LilaBy the time I made it back to my room, my clothes were soaked through, my muscles screamed with every step, and my patience had been wrung out like the shirt I’d just folded beneath the awning.The air in the palace halls was warm and dry, but I still felt chilled to the bone, like the rain had
“Coming,” I called, voice hoarse.When I opened the door, a palace attendant stood waiting, her posture stiff and efficient. “You’ve been reassigned to a new room. His Majesty’s orders.”My heart skipped. “Wait. What?”She blinked. “You’re to relocate immediately. I’ll escort you.”I stared at her l
LilaThe shirt shouldn’t have meant anything. Just a piece of soft black fabric folded into the corner of my drawer. Just a borrowed item, returned by mistake. That’s what I told myself when I found it again that morning, tucked beneath a clean blouse.But it still carried his scent. And now it was
LilaI rolled my shoulders back as I stepped into the open arena. The crowd roared around us, the entire palace seemed to be eager to see who would bleed and who would make it through this selection.Not that I was listening to the whispers, but I heard them anyway.“Elena Ashford, again.”“She’s go
My foot slipped, and I dropped into a crouch, heart pounding. I pushed to my feet and forced myself to keep moving. One more stretch. One more jump. I landed with a stumble, lungs seizing, limbs shaking.“You hesitated.” I didn’t need to look to know who it was. But damn my eyes for turning to see D
DamonI stepped into the arena to silence. Even with the crowd still buzzing, whispering, shifting with anticipation, it felt quiet compared to the storm inside my chest.“Elena Ashford versus the Lycan King.” Ronan announced.Not a pairing I planned. Not something I orchestrated. But the moment the
LilaThe sand was in my mouth, in my eyes, in my lungs. I could feel every grain rubbing raw against my skin. My elbow buckled as I tried to push up again, and for a second, I wasn’t sure my body would obey.I didn’t know how long I’d been down. The moment Damon slammed me to the ground had blurred
LilaBeside me, Emma clutched my arm so tightly her fingers left marks. We hadn’t really spoken since the scoring was announced, but she kept looking at me like I was going to tip sideways and shatter.She wasn’t wrong.I was tired. Not just in the bone-deep, body-won’t-move kind of way, but in the
LilaI woke to the sound of my own breathing. Shallow. Steady. Alive.The air smelled like rosemary and smoke, the faint tang of antiseptic salve lingering just beneath it. My body was a patchwork of ache and numbness, like someone had stitched me back together with cold thread and firelight.I didn
DamonWe made it through the gates just before dawn.My mate was cradled in my arms, limp and far too still, her blood already dried in jagged trails across my chest. The palace guards opened the gates in silence, eyes wide, faces pale. They’d never seen me like this.They’d never seen what I looked
DamonThe wind cut like blades as I flew through the territories.Frost bit at my skin, teeth sinking into the exposed lines of my shoulders and chest, but I didn’t feel it. Not through the pulse in my blood, the fire in my chest, the bond that burned with every beat of my heart.She was close.The
DamonI woke with a sound I didn’t recognize as my own.A sharp gasp—no, a choke—ripped from my throat as I sat up violently, sheets twisted around my legs, breath coming in shallow, desperate pulls. My skin was slick with sweat, chest heaving like I’d run miles.The fire in the hearth had gone out.
LilaI stopped counting after three days.It wasn’t intentional. Just a slow erosion. The lines I’d scratched into the edge of the hearth blurred, smeared by soot, damp sleeves, and the weight of not caring enough to redraw them.My internal clock had dissolved into fragments: sunrises, fire cycles,
LilaThe ride was long. Silent.No one had spoken to me since the palace gates disappeared behind the curve of the hill. The driver avoided my eyes, didn’t respond to my questions. When I asked for the name of the territory, he muttered something about “temporary reassignment” and tightened his fist
LilaThe knock came before sunrise. Three soft raps. The last ringing with a finality that made my stomach lurch.I sat up too quickly, heart already pounding. The room was still dark, the sky outside my window just beginning to pale at the edges. I’d barely slept, still dressed in the gown from the
LilaI had never paced so much in my life.Back and forth across my room, the same stretch of carpet worn slightly thinner with each pass. The window was open, letting in the cool afternoon breeze, but it didn’t help. My skin still burned, nerves riding just beneath the surface.The letter for Damon
I swallowed the dryness in my throat. “You’re manipulating the trials. The council.”Asher tilted his head. “Big accusation.”“You said it yourself.”“I said nothing that would hold in a courtroom,” he replied, stepping closer. “But you… Lila… you’ve got secrets of your own, don’t you?”My heart stu