*Isaac*Blood drips down from my temple where a gash runs from my forehead to my chin, right over the bridge of my nose. It’s not healing with the usual speed my powers award me. I’m not like my mother. I can’t heal others. But my body rapidly heals itself…. At least, it should have by now. The young warrior, Emmet, one of the six survivors I found after the battle in the plains, crouches beside me while we watch an enemy encampment from a large, jagged rock on the base of the mountains. Both of us are drenched in blood–most of it belonging to others–and sweat, filth, and dirt from the forest. It’s impossible to keep track of time when the whole forest is under a spell of pure darkness, but I’d guess we’d been out here for days now, watching, waiting to strike. Emmet, a boy of fifteen, had snuck out of his home and joined the cause illegally. Too young to shift, some would have thought he’d been helpless during the battle. But when I found him, he’d been wielding his great-grandfa
*Maddox*These Goddess forsaken kids of mine. “He pulled a sword on me, Isla. A sword!” I shrug my leathers over my shoulders and fix my mate with a look that mimics her own–something made of steel and ice cold. “It’s been three days since Ella and Maddy took off after him. I’m going. I’m bringing Cassian with me.”“He had his arm bitten clean off–”“He is just fine,” I say through gritted teeth, knowing the direction this conversation is about to go. Isla, beautiful and convincing as always, has no intentions of hearing me out. She had no intentions of doing so yesterday–when I showed up at the castle expecting to find her and Ella safe and sound. Instead, after two days securing a perimeter around Moorn after the battle on the plains that had wiped out half of our territory’s warriors, and left a third of those remaining severely injured, I found her going toe-to-toe with Trinity. For twenty four years, they’d been friends, best friends, but Isla had murder in her eyes when I fou
*Maddy*“Maddy!” The voice comes again, louder than the first time. I rise to my feet, my legs tingling from lack of use. The fire in the cave shudders out on a phantom wind. I bristle against the sudden chill, my hands trembling as I feel along the cave wall toward the entrance. It’s nearly pitch black. I’ve never been anywhere so dark and empty, especially with no moonlight illuminating the outside world, let alone the cave entrance. I take a moment to feel over my clothes. They’re not mine, and I’m wearing something thin and rough. A man’s shirt, I realize, that brushes just over my knees. My legs prickle from the cold–and the knowledge that someone had to undress and then redress me. I make it to the cave’s entrance and stand, my bare toes curling over cold stone. I glance behind me into the inky darkness and shiver, deciding maybe I’m better off outside than I am trying to maneuver around the cave again with Mystica’s magic fire and her ghostly company. Had I imagined everyth
*Maddy*Isla told me to stay here. I should, I definitely should. Do I really want to see Isaac get killed, or allow himself to get killed because he thinks it’ll save his people? We never had a chance to figure this out together. One moment we were married, the next he was gone, and I had to untangle the matted threads of this mess myself. Hell, Ella knew a whole lot and never said a thing. I’m kind of mad at her. I don’t understand why she’d hide this from me. Me! The person who married her glowing, winged beast of a brother. Did she think he didn’t tell me about what he could do, what he was? I huff a breath as I crouch in the grass. I can’t see anything from down here, but I can hear the sounds of battle not far from where Isla told me to stay put. I bend a piece of grass, weaving it through my fingers as I debate my next move. Stay, and hide like a coward, keeping my fingers crossed that my mate, my husband, comes out of this alive, or go and see to that myself?I’m a part of
*Isaac*Whatever dreamlike state I’ve been suspended in lifts, replaced by soft, golden light. I open sore eyes and blink away the blurriness, that dreamscape replaced by the rippling, swirling mural of florals painted on the ceiling in my bedroom. My bedroom back home at the castle. I don’t move. I’m not sure if I’m actually here, or if this is another trick of my mind. The last several weeks don’t seem real at all. Not the war, not the battles, not the unrelenting darkness that swallowed my lands whole. But there is sunlight here. It warms the sheets around me and my skin. My chest is bare, and I glance down and see a ray of golden light full of dust that shimmers like silver stars. I raise a hand and turn it back and forth in the light, watching the dust swirl around my fingers in a dizzying dance. She turns in her chair by the window, her wine-red hair cascading loose down her back. She stands, those stormy, dark blue eyes wide. Her cream-colored silk robe catches the light, i
*Maddy*Several days have passed since Isaac woke up. I’m still processing it—him coming back from a coma, and the aftermath of the war. Everything seems too peaceful. The sudden shift from pre-war times when there was nothing but tension in the air to now feels too abrupt. The war ended before it began, really. A few weeks seems like nothing in the grand scheme of things. The past three months have been the hardest part about it. I basically just floated around the castle like a ghost, a shell of myself, praying to the Goddess every second I could spare to bring him back to me–to us. I rest my hands on my belly as I walk barefoot through the castle. It’s quiet here today. Ben and Emery went back to the Obsidian Temple territory several weeks ago to rebuild. Trinity and Rosie are back in Moorn with Elijah. Cassian practices daily at the training grounds on the far side of the village to learn to better move his wolf with only three legs, and Isla and Maddox tend to keep to themselv
