I ignored the pain, focusing on her movements instead. During my training, Ember and Eric had drilled one lesson into me above all else: never stop fighting. Never. Not even when blood was soaking into your eyes and you just wanted to give up. I lunged forward, my blade catching her shoulder this
Raven The tray hit the floor with a deafening crash, broken shards of dishes scattering across the room. Ember stood frozen in the doorway, her wide eyes darting between me and the lifeless body sprawled across the floor. Blood pooled beneath Hannah, staining the stone a dark crimson, and I coul
Sure enough, Eric and Castor arrived within a couple of minutes. Castor strode into the bathroom first, his broad shoulders filling the space. His eyes flicked first to me, taking in my tear-streaked face and red-rimmed eyes, before he moved to the mass in the tub and gingerly moved the sheet aside
Neil “Rogues do not move in formal packs like this,” Edrick was saying as he paced the meeting chamber. “This level of coordination—it is not normal for them. Someone is pulling the strings from behind the scenes. I am sure of it.” Caleb let out a derisive snort from where he lounged across from
Unless… they knew what she meant to me. Maybe they knew she was engaged to one of the Lycan princes. And maybe they thought that taking a potential princess would cause us to lash out, lose focus, do something rash. Serena, of course, would never want that. She was a Lycan woman. She would rather
Raven My fingers nervously twisted the edge of my blanket as I stared up at the ceiling. Sleep wouldn’t come to me that night, no matter how much I willed it to come. My mind kept whirling, grappling relentlessly with the fact that I was alive. Alive. While she wasn’t. Hannah’s face flashed be
I blinked up at him, my breath still uneven. “Neil? What… What are you doing here?” His gaze didn’t waver, the tension in his jaw visible even in the darkness. “I heard whispers,” he said quietly. “About Hannah. About what happened.” My stomach twisted. “I—” “Did you kill her?” he asked, cutti
Raven I woke to an empty bed. Neil’s warmth was gone, replaced by the faint chill of the early morning air. I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as my heart sank. The spot where he had lain beside me was cold now, his scent already fading. All that remained was a pile of modern clothes folde
Raven The heavy oak doors to the council chamber loomed ahead, and despite the many months of relentless preparation leading to this moment, my palms were still damp against Neil’s. I squeezed his hand tighter, grounding myself in the warmth of his touch. Six months ago, I wouldn’t have imagined
“Not today,” Neil said, the faintest hint of a smirk touching his lips. Serena was the last to approach, her steps slow and deliberate. Her eyes locked onto Neil, flicking between the knife in his hand and Edrick’s body sprawled lifeless behind us. I felt my stomach twist painfully. I moved to p
Raven When I had killed Hannah, I thought that there was too much blood. But now, as I watched Neil fall to the stone floor, as that guttural scream ripped from my throat, I knew that that was nothing compared to the blood pooling around him now. He was losing too much blood to survive. Befo
He raised his sword and easily parried an attack with one hand. “And what’s that?” “I may not be the full-blood prince, but I was chosen to take that place. Perhaps that is worth more than your blood ties to the crown.” I pressed forward, hammering him with a series of strikes, but Edrick met me
Neil The blade in my hand felt heavier than it usually did. Maybe it was just my exhaustion, or maybe it was the weight of the crown that I wasn’t wearing yet that was dragging me down. Or maybe it was the feeling of everyone’s eyes on me. The warmth of my father’s blood still coating my hands.
Castor exhaled, dragging his free hand through his hair. “Raven… I know you think you can help, but if they see you here, it’ll only make things worse. Edrick’s been feeding the court lies for weeks. They’ll kill you on sight.” Shaking my head, I reached into my cloak and pulled out the pendant th
Raven By the time I returned, the battle was over. But that didn’t mean that the chaos had subsided. As I cautiously wound my way through the village, careful not to be seen, I could hardly even see because the air was so thick with smoke and blood. I could smell the wreckage before I even saw t
And then it struck me. There were only two. “Eric,” I breathed. “Where is he?” Castor simply shook his head and stared at the floor. That was all the answer I needed. My fists tightened at my sides. My people—my friends—were dying while Caleb had been carrying out his devious little plan. Fo
Neil Serena was alive, kneeling in front of me, her face streaked with tears and dried blood. I didn’t know what my brother intended to do with her after this, but I knew it would not be good. Caleb knelt down slowly, gripping a handful of Serena’s hair as he did. The way he tugged her head upwa