my soles, a reminder of the practical world I am losing. It is a suffocating luxury, a gilded cage where the bars are made of tradition and the locks are forged from secrets. My shadow stretches long and distorted across the floor, chasing Thade’s retreating b
“Thank you for…” My voice fractures, trailing into the heavy silence. If I finish the thought, I’ll have to admit how much I am drowning under my mother’s expectations.“We’re here for you, your Majesty.” Maggie’s smile is soft, but her eyes are watchful. Both women seem more relaxed now that Edith
Lana’s POVI wake to the soft sound of bird calls beyond the open window. I’m stretched out in the opulent bed, my fingers curled in the luxury of gold damask. In the morning light, the walls are a pale blue but decorated with fine paintings of birds and trees. The images were hidden behind the mag
Thades’ POVLana stretches beneath me, a vision of devastating vulnerability. Soft skin, supple curves, and dark hair spilled across the pale linen like a trap. She glistens with sweat and unspent desire, her hips bucking against my hand in a silent, desperate plea. Looking down at her without acti
‘Yes…’ it’s a low and guttural agreement. Thade watches me, eyes dark with consideration before he reaches down and unfastens his breeches. His movements are deft and assured as he casts away the fabric that covered his most intimate areas. He’s left bare before me, stretched out on the bed. The be