*Maddy* I watch as Ella walks up the stairs to her studio. She stands at the door for a moment, a door that’s been locked and charmed so that anyone who touches it gets zapped by a painful, bone crushing magic. We all learned our lesson the hard way with that one and spent a good deal of time having Isla tend our wounds. I should turn away and leave her alone, but curiosity gets the best of me as I watch her close her eyes, her mouth moving but totally silent. Soft red light ripples through the woodgrain of the door before fading completely. She turns the knob and slips inside, the door closing and locking behind her. I sigh with relief. Something about knowing Ella is tucked away in her studio with her paints, brushes, and canvases sets my heart at ease. Like everything is suddenly right in the world, and I can breathe again. Even though I know that’s not the case. Not at all. I linger at the bottom of the stairs to the tower that houses her studio for a moment, though, the su
*Maddy* The ballroom is totally transformed from floor to ceiling. The finest flowers in the kingdom stand in large, marble vases resting on tables covered in light blue tableclothes. Champagne flows, poured into crystal flutes, and graceful string music fills the air, rising above the chatter. I walk through the crowd, which parts to allow me to pass. I smile and bob my head at the people who bow and curtsey to me, their cheeks going pink as I meet their eyes. The fact that Isla and I were able to put this event together in a little under a week is a miracle in itself, and all over that surrounding villages and large cities beyond, similar celebrations are taking place to honor the dead and celebrate the victory of the war. Tonight’s celebration is specificaly for Isaac, my king, and my mate. My ivory gown of silk and satin trails behind me as I walk through the ballroom, stopping to chat with the Alphas and Lunas who’ve assembled. An overlay of silver stars flows from my ste
BrieTempest Valley is everything I’d been told it would be. It’s rocky, mountainous, but with flat, sprawling beaches with pristine, white sand that shimmers against the shallow, turquoise water. Palm trees bend at odd angles along the beach as the sunset sets the small village in shades of gold and crimson. Small houses made of wood stick out of the trees and along the rocky rise of the mountain. The village spirals upward against the mountain, small trails connecting each house and shop. On the beach, several huge bonfires erupt as the sun finally drops below the horizon, the sound of lively, thrumming music and conversation mingling beneath the twinkling stars. I’m looking down at it all beside Monica, both of us in our wolf forms. We’ve been out in the mountains for hours–sprinting. Jumping off of rocks, skirting around trees and chasing small tropical creatures and birds–anything to burn off some serious nervous energy. Another group of wolves rushes up behind us, but she pay
Brie“What about us?” My voice hangs in the air between us. The room goes so quiet and still I can feel the Asteria gliding back into open water, the rocky, uneven bounce of sailing through the shallows finally settling. I wait for him to tell me to come with him. I wait, and wait, my heart squeezing with each second that passes, but I already know he won’t. His eyes already paint his answer clearly. He’s sacrificing the family he was given–the family he loves that loves him in return. He’s not going to ask me to make the same mistake. My body slumps against the weight of it, like I’m being dragged underwater, unable to fight the current. I’m exhausted. I’m in pain–physical and emotional pain, like my heart is being plucked from my chest and tossed into the ocean to drown. I promised myself, long ago, that I’d never beg and plead on my knees to be loved. I would simply accept my fate. I knew my worth to the world the moment I was old enough for the tabloids to start questioning m
BrieOne second, I’m standing, my feet firmly planted on the floorboards of the uppermost deck, and the next, I’m flying through the air with Sawyer, our bodies colliding with the railing and then bursting through it, the wood splintering painfully across my back and spine. Logan shouts my name, but his voice drowns out, nothing more than a flicker of breath against the sound of the incoming ships trying to burst through the wall of fire so close to us I can feel the heat on my skin. I’m… dangling. My legs are slack, my arms burn and stretch, and my head… aches, hurting so fiercely I can barely open my eyes. A sharp, heady, metallic taste fills my mouth. I try to breathe in, but the scent of blood is so heavy it makes my stomach roll with nausea. I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe.“Someone grab her! Help them!” Logan shouts, his voice lined with desperation and utter rage. My arms go numb, but my belly slides against the side of the ship as I’m dragged upward, and only when I’m rough
