Semua Bab Wolf’s Bane and Roses: Bab 51 - Bab 60

FELYNDRAI seeped back into consciousness. The ground was cold, biting my skin. The stench of urine filled my nose, and I was pulled back to the whips slashing my back.“Please, Nyxora. Don’t.” I had begged Nyxora. Body trembling from what she was going to do to me. I had seen what she did to tribute women. I was sure of what she could do to me.A cough got blocked in my throat as she grabbed my neck and pressed it so hard my eyes dilated.“Luna. Bitch!” She spat, and her spit drooled down my face.“I won’t remind you again.” She warned and shoved me away violently.“Tie her up and throw her in the well.” She ordered, and a scream tore from my mouth.“Noooooo!”“Please!” I begged, my body shivering from fright and the trauma of being dipped inside a basin of freezing water my first day here by Nightbane.“Do it now!” She commanded, and the water swallowed another scream of plea from me.I couldn’t trash. Couldn’t fight.My limbs were tied. And I felt the world close in on me. I was go

NYXORATwo days before.I heard the king’s beta had arrived from his trip. We weren’t close friends, but thinking about the events that had been happening, I needed an ally. Besides, what better time to ask for Nightbane’s forgiveness than the time he’s happy for the arrival of his most trusted friend?I didn't apply any rouge. I wanted him to know how I was, except I wasn’t.I would tell him that I would fix the rumour, and if he asked how? Then I would say, “It was a rumour to distract our enemies. To make them think we are vulnerable.”Nightbane would believe it. He might even want to have me amongst his counsels about war and would start seeing me through different eyes.I’m intelligent, and the breeder is not.I walked as regally as I could. Got a few glances from servants but paid them no attention. As much as I hated looking ugly without makeup, I had no choice but to do this.Everything I’ve worked for was at stake.Sooner or later, my parents would know I wasn’t their child,

FELYNDRA The child clung to my chest as though their tiny body knew what my heart refused to admit. we were leaving, and there was no coming back. I had dreamt of this day. Imagined it everyday and now it is here. Except that my footman was not with me. I had strapped Roses tight to me with a woven cloth, the same way wolves mothers in my homeland carried their young when the woods were too dangerous to leave them crawling. My fingers shook as I tied the last knot, pulling the cloth across my shoulder and beneath my breastbone until her soft warmth pressed fully against me. Her faint scent of milk and innocence filled my nostrils, settling deep in my lungs like a reminder of everything I had lost and everything I was about to gamble. My chamber was cold that night, the fire dying, embers glowing faintly like dying stars. The walls gazed back at me as if they knew I wouldn’t return. My lips curved into a bitter smile. Yes, I did return from the woods with Anna and Selen

FELYNDRA I had never been here before, but something deep in my chest pulled at me, urging me forward. Roses let out a soft sigh, as if she too knew we had arrived at the place fate intended.“Stay quiet, little fox,” I whispered into her hair. “If they don’t kill me, maybe they’ll spare you.”Guards appeared before I could take another step. Not wolves but foxes. Their ears were sharper, their eyes brighter, their movements were fluid and sly. Their weapons weren’t raised yet, but the suspicion in their gaze almost cut me in half.One of them stepped forward, his voice sharp. “Who are you, stranger? And why do you trespass on our territory?”I adjusted Roses in my arms, baring my teeth like a cornered animal. “I’m no stranger. I am a mother, and I will not be turned away. Kill me if you must, but not my child.”The guard’s eyes darted to Roses, who blinked up at him with innocent calm. “The babe…” He faltered.“Don’t be deceived. Foxes have been tricked before.” Another giard sna

FELYNDRAThe chamber they had given me smelled of cedar and smoke. Too grand for someone like me. The walls were lined with heavy fox-fur tapestries, the bed too wide, too soft. Even the lanterns burned a low amber, giving the illusion of warmth when all I felt was a weight pressing down on my chest.Roses whimpered against me, small fists curling in her sleep where she was strapped close to my breast. I rubbed her back through the wrap, rocking gently on my heels, whispering a hush even though no one was listening. My eyes never left the door.When it finally opened, my heart jumped out of my chest.The Queen stepped in without invitation. Her presence filled the room before her body did . She was tall, regal, every inch of her draped in scarlet silk and foxhide trimmed with white. Her crown was not of gold but woven branches tipped in silver, simple and sharp. Her eyes cut through the dimness and fixed on me.“You are restless,” she said. Her voice was low, steady. Too calm.I clutc