*Isla*Hiding the book from Maddox isn’t easy, but I manage. He has been so preoccupied with this mess with the Alphas since he had the girls who attacked me beaten and thrown into the dungeon that he doesn’t have too much time for me. But when he does show up, I have no idea he’s coming. He’s just suddenly there. Which means I have to be very careful about when I read the book. I try to have Poppy’s ear to the ground whenever I have it out, but she is not always cooperative.“I think it’s dumb,” she keeps telling me. “Why do you keep reading about it now when you’ve already decided you’re not going there?”“I don’t know.” It’s not a lie. I really have no idea why I am looking at it. I know I can’t go to my island home until after my son is born. Logically, I know that. Still, the more I read about it the more fascinated I become.Then, there was the letter I’d gotten in the mail from my aunt, one she’d obviously sent a long time ago. She’d been waiting for me to get there to help wit
*Isla*Walking down the hallway toward Maddox’s office, I hear Trinity’s voice echo in my head. “You need to be more assertive,” she’d told me. “You have to make sure the king realizes if he can confide in Trinity, he can confide in you. Why is it she always knows what’s going on and you don’t? Because she asks! And when she asks, he feels compelled to tell her. She demands it.”My friend isn’t wrong. I definitely don’t know how to be assertive like Trinity.As I approach his office, I hear voices filtering out into the hallway. I recognize Maddox’s voice immediately. The response comes from Seth.I shouldn’t be standing here eavesdropping, but the door is open just a crack, and they are standing right by the door. I can’t NOT hear them. I could walk away or announce my presence.But they’re talking about Maatua. I can tell by the few phrases I’ve picked up. If Maddox isn’t going to tell me the truth, I’ve got to find out some other way what is going on.“I’m just saying, Alpha, if yo
*Isla*This is probably the craziest thing I’ve ever done in my whole life.Yet, I seem to be doing it.Seth has agreed to help me. I’ve decided not to tell Trinity because she has been oscillating back and forth as to whether or not she thinks I should go to the island. At first, she sounded like she thought it was an awful idea. More recently, she’s sounded like she thinks perhaps I should do it after all.It doesn’t matter. As long as Seth can help me get out of the castle and delay Maddox from finding out about the situation until I am on that boat, I should be good.Now, I just need to let my cousin know.I don’t trust Antony. Not completely, anyway. After all, he’s lied to me a few times about the true reason why he thinks I should go to the islands. Either that, or he’s just extremely misinformed. Does he really think that his mother wants to kill me? Does he not know that there was another witch involved? Why has he never mentioned the treasure?As I am secretly packing, Poppy
*Maddox*“Sir, I think it would be best if you went to the pack lands of each of the Alphas whose daughters were involved in the incident with Isla and discussed your decision with them personally,” Seth is saying, not for the first time. “I believe it’s the only way that they are going to understand the reason behind your decision to punish them so severely.”“So let me get this straight.” I steeple my fingers together on the desk between me and him. “You don’t think it’s a good idea for me to announce that Isla is pregnant with my child, the heir to the throne, but you do think it’s a good idea for me to travel to six different packs to have discussions with those leaders in order to explain to them why their daughters were beaten and locked in the dungeon. All of that without telling them that they threatened to kill the woman carrying the heir to the throne?”I give him a scrutinizing look. Why would he want me to tell them the circumstances surrounding one issue but not the other
*Isla*Seth is a good person to have on one’s side. Somehow, he has managed to convince Maddox to leave just before Poppy and I plan on leaving to meet Antony. If the timing works out right, Maddox will still be out there making his rounds, and I can return here without him realizing I’m gone.Of course, that is assuming he forgets about having this festival around the Blood Moon and never once calls home, when the last time he was gone from the castle, he called at least once a day, so it probably won’t work out like that, but at least I will be able to leave the castle.“I’m going to miss you so badly,” Maddox says near the door to my room on the morning of his departure. He leans down and kisses me, lifting me up off of my feet.“I’ll miss you, too.” It’s the truth. I will miss him. From afar.Seth is waiting for him on the other side of the door, and as soon as Maddox is done telling me goodbye, his Beta will swoop in and take him away.“Be careful,” he tells me. “Just get some re