Brie“Logan!” I fly out of bed as the boat tilts dramatically, several books, a pair of boots, and a hairbrush sliding across the floorboards as I dart toward the closet and snatch a pair of pants from a hanger. Logan hastily buttons his shirt, turning his head from side to side trying to locate the boots that just flew to the opposite side of the room. I pull on the pants and grab the first shirt my fingers graze–a men’s shirt, but it doesn’t matter. Logan rushes to the far side of the room for his boots, pulling one of them on, cursing under his breath while the purple lights continue speeding in our direction. “Logan,” I hiss, tossing his other boot at him. “Why are you getting dressed?” he asks, pointing to the bed. “Stay here–”“No, I’m not going to stay here.” I growl, shrugging the shirt over my shoulders and doing my best to button it with trembling fingers. Echoes of pleasure still thrum through my body, mingling with the adrenaline now pumping through my veins. “I’m going
LoganMy knees bite into the floorboards, but I don’t feel a Goddess damned thing except my tongue sliding through Brie’s wetness. The taste of her is… my undoing. I might regret this in the morning. There will be consequences for this, of that I’m sure. We both know this can’t happen. I am stronger than this–I was stronger than this–able to shut any feeling down the moment it tried to flicker to life, but Brie has this otherworldly effect on me that I can’t shake. I’ve given up trying. She whimpers and trembles as my tongue draws lazy circles over her clit. Her thighs flex while she grips the sheets, her eyes squeezed shut as she chases a feeling I know she’s experiencing for the first time. A sense of pride swells in my chest knowing it’s me between her legs. It’s my face she’s squeezing between her soft, supple thighs. It’s me kneeling for her, a queen in her own right. There’s so much I want to do to her. So much I could show her, make her feel, but she’s… new at this. And I’m
BrieI take a step away from Logan, then another, until my back hits the wall just outside of the bathroom. The room blurs, the soft cream fabrics and dark wood turning dreamlike and hazy. We could be anywhere–any kingdom–any room or darkened forest, and I wouldn’t know it because right now it’s just me and him, and I’m utterly, wholly exposed. I’m sure my family and those others who know me well would say I’m a complicated person. They’d be right. Below the surface, beyond my mask of resilience, I’m like ice, and within that icy fortress is something akin to fear. No one has been able to penetrate those walls. Not even Maeve. But Logan is looking right through me, shoving those walls down, clawing at them until they topple and shatter. “If you don’t feel the same,” he says, his tone softening, “I… I understand. I know our situation is complicated, Brie, I get it. I have an… obligation to return to Emberfyll, and you–”“I regret it.” My voice shakes, but my gaze stays locked on hi
BrieI can’t be your friend. I lean my forehead against the railing, closing my eyes as I dangle my legs through the rails. What feels like fathoms below me, the ocean stretches toward the milky light of the last minutes of what had been the most spectacular sunset I’d ever seen in my life. Stars flicker into view overhead, nestled against a blanket of deep orange and crimson, and behind me, I listen to Sawyer and Logan pouring over a map spread out on a table bolted to the floor just beside the helm–the massive wheel used to steer a ship only a pirate would have. Logan doesn’t want to believe we have, in fact, been thrust through time and now sail the open seas in the company of pirates. In his rational defense, I haven’t seen a single person with a peg leg, a parrot, or an eye-patch, so he’s probably right. It’s a fun thought, though. I kick my legs, my bare toes chilled by the wind whipping into the sails as we practically fly over the water. I like this better than the yacht.
LoganSunlight pours over the deck of the Asteria, glinting off the sails. I watch the Artemis drift past, Alex waving from the upper deck before fading into the bright glare of the sun. I grip the railing, closing my eyes for a moment and taking a much needed breath that catches in my throat the second footsteps sound on the stairs nearby. Sawyer grunts softly as he reaches the top of the steps and turns in my direction, squinting against the sun but smiling as he says, “You settled in?”I nod, biting back that breath I desperately needed and all the other feelings threatening to make themselves known the next time I see Brie, which is hopefully several hours from now after I’ve had a chance to cool off. “The Asteria’s the oldest and slowest,” Sawyer says under his breath, joining me at the railing. “But she’s a solid ship. A good girl. My favorite of the fleet, actually.”“Why aren’t you captaining her, then?”He grins and shrugs. “The same reason I’m not on the Artemis with Alex.
MaeveThe hallowed halls of the palace in Moonrise are quiet and somber. Normally, light would spill through the ancient stained glass windows lining the foyer, casting sunlight that made the golden walls gleam, but today everything is dark. Gray. Lifeless. Rain thunders across the glass ceiling, echoing down hallways usually alive with conversation and bodies bustling from room to room. Now, my only company is my shadow, and even that’s trying to curl away, just as worn and empty as I feel. It’s been nearly a week since we lost Brie. I couldn’t stay in Maatua for another second waiting for news.I walk up the grand staircase, wearing a hoodie, jeans, and sneakers, a far cry from the sweeping, luxurious gowns of silk I normally dress in when visiting my future home.Yes, one day all of this will be mine. I’ve known it–felt it in my bones since I was just a little girl. I will be queen. Soon. Three years from now, I’ll stand on the balcony and wave down at the people of Moonrise–of a