EVELYNMy stomach twisted into knots as I followed Addison into one of the meeting rooms. I hadn’t expected Leila to turn down the head of the Madden family’s request but I didn’t know what Addison wanted to talk about. Behind my back, I felt my hands start to sweatI hadn’t heard much about Addison before, even back when I was considered highborn. She was only five years older than me, but there was an aura about her that made her seem even more mature, older even. There was a sharpness in her eyes, a stillness in her posture.It made sense.Ruling over the entire Madden family at such a young age was quite an undertaking, and since they were in charge of the law and punishment in Hescor, it likely wasn’t an easy job. Anyone would seem cold if they were under as much pressure as she was.When we entered the room, Addison gestured forward.“Take a seat,” she instructed, and after I sat without question in the nearest chair, she elegantly lowered into the one opposite me. She didn’t sp
EVELYNI left my talk with Addison feeling strange in a way I couldn’t place. Why hadn’t the attacker killed me? And what had she been doing there in the first place?I had the sneaking suspicion that the head of the Madden family might have found something in this investigation but if she did, she didn’t let me know.“I would prefer if this conversation remained private between us,” she said before I left. “But if you want to tell the Alpha King, I won’t stop you.”I assured her upon my parting that I wouldn’t tell the King, and I was being truthful. I had no intention of relaying any of this information to Cole. In fact, I didn’t want to see him at all, not after what happened yesterday in his study.Every time I thought of him, I felt disoriented, like my mind and body competed with each other. There were too many opposing feelings and thoughts that I felt entirely on edge, giving me fewer and fewer reasons to want to be in his company.I wonder if he feels the same, I thought to m
COLEThough being the Alpha King of Hescor wasn’t always easy, there was something about this day in particular that made the position feel intolerable. I had never been so annoyed before and could hardly contain my irritation as I exploded at the guard standing before me in my private study.“What do you mean by you found nothing?” I shot a glare at him. “You found absolutely nothing on the grounds, no sign of the attacker among the staff? The attacker just disappeared into thin air?”I scoffed at the mere thought of such a thing. This was ridiculous beyond comprehension and my temper was rising with every passing second.The guard looked a bit terrified by my questioning. He lowered his head at once and hunched his back. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty-”“Are you sure you checked all the staff?” Flynn interrupted his groveling. “Was the investigation conducted to the best of your abilities?”“Yes, Beta Flynn,” the guard replied obediently, raising his eyes to meet his. “All the palace staf
COLEAs a heavy silence hung in the room, I studied the guard carefully. I couldn’t yet tell if he was telling a lie or not. His tone said one thing but his words told another. I had little reason to believe that something like this had happened to my King’s Guard, and the fact that Lord Marcel was the one delivering this news to me was highly suspect.My temper swelled at the idea of being conned, but I breathed deeply and slowly, gradually calming down with every inhale and exhale. It would be useless to get riled up under circumstances like this, even though I wanted to rip the throats of the guard and Marcel. I had to stay level-headed so I could get to the bottom of this strange claim.Beside me, I noticed that Flynn’s posture had slumped slightly and that his lips were parted in disbelief. Shock was all over his face, and I was surprised by the display but unsurprised at the same time. Aiden, Flynn, and I were all quite close with one another, but my Guard and my Beta were espec
AIDENI awoke to the feeling of something cool against my lips.“He’s waking up!” someone yelled next to me.The effort was difficult, but I managed to open my eyes, and when I did, I took in the blurred sight of a ceiling made of dirty straws and grass. Water was dropping down on my face through a leak and I wanted to get up to get away from it, but I could only manage to roll over.“It’s better not to move,” the voice I’d heard a moment ago urged me, and then suddenly, a young man appeared before me, crouched down. His eyes were wide with surprise as they trailed over me. “Do you want some water?”I shook my head in confusion. Who was this person and where was I?I ignored his words and my entire body felt as if it were burning as I struggled to get up. The pain was immense and I winced as I tried to move.Suddenly, a familiar figure came in through the door.“Don’t move,” Isaac instructed me firmly, his storm-colored eyes giving me a look of warning. “You haven’t recovered yet and
AIDEN“What?” I demanded in shock as I stared at Peter and Isaac.Panic shuddered through me and my stomach twisted into knots so tight that for a moment, I was convinced I might vomit. Dizziness coursed through me as I tried to get up and I nearly fell from the bed. “How could they be rebels? They did nothing wrong!”“Calm down, young man,” Isaac urged as Ben rushed to my side and helped me back into bed. “You need to breathe before you hurt yourself.”“How can I breathe?” I demanded as Ben placed a cool, damp rag against my forehead. I wanted to fight the young man off but the feeling of the cold cloth on my skin was helping to curb the dizziness. “How am I supposed to react to hearing that their entire family is going to be executed?”“He’s right,” Peter spoke. “You need to calm down and not get worked up. The execution date hadn’t been announced-.”“Then I need to get to the castle right away,” I insisted, attempting again to move despite the pain coursing from my injured shoulde
AIDEN“The King wants to discipline House Fox? That’s hilarious.” Isaac scoffed. “How could you be sure that the King wants the miners to fight the Lords? He may dislike Housr Fox, but would he really want us miners to go against the authority? I bet not.”“You’re always so pessimistic, Isaac,” Peter said with a small sigh. “We’ll never get anywhere if we’re always timid and hesitant.”Isaac’s mouth drew into a thin line of annoyance .“I’m just a realist! Don’t you understand we’re prisoners? This is rebellion! If you fail, you die. If you win, you die too.”“But if we do nothing, we still die. At least there’s a chance if we fight.” Peter argued.Isaac shook his head and sighed deeply.We had been in this conversation for quite some time, and Peter and Isaac had completely different stances on our next move. As a bystander, I was seated on one of the chairs in Isaac’s hut, arms crossed as the old men deliberated.Ben was beside me, his expression weary as he witnessed this heated deb
EVELYNFor the first time in a very long, long time, I dreamt of my family.But this dream was different from the ones I usually had. Those consisted of pleasant memories, laughter, the first time I had ever held my little sister in my arms… happy things that made my heart ache when I awoke.Occasionally, I dreamt of that dreadful trial day. Those my made my heart hurt in a different way and often elicited anger and tears upon my waking.This one, however, was completely different.This dream was about Windsburn Island, a place I’d never visited, but haunted me often.I saw my father working in the mines, where all exiled to the island worked tirelessly to repay their debt and atone for their crimes. He looked emaciated, so much so that I could hardly recognize him. His eyes were sunken, as were his cheeks, and his skin was paper-white as if he hadn’t seen the sun in months. He worked like a lifeless puppet, sweat streaming down his gaunt face without him having time to wipe it away.