Princess Vionna of Aurenza was dead. She died in the estate of Theron Thornefell, Warden of the North—buried beneath snow and silence. The blizzard raged for seven days before it eased, uncovering her frostbitten body beneath the drifts. Even in death, she was curled around her swollen belly, one arm reaching toward the nearest gates. No one came. She and the unborn child were frozen to death. Left behind. As the cold took her, regret cut deep. She never should've loved him. Never should've bowed. Because of her, the child never saw the sky. If she had another life, she'd never look his way again.
View MoreEven the children of Stormrest knew how vital Ironmaw was—how could the soldiers not?They understood. Which was why the letter to Crownspire mattered so much.But Elsha didn't spare them a glance.She hated every last one of them.If not for that letter, she would've taken Her Highness home long ago.What were their lives to her?She belonged to the princess alone. Vionna bore the weight of duty—Elsha didn't. She'd never pretended to.She was selfish.All she'd ever wanted was for the princess to live.If she'd known this would be the end, she never would've left Vionna in Stormrest.But the damage was done. The ending already written.There was nothing left to change.Maybe now, she would carry the gem-carved pendant Vionna had once pressed into her palm and roam all of Aurenza.She still remembered the wishes Vionna made at her Coming-of-Age Ceremony:First—for peace across Aurenza, so she could roam freely.Second—for her father and mother to live long and rule in he
No one knew how Theron uncovered the truth about Marzella.But everyone knew he was right.The guards seized from his estate confessed soon after she was dragged away. Every last one had taken her coin—letting the Wildfolk slip past unnoticed.***Elsha stepped into Theron's tent the next morning.She stopped cold.In one night, his hair had turned completely gray.A bitter satisfaction stirred in her chest.Good.He deserved it.Her princess—fierce in love, fiercer in defiance—had suffered too deeply under his hand.Once, Elsha wouldn't have dared resent him. Vionna had loved him so wholly that even her death had seemed self-inflicted.But not anymore.Just a month ago, Vionna had said she was ready to leave Stormrest. Once the wounded were stable, she'd wait for Elsha to bring her home.She had chosen to let go.And still, because of him, she died.Gray hair wasn't enough.Why was he still alive, when the princess—so devoted to her people, to the wounded, to every la
In that dream, Theron saw it all.The one who dropped the drug into his cup—wasn't a nameless spy.It was Marzella.He saw the cliff rescue, too—not fate, but a trap sprung by the Wildfolk, timed to perfection.While Theron spent three years breaking Vionna piece by piece, Marzella lay tangled with a Wildfolk brute, chasing pleasure like a sickness. Heaven alone knows how many ways she gave herself to him.Only when a brutal snowstorm struck—killing their herds and forcing raids into the villages—did she tire of it. Savagery lost its charm.Then word reached her. Theron had crushed Vionna, yet still couldn't forget her.So Marzella returned. Staged her grand resurrection. Slipped into his arms like she'd never left.And then came Ironmaw.In that first life, House Morwynne's treachery shattered the stronghold. Thirteen villages fell. The Wildfolk butchered them all.The memory burned through Theron like acid.He'd buried the truth. Defended her legacy. Pleaded with the court
Theron dreamed.In the dream, he'd been drugged by a spy's hand.But the one who bore the price wasn't Marzella.It was Vionna.She lay beneath him, delicate as spring bloom, her sobs muffled against his skin. He gave no kindness.Like a summer storm—fierce, unyielding—he shattered her. When it ended, she couldn't move.Morning came. The haze lifted.Vionna hadn't stirred.Then the tent flap drew open.Marzella stood frozen at the threshold, gaze fixed on what lay inside. A heartbeat later, she turned and fled.She rode hard, vanishing into the trees—until the Wildfolk chased her down.He remembered watching her leap.Off the cliff, into silence.In the dream, when Theron returned to camp, he feigned nobility—spoke of marrying Vionna, of doing right by her.But behind the curtain, he did nothing.No search for the spy. No justice. Only blame.He cast it all on Vionna—Marzella's death, the poison, the betrayal.And worse—he turned whisper into wildfire.He claimed Vion
For three days, Theron had torn through his estate like a man possessed, ignoring command matters entirely. Yet he remembered it clearly—seven days past, no word from Duskmere had reached him.Now, with the memory of drug on his tongue and Lucien's cold truth unraveling—a conspiracy linking Ironmaw to the Wildfolk—rage surged through him like fire catching dry timber.He snatched the sealed token from Lucien, grip iron-tight. "Who at Ironmaw sold us to the Wildfolk?"Lucien's mouth curved, just shy of cruel. "Now you're asking the right question."Every gaze snapped to him."One slipped past your grasp," he said, voice cutting low as a blade. His eyes swept the hall, then fixed on Marzella—slim, trembling, still.He drew his sword and leveled it at her heart.Lucien's voice cracked like thunder. "The plot to join the Wildfolk and butcher thirteen villages—led by House Morwynne!"Gasps rippled through the hall."William Morwynne. Corwin Morwynne. Henry Morwynne. Ten of them, ta
Every head turned toward the voice.A woman in black strode forward, dragging a sword behind her.Not just any sword—the King's seal shimmered on its hilt. Authority to execute without trial.She raised it upright.With every step, soldiers parted in silence.Elsha.Sent by Vionna over a month ago to deliver a royal letter to Crownspire.She had only left Stormrest for a handful of days.Had she known...Had she known what would unfold, she never would have gone.Never."Theron Thornefell!" she shouted, voice ringing like steel. "Even if you hated her—despised her—I thought you'd still protect her! "Tell me! Princess Vionna served this camp for three years, never once stepped beyond its walls. So how did she die at Stormrest?"Elsha knew Vionna's every step. She'd followed her through each shift, every wound tended, every moment shadowing Theron.That's why she left—for just long enough to deliver one letter.She never imagined the girl who rarely left the physician qua
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