“I was thinking of them on the way here.” Zen says, in a way that sounds a little like protest “It hasn’t been that long, My Lady.” “Out with it then.” I give him a look “You’ve already decided on the names, haven’t you?” The way he’s pointedly avoiding my eyes tells me I hit the nail on the he
I snap out of my haze of thoughts with those words, whirl around to look at Zen with eyes wide in horror of the misunderstanding. “Of course not.” I say quickly, too sharply “I’ve never pitied you.” Zen looks down at me, silver eyes steady and chilling. I feel my throat dry up, my heart unwittingl
“Why are suddenly talking about this, My Lady?” Zen asks, slightly shaking his head “I’m just putting the option out here.” I say, entirely serious “If you ever get sick of this world, there’s another too.” His eyes widen a bit at that “I’m not— “I’m not saying this out of pity or sympathy or any
“Who did you make that promise to?” I ask, my own voice just as quiet For a long moment, Zen says nothing. I open my mouth to tell him he doesn’t need to tell me, but his voice sounds out before mine can. “My father. It was the last thing he said to me.” I swallow whatever I was about to say. All
In the Crystal Palace, it has become somewhat of a nightly occurrence to have tea a little before sleeping. At least, a little before Dinah falls asleep. I myself, would be wide awake until the early hours of the day. “Shall I set the tray on the low table, Your Lordship?” I give a nod, and Dinah’
But there’s no point in seeing such a useless letter. Even if he knows Dinah has left the Imperial City, he can’t do anything with some significant evidence, I shake my head. It’s easy to come up with a hundred reasons to justify hiding things from her that don’t concern her returning home, but it l
The idea of performing another autopsy soon enough, of having a disfigured carcass of a Lycan to cut into, the smell of blood and rotting flesh everywhere, makes a tremor run down my spine. Is it thrill or is it fear? It doesn’t matter either way. Something cool pokes me in the side of the face, p
I wake up feeling a terrible heaviness in my stomach. With an irritated groan, I push myself up the couch. The coals in the hearth are still smoldering, so I can tell its still night. My eyes swim over the bed chamber, and come up empty of any other person. I drag my feet to the baths. Maybe I jus
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