All Chapters of The Second Shore: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The night before the coronation, he had been in his study until long past midnight with the business of the empire stacked in front of him.She came in with a bowl of hot broth and set it down by his hand.“It's late, Your Highness. Rest a while.”He had looked up and seen the faint bruised shadows

The room went back to its dead quiet.Lucien sat down on the edge of the bed again, took that cold hand in his, and rested his forehead against it.“Evelyn,” he said, and the pain in it was thick enough to choke on, and under the pain was something lost. “Tell me. Was I wrong? Was I actually wrong?”

He was afraid of the silence, which had no edges to it.Afraid of waiting for an answer that was never going to come.Afraid of what his own hands told him every time he touched her.Rosalind watched the grief and the longing sitting openly on his face, and the jealousy came up so hot it nearly burn

Rosalind didn't dare answer. She stayed flat on the floor with her shoulders shaking.“Who gave you leave to touch her? Who gave you leave to put her in the ground?”He roared it, and the sword came around in his hand.The crash was enormous. The carved rosewood dressing table beside them split clea

The sun went down behind the hills and the last of the light went with it.Torches were lit, and in that low yellow glare the place looked more like hell than it had by day.Lucien was still searching. He was only moving more slowly now, and more heavily, and it was costing him more each time.And t