I’m running down the corridors, in such a rush that I’m not even bothering to hush my echoing footsteps against the hall floor. Sweat beads on the side of my face. I’d never realized how truly far the Southern Nursery was from the Alpha’s chamber. I was late. So late. Time had flown while I was caring for Beau, with no clock in the nursery. I’d told myself that I’d just stay for a half hour to keep him company, but Beau’s condition was worsening. More than an hour had just slipped by like water while I was making sure he had everything that he needed for the night. Now it was way past dark out. Way past ten, which was when I was supposed to be in his chambers to sing him to sleep. I skid around the corner, screeching to a stop in front of the Alpha’s door. My hand is uncertain as I wrap it around the doorknob. The door is closed. Was he already asleep? I turn the knob so that it doesn’t make any noise. Then I softly push the door open, peeking inside the darkened room
KAVANAH Foolish bitch. The room glowers in a swath of dark amber as the flames in the fireplace lick hungrily over the silken fabric. The air is acrid, tinged with a scent of cloth burning. The dress is already half ash. And it had barely been a few seconds. My voice is ice. “Are you going to betray me the same way that she did?” My glacier-blue eyes turn towards the shaking maid, knelt by my diamond heels. She has her head shoved all the way down to the carpet, palms pressed against the floor. She’s trembling relentlessly, and a smile tinges the corners of my tinted lips. I bend down. “Why so scared?” I whisper sweetly, hearing her utter a sharp gasp as she quickly pushes down her head even deeper. Can’t even meet my gaze. Didn’t have a single backbone in her worthless body. But those without backbones were so much easier to control. And I’d learned my lesson after that auburn-haired menace. The edges of my teeth grind together in fury when I think back to the way she h
NOEL I watch Blaise from a distance. Ever since Beau’s death a day ago, she hadn’t been herself. My fingers tighten around the windowsill as I watch her pluck down a withered daisy until all the petals lay abandoned on the grass. She mindlessly plucks another, adding the bare stem to the pile next to her. Her eyes are blank and unfocused. Worry lines my features as I see her scarlet eyes, plump and swollen from crying. Would she like it if I brought something sweet to her? Maybe I could snag a piece of cake from the kitchen. Deciding to do just that, I shift myself away from the window. I rub the base of my thumb against my temple, wincing. Then I’d go rest. I’d slept for twelve hours last night, but when I’d woken this morning, I felt like I hadn’t slept a single wink. Exhaustion weighs down on my body, but I just dismiss it as fatigue. It was just something I’d have to get fixed by tomorrow. Today was my only day off from servant work. And I’m about to turn the corner an
BLAISE “Noel!” It’s my fault. It feels as if my own breaths are being twisted away from my throat. The door swings shut limply behind me, clicking weakly into place. My gaze wavers violently as it slowly settles on a pair of unblinking amber eyes. No. Not him. Why? He hadn’t even… Noel gives me a soft smile. He taps his lips, in a gentle reminder. “Mask, Blaise.” It feels as if the world is crumbling down in front of my eyes. With trembling hands, I grip one of the masks and pull it over my mouth. I’m about to rush over to his bedside when he shakes his head. He whispers silently. Don’t. He tells me not to come closer, with bloodshot eyes and his face streaked with the harsh, dark colors of violet. But how can I not. How can I not? When I can see the way his own hands tremble underneath his gloves. I ignore his warning. His eyes widen as I easily push past the several empty beds separating me from him. Tears sting the corners of my eyes as I watch him flinch, wh
BLAISE It’s past sunset, nearing nightfall. I silently raise myself up from the chair, making sure to stay completely silent as I pad across the room. Noel’s soft, labored breathing is the only thing that fills the air. He doesn’t stir, as I carefully draw the edge of the blankets all the way up to his chin. One of the symptoms of the Plague was sleeplessness. I knew this from Beau, who had always gone to sleep with nightmares whenever I hadn’t sung to him. Knowing this, I would not let Noel spend a single night trying to fall asleep alone. After lighting a candle on the nightstand, I shut the curtains and wordlessly make my way out of the room. My heart shutters still, whenever I see the violet staining his cheeks. Every second I want to deny reality. The door falls close behind me with a click. And I lift my eyes, to see a bloodshot pair of shadowed violet eyes. I barely stop a scream from escaping my throat as I stumble backward into the frame of the door. The Beta sta
NOEL The thirst wakes me up. I scramble to a sitting position, fingers twisting the sheets apart. Sweat runs like a river down the sides of my face. It’s already wet the back of my shirt, making it stick to skin. Every inch of my body aches. It burns with fever. Water. I feel like a stiff, unoiled jumble of metal. My limbs are stiff and heavy when I try to move them. Every motion requires so much effort that by the time I’ve shifted to the edge of the bed, I’m exhausted out of my mind. The knuckles gripping the frame are a blend of pale skin and marred violet. Could I even make it a step out of that door? I stutter in a breath, frustrated tears glazing the corners of my eyes. I can already foresee the future, where both my legs give out the second I push off of this bed. Never mind the door. I wouldn’t even be able to get there in the first place. When had I become this weak? Was I really going to die, this soon? It felt like I was half-dead already. The tears thicken
BLAISE The Packhouse library is absolutely massive. “I didn’t know you liked books,” I murmur, staring up at the shelves that seem to cover the walls that curve inwards. It must be at least thirty feet tall. Pale sunlight enters through the glassy, dome-shaped ceiling, shrouding the chamber in a faint, pastel blue. It smells of worn pages and warm tea. Christian glances up from the corner of the room, legs crossed and already settled into a velvet, cushioned chair. He drums his fingertips against a book open on the armrest. “The Shadow Pack has generations of history,” He replies. “And it’s my responsibility to make sure that mistakes don’t repeat itself.” I give him a look of mild surprise. Who would’ve known that the Shadow Alpha had a side like this? I’d never believed him to be an intellectual. My eyes trace down the lines of his figure. He looks lax and unhurried, already immersed in the book he’d opened in less than a minute ago. Intelligence burns like a low, soft fla
BLAISEFor the past four days, I’d scoured a quarter of the library. At this point my eyes felt permanently bloodshot, from the way I’d read through more than two lifetimes’ worth of books in less than a week. The tips of my fingers are ashen from flipping past page after page. Noel was not recovering. The Beta had been making visits to his room every night. I’d noticed after the third day, after I’d put Christian to sleep and wanted to check on him. I’d noticed the Beta watching over an asleep Noel in the chair set in the corner of the room. And I’d realized that Noel didn’t need me as much as I’d thought he did. He was wasting away. Just as Beau had. The sun is high up in the sky. And I’m standing by his bedside, hands tightened into fists by my sides as I look down at his unconscious figure. The dark splotches now completely cover the right half of his face, a poisonous ivy wrapping around his throat and wisping down underneath the neckline of his shirt. He has lost so much wei