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
“Lady Sigmond?” A voice calls from outside, bell-like and clear “It’s Andrea. May I come inside?” Andrea? At this hour? The door clicks open before I can make much sense of the questions in my head. Andrea is dressed in a modest robe, her chestnut hair falls down to her waist in soft waves and rin
I wake up with a splitting headache. Everything is heavy and uncomfortable. God, just kill me already. I feel like the undead anyway. When my eyes open, I find the hearth all too close. The coals are nearly out, but I’m already warmed enough. The events of last night float to my head, and I groan
“I have no questions, Lady Sigmond.” My eyes snap to hers, the soft brown of her gaze as composed as ever. “It is true that Lycans do not go through episodes as you did last night,” Andrea continues neatly “It is also true that werewolves do. But they have no soulmate mark, nor the kind of affinit
Weirdly enough, I don't know if I should laugh or cry that I'm only just realizing all this at twenty years of age. “Does it hurt a lot?” Zen asks, pulling me from my thoughts “You were groaning in your sleep.” If my face wasn’t already flushed with a light fever, I’d definitely feel warm now. Rea
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