Violet We walked in silence through the halls of the palace. I didn’t even let myself wonder at the beauty of the place. The air felt cold and stale and haunted in a way. That might have been my imagination, though. Theodore was absolutely silent. The grand halls of the palace seemed eerily quiet.
He frowned. “What?” “The stone. You made it glow the right color and everything. You could have cut down on the brightness and the theatrics a bit, I doubt any of them have ever seen an actual moonstone in action. What did you use?” He blinked at me. “What?” “The spell,” I said. “What spell di
Violet The door opened. A servant entered, offering me a small note sealed with Owen’s insignia. Theodore's eyes flickered to the door, his posture instantly wary. I straightened, too, expecting more fallout from the dinner. I raised a brow and broke the seal, scanning the words quickly. Theodore
I blinked at him, keeping my expression neutral. “I’m the king. The power to help you take back your pack, put an end to Lucas’ claim—it’s all in my hands. It would be in your best interest to befriend me and do as I want.” “You’re not exactly offering me a deal.” I tilted my head. “And based on
Violet For a moment, I let the silence hang between us. I watched him get more irritated. He must be used to intimidating a lot of people by throwing his title around. A bit of irritation prickled at the back of my mind. It wasn’t fair to be upset with Theodore for letting his brother take over th
Unless they weren’t. I made a note to look into the history of the palace again but turned back to look down at the glowing stone. “Do you think… you might want a garden in Midnight?” “What?” “A garden,” I said, gesturing. “Even… just a small one. The courtyard behind the house would be perfec
Violet Theodore’s question lingered in the air between us as I mulled over everything I’d learned about Owen for the past few hours. I didn’t doubt that Theodore had already come to a lot of the same conclusions that I had, but I was… touched– happy– that he wanted to hear my thoughts and input on
“Tell me, then—what kind of man would I have to be to make you fall in love with me?” My mouth went dry as our gazes met. Something in his gaze held me captive. His tone was tinged with something fragile and vulnerable. I’d never heard him sound like that before, and it pulled at my heart. “Am I
Violet set her fork down, her smile as polite as ever. “Well, I’m glad to have your support. It’s always encouraging to know others are invested in justice.” I couldn’t tell if she was being genuine or sarcastic. Probably both. “And the Shelter project,” Olivia added, turning her attention to me
Theodore They talked the whole walk to the restaurant, Violet never removed her hand from mind, and she walked in between me and Olivia. I could see that Olivia was irritated by it by the occasional looks she would shoot me, but I ignored them. The restaurant was closer than I expected. I opened t
I'd hoped to never run into her again. “I take it you know each other?” I asked, keeping my voice light. Violet glanced at me, her eyes twinkling with a hint of mischief. “Of course. Olivia was one of my mentees at the Academy, for Governance and Diplomacy.” I blinked at that. "You… were a TA.
Violet Olivia Bronson clearly didn't recognize me, or she didn't care. Knowing her, either were just as likely, but I didn’t interrupt whatever moment she was having, and took the moment to gauge her goal. Whatever it was, it wasn't good, but it did present an interesting opportunity. Olivia did
I scoffed. "He should have had the decency to kill her, at least I wouldn't be dealing with Theodore." I rubbed my forehead. "How much longr can we keep the records hidden?" "Indefinitely," he said. "The sector of the national system that is still managed by the crown is separate from the rest.
Owen There were too many people in the country who were doing whatever it took to not be a rogue and they knew it. If I hadn't restricted the number of people and how people can transfer between packs, a lot of packs who supported me would have lost all of their standing and power by now. I had
I set my jaw, glaring at the screen, seeing the paparazzi following Theodore and Violet walking down the street. Smiling at one another, seemingly overly happy, and blissful. The faint glow of the bands on their heads were clearly visible, just as visible as they had been since they were married.
Violet I watched them leave, then I looked up at Theodore who was glaring after the man, looking just as furious as before. If this was broadcast live, plenty of people saw it, and with any luck they'd start thinking. But more than that, I felt a bit hot under the collar. There was something inc
“And so you're suggesting that we let murderers and thieves live among us?” Theodore shook his head. “I’m suggesting that we stop pretending exiling them makes us safe. That we acknowledge the role we play in creating the monsters we claim to fear and hate. We have to take responsibility for the m