MasukLilaIt’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.
“Sometimes,” she said without looking back, “sacrifice is the cost of power.”The door shut behind her and I stood in silence, my hands braced on the table, knuckles white.I forced myself to move. My fingers uncurled from the table’s edge, leaving faint crescents pressed into the wood.I circled th
The air shifted as I rounded a corner, cooler here in the less-traveled wing of the palace. The scent of candle wax filled my lungs, but it didn’t ground me. Not when every sense screamed that I was walking deeper into a trap I’d built with my own hands.I passed a window overlooking the courtyard.
LilaI curled deeper into the window alcove, knees tucked to my chest, arms wrapped around them. The late afternoon light spilled through the glass in dull gray ribbons.The room was quiet except for the tick of the clock and the occasional rustle of wind against the leaded windows. I’d barely moved
DamonElla’s chambers smelled like crushed petals and triumph.It was too warm inside, the air heavy with the cloying sweetness of whatever perfume she had doused the room in.Curtains of pale silk filtered the afternoon light, softening the gilded edges of her furniture until everything looked almo







