Lynn took back the reins and led the cart through the city streets. I was grateful since I had no idea where to go. I had never come to Mirra before. When my father had the throne, Lord Junco often came to my home, so we never needed to go here. I remembered he had a wife and daughter, but he said they had perished during the uprising. The streets were lit by torches, and many vendors were slowly closing shop. The sun had become low, slowly hiding behind the mountains, and cast a dark pink and orange shade on the walls of the houses and shops. It would become dark within half an hour, and the streets would be free of merchants and city folks; they would have settled in their houses and waited until the next day to come back out. I spared a glance towards Lynn. Her face was deep in thought with a slight red tint on her cheeks. I wondered if she reminisced about what had happened on the road. Or maybe it was about the cute guard from the gates. He let us pass without further questions

Lynn came back from her walk to the guard tower. She had met the friendly guard who had let us pass through the gates the evening before. I had preferred to stay away and give them some privacy. She had brought me to a small park before leaving me alone. I sat on a bench and watched people go by, bustling around the city streets to get some things in the market or simply enjoying the lovely spring weather. A deep sadness overcame me when I looked at the empty seat beside me, remembering the special moment when Diana opened up to me about her childhood with her brother. I looked at the sky to change my mind and prevent tears from falling. I missed her terribly. There wasn’t a day that I didn’t think of her, especially when I went to the apothecary store and saw all the herbs and medicine. The mortar sitting on the table that the store owner used to crush the dried flowers had me feeling lightheaded. I remembered Diana sitting on a chair, her mortar between her thighs and mashing everyt

Gemma and Peet were in the parlour. Gemma was knitting something while Peet was quietly reading the day’s newspaper. They lifted their eyes when they heard me come in, and Gemma quickly placed her knitting down on the table beside her and hurried to greet me. “Essa! We were worried. Why are you dressed like this?” She cooed all over me. I was a bit surprised they had waited for my return. Was this what it was like to have concerned parents? I never really had that. My parents had been strict, but my Princess schedule never permitted me to do things like this. Not to mention I was almost always accompanied wherever I went. My parents never had to worry. “I’m fine,” I said while trying to get out of Gemma’s hug. “I went to see about my business here in the city. I didn’t want to look too conspicuous, so I removed the dress.” Her eyes became sad, but she quickly recovered and shook her head. Peet was also looking at me with a concerned look. He had placed the paper beside him and had

Xander POV Did Duke Kestrel know I wasn’t human? That I wasn’t his son? I closed my mouth and continued the letter. “I was the one who informed the Duke of your Lycan lineage. He confronted me about your implication with the rebellion. I thought he already knew! He seemed so sure of himself, so I wanted to make a bargain to save your life. I should have known it was a ploy. Be careful from now on. The Duke will come for restitution. I am taking my last moments to write this to you, to be with you, and I want you to know my final thoughts will be of you. I would have liked to say much more, but time is short, and I am hard-pressed to finish this letter before they come to find me. Markus wasn’t just a simple Lycan. Although the Lycans do not have the same politics as humans or shifters, their hierarchy is similar. You are the only child Markus had. He, therefore, passed his status down to you. You would find your father’s pack in the forest near Pine Lake if they endured the upri

We had been walking for two days, but it felt like a week. I doubted we could ever reach the rebellion within a month, not unless we could get horses. Walking over mountains and through forests by foot was a tedious affair, and my feet had blisters from the sweat that made them slippery in my boots. Otis had thought it wiser not to stop and rest for too long since the hunter we met back at Mirra would have gone over the rip. He had an army at his side and horses, making them fast and dangerous. I took one more step and bit my bottom lip. One blister had popped, and I felt the raw skin rubbing on the inside leather. “Otis? Do you think we can stop for a while? I don’t think I can go much farther.” He looked at the sky, pinpointing where the sun was, and nodded. “I think we’ll be safe here for a short while. Your pursuers will have difficulty finding us since we didn’t use the main roads. They won’t know in which direction we went. It could take them days, if not weeks before they fi