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 Elders sat waiting for me in their neat robes, their expressions carefully mournful.Not one of them had bled in the rubble. Not one of them had clawed stone apart with their hands to help. And yet they spoke as if they knew grief. As if they had any right to address me.“Your Majesty,” Elder Th
Every brush of glass on leather sent a spike through my nerves. If I broke one, or anyone heard…it would all be over for both of us.A figure detached from a doorway ahead. It was another guard, alone this time, adjusting his belt. He turned right, not left. The space he left behind was a gap I fold
LilaThe forest closed in around us, a blur of dark trunks and shadowed undergrowth broken by Ronan’s pounding footsteps.My body jostled with every stride, too limp to resist, my head lolling against the solid weight of his chest.The air tasted like smoke even here, away from the palace, and each
RonanThe garden alcove was one of the few quiet corners left in the palace. Hidden behind high hedges and pale trellises, it was meant for peace. A place for Lunas to sip tea, read letters, maybe breathe in silence for a while.But when I found Lila there, it didn’t look like she’d found any peace







