LilaI’d been pacing in my rooms for nearly an hour, every step drilling further into my headache.My thoughts looped like a bad song you couldn’t get out of your head: Damon’s claws. Alpha Rodrik on his knees. My father’s voice in the back of my mind demanding more and more from me.“Three days. Or
“I know,” I snapped. Then softened. “I know.”“But you’re going to anyway, aren’t you?”I nodded “I have to.”She didn’t argue. Just nodded, slow and reluctant. “What are you going to say?” she asked.“I don’t know yet.”We spent the rest of the afternoon in companionable silence. And by nightfall,
Damon“You may go.”I was done listening to Elena confirm everything that I finally convinced myself might not be true. But I should’ve expected it. I should’ve known better than to let myself feel anything for a candidate.Elena nodded and left my study the same way she entered. Resigned. Like she
I exhaled slowly. “I’m not angry, I’m disappointed.”Ronan nodded once. “That’s worse.”We stood there in silence for a moment, the breeze pushing through the leaves below, rustling against the stone.“She’s clever,” he said. “But she doesn’t know how to use it without burning something down.”I gla
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
Vanessa gasped, obvious to my ear it was too loud, and completely forced. “Oh no! Lady Elena, I’m so clumsy!”I looked down at the mess spreading across my bodice, breath caught in my throat. Someone nearby stifled a laugh. A servant hesitated, unsure whether to intervene.Emma stepped forward fast.
LilaVanessa recovered first, straightening and flipping her hair over one shoulder like we were just old friends caught mid-conversation.“Lord Asher,” she cooed, lips curling into what I’m sure the thought was meant to be inviting. “You’re just in time. We were admiring Elena’s… fashion statement.
LilaThe piano was already warm beneath Emma’s fingers when I stepped up beside her. My dress still smelled faintly of red wine as I folded and draped Asher’s jacket over a nearby chair, just out of reach.The ballroom hadn’t quieted – yet – but I could feel it starting. A ripple of confusion whispe
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