Toreva was lost. The blood elves, changed into something deathly by Curzon, had consumed the town. Now, they wanted to consume the squadron."Ride!" Captain Augustus shouted. "Faster!"Hooves stampeded through the smoke and mist. Violet's ears rang with sounds of the chase and the creatures' haunting cries. Her arms ached from firing her bow. Eden was at her side, sweat dripping from beneath his crown, down his temples.They turned a blind curve on the road. Boulders scattered over the dirt. A landslide. Violet's horse jumped by instinct. It landed on gravel, stumbling but righting itself quickly. Eden was right behind her. More soldiers followed. The creatures ran nearly as fast as the horses, speeding through the haze, bloodlust written on their faces."Move!" Eden shouted, on the side of the road, directing the squadron. "Out of the way! There are more behind you!"Soldiers and horses gathered, Captain Augustus directing them, and circled up to form ranks. Their sword and spears wer

Ipsit's palace, The Bastion, rose like a spearhead out of the valley the capital city was nestled within. Four wide bridges—fixed on the cardinal directions—sloped down to the city, each laden with green gardens.Violet saw all this from the balcony of Curzon's war room. The gardens had no blooms, only a kaleidoscope of sage, emerald, and olive, freshly manicured. Sunlight pierced through the trees but brought little warmth, even to her high spot in the palace. Ipsit was a cold kingdom, drained of color.The lock clicked open on the door and Violet turned to see two maids enter, dressed in the crimson and silver livery of Ipsit, a tiny wolf head embroidered on both of their left shoulders. One was a redhead with warm brown eyes carrying a pile of dresses over her arms. The other had bronze skin and tightly coiled curls down to her waist. She carried an intricate key on a ring. Violet could see they were both wary of her, just as she was of them. "Come this way. Your suite is ready," s

"Do you want to see what she can do?" Curzon cried.The great hall resounded with cheers. Queen Dalyla and King Caiphas looked uneasy but clapped along with the rest of the guests. Violet wondered where the two of them fit into Curzon's grand plans for just him and Violet to rule the elven kingdoms. He didn't seem the kind to share.Curzon pulled off a glove. "Let us see what The Eye is capable of."More cheering, but Violet hesitated to touch him. Curzon noticed and snatched her hand. Magic poured into Violet. She gasped, Curzon resting her palm against his chest. Violet became a vessel. The magic of death swirled within her, darkening her vision.She stared into Curzon. His soul was bleeding out."What have you become?" she murmured, her free hand passing through the mist invisible to the rest of the hall.It was a breach in the magic she should've found there; a sickened vortex of all the Monarchs' magic he'd consumed. In those charred cracks death seeped in, sending its worst back

The moon disappeared behind walls of thunderclouds. Wind tore through the capital, clawing at The Bastion's stone walls. But it couldn't reach beyond. Ipsit was still the seat of Curzon's power and the Storm King had no jurisdiction there. "I have to go to him," Violet whispered, hanging out her window.Eden was somewhere inside that storm. They'd shared magic enough times now that his presence cried out for hers. She needed to be near him."Hurry!" Hestia called from the servant's door. "They're going to notice you're missing soon."Her voice barely registered—Violet was awash with relief. If Eden was here that meant everything would be fine. He would know what to do to stop Curzon.Hestia left the shadows and took Violet by the arm. "Mistress, are you alright?"Violet's focus finally left the sky. "Go back to the great hall, Hestia, keep Olivia safe. We're all going to get out of this nightmare tonight."Hestia glanced out the window. "A storm?" she muttered. "What's going on? How a

The Bastion received Violet once more. As the gate closed and the chill air took hold of her, she stepped onto the white carpet—now speckled with blood—trying to clear her head.She needed to think.But Eden's hands felt like they were still on her, his mouth still tasting every inch of her skin, his body overtaking hers. Her cheeks burned. She craved him all over. Violet turned up the collar of her fur robe, trying to hide away in its softness, but he was there too, stroking her cheek, telling her how beautiful she was. Without thinking, her fingers went to the love-bites on her chest now covered by silk instead of the Storm King's tongue.She had always thought of need as a great cavity in a person's soul—it had scared her to need someone, especially when her parents cast her off. But this kind of need filled Violet to overflowing, sending thrills of delight through her when she thought of how Eden shared her desires.The guards brought her to the great hall. The doors opened. Madnes