*Isla*I’m about to turn around and walk out of the restaurant. This can all be over with. I don’t want to put anyone else I love in danger, and if Ben insists on coming along with us, then I’m not going.My brother hops up out of the booth and grabs my arm. “Come on, Isla. Don’t be like that. You’re sounding like Mom. I’m not a child.”“You are a child!” I practically shout at him. “You don’t even have your driver’s license!”“I could have it!” he counters. “Isla, I’ve already died. Really… what else can happen to me?”“You can die again. And this time, I might not be able to bring you back!”“You did this, didn’t you?” Poppy’s words sound like poison as she eyes Antony. He is still sitting in the booth, an amused look on his face. “You really are a disgusting piece of shit.”“Well, I see that your manners haven’t gotten any better in the last few months since last we met,” Antony says to her, his eyes narrow. “Listen, I just thought it might make more sense to have another guy on th
*Isla*It’s the middle of the night when we arrive at the docks. Earlier in the day, Antony had abandoned the car, thinking we were being followed, and we’d all gotten on a train to Port Westerly. It hadn’t seemed like a good idea to me because in a car we could change courses. A train was kind of stuck in one path, no matter what.But like most things on this trip, I’d left it up to my cousin to decide what he thought was best.Now, we were making what he described as a short walk to the dock from the train station.Two hours after we’d left the station, I finally saw water and smelled the breeze coming off of the sea.Yeah… short walk.“It’s dark,” Poppy points out, as if we were not aware. “Aren’t we going to have to find a place to sleep for the night and catch a boat out in the morning?”Antony scoffs. “Yeah, sure if you’re going away on holiday or to visit family in a regular port of call. That’s not how things work when you’re going to Maatua, dummy.”“Dummy?” Poppy is ready to
*Maddox*“Seth, do you know where Isla is?”I burst into my office and demand that my Beta answer me immediately. He is sitting at my desk, the telephone in his hand, and when I march in, he tells whoever is on the line that he will call them back. “What’s going on?” He looks from me to Trinity and then back again.“Isla!” I demand. “Do you know where she is? She’s not in her room. And I found this!” I drop the suspicious book on my desk. It’s heavy enough that the whole desk shakes.“I don’t know.” Seth shakes his head, his eye wide, but something in them tells me that he’s not being completely truthful with me.But why would he lie?“Check the cameras. See if she left. Have any vehicles left the castle in the last twenty-four hours?” How long had it been since I left the castle? I know she was here when I left. I try the mind-link again. Nothing. I pull out my cell phone, but it’s of no use to me. If she has a cell phone with her, I don’t know the number. I have no missed calls from
RyanThree Days LaterTarsian is gone. That’s the only way to describe it. The cities, the packs… it’s nothing but endless, blood-stained desert now. Even the sea lapping against the shores of Serpentia is stained a dark red, but I watch it fade as I stand on what’s left of a deck overlooking the ocean. Behind me, the incessant chatter of the injured and healing overwhelm the sound of the waves. A few people walk along the sand–warriors of different ranks and alliances. A young man in tattered Arcane Umbra armor talks to a group of men in armor from the Roguelands, reunited with old friends. The curse is gone. The soldiers the Umbra Mortis turned into his puppets, his monsters, well… so far, they have no memory of the war, which is a blessing. The rest of us remember, though. How could we ever forget what happened here? How are we possibly going to move on? “Ryan?”I turn toward Kenna’s voice as she steps toward me, edging around a group of nurses from Moonrise here to help treat
