“Shouldn’t you sleep, My Lady?” Zen asks me “It’s going to be a long day tomorrow.” I shake my head “It’s necessary to know for sure what I can and can’t read. Since no one here knows what to do, there must be some research going on? Some library with records of curses?” Zen nods at that, “There m
New York winter is harsh. I bring my hands to my mouth, blowing warm breath on them even over the gloves. Streets light flicker over my head, casting blinking halos of light on the concrete. In a distance, our apartment complex comes in sight. Noah’s waiting out, dressed in a long coat of black. U
Don’t think about it. Don’t. Don’t. I snap out of my thoughts when Zen makes his way over to me. Contrary to my expectations, he doesn’t stop by the couch, or even at the distance he usually keeps. I stumble back slightly when Zen moves forward, closing the space between us. The intensity of his g
“Then?” I ask, arms crossed “How’d you know?” Zen purses his lips for a moment, and I’ve noticed he only takes time to reply when he doesn’t want to, but the vow is pushing him to. “My senses are more attuned to singling out heartbeats and footsteps than most Lycans,” He says finally, and I have t
“I used to have some affinity, but it’s gone now.” He says evenly “How does that happen?” “By very rare events.” He says, and I get the hint that he doesn’t want to tell me “Worry not, though. The universe is always in balance. When you lose something, you gain something too.” The universe is alw
She’s asleep. I glance at Dinah’s curled form, the corner of the book’s cover digging into the side of her face, but she’s too deep in her slumber to care. Dinah has a penchant for words, choosing the right ones easily, controlling the tone of her voice, the expressions on her face. Even when she’
My own reflection catches my eyes in the mirror wall of the baths, the silver eyes that have received so much scorn staring back at me impassively. To think I’d return to the palace as a guest, dressed in their clothes and eating their foods. I can’t even count how many people must be seething with
What time is it? For the first few moments of the state between sleep and wakefulness, my eyes squint at the dying embers in the fireplace in confusion. The meeting! I sit up abruptly, the blanket falling from my shoulders, hair sticking to the drool by the corner of my mouth. As I smooth out my b
I barely manage to find a waste bucket before everything I had for breakfast retches out. My throat burns. My vision is blurry. I dry heave every single thing in my stomach, warmth seeps out of the corners of my eyes. I can’t breathe. The smell of blood is everywhere. I sit there, holding the edges
The smell of rotting flesh is disgusting. Its muscle memory to pull the gloves over my hands, pick a scalpel off the medical tray. The body on the metal table in front of me has no head. ‘You have to take a sample of flesh, a sample of blood and take a look at the internal organs.’ Aunt Cynthia’s
How adorable. Apparently, I’m the only one who thinks so, since when I turn back around, everyone from the fourth prince and the first order to passing strangers and our coachman is looking on in disbelief. Is it so difficult to imagine Zen would get along with children? “Don’t leave your mouth ha
“My Lady, am I mistaken or is the fourth prince avoiding me?” I look up from knotting the satchel to my belt to face Zen. There’s a slight furrow in his brows, and he looks at Lukas, standing far, far from us and talking with the first order soldiers. The fourth prince has indeed, been avoiding Ze
I need to move. But even as I think that, I cant bring myself to move. He’s holding me too firmly, I think, entirely reasonable. I won’t be able to slip away like this. Even the most critical part of me can’t find that to be entirely an excuse. After last night, I doubt there’s anyone who would lik
I wake up to the sound of a door knock. My sleep hazed brain registers the sound, recognizes it, and promptly ignores it in favor of cuddling into the warmth of my bed once more. I don’t want to wake up just yet, since last night I fell asleep so late— Last night? My eyes open, blurry with sleep,
But he’s looking at me now, as if the answer might crush him, as if he’s bracing himself for it. I reach out to drape my arms over his shoulders gently, they hang down in front of his chest lightly. “Why? Because you did your job?” I ask quietly, hold his gaze “Or because you didn’t hesitate to do
“Lift your arm, please.” I say, and my voice comes out soft If we weren’t sitting so close to each other, I would’ve missed it. His shoulders tense up, the even breathing stilled into nothing. “You don’t have to do that, Dinah.” Zen finally says My brows furrow. Zen might be a warrior among warri
On the second floor hallway of the hotel, my eyes drift to the room where Zen is supposed to be. My room is just at its side. I wonder if I knock on his door right now, would he be annoyed? He did ask not to be disturbed. The image of his bloodied arm flashes in my mind. Just a moment. I just want