CandaceRaven lowers herself into her chair with a grunt that doesn’t dampen the glowing smile on her face. “The calculations are in. Almost twice the area we revitalized yesterday returned today.”Estrella blinks quickly, like she’s warding off tears. “I never dreamt—”“None of us did.” Raven takes
“And if it worked, you and Hollis….”“Would’ve mated.” Her smile turns dreamy.“How does that all work?” I ask, my gaze trained on the pheasant. “Being promised to one another. I thought the Goddess took the reins during the Haze.”She laughs. “I take it your mother didn’t talk to you about it much?
Hollis“No, anchor your fingers at your ear.” I yank Ty’s elbow back until his fingers are at least near his ear. The young noble from Tansy Beach trembles.‘It’s like he’s never lifted a fucking weapon.’ I growl at Zain.‘He probably hasn’t,’ Zain replies. ‘Tansy Beach is weird about human fighting
“…Doesn’t matter,” Rowena is saying. “There is nothing to do. For you. That’s why you’re here, after all.”Candace blows out a sharp breath. “I’m here because I convinced Kieran to allow me to assign your guards.”Thank the Goddess. But I don’t leave my spot. Listening a little longer can’t hurt, no
CandaceI tug Hollis away by the wrist—the least romantic place I could grab him, because even though I assigned all my favorite guards to Mother, I don’t trust anyone enough to actually admit who my mate is—and pray under my breath that he actually was just walking by. If he overheard a single word
“Some self-defense.” He chuckles.“You’re not going to hurt me.” The words taste bitter in my mouth, but I cover them with another kiss.Hollis melts into me. There’s no shake in his arms, no hint that holding me is any strain. He could throw me all around this clearing without breaking a sweat. I c
HollisI storm out of the copse of trees, clenching and unclenching my hands. I have to hit something. There has to be something in this Goddess-forsaken place for me to hit. I march back to the mock-training ground Zain and I slapped together, still empty, but we’ve only finished the fucking archer
“What’d you say?” Finn asks.“I told her I didn’t have a future with anyone who asked those kinds of questions.”More laughter. My smile grows. I can barely feel the mark’s sting. I’m not the problem, Candace is. She demanded answers after we agreed that it wasn’t the time to talk. What did she expe
‘Ah,’ she says like she’s finally cracked one of the secrets of the universe. ‘It wasn’t Blanca, was it?’‘Help!’ I yell to Kieran, Taner, and Finn. The rest of our reinforcements aren’t here yet, so they’re my only hopes.‘It was you.’A finger of wind lashes out and flogs my back, like I remember
CandaceA wolf dives at me out of the screaming, clashing mayhem, its maw drenched in blood. One half of my brain orders a paw to swing. The other shouts, RUN! I manage a hopping scramble that seems more likely to get me killed than anything else.And one of the men Hollis picked to stay at my side
If I don’t admit I love her, maybe the Goddess won’t think to take her from me like She’s taken damn near everyone else.All together like that, it sounds fucking stupid. Like a kid trying to keep the monsters under the bed from becoming real by saying they’re not there. Like screaming into the wind
HollisI stand with my squad at one of the side doors, waiting for the final signal from Father. Pinning Soren’s forces in, making it so their numbers are useless because they can’t get enough of them out to change anything, is the highest priority, so everyone is attacking from different angles. Ca
The doors swing open. We leap to our feet at varying speeds, like Soren could’ve gotten this deep into the castle without us hearing a peep.Kash strides in, an easy grin on his face. “Sorry I’m late.”“I do not believe you were invited,” King Andri says coldly.So his change of heart has its limits
Candace‘He’s in,’ Kieran says through the mind-link. ‘Everyone convene in the main dining room in fifteen minutes.’I look up at Ingrid, painting on the other side of her sitting room. She grins at me. I don’t know what comes next from here, and I doubt she does either, but we won’t be trapped in K
My gaze drifts to Eva. She watches the two of them dully, almost disinterested, but she has her arms wrapped around herself the way she always does when she’s upset. Holding herself together.She and I weren’t supposed to see all the same tutors, I remember suddenly. While I studied government, she
HollisFather and I march in lockstep up to the small door beside the front gates. Early morning sunlight promises spring might actually arrive in the mountains someday soon, as soft and sweet as waking up to Candace slipping back into the room with a sheepish smile on her face. Low conversation and
I close my eyes and try to sort through half-remembered geography lessons. LeClair belongs to…“Starfall Mountain.”He nods. “My sister Luci, my parents, all my younger brothers, burned alive in the temple on her wedding day because Gavin’s invasion wasn’t working. If I hadn’t run off, I’d have been