*Kieran* The blood splattered all across the stone wall and floor is fresh. The birds continue to caw at me, and it feels as if they are scratching the inside of my brain. I want to yell at them to get the fuck out of here, but I also don’t want to anger them. Besides, I need to know what the hell
Blake’s mouth twists slightly into a crooked grin. “Some.” “The royals?” That’s how the stories always go. All of my father’s enemies had such great magical powers. Yet, he was able to defeat them through his wit, power, and strength. “Mostly.” Blake’s voice cracks such that it’s difficult for me
*Blanca* “I need to get out of here.” It’s the only thought I can allow to enter my mind. It’s the same thought that has kept me going ever since I was old enough to understand that I am not like the others. I need to get the hell out of here and never look back. I’m sitting on my bed with my leg
Tears prickle in my eyes. I was afraid of that. After the owl swooped in, and I ran, I felt terrible because I knew he wouldn’t be able to get away. They must’ve assumed he did all of it because of the birds. “Crying isn’t going to do you any good, witch.” Kieran is angry, but his words are not as
*Kieran* I march down the hallway away from Blanca’s room, wondering what possessed me to go in there in the first place. I should’ve known better. Even that close to her, my mark still ached. As long as two mates who had marked each other continued to fight against the Moon Goddess’s plans, that w
I head to the refrigerator and pull out a couple of cold ones and walk over to him. By the time I’m sipping my beer and settled in the chair across from him, I remember what we were talking about before. “Escuro?” I ask him. He nods. “Yeah. My father wasn’t a commander when the raids into the othe
*Blanca* “It’s okay, Little Raven. I’m okay.” Mr. Blake’s voice sounds in my head, and I freeze, afraid to breathe. This isn’t just like when a person thinks they hear someone’s voice because it’s so familiar to them. No, this is completely different. It’s as if I’m on the phone–something I’m neve
“All it takes is a little faith–and recognition, my Little Raven.” I open my mouth to say more, but I hear a jingle in the door. “Someone’s here,” I whisper. Mr. Blake laughs in my head. “You can just think it. If you’re thinking of me when you have a message to send, I’ll hear you. I’ll always he
Someone takes her hand. Goddess above, is that Nessa fucking Winters? I thought she died in a Dun’s Crossing prison—but even as I think that, I half remember Candace mentioning she escaped.I lower the telescope and look at Father. He stares out over the approaching army, his face lined and bleak. T
Hollis“Almost.” Standing in the training room in the castle, I adjust the shoulders of a teenage boy, training to become part of the military someday. “But you want them in line with your hips for the maximum draw distance. Try it now.”He relaxes his hold on the bowstring then pulls it back again.
“I actually have plans.” I glance at the table. The dream is still keeping me up, so I’ve been napping during the day more often, and I promised to meet Hollis in that room off the portrait gallery when I wake up.Ingrid’s grin immediately falls. “With him?”She won’t say Hollis’s name unless forced
Candace“There’s got to be something we’re missing.” Heavy bags hang under Kieran’s eyes as our stay in Kar Castle stretches into the second week.“I don’t have a clue what,” Taner replies, equally tired. “He hasn’t even replied to any of our attempts conclusively enought to figure out what’s pissin
“You pretend to be larger than we are.” I gesture at the maps and papers showing the extent of our lands, our forces. “We are strong, we are powerful, and we are small. You’re puffing yourself up like a frightened cat to try to intimidate the largest kingdom in the world.”“Frightened?” Father scoff
HollisA few days later, I sit in Father’s tapestry-covered office for one of our weekly meetings, warming my hands over his fire.“What are you smiling about?” he snaps. “Our southwestern border has been attacked.”“By rogues.” I try to swallow my grin, but it’s impossible. It’s been impossible sin
When he brings a hand up to tease my other nipple, I remember I can actually move my arms. One hand, I thread instantly into his hair and tug. The vibrations of his grumble ripple through me. The other, I slip down his back, nails out, scratching red lines I can’t see. I need to mark him as much as
CandaceI trail after Hollis through the dark halls of the castle, my heart pounding. If Finn didn’t talk to me after the meeting, I would’ve let Hollis whisk me on whatever adventure he had planned for today. I never would’ve heard the story about his mother—and he wouldn’t have told it. Judging by
“Long story short, I pitched a fit.” I shake my head. “She finally told the painter she’d sit with me in the room, or not at all.”Candace giggles. “Don’t tell me that’s when you gained your taste for paint thinner.”“No, but I did eat a fistful of blue paint I’ve never seen come back out.” I stare