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.
I was still curled in the corner when I heard the footsteps.Not the guard’s heavy boots or the Council’s echoing presence. These were graceful. Sharp.My spine went rigid. I lifted my head slowly, blinking against the torchlight that had dimmed since last I looked.The cell door didn’t open. But so
DamonThe crown sat heavy on my brow, and I wanted it that way.Let them feel its weight. Let them remember who they were dealing with.The council chamber was packed once again—Elders seated in their gilded semicircle, nobles and Pack representatives pressed into every corner of the gallery.Even t
DamonI hadn’t moved from the beside the bed for a long while. Hours, maybe. Time blurred in the heavy silence of the room, broken only by the soft rhythm of Lila’s breathing.She hadn’t stirred since the healer left, though her color had started to return. I watched the rise and fall of her chest l
LilaThe garden blurred.I stood rooted in place as the crowd surged like a rising tide, too many voices at once, crashing into each other, demanding answers I couldn’t give. My name—my real name—ripped through the air like a curse.Lila.Someone repeated it. Then another.“Who is she really?”“Elen







