*Blanca* “Hand me the key, Kieran,” I tell him as I see guards coming closer to where he’s standing on the other side of the gate I just squeezed through. Right now, the guards are preoccupied, fighting the birds I’m sending to distract them. But it won’t take long before the birds get scared and f
I have to wonder if I ever would’ve been able to even get through the gate without him. I think I would have, but they probably would’ve caught me by now. I want to trust him. I really do. Watching him fly through the air with every step of his majestic wolf makes me think we could be friends one d
*Kieran* “Man, do I have a few things to tell you.” I can barely see Blanca in the darkness of the cave. Her eyes are like polished onyx, and even the whites of them are difficult to make out. It’s probably for the best. I don’t really want to see her at the moment, not when I’m so fucking confused
I chuckle under my breath. She’s such a different person than I thought she was. Whenever she questions me like that, like she doesn’t care that I’m the Crown Prince, it impresses me for reasons I can’t articulate. I’m so used to people treating me like I am perfect and the most intelligent person o
*Blanca* Before I even open my eyes, I know that something is different. My back hurts, and the bed beneath me feels harder than usual. The pillow beneath my head doesn’t quite feel right either. It’s familiar–but it’s not the paper thin slip of fabric I’m used to resting my head on. When the pil
“I’m sorry, too.” I mean it, and I think he also means it. I can’t imagine all of those people dying. Why would anyone do that? I don’t think Gavin Solberg is my father, but if he was, I wouldn’t want to admit it. Maybe that’s why Kieran is here. He doesn’t want to be related to him anymore either
*Kieran*If I was smart, I’d rest during the day and run at night. But I guess I’m not that smart because the sun is hanging overhead, and Blanca and I have been running for hours. We hug the base of the mountains for shelter to exclude anyone coming up on that side. So far, despite the messages fro
Rogues.“Fuck,” I think to myself as I size them up. They are large, four males and two females, and by the looks of things, they are not from Dun’s Crossing. Their fur is brown and silver. My best guess is that they are from the kingdom on the other side of this mountain range, and they’ve crossed
Anwen grunts in pain. “Okay, that’s enough.”“Just a moment longer,” I plead.Out of the corner of my eye, I see his indulgent smile.After another moment, my family unwinds themselves from me. I exhale in a gust as my pain becomes manageable again. Tess perches on the edge of the seemingly wooden t
EstrellaI float for a long time in darkness. Not exactly here or absent. Not exactly comfortable or in pain. Not very much at all.Then, my whole body flames back to screaming, torturous life at once. I am the heart of an inferno, consuming everything that I am to produce the flame. A hoarse, ragge
Like she should be. Fuck. If Estrella is already gone somehow, already looking down on me, and she sees me abandoning all the progress I’ve made the second she’s not watching, she’s going to find a way to become a ghost just to kick my ass.I start pacing. Raven takes a dropper of the liquid, winces
AnwenSomeone screams. I think it might be me.I slide across the glass-covered floor to Estrella’s side and wrap my arms around her. My heart hammers.“No, no, no,” I mumble. “You can’t—not after—please.” My voice breaks on the last word.Her body is still warm. That has to mean something. It fucki
Behind me, Estrella sucks in a breath. Fabric rustles. Every instinct screams to keep my eyes on Floyd—I glance back at her. She is pushing into a sitting position. The black veins climbing up her throat threaten to choke me, but she nods. Sways, nearly falls, but fucking nods and picks a piece of
AnwenI pluck at the neck of my wedding clothes and look at myself in the mirror.“You look like shit,” Baz says from the bed behind me. Despite Estrella’s efforts, he’s still healing.“Thanks.” He’s right, though. Sundrop’s bright colors just kind of make me look sick. And the damned thing is so st
The cold. If it hurts enough, Anwen will feel me. He’ll know. And he’ll free me from this Goddess-damned ice so I can tear Floyd Winters limb from limb, as he deserves. That’s what Floyd missed.I grind the tender flesh of my ankles against the jagged edge of my prison.“You’re barely fucking civili
EstrellaMy heart thunders against my ribcage. My pulse roars. Mother, Castor, Tess—all gone. And with the wedding in an hour, I cannot yet mind-link to Anwen. I am alone.With the man who murdered my father.An oil-slick smile splits Floyd’s face as he circles me. The dagger in his hand shines. I l
King Andri clears his throat loudly. “In Snowcrest Canyon, it is rude to have a private conversation in public.”“Apologies.” Kieran dips his head, but I catch the scowl he’s hiding. “Prince Anwen was curious about how Prince Hollis came to hold such a position of power.”I smile as surprise washes