Hollis“Oh, shit,” Zain whispers.A gasp ripples back through the crowd, and I grit my teeth. I knew I shouldn’t have fucking come. I haven’t been in days. After Rowena’s last “blessing,” I came once or twice to just see if Candace was here, but when she wasn’t, it obviously wasn’t worth my time. Th
I cup my hands around my mouth. “Sounding a little crazy, Rowena.”Scattered laughter ripples through the crowd. I smirk. Candace doesn’t even look in my direction, which can only mean she already knows it’s me. My smirk dies.“Anything else?” Candace asks. “Any real proof?”A woman steps forward. “
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
“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
“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
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
“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
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
“Lord Soren,” Candace says numbly. “Where is he?”I grimace at the memory of our return home. Soren greeted the caravan at the gate, redder than Father with rage. His bellowing was hard to follow, threading together fights from their childhodbetween him and Father with ancient slights between our fa
Hollis“Come in?” Candace calls hesitantly through the door of one of the lesser guest rooms.I suck in a deep breath. I can smell her even through the door, blackberries and sunshine. Knocking—rather than just tearing down the door like I wanted to the second Lord Gunnar told Father about the addit
“Coming up!” the driver on the front of the carriage calls.Ingrid presses her face to the window. I try to look and almost end up tumbling into Taner’s lap. But finally, the carriage pulls to a stop, and someone opens the door for us to exit.According to protocol, Kieran exits first, with Taner ri
CandaceWhen the sun rises the next morning, it finds me crouching in the stables, sandwiched between one of Finn’s favorite stallions and Ingrid. It lights the wild grin that’s barely left her face since I barged into her drawing practice yesterday and declared Kieran didn’t control me. She immedia
That leaves me with Kash as company. He likes to walk through the castle with me while I point out places where different things happened. And to eat every meal together. And to spend almost every second that I’m not asleep by my side–making up for lost time, always. By the second day, I’m making up
CandaceI fold dresses into my trunk and listen to the commotion of the rest of the encampment breaking down outside. Kieran decided that letting King Andri cool off would yield the best results, so we’re leaving just as quickly as everybody else. This weird pocket of time with so many people in one
“What?” Ingrid scowls. “You’d think assassinating your own father would be enough to prove that you didn’t agree with him. Throw Mother in the dungeon with Hollis, when we get around to that stage.”Anwen winces.“We’re not throwing Hollis in the dungeon,” Kieran says tightly. “Not least because, in
CandaceI sit at a makeshift table in the center of Kieran and Raven’s tent, surrounded by people with various claims to being my family, all talking over each other about the mess I’ve made. Even Kash, my father, is here, for reasons I might never understand.“She didn’t do anything wrong!” Ingrid
“I couldn’t fucking tell you.” I wipe my mouth on my bare arm.“Give me one good Goddess-damned reason why not.” His voice is sharper than I expect, and I glance at him.Zain and I have always been close. Having an actual guy friend was useful growing up, but every time something actually important