She stiffens like I struck her with lightning then turns very slowly. “What?”“Eva wanted me to let me know that if there’s anything you need, she’s there for you.” Smiling at Candace is easy. My face stops feeling like a painful rictus of forced cheer.Her now-dark gaze roams my face, searching for
Candace“What do you think?” Ingrid asks. “The green or the gold?”I study the dresses hanging from each of her arms. The green is a soft seafoam, a frothy thing that makes her look like she’s just stepped off the top of a wave, especially when she lets me style her hair. But the gold, embroidered w
He blows out a long breath and rubs a hand over his face. “Well, repeated dreams about the same shit tend to be some kind of turning point. Major life events and all.”I nod. “But what about this dream? Is there a chance it’s more like a metaphor than anything real?”“A chance? Sure.” The smile he o
With the heavy thump of drums and birdlike trill of some flute, they’re a little easier to ignore. That–or practice.“Dancing first?” Kash asks. “Or would you prefer a drink?”I glance at him. “You’re more comfortable here than I would’ve expected.”His hold on me tightens, but he smiles. “You reall
HollisFuck.As soon as I saw Candace walk in, I knew I was in trouble. She’s dressed like I’ve never seen her before. Tight green fabric cups her breasts and ass like I want to, trailing from the hem up to a loop hooked over her finger to keep her mobile enough to dance. Her hair spills loosely out
Blonde eyebrows lift, and her plush lips part.“I… meant to,” I admit. “I thought it would be enough. Make everyone stop asking about the failed Haze. Give her something to hold onto.”Candace’s face crumples. “Right. Because you’ve made your decision, and she’s going to be your wife. Hollis, let me
CandaceI pace back and forth under the moonlight, the hem of my gown swishing over the grass. Alone.Of course, I’m alone. Hollis has been more than clear—there is no future for us. Throwing myself at him one last time was obviously nothing more than another chance to humiliate myself. Mother alway
He rams himself forward and goes taut. Salty, musky liquid pours down my throat, hot and still tasting of him. I moan around his length and swallow as much as I can.Mere moments later, he pulls back, grabs me, and lifts me into a kiss. His taste blurs between us. I shove my tongue between his lips,
‘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