FAZER LOGINThird-Person PerspectiveBea?She almost didn't trust it. The voice pressed against the inside of her skull and for a terrible second she thought it was the lake water playing tricks on her, or exhaustion finally tipping into hallucination. She was still soaked, still shivering, one hand braced against the garden wall where her knees had nearly given out.Bea. Thank the Moon. She wasn't sure the link would hold.Callum mindlinked her?She closed her eyes and pressed her palm harder against the stone.Cal. She pushed the thought outward with everything she had. I'm here. Are you okay? Are they—I'm fine. Stop worrying about me. A pause. I miss you, Bea. Every day. You're the only thing that keeps me sane in this place.Her throat tightened. Lake water dripped from her jaw onto the stone path, and she didn't wipe it away.I miss you too, she said. More than I can say.Listen to me. He said urgently, Something happened. A new prisoner arrived last week. A man named Harlan. He's young, b
Beatrice's POVI took the long way back. The scroll room had been unbearable today. Too many sideways glances and so many conversations that stopped when I entered. Everyone had heard about the road, and no one knew what to do with the girl who'd walked into traffic and come back with a limp and nothing to say about it.Out here, at least, I could breathe."Running away again, little rabbit?"I stopped, startled but didn't turn. My wolf's ears went flat against her skull, and the breath I'd just taken turned sour in my lungs."Turn around when I speak to you."I turned obediently.She stood ten paces behind me on the path, backlit by the lanterns that lined the garden entrance. Her dress was white and her hair was loose around her shoulders, and in the half-light she looked almost ethereal. Beautiful and venomous, like a flower that killed whatever put its mouth to it.Two weeks of house arrest hadn't softened her. If anything, the confinement had sharpened her edges. Her eyes glitte
Cedrick's POVThe door to her room was unlocked. I pushed it open slowly, stepping inside on silent feet, and let my eyes adjust to the dark.Moonlight fell through the window in a wide, silver wash, pooling across the bed and the woman in it.Beatrice lay on her side, one hand curled beneath her pillow, the other resting loosely near her face. Her breathing was even and deep. The bruising along her cheekbone had faded to a dull yellow-green, and her hair spilled across the white linen in dark waves that caught the light and held it.I stood at the foot of the bed and looked at her.In all the kingdom and in every court I'd visited, every alliance ball I'd attended, every room full of women who had been trained from birth to be looked at, none of them had ever held my gaze the way she did. And she wasn't even awake. She was lying in a hospital bed with a shattered leg and bruises on her face, wearing a plain linen shift, and she was still the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.My
Cedrick's POVI couldn't sleep. Half past one, and I was sitting in my study with the lamps off and nothing in front of me. The door opened without a knock."Your Majesty," Henry said, closing it behind him. "I want to discuss the investigation.""No.""The original investigation into Princess Elara's death. There are inconsistencies—""I said no, Henry."He didn't leave. I could feel his wolf pressing forward with that particular stubbornness that made him both invaluable and infuriating."Beatrice's brother," he said. "Is he truly the monster we've made him out to be?"I turned in my chair to face him, though in the dark I doubted he could read my expression. Good."The evidence is damning," I said. "My sister's body contained his fluids. His fingerprints were found at the scene. His medallion was recovered beside her." I said through gritted teeth. "Biological evidence does not lie, Henry. It cannot be fabricated."Henry shifted his weight but held his ground."I don't have answe
Beatrice's POVI was home.The field stretched out in every direction, golden wheat rippling under a sky so wide it made my chest ache. My brother rode beside me, his horse a full length ahead because he always had to win, always had to be first, and I was laughing at him for it. The wind tore at my hair and pressed against my skin like warm hands, and the hooves beneath me struck the earth in a rhythm that felt like a heartbeat."Keep up, Bea!" Callum shouted over his shoulder. His grin was wild and bright, the grin of a boy who hadn't yet learned what a prison cell looked like."I'm letting you win!" I called back, though we both knew I wasn't.The field narrowed into the path that led to the eastern ridge, where the archery range overlooked the river. Our bows were already strung—mine lighter, his longer—and we dismounted in a tumble of elbows and competition. I nocked first. Drew. Released. The arrow punched the outer ring of the target, and Callum howled with exaggerated disappoi
Beatrice's POVI made it as far as the main road before he caught up."Beatrice."I didn't stop. "Beatrice, stop."I kept walking. Cedrick's hand closed around my arm, and he spun me to face him."Where do you think you're going?" he demanded.I looked at him and suddenly, I realized I was so tired. Tired of being the vessel for everyone else's grief and revenge and guilt. I was tired of being brave.I pulled my arm free."Will I only be free of this when I'm dead?" I asked.His expression changed."You've lost your mind," he said. "I lost it a long time ago," I said. "You made sure of that."I turned toward the road.The avenue was busy, carriages and wagons moving in a steady stream, iron-rimmed wheels churning against stone, the heavy bodies of draft horses filling the lane. The noise swelled as I stepped off the curb. I heard Cedrick's voice behind me shouting my name.I stepped into the road.The world shrank to a single, narrow corridor of movement. A carriage filled my visio
Elena’s povLydia didn't wait to be invited in.She stepped past Blake like he wasn't even there, her heels clicking against our hardwood floors. "I'm here in my capacity as Chief Warrior," she announced, smoothing her dress as she surveyed our living room. "A formal visit."Blake moved to block h







