“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
AnwenI rap on Estrella’s door, the hallway behind me humming with activity. All the delegations are here—including Snowcrest—and the servants race around like ants in a colony, completing final preparations before the welcome ball just getting underway downstairs.She opens the door.“Fuck,” I mutt
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