EVELYNLuna Selection.I frowned.That explained the reason why Anastasia had arranged such an extravagant banquet and invited the beautiful Fox sisters.The Selection was a time-honored tradition in the Hescor Empire. It was a brutal fact that not every werewolf found a fated Mate, and sometimes, the Alpha’s fated Mate wasn’t suitable for the Luna position.Many Kings in the history of Hescor had held a Luna Selection to choose a proper wife, including Cole’s late father. King Theodore had a Selection at the age of 22 and chose his first Luna after the ceremony: Lady Claudia Crawford - Jack’s mother.Though it was called the Luna Selection, there weren’t many choices of females. According to the tradition and the kingdom’s standards, a proper Luna should have been nurtured and raised in one of the great Houses.The title of the ceremony sounded interesting enough, but it wasn’t the romantic event it alluded to being. It was indeed a brutal competition and had little to do with love.T
EVELYNI stood there for a moment, utterly taken aback.Mistress Anastasia wanted an audience with me?When I stared at Mrs. Porter in confusion and remained frozen in place, the head maid glowered at me, her icy blue eyes flashing with disdain.“Did you not hear her?” she demanded, gesturing at the dowager queen’s personal maid. “She told you the dowager queen requires your presence and you’re standing there like a bloody fool. Get properly dressed at once, Evelyn.”Her glare grew deeper and a shiver, as well as a phantom pain, ran down my spine. I knew well what happened when orders were disobeyed, and I could not risk punishment at the hands of Mrs. Porter.“I’m sorry,” I apologized quickly and offered them a small bow. “I will dress at once.”As I turned on my heels, the maids closed the door to grant me some privacy, and I readied myself at once. I removed my nightgown and traded it for another dress, this one a deep navy blue. It was similarly simple as the dress I’d worn to the
EVELYNSkyla’s eyes looked feline as they stared into mine and for a moment. We remained frozen, as if testing who would make the first move. The candle flickered in her hands, and after a minute, shadows underscored her raised chin.“It is indeed you, Evelyn Caddel,” she said, her honeyed voice cruel and arrogant. Her lips curled into a smirk as she moved the candle toward me.I frowned. “Where is Her Grace?”“Her Grace?” Skyla repeated back with a small laugh. “You didn’t think it was Aunt Anastasia who wanted to see you, did you?”I gritted my teeth a little and my temper swelled within me.I wanted to wipe the smirk right off of Skyla’s lovely face.“Look at you,” she laughed again, and she cocked her head to the side as she assessed me. “The proud Evelyn Caddel, reduced to a maid in the royal palace. How does it feel, I wonder, to be a peasant servant, forced to clean up after the people you once thought were your friends? I have to say it suits you well. You look so much better w
COLEI gazed down at the golden crest resting on the center of my desk. The embossment gleamed in the candlelight, its rich hue standing out from the ivory countertop and I felt my lips settle into a frown of discontent.I had recognized the crest immediately when I first spotted it at the House of Crawford. It was unmistakable- an image of a griffin spreading its wings, talons clamped around a rose.As I stared down at it, discontent turned to frustration.This crest had belonged to my brother Jack’s soldiers.And it had been found on two attackers who attempted to kill me the night we arrived at Lord Crawford’s.None of it made any sense at all. I had been invited to Crawford’s wedding personally, only to be met with attempted violence and a mystery I had yet to solve.A year had passed since the war ended, but the memories haunted me almost every night. My dreams were all nightmares now, each more vivid and brutal than the next. No matter how much soothing tea I forced down, no mat
COLEI frowned deeply as I took in the sight of the head servant before me. I had never seen Mr. Barrett look so horrified. He was known for his statue-like composure, so to see his eyes so wide and his chest heaving with heavy breaths, I knew something was wrong.“I-I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” he apologized as I rose to my feet. Alarm painted his expression, and his mouth trembled. “I-I didn’t mean to burst in unannounced.”“What happened?” I demanded, not out of anger but concern. Flynn stood too, flanking me with a hand on the sword he wore at his side. I glanced beyond him, but there was no one else there but Skyla Fox. “Where’s Aiden?”My King’s Guard should have stopped the servant and the lady before they reached my office, as was his duty.Why was he absent from his post?“M-Mr. Moran h-has gone ahead,” Mr. Barrett stammered as he pointed vaguely to the hallway. “T-there has been an accident in the garden, Your Majesty.”The head servant tried to maintain his composure, but it w
EVELYNI felt myself sinking rapidly.Darkness crept toward me, its tendrils of shadows reaching for me eagerly.At first, I could hear Skyla screaming, her shrill voice growing thinner by the second, but the sound of her cries quickly faded. Soon, it was as if the sound had never existed at all.As my lungs screamed in pain, I tried to free myself from the plants around me, but it was no use. I felt a strange force pulling at my ankles, dragging me deeper into the water.I kicked and fought, but no matter what I did, it was no use. No matter how much effort I expended, no matter how hard I tried, it was no use. I wasn’t getting anywhere. I was trapped, doomed to die beneath these waters just as I nearly did as a child.Water began to fill my nose and mouth when my lungs gave out, and just before I lost consciousness, the water around me seemed to warp. I knew it was nothing more than a delusion, but I could see a vision of my father rushing toward me, jumping into the river, and pulli
