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.
The garden was quieter than the palace halls. I slipped into it without a shawl, letting the cold air sting my arms and clear my head. The adrenaline from the mind-link still sat bitter on my tongue, and I needed distance from everything.From Henry. From Damon. From all the lying and pretending. I
LilaWhat the hell just happened there? Damon didn’t say anything, just walked out. I tried not to let it hurt, but even I could admit hat stung.I sat in the empty chair for what felt like hours but was only minutes before my hurt turned to anger and I stopped out the room.Asher fell into step bes
LilaEmma was still fiddling with my hair when the announcement came through the main hall: Lord Jackson himself had selected a group of high-ranking noble daughters for “formal introductions and private conversation with His Majesty.” It was phrased as a tradition, but it sounded a lot like handpic
DamonI shouldn’t have been surprised. But I was.Standing in the upper gallery with the judges, I’d expected Elena Ashford to falter. Not because I wanted her to, I didn’t, but because she kept walking into things no one else dared to touch and somehow emerged unscathed. Sooner or later, the illusi







