EstrellaMother kisses me on the cheek in an empty courtyard. Even the servants are gone, having carried all the remainder of the cleaning inside.“You did wonderfully,” she says. “As I knew you would. Now, sleep, and I will see you in the morning.”She leaves. I am truly alone. That hurts again, li
A smell reaches my nose. Floral, deep. Dream thistle. I blink and look around as Anwen sinks his teeth lightly into my haunch.I didn’t think about the Haze often before Anwen. I knew the Goddess would take me by the paw and lead me where I needed to go. But when I allowed myself the thought, I hope
AnwenEstrella rolls her hips against my hand, against my softening cock still inside her. I groan. I’ll fuck her fast, slow, whatever she’ll allow to just keep tasting her.She starts to try to stand up, and I instinctively tighten my grip on her hair. She shivers—I knew she liked a little pain wit
She leans up on an elbow, her breasts swaying. “I need the truth, Anwen. I cannot spend—consider–my life with a mate I cannot trust.”Spend her life. She’s thinking about a future with me. I swallow and leave the water, feeling a whole hell of a lot more naked than I was a second ago.“No.”She take
EstrellaAnwen’s pale eyes reflect the stars back at me. My body hums with pleasure. In the wake of enjoying him, I feel the buzz of the healing during my coronation again, the guiding hand of the Goddess and Her whispered assurance that I stride the right path. Having him here feels nearly as good.
He shrugs. “Possibly. Everyone in the palace learns basic reading and writing from the same tutor. I’m not an expert, but it seems like it’d be pretty easy to fake.”I nod slowly. A new king—a new leader is susceptible to attacks from all sides. Several of Father’s advisors have pulled me aside alre
AnwenThree days later—four, if you count the fact Estrella and I didn’t go back to her palace until morning—I lean over the bow of The Lady Suniva and watch the towers of Solberg Castle rise over the horizon.Baz claps me on the shoulder. “Someday, I’ll get you back for only staying a day in that p
“No, there isn’t.” I lean my shoulder against hers. The rocking of the boat might’ve pushed us together. “Are you ready?”She chuckles nervously. “It may be a bit late for that as well.”The tattoo on my finger catches the light. “We hid our marks for weeks.”“No.” She shakes her head resolutely. “I
She stiffens like I struck her with lightning then turns very slowly. “What?”“Eva wanted me to let me know that if there’s anything you need, she’s there for you.” Smiling at Candace is easy. My face stops feeling like a painful rictus of forced cheer.Her now-dark gaze roams my face, searching for
HollisI squeeze between Candace and her so-called father with a comfortable smile on my face. I’m just sitting down for dinner with friends, I tell myself. They invited me. There’s every reason for me to be here.Hell, it’s not like I’m going to come up with a reasonable excuse for why I’m doing th
“I’m going to stop calling him that.” I nod to myself. “Not just to make you comfortable.”“You don’t gotta do anything to make me comfortable.” He grins. “Unless King Kieran here is offering up some kind of recompense for the twenty years his father stole from me.”The already half-dead mood at the
Candace“Thank you.” I smile up at Kash—he suggested I call him Father, but that still seems too strange—as he hands me a bowl of noodle soup in one of the long food tents that’s sprung up in my handful of days in isolation.“Just let me know if you want seconds.” He tosses his hair over his shoulde
“We will see,” I say. “Now, about Lightning Cape—”***The lunch lasts forever. Every time I start to get distracted by the whispering farther down the long table we’re eating at, I freeze another piece of ice and let it melt. It keeps me focused. Enough. By the end of the meal, Father is shaking ha
HollisFather and I stride through the campground, on the way to lunch with a few representatives of Lightning Cape. He might be the only person in a mile radius who can think or talk about anything other than Kash’s sudden appearance at the ritual this morning. I’m certainly not. I haven’t seen a g
“I knew you’d understand.” Relief crashes over his face. “I don’t give a rat’s ass about Rowena or whyever the hell she’s locked up. I just want to get to know my daughter.”I don’t know the last time somebody smiled like he is while calling me that. I let out a long breath.“It… might be nice to ge
“I—” My voice breaks. Oh, Goddess, I’m going to be sick.“Wine?” He grabs a goblet on the bench and thrusts it at me. Red liquid sloshes over the side.I shake my head then clear my throat. “You wanted to speak to me?”“That’s why I’m here, after all. Mind if I sit?”I shake my head. He plops back d
CandaceI pace outside the gray and black tent Alpha Cole and Luna Delaney have been staying in, where they took Kash after the ritual. Going anywhere else seemed wrong. My stomach twists and jounces like it did when I let Ingrid convince me to sled down one of the castle roofs during a particularly