COLEI froze in place as I watched Jack Elrod, my elder brother who should have been dead for over a year now, descend from the high pile of clutter in the alley. Even though I should have stopped him in his tracks, all I could do was stand there in shock.I was staring at a ghost. A ghost from the past who should have long since remained gone.Everyone who knew Jack had the same expression as me. Sir Webb, Evelyn, the guards… all stiffened as my brother gazed down at us.I looked at Jack’s chest, where Frank Crawford had stabbed him. He’d assured me a million times over that my brother was dead. It was obvious now that his death hadn’t been as ensured as he’d insisted it was.Jack approached the woman who had held Evelyn captive. “I didn’t expect that working in the palace would make you so weak, my dear Elsa.” Jack’s voice was as soft and measured as ever.The disfigurement on the side of his face was exposed by the twitch of his lips—the scars left by the fire. There were two ways
AIDENHeart thrumming in my chest, I backed toward the front door, where miners were still breaking through despite how many had been killed under the claws and teeth of the guards.Bodies were scattered on the ground and blood was everywhere. Carnage was amuck and the sight of the scarlet pools of liquid was nauseating.Yet, they seemed unstoppable.They didn’t mind the carnage.All that mattered to them was their rebellion.“Your eloquence wasn’t effective, Sir,” Oakley said mockingly as he backed up alongside me, his long claws spread menacingly. Sarcasm laced his tone and sent a wave of irritation through me.Despite that, I didn’t argue his point and instead glanced around, trying to find Peter. The number of miners joining the fight was far larger than expected. It was apparent that the old man was lying when he’d said there wouldn’t be many miners who wished to join the fight.Cries rang out around us and sent a chill down my spine. I hadn’t come to Windsburn Island for this. I
AIDENAs I stared down at the body of the guard, a touch of numbness flooded through me, along with a tinge of guilt.I wasn’t a killer. I didn’t enjoy bloodshed, didn’t crave the feeling of a wolf crumpling under the savageness of my claws.And yet…When I glanced at young Ben’s lifeless form…“Did you not give him a chance to surrender?” Oakley’s voice came from behind me.I hated the playful sarcasm in his tone but didn’t indulge him with a response. Instead, I clenched my fists and kept moving.Now that the gates had been opened and the rebellion was in full swing, I needed to refocus on my mission.I marched ahead and headed back toward the castle. With every step, my mind replayed the moment I’d crushed the guard’s throat with my bare hands. The feeling of killing the guard made me sick— not because I wasn’t prepared for it, but because I knew how weak the guard had been. It had been all too easy to break his neck.Pushing the feeling aside, I swiftly passed through the front d
FLYNN“L-Lord Beta,” a guard burst into the room, breathless.I looked up from the stack of documents on my desk, rubbing the bridge of my nose with a sigh. I hadn’t expected company, as I hadn’t dispatched any guards on a mission, so this interruption obviously involved something within the walls of the royal palace."What happened?" I asked, rolling my shoulders back to center myself.“It’s L-Lady Addison,” the guard stammered, clearly flustered by the development. “She left the palace, Lord Beta. W-we couldn’t stop her.”My eyes narrowed at him as annoyance crept into my mind. “Where is she heading?” I asked.“We don’t know,” the guard admitted, cheeks darkening with embarrassment. “She didn’t say a word—”“Did you send someone to follow her?” I cut in, my voice sharp.The guard nodded quickly. “Yes, Lord Beta, they’re following her now.”“Which direction?” I asked as I glanced toward the window. Addison Madden was swift but so was I.“Southeast, I believe,” the guard replied.My
FLYNN“What do you mean?” I frowned. Interesting was one of my least favorite descriptive words and I could tell by the look on Westin’s face that this was bad news.As my mind considered the possibilities, Westin handed the report to me. “Lord Albert said it’s a very old poison made from plants that only grow on the land of...”“Crawford,” I said, reading the report.Westin nodded grimly, his expression serious as he stared down at the papers in my hands. .It wasn’t entirely surprising, considering Addison’s earlier speculation. If the Crawfords were pursuing a vendetta against the Maddens, poisoning Georgina wouldn’t be as far-fetched as we’d once believed.However, Cole and I had assumed it was a plot against Cole himself. Or...I looked up from the report, sensing that Westin had more to say. His brown eyes were too anxious for me to suspect otherwise.“What’s on your mind?” I asked him directly, brow raised as I awaited his reply. Surely this had something to do with the specifi
FLYNN“You’re right,” I exhaled as I took the report from the desk and handed it over to Leila.“Father sure thinks so. That’s why he’s heading here now.”Leila gaped at me, her light brown eyes widening at the very mention of him.“Father is coming to the palace?” she asked in shock. “This is the second most shocking thing I’ve heard this year. The first would be me joining the Luna Selection for Cole.”Just as quickly as they’d widened, those eyes of hers rolled and then fell to the report. She scanned it carefully, her brows coming together suspiciously, and then she frowned. “I’m sure this is Bhodin.”She placed the paper back on the desk and then sighed. “So, Father must have found something serious enough that he only wants to discuss it directly with the King.”I nodded.Leila seemed lost in thought. Her brows crinkled and her mouth drew into a thin line as she crossed her arms.“What are you thinking about?” I wondered as I glanced between her and the paper. “It’s strange,” m
JASMINEI panted as I finally stopped running.My paws were sore and covered with mud, and my legs ached from the long distance I’d traveled. I was quite athletic, but even the most muscular of wolves would have found the journey tiring.I took a little while to settle my breathing before shifting back into my human form. I winced as I wiped some dirt from my arms and then ducked down to stay out of sight.The palace gate was nearby, perhaps about fifty or so feet away, but I still didn’t want to risk anything quite yet. I crept closer and hid behind the hedges. Once there, I found an opening just small enough that I could peer out at the patrolling guards without getting caught.It might have seemed silly to go through all of this effort, but I didn’t entirely trust the coachman. He could be mind-linked to his accomplices in the palace, who might be lying in wait to ambush me. I needed to be careful here. I didn’t know who to trust and I didn’t want to gamble when my very life had b
JASMINEIt was even risker to bring up the King’s older brother, and I was surprised that these gardeners felt so emboldened.A mere mention of the so-called Usurper was enough to land one in the dungeon and be accused of treason.They needed to be careful.“I heard so,” the girl said, her voice trembling slightly. “They said he was stabbed by his uncle’s silver sword and then was engulfed in flames.”“Why would his uncle do that?” the young man asked, his voice half skeptical and half fearful. “That sounds so… violent. Especially against a family member.“Well, one never knows why,” the old man sighed. “Lord Frank always seemed to be the cruel, strange one in his family. He was never close to his nephew. Maybe he values power more than family.”There was another tense pause and then he spoke again.“We should get to work before the guards come over,” he suggested.“Speaking of which, do you know that Lord Frank hated the fact that his sister married the King?” the woman suddenly said,