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
“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
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
Hollis“We will not discuss this in public.” Father scowls at the chaos of the crowd then turns and storms out.Like a dog on a fucking leash, I chase after him with the rest of the Snowcrest delegates. My ears are ringing, my heart’s damn near pounded itself to mush against my ribcage, and my eyes
Diplomatic tensions are dissolving, he tells me over mind-link. Snowcrest is furious. Other kingdoms are saying that we’re traitors. We have to go.Snowcrest is furious? I ask. Or King Andri?They’re the same right now, he snaps. Anwen’s working with Alpha Cole to dissolve the crowd, so you and I ju
Candace“No!” I shout as I’m ripped away from Hollis. Like anyone will hear me over the chaos the crowd has broken out into.It’s worse than any other ritual—or maybe this is the only one I’ve been in the crowd during. Scents buffet me from every direction—flowers, trees, body odor, stale alcohol. S
But this is nothing like anything I’ve seen her face before. She stayed, stood her ground, stared at us until she saw the mark. Until she realized, for the first time, that we might not be on the same side.Goddess above, I am so fucking stupid.By the time the sun starts to rise, I realize I’ve mad