KennaThe ballroom at the temple has been totally transformed since the last time I came here just a few days ago. Dim, blue-hued lighting highlights the silver streamers falling from the ceiling, shimmering like starlight. Fresh flowers cover every surface, and string music whispers through the air over the rising voices all around us as I stand with my cousins toward the back of the room. The dress I borrowed from my aunt Maddy hugs every curve like a glove. It’s a little long for me, but a pair of heels keep the hem from dragging on the floor. The sage green silk makes my sun-tanned skin glow. Again, I feel very pretty tonight. I pinned my hair away from my face and let it fall loose in thick, bouncing curls down my back. A mask of sage and gold covers the top half of my face as I look around the ballroom. A few formal dances take place. Young men and women twirl in tight circles, smiling and laughing. Others congregate near punch bowls or over flutes of champagne. But no one s
EvanderI’m going to regret this. I shouldn’t be dancing with Kenna, her body glued to mine. She’s a perfect fit as she lays her head against my shoulder and wraps her arms around my waist. She’s zoned out right now, completely overcome by the music. She’s always been like this. As a kid, we’d get stuck in the square in Moonrise for hours because someone would be playing a fiddle or singing a song that would have Kenna locked in place, unable to look away. She has no idea who I am. It’s been long enough now that she wouldn’t recognize my voice. It’s much deeper than the last time I saw her. I’m taller, stronger, leaner…. Right now, I’m just a stranger to her, and it will never be more than this. But her arms around me make me want to take her somewhere else, somewhere private, so I can keep touching her. So I can strip her of the gown she’s wearing and feel her skin, so I can smell past the floral perfume she’s wearing and find that scent that makes me feral. That can never happe
KennaI’ve been lying on my side looking out the window for hours. I haven’t slept a wink. I curl my knees into my belly, nuzzling deeper into the flannel print sheets in one of Ryan’s guestrooms. It’s 6:00 in the morning. We didn’t get back to his house until well after 1:00. And I haven’t moved from this position. I run my fingers over my mouth, closing my eyes at the memory of the kiss–my first kiss. My first kiss ever. That’s probably why the whole thing felt so magical. Being pressed against a wall and ravaged by a masked stranger was the most delicious thing that’s ever happened to me. So, that’s probably all it was. Shocking, delicious, and desperately wanted. Not the mate bond. Right?I roll onto my back and look at the ceiling. Milky streams of morning light start poking through the blinds, dancing across the textured ceiling hanging over my head. I can feel the rain in the air before it starts, and the ticking sound against the windows feels like the kind of gentle wa
EllaEastonians don’t have cell phones. It’s not like I didn’t try…. Hell, I spent the first ten years of my tenure as Queen of Eastonia trying to convince my people that at least some of the technology in Crescent Falls is a good thing. But Eastonia is home to skeptical, superstitious people. They like their privacy–and unobstructed views, apparently. They weren’t about to let me marr that by building cell towers on the mountains that separate my kingdom from my brother’s. But, a cell phone would be fantastic at a time like this. I whirl toward Ryatt, my mate, my husband, and the love of my life, and ball my hands into fists. “Ryatt,” I say as steadily as possible, “why are the Ghosts in Crescent Falls?”Ryatt swallows hard, his jaw tensing as he looks into the whirling depths of the magic mirror at my back. Isaac is already gone from view, and so is Alpha King Jaxon of Tarisan. The two kings were just filling Ryatt in on the little inconvenience that turned into a massive prob
KennaThe dining room table in the castle can seat twenty-four people. It’s insane, really. I’ve been to both formal and informal dinners here during my brief and scattered trips to Crescent Falls. Normally, the family only gathers in Maatua, and there we like to spread out on the grass, or the patio, or the beach for dinner….But there’s no food laid out. No breakfast spread, no snacks. Nothing to drink or fiddle with.I lace my fingers together in my lap while I sit on one of the chairs near the head of the table. Ryan sits across from me, his legs crossed as he drums his fingers on his knee.Sydney and Aunt Maddy are upstairs with Uncle Isaac.Misty walks into the room, her eyes red, bloodshot, and full of tears. A smear of mascara peppers her left cheekbone as she looks from me to Ryan.I shoot to my feet. “Misty, what’s the matter?”She pouts, her lo
EvanderThe moon is still high in the sky when the first blacked out SUV pulls out of the driveway moving toward the security gate. Princess Misty is inside the vehicle with her suitcases. I didn’t watch the heated exchange she had with her parents. I could hear it, though. The Princess of Crescent Falls is not happy she’s being sent away for the summer.I cross my arms over my chest and lean against the hood of a similar SUV, checking my watch. It’s 4:00 in the morning. Kenna and I will set out for the port in twenty minutes, taking a different route than Misty and the Ghosts assigned to escort her to Maatua.Royal warriors in their wolf forms move through the surrounding woods like shadows, searching for threats.I check my watch again. Fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes until I’m stuck in a car with Kenna, alone–for two hours, if I respect the speed limit.I roll my lower lip between my
KennaI blink. I blink again, confused about the sudden rush of night air against my right cheek. Evander’s voice is nearby, distorted and hazy. Sparkles cover everything… or maybe that’s just my vision coming back. “Kenna? Goddess, Kenna? Are you okay?” Evander sounds frantic. I reach over and try to pat his hand, but I suddenly lurch forward. The sound of metal on metal erupts in my ears, causing them to ring. I scream, and then I’m thrust back into reality. We’re moving at what feels like the speed of light. I’m in a car. The window at my side is shattered, and the door is crushed inward. By some miracle, I’m okay. I’m covered in glass. The windshield in front of me is splintered but intact, and on the horizon, the lights of the port come into view. We’re barreling toward a private dock. The ferry sits at the very edge of it, but it’s raising its ramp. We’re rear-ended again. Evander grabs my arm. “Are you okay?”“I’m okay,” I rush out, reaching up to wipe tears from my eyes.
KennaCleo, the wife, mother, and matriarch of the property where Evander and I fell through the sky into their chicken coop, sets a huge clay platter on the kitchen table–an old, gnarled table graying with age and wear–and smiles brightly as she lifts the lid. Fragrant steam wafts into the air as roast chicken and an assortment of vegetables come into view. I’m starving and still riding a high from jumping for the first time. I honestly can’t believe I did it. But now we’re in Eastonia, and we’re so far away from the Roguelands that neither of us can mind-link with our families back home. So, we’re stuck. For the meantime, at least. I don’t mind in the slightest. We’ve been here for several hours. Cleo immediately took me inside their cozy home and found me a change of clothes–her youngest son’s shirt and pants that are so long I had to cuff the sleeves and roll up the pants by several inches–but I’m warm, and my body isn’t as broken as I thought. My back is sore from breaking th