LOGINLilaIt’s strange how the smallest sound, like the brush of quill to parchment, can fill a room with thoughts.The palace beyond our chambers is silent now, its pulse softened to the rhythm of domestic life. I can hear faint laughter drifting through the open balcony doors: the twins chasing each ot
DamonSomewhere below, laughter spills faintly through the gardens: high, bright, unguarded. The twins again, playing well-past their bedtime but I don’t have the heart to call them inside.I walk the long hall that leads from the council chamber to our private suite, the torches low, their flames s
Every tree leans toward the wind, every leaf trembles like it recognizes us.Ruby hums beneath my ribs, her joy is an endless echo. Faster, she urges. The world will wait for us to slow down later.So we run.Zane’s golden form stays just ahead, his stride long and sure, the light from the moon catc
LilaI could feel it in the stone beneath my bare feet, in the calm rhythm of the sentries’ hearts beyond the gates: the kingdom was in a time of peace.I slipped through the eastern corridor, skirts gathered in one hand, the cool floor pressing against my soles. When I reached the stables, I found
The crowd quieted instantly as she lifted her hands over the flame. The moon above flared brighter, its light spilling across her skin like liquid light.This was her kingdom. Our kingdom. I realized it had never really been mine alone.LilaThe fire crackled, alive and breathing. Its gold bled into
DamonThe air burned cold and clean beneath the full moon.From the dais, I could see the courtyard stretch endlessly below; lanterns hanging from the ramparts, petals scattered across stone, banners of every Pack rippling in the silver wind.Wolves, healers, and warriors stood shoulder to shoulder.
LilaBranches whipped at my arms as I stumbled through the underbrush, lungs burning with every ragged breath. The rogues were on me, I could hear them snarling in the dark, the thud of paws pounding against the forest floor.One darted out ahead, eyes gleaming, forcing me to veer sharply toward the
She finished the last bite of rabbit and set the bone aside, her hand lingering over her belly once more. I watched the movement, and something twisted in my chest. A thought surfaced that I should have shoved away…what it might be like to guard them both, build a family together.It was a dangerous
Better feared than betrayed. Better feared than pitied.My feet took me to my study, and I shut the doors hard enough that the walls shook, but silence settled again easily, swallowing the sound.I braced both hands on the edge of the desk, staring down at the marks of my own fury. Maps laid out eve
DamonMaps sprawled across the table, corners curling, edges smudged with my bloody fingerprints. Every circle I’d drawn was another dead end. Every report stacked on the floor was another reminder of my failure.Red wax seals littered the desk like the husks of broken promises.I shoved one aside,