Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 71 - Chapitre 77

Cressida's pov I woke up smiling.That was the first thing I noticed. My face was doing something it had not done in years and my cheeks were sore and my lips were tingling and I could not stop. The fire had burned down to embers and the room was dim and Lucian was still asleep beside me. His dark hair was spread across the pillow and his arm was draped over my waist and his breathing was slow and steady.I watched him sleep and my chest felt too full. He looked younger when he was asleep. Softer. The lines around his eyes smoothed out and his jaw was relaxed and his lips were parted. I reached out and traced the line of his brow and his nose and his mouth. He stirred and made a small sound and pulled me closer.I let him.The morning light was pale and thin and the room was cold but his body was warm. I pressed my face to his chest and listened to his heartbeat. Steady and strong and real.He had kissed me.He had asked permission and I had said yes and he had kissed me like I was s

Lucian's povI was in the office and the patrol reports were spread across my desk and my head was pounding like mad.The killer was still out there and the council was still pushing and the border was still vulnerable. Kade had left an hour ago and I had been staring at the same map for forty five minutes and nothing was making sense.Then I heard the engine.It was loud and low and rumbling and it did not belong anywhere near the academy. Wolves did not ride motorcycles. Not as a rule. The noise bothered their senses and the speed made them nervous and the machines themselves were too fragile for the mountain roads.But I knew that sound.I stood and walked to the window and looked down at the courtyard. Cressida was there and her dark hair was loose and her jacket was black and her boots were scuffed. She was sitting on her Harley. The Falcon Thunderstrike. The bike I had pulled from the wreckage and repaired without her knowing. The bike she had kissed like it was a lover.She was

Note.This chapter is meant to be before "The confrontation"Cressida's pov The ride back to the academy was faster than the ride out.The dark swallowed the road and the headlights cut through the snow and the wind bit at my cheeks. Lucian was pressed against my back and his arms were around my waist and his chin was on my shoulder. He was warm and solid and his heartbeat was steady against my spine.I did not want to go back.The academy meant council meetings and border patrols and whispers in the corridors. It meant Sha and her sharp smiles and her cold eyes. It meant the killer and the bodies and the weight of everything pressing down on us.But the road meant freedom. The road meant the wind in my hair and the engine under my hands and the world falling away behind me. The road meant Lucian holding on like he trusted me to keep him safe.We reached the gates and the guards waved us through. Their faces were curious but they did not ask questions. No one asked questions when the

Cressida's povThe academy woke up angry the next morning.I felt it the moment I stepped out of Lucian's quarters. The corridors were crowded and the whispers were loud and the stares were sharp. Wolves turned away when I walked past and their voices dropped and their eyes followed me. The dining hall was worse. Every table was full and every face was turned toward me when I walked in.I kept my head up and my shoulders straight and my breathing steady.Raven was already at our usual table with Benita and Tasha. Her face was pale and her eyes were tired and her hands were wrapped around a cup of tea. Benita looked like she had not slept. Tasha was filing her nails and her expression was unreadable."Sit down," Raven said.I sat."You look terrible," Tasha said."I feel terrible.""The whole academy is talking about you.""I know.""Sha is telling everyone that you threatened her. That you used magic on her. That you are dangerous."I looked at Tasha and her silver eyes were sharp."S