EVELYNI didn’t know what to say to Elsa as she stared at me with those large, doe-like eyes of hers. She was so innocent-looking, so sweet… it felt difficult to tell her anything.She seemed to sense my discomfort and spoke quickly.“It’s okay if you don’t want to say,” she assured me. “I’m not trying to pry. I just… I hope I can be of help to you.”I smiled at her weakly, acknowledging her kind offer. “I appreciate it, Elsa. You’ve been helpful enough already.”I paused for a moment as images danced in my mind.“In fact, I’m not entirely sure what happened,” I admitted.“What do you mean, Evie?” Elsa prompted me softly, reclaiming her spot in the chair next to my bed. She took my hands again as if to comfort me, and it soothed me more than I expected. She was warm and kind, something I hadn’t experienced much of since arriving in the palace a year ago. It was refreshing to feel like someone cared for me, and I was grateful to call Elsa my friend.“I was awoken by Mrs. Porter and Mis
EVELYNNo part of the royal crypt was dedicated to Mistress Claudia?Had I heard Elsa correctly?I frowned at her, unsure of what to think about all of this. Though it was no great secret that the late King Theodore had abandoned his first wife in favor of Sylvia, letting her die lonely of illness, it surprised me to think that the former Alpha King wouldn’t honor her in some way. She and King Theodore had two children together.Wouldn’t that fact alone warrant a place in a crypt, even if their marriage was in shambles toward the end?As for the rest of the tale, the idea of a ghost wandering the river sounded too ridiculous to be true. Though Elsa seemed to believe it blindly, I knew Melanie and her band of gossiping maids were no strangers to conjuring grand lies. I had been the victim of enough of them to no longer trust her words.Rather than crush Elsa’s spirit, I made some sort of excuse after releasing a yawn and mentioned that I was feeling exhausted after my ordeal. My friend
EVELYNWe spent the rest of the morning discussing potential resolutions for Augus’s future attack. Mrs. Lance kindly brought us breakfast: scrambled eggs, slices of ham, and nettle tea for Emma, who had woken briefly but fell back asleep after a few sips.Sylvia joined us shortly after checking on Lord Albert and Elsa. She said that while Lord Albert's condition was stable and he was expected to wake soon, Elsa’s state was far more complicated – and less hopeful. Her nervous system had been severely damaged by long-term manipulation of magic, and her desire to recover was minimal.“The effectiveness of healing magic depends on one’s will to live,” Sylvia had said.I found Oakley sitting beside Elsa’s bed when I went to check on her. She lay motionless, pale and unconscious, visibly more emaciated than I’d seen her last. Bruises marred her face and neck like dark, painful flowers.When Oakley heard me approach, he looked up, his face etched with a rare grave expression. I wondered if
EVELYNWhile Cole and I proceeded toward my family's room, Oakley and Sylvia turned right at the staircase, separating from us to check on Lord Albert and Elsa, who had been placed on the other side of the corridor. Sylvia offered to assist them with her healing abilities, and Oakley expressed a reluctance to get involved in any private conversations.I had expected Aiden to follow us, as he seemed as deeply concerned about my family as I was. But instead, he trailed behind Oakley. When our eyes met for a brief moment, he quickly looked away, lowering his head to avoid my silent question.It was clear he was trying to avoid me, even though I hadn’t directly asked anything. His behavior had been distant ever since he awoke from the enchantment. Silent for most of the time, and when he did speak, it was never to me. I had no idea what was going through his mind, but I didn’t have the strength to press him for answers—not when I was so consumed with the anxiety of seeing my family, and w
EVELYNThe air grew chilly as we ran through the forest in our wolf forms. It might have been the morning dew dampening my fur, or perhaps the panic surging through my veins. I forced myself to focus on the solid earth beneath my paws, trying to push away the creeping dread gnawing at the edges of my mind. If I didn’t, the fear that my little sister might already be in the wizard’s grasp would overwhelm me.We slowed as Aiden sniffed the path, tracking the path to the safehouse where my family was being sheltered. Oakley dipped his wolf head low, allowing Sylvia, who had been riding on his back, to dismount. She clutched her chest and leaned against a nearby trunk, taking a deep breath. Her face was pale from the speed of the ride. I wondered if she had ever ridden a werewolf before, even though she had lived in Hescor for so long. But judging by her retching and the greenish tint to her face, it was clear she wasn’t fond of the experience.Oakley joined Aiden, studying the trail as h
