AnwenKieran leans back in the chair at his desk. “To get the sort of turnout the two of you are looking for, I’ve scheduled the wedding for the next full moon.”I suck in a deep breath and rub the pale tattoo on my pinkie. “Three weeks?”“I know.” He shrugs. “But everyone just went home after the p
“It might,” I grumble.But the place it’ll get us is having to clean the whole room back up or ask one of the staff to do it. It’s the easy way.“Fuck, all right. Where haven’t we looked?” I ask.He stares around the room for a moment. “Top of the canopy?”“Stupid place to keep something.”Baz shimm
Estrella“Thank you,” I murmur as one of the Dun’s Crossing seamstresses pins another fold of my skirt in place.After a few days of what Tess deemed arguing, though I would more rightly call it standing my ground, the flock of women assigned to make my wedding dress have finally understood that I w
Nessa’s mouth falls open, and there’s a beat of silence. I meet Tess’s wide gaze. Both of us have been watching them go back and forth like expert kras players, and my neck is beginning to hurt.“Apologies,” Princess Candace says. “I haven’t been sleeping very well, and my tongue got away from me. S
AnwenKieran and I walk through the castle side-by-side, talking about the wedding. There’s nothing else to talk about anymore. I swear to the Goddess, I heard a couple of maids chattering about it when I walked by the other day.“Remember, there are still two weeks left,” he says. “This likely isn’
“No fucking way,” I spit. The only good thing about any of this is how it’s forcing Estrella and I together. Sure, there’s a bunch of political crap to wade through, but at the end of it all, I get to spend my life with her. If we could have the wedding without any of the scheming, I’d do that in a
Estrella“At last.” I smile across the table at Anwen. “We’re alone.”He kisses the back of my hand. “Tonight, but probably not again until this is over. The other kingdoms’ delegations arrive tomorrow.”“And a week still separates us from the wedding.” I groan in a very un-queenlike way and slump s
Exhaustion drags on my limbs. So many weeks of running around like chickens with our heads cut off, stealing moments together when we can, and we spend nearly every one of them discussing the investigation. I want to discuss it—I want to know what is happening, how close we are to catching Father’s
My quill flows across the page, writing down every word of the story. Mother’s voice rings in my ears, soft over familiar phrases. When I’m done, I don’t read it over. I’ll just crumple it up if I do. But I scribble one last thing at the end.Even if the tower never falls….Seconds tick away as I st
HollisI’m a moron. Worse than that, I’m insane. That’s what Mother said when she found out I’d stuck my tongue to the frozen pole outside of the kitchen three times in a week and basically skinned the damn thing every time. But every time, I thought it would be like in a story Eva and I read, where
“I want something more active,” I say. “Like you. I want to… I don’t know… make something?”“Easy.” Ingrid claps her hands together. “Have you ever done any fine arts? Drawing, painting, sculpting?”I shake my head. Yet another class Mother thought was filling my head up with nonsense.“Okay. I know
CandaceI’m sitting at the dressing table, fixing my hair for the first time in days, when a bird starts singing right outside my tent. An ash warbler. For the third time since sunset yesterday. I almost smile.When it first happened, I made Ingrid go check. We were way outside of where the warbler
‘Catch me if you can!’ she calls through the mind-link.In wolf form, I can’t give her the necklace if I want to. I stuff her clothes and mine in her sewing bag, then shift and give chase.Escuro flies by. I barely notice it. My attention remains locked on Eva’s bright-red tail disappearing between
HollisMy plan to act like I actually believe Eva is going to be my wife is going great—except for the fact that I basically haven’t slept since I started it because my mark hurts so Goddess-damned bad. That’ll fade. I know it will. Because I do believe Eva’s going to be my wife. It’s what everyone
Outside the tent, someone makes the tiniest whimper I’ve ever heard. My heart squeezes.“They can come in, but no lights.” I sit up. “And don’t ask, please.”Ingrid nods and starts to turn away, but her gaze locks on mine. She’s noticed. Of course. Every muscle in my body tenses.She turns back for
CandaceFor the third morning in a row, I pull my covers over my head as lunch approaches and rub eyes gritty from crying.Well, not exactly the third morning in a row. The very next day, I tried. I got up, made myself beautiful even as Ingrid fluttered around me, saying I didn’t have to go out if I
Not that I’m keeping track. I, in fact, am doing the exact opposite. I’ve been so caught up in her that I’ve been neglecting my responsibilities. Even if she’s not the person I’m going to spend my life with, I still believe in her dream. There’s just no reason for her to lie, or to seem so scared if