EVELYNI was a little taken aback, not expecting the question at all, especially not from Aiden. Regardless of how everything had happened between Cole and I, my friend was still the King’s Guard, his sworn hand. Talking to him about such intimate matters, especially considering that not long ago, he’d offered to help me escape the palace… it felt strange and heavy.Still, I couldn’t keep him waiting.Right?I wondered if perhaps this wasn’t a real question but when I looked back at Aiden, I found that his face was surprisingly serious. His expression was solemn, his dark blue eyes searching for an answer.My cheeks suddenly grew hot as I wrestled with my thoughts, unsure of how to answer my friend when things were still so chaotic and strange between the King and me.“I… I suppose so,” I replied finally, knowing that there was no use in denying it. “I know it’s stupid, but I do love him, Aiden.”“There’s nothing stupid about that,” Aiden said, shaking his head. “That being said… peop
EVELYNThe next morning, I woke up early and immediately decided that I needed to talk with the scarred man.I’d had a bad dream about Aiden, and while I couldn’t remember all of the details when I awoke, I had a terrible feeling in my belly, one that told me I needed to get to the bottom of what was going on with my friend. Something was amiss and I couldn’t let it continue without question. I wanted to figure out what he had talked about with Aiden the day before and why Aiden suddenly healed so fast.Physically, something was amiss. Even Cole, easily the strongest wolf in the kingdom, couldn’t have recovered from such intense injuries that quickly. He healed at a more rapid pace due to his power, but he couldn’t have done so as fast as Aiden had.What had happened to him?And was he okay?That was the thing that mattered the most to me. I needed to know that my friend was okay in a place full of such terrible, wicked people. The thought of losing him somehow to the scarred man or J
JASMINEMuch to my disappointment but not surprise, Addison didn’t appear when I was set to depart for the House of Fox. I searched the halls for her, but my twin was nowhere to be found, likely still upset with me for making the decision to leave at all. I hadn’t seen her since our argument the day before, but I couldn’t be too shocked. Addison wasn’t the kind of person who talked about feelings or admitted she was in the wrong.So, while I was eager to speak with her, I knew I couldn’t force her into civility. All I could do is use my frustration to keep me alive, so I could come back and chew her out myself, as well as prove her wrong, both out of spite.Since Addison wasn’t there, there were only two people who saw me off.Leila and Flynn Hart.Leila hugged me tightly upon seeing me. She must have heard everything from her brother the day before as I could see dark circles beneath her golden brown eyes. I hugged her back, rubbing her back soothingly for a moment before we pulled a
JASMINEAs the woman and I locked eyes, I had a strange feeling in my stomach, one that I couldn’t quite explain. While I was momentarily pleased that I had an excuse for the guards, I didn’t know these people and didn’t know their motivations.The man began to apologize to the guard. “I’m so sorry. This is my daughter, Lily. She and I got into a quarrel, so she ran away. She packed up her things and left home but as you can see, we’ve caught up to her. We’ll bring her straight home.”The guard didn’t seem convinced. In fact, he seemed downright suspicious.The man took two bags of coins from his jacket and stuffed them into the guard’s pocket as if it were nothing.Without another word, the guard turned on his heels and left.As he vanished down the street, I turned to face the couple, ready to ask why they had helped me, but before I could get the words out, the woman shushed me and shook her head.“This isn’t a safe place to talk,” she said softly, not quite a whisper but also not
JASMINEI had never imagined in a million years that I would witness magic of any kind. Even when Leila had presented the evidence of her findings in books, a part of me was still a non-believer. It was hard to trust in something I’d never seen.But now… now that I was witnessing Sylvia’s magic- the dramatic change in her appearance, the new face she’d somehow donned- I was chilled to the bone.Sylvia smiled, her teeth the same straight white rows as before, and right in front of my eyes, her face shifted to how it was before.“I know you’re in a hurry but this is going to take some time. We have to wait. Seb will investigate and craft a picture of how security is arranged around the House before you take any actions, otherwise, you’re heading to your doom. It would be foolish of you to act without restraint.”She then lowered her voice, her chin lifting slightly. “Besides… I know my son isn’t weak. I know what’s best for him-““You haven’t returned even once to see if ‘your son’ is a
JASMINEHer sentence lingered in the air and it made my stomach hurt just to think about it for so long. It was always a woman’s choice but I could tell how scary it would have been to essentially be pregnant with a stranger’s child- a stranger who happened to be a completely different species- after having to flee one’s homeland.I didn’t know Sylvia but the hurt in her voice thawed some of my sympathy.“Obviously I didn’t follow through,” she noted. “The longer I had the child in my belly, the more reluctant I was to end his life. He was a stranger to me and yet he was my blood. He may not have been conceived ideally but I struggled to let him go.”She paused for a moment and gazed off in the distance.Her words and disposition were in a firm contrast to her actions. Clearly, she cared for Cole… so why did she leave him behind and essentially pretend he didn’t exist?What had happened between then and now?I wanted to ask but there was no way to ask the question without sounding lik
JASMINEMy head began to ache from all of the information I was being given. Sylvia was a wizard, a runaway princess from a country whose ruler faked her death after killing her father? She had managed to get away from King Theodore but had managed to hide away in Hescor, where she’d been residing the entire time.I wanted to pinch the bridge of my nose between my fingertips. This was all too much, but I needed to stay strong and composed so we could move forward and figure out how to save Cole.“Why would your uncle align with Jack Elrod of all people?” I asked again with a small frown. “What’s the appeal for a foreign magic user to work with a werewolf prince?”“If I were to guess, I would say that my uncle seeks the rich sapphire source of Ozora,” Sylvia mused. “Which would surely enhance a wizard’s capabilities, so I doubt there would be more options than that. Augus Clarkin is an insane, greedy man. All he seeks is power. During the years that I was in the royal palace, Seb had g
JASMINEFor a moment, I thought I had heard the man incorrectly.There were so many variables that made no sense and many others that did.I wanted to scoff at the mere notion that Skyla Fox was kind, given all that I knew about her, and scoff even further at the idea of the King wanting anything to do with her. She was beautiful but she was hardly a prize and I’d been deducting during the Luna Selection that he wanted nothing to do with her.These were the orchestrations of Marcel and the rest of House Fox.I narrowed my eyes and shook my head in confusion.“The King is awake?” I questioned. “That’s impossible. Did you see him walking among them?”“I can’t confirm because the ones I had spoken with had never seen the King in person,” Seb explained. “All know that he is there but none have seen his face since he arrived at the House of Fox.”“And when will this engagement party happen?” Sylvia spoke up in a serious, composed voice. Her eyes held a spark that I couldn’t quite identify,