EVELYN“But if you’re wondering why Augus…” Sylvia spoke up again, but she quickly paused, frowning as if considering the words she was about to say. Then, with a deep sigh, she added, “I have no idea why you werewolves seem to carry magical blood or what Augus has discovered about it.”I looked at her, pursing my lips. The unease I felt when Augus called werewolves magical weapons lingered in my chest. I didn’t think he had just meant to sneer and degrade us as mere objects.“He found it behind the Chamber of Secrets,” I said.Sylvia’s frown deepened. “How do you know…”I turned my gaze toward the flickering firelight and explained what had happened earlier—how Augus had disguised himself as Seb and tricked us all, how Leila had brought a book with a ruse that only the King of Tiryn could read. My heart ached dully as I recounted the memory. “I think the ruse confirmed Augus’s theory, and that’s probably why he acted so boldly afterward, to prove his suspicions.”I fell silent for a
EVELYNI gazed beyond the campfire. The sky was still dark, as if every single star in the heavens had been wiped from existence, never to return. As if dawn would never come.“Apparently, not everyone in Tiryn supports their King’s ambitions,” Flynn said, tossing more dry twigs into the flames.After we’d escaped the alleyway, we had reunited with Flynn, who’d discovered the trick Augus had played to distract him. Now, hidden behind the thickets in the forest near the House of Fox—guarded by his troop and without any blue-eyed soldiers lurking to catch us off guard—we could finally rest and contemplate our situation. We perched on a pair of logs in a circle, the campfire lighting our faces.The flickering flames illuminated our eyes as we listened to Flynn’s revelation about what he’d learned. In the firelight, everyone’s faces seemed ghostly.I shifted on my perch, stretching my stiff legs when Cole spoke up.“Where’s the informer?” His hand tightened around mine, and a crease forme
EVELYNPerhaps we should keep an eye on Augus, wait for the right moment to strike—surprise him when he’s unprepared. But we were too stunned to act. Jack’s death seemed to stir something in the air around us. The draft that had once been light in the alleyway grew stronger, though, in that moment, I wondered if it was still just a draft.The sky suddenly shrouded in thick clouds, obscuring the moon entirely. A storm seemed imminent—a storm that could hardly be a natural occurrence. I wasn’t sure if it was relevant, but I recalled the time when King Theodore died, and a tempest raged for days, as if the world itself mourned the loss of a monarch.The stomping of footsteps broke the tension. I turned my gaze toward the soldiers. The puppets began marching toward us, their blank faces and eyes gleaming with a sinister flash.“He’s running,” Oakley shouted, pointing at a flicker of blue light moving swiftly in the opposite direction, away from the approaching swarm of soldiers. “Should w
EVELYN“I’m no gambler,” Cole said sharply.Augus snorted. “I’m afraid that’s a gamble you can never refuse, young King.” He stepped back a few paces, muttering a spell under his breath, and the sapphire dagger rose into the air.My body tensed as I grabbed Stephanie’s arm, bracing for the attack. My nerves were on high alert.But instead of the mindless onslaught I expected, the uncontrolled soldiers closed in around Augus, encircling him like a protective wall.Confusion twisted in my gut, but before I could make sense of it, I felt Stephanie’s body stiffen beside me. She pulled away, shrugging off my hand with startling coldness, and rose to her feet.“Stephanie—” I called out, but my words died in my throat when I saw her eyes. There was nothing left in them. Just emptiness. Just like the soldiers.I remembered Augus’s words.What makes you think I didn’t control one of you to lead you here?The realization hit me like a physical blow. Stephanie... she was under his control. A rus
EVELYNThe clouds shielding the moon finally drifted past, and as the silvery light bathed the alley, the blue crystal dagger lodged in Leila’s chest gleamed with a piercing brilliance. Leila’s eyes widened, shock and confusion flooding her features. She looked down at the dagger, watching it being pulling from her chest with an invisible force. Blood seeped through her dress, spreading out in a crimson circle.“Lei!!” Jasmine’s scream tore through the air as she rushed to Leila’s side, pulling her into her arms. Stephanie followed, her movements urgent.At the same time, Cole charged at Augus. Augus, however, was already retreating, vanishing swiftly among the soldiers. He mumbled an incantation, and with a flick of his wrist, more soldiers fell under his control, becoming mindless puppets. Cole struggled to get close, forced to fight his way through the soulless figures that filled the space between them.I gripped Sylvia’s arm, my breath shallow, my chest aching with every inhale.
EVELYN“For the past year, I’ve been wondering what you truly wanted,” Cole said, his gaze locking onto his brother. Their features mirrored each other’s—different yet undeniably similar. Both carried the sharpness of their father, Theodore Elrod. “I won the war too easily, didn’t I? With unwavering support from House Caddel and the other Houses maintaining an ambiguous stance, neither openly opposing me nor aiding you, you could have defeated me with a mere flick of your fingers. You could have taken everything. But you let me win. You faked your death. You remained in the shadows, pushing me onto a throne I never desired. You have always been the Crown Prince; the throne was always yours. You could have ordered my death and married Evelyn if that was your goal. So why go to such lengths?”“Is this supposed to be a riddle for me to solve?” Jack snorted. “I’m afraid I’m no bard.”Cole took a step closer. “Do you remember the time you showed me a moth you had dismembered? I asked you w