ColeI choke myself awake. Smoke fills my lungs, smothering my senses for precious seconds I quickly realize I don’t have. Muffled voices fill my ears–a few shouts of pain, of surprise. People are calling out for friends and comrades.I’m not in the afterlife. I know that immediately. Pain echoes through my body like waves, driven by the tide of my heartbeat as my body claws back to life, my chest wounds knitting together in real time. But my hand is freezing. I squeeze the fingers tangled in mine and jolt back to reality, rolling with effort to curl my body around Misty. “No,” I breathe into her hair. “Come–Come back.” I can’t feel her anymore. My hand slides up to her neck, my fingers trembling as I feel for her pulse. It’s there, but barely. A weak thump that pauses for several heartbreaking seconds. “H-Help!” I try to shout the word into existence, but my voice cracks painfully, turning into a scream. “HELP!”Figures rush toward us in a blur. The battlefield erupts into view, sh
MistyI land on my feet in a sea of mist. Silver fog snakes around my ankles, around my glimmering armour made of pure light. For a moment, I think I’m… lost within the aether–in the misty, shadowed undercurrent that separates our realm from the Goddess’s kingdom. But wet grass squishes beneath my boots as I stumble forward, breathless, damn near in pieces. Rain pelts the top of my head as I grope for anything to grab onto before I careen toward the ground. I yelp as my body lands with a thud. Thunder booms, followed by its rolling echo as it bounces toward me. The rain fizzles to a gentle whisper as the mist begins to part. A great stone wall comes into view, and then two voices carry toward me, lifted in alarm. I sit up with great effort, kneeling as I gasp for breath that won’t fill my lungs. I slowly lift my head and see two women–one young and… stunning, with long, blonde hair and ocean blue eyes that seem to glow as she holds my gaze, her lips parted in surprise. The seco
Cole“Undo it,” I tell him. “Take the curse back and reinstate order.”He purses his lips to a thin line, confused. “But, Cole, I can’t. It’s not something you can just… stop. Think about it. Use that big brain of yours. Do you see this place? Tarsian is so much bigger than the rest of Eastonia. Riches beyond belief lay below the sand. There used to be mines and forges here, mines that pulled silver and moonstone from the ground and forges that turned that into magic. Yet, in our time, the magic is hoarded by the royals–the Allied Kings.” He sweeps his hand toward the battle. “But not anymore. Once I open the gate, it’s over. This world will be no more. You can come with me, Cole. Be a god instead of a king.”“You can’t, Richard. You failed. Misty is safe, with her family. You needed her to do this.”He smiles a bit sadly, but his eyes flare with mischief. “Yes, she is. Such a shame, really. It would have been easier to do it with her help. Quicker, less leg work for me.” He opens the
Misty“Forgive me, please,” I say to Mom as we walk side by side to the war room, which is really just a massive training area at the very base of the castle. “I know I just got back…hours ago….”“Bring them back for me,” she replies sadly, her hand ghosting down my back. She stops at the staircase leading to the furthest depths of the castle. I turn to face her, and she tucks a lock of my hair behind my ear. “I’m okay here. I’ll keep the kids happy and comfortable.”That’s my mom’s power. Being the leader of this family. She has a knack for bringing everyone together, keeping everyone loved and… whole. I pull her into a hug and squeeze. “I’ll come home again, I promise. I’ll be bringing my mate home with me in time for Solstice, I promise.”Her tears fall into my hair. I reluctantly let her go and turn for the stairs, refusing to look back. I have to look forward–only forward–if I’m going to get through this. Ella’s already in the armory, sorting weapons, her eyes locked on her tas
MistyEverything else is a blur. Aviva’s screamed words. Ella’s rushed explanations. Grandma taking me by the shoulders and leading me away, tucking me in a sitting room somewhere in the depths of the castle. I barely feel her arm on my shoulder. I barely register sitting down in a chair, holding the bloody pages in my lap and watching the firelight dance over the untidy scrawl I know so well. I sit there for what could be hours. Eventually, I’m joined by Sarah and Kenna… and then Aviva. Still, I haven’t read the letter. I’ve read my name, addressed at the top of the first page, over and over again. This is his final goodbye, and I’m not ready to accept that. “What are we supposed to do?” Kenna grinds out. “The reports coming out of Tarsian are–”“I don’t fucking care what they are!” Sarah’s voice pitches with fury. “The father of my sons is fighting for his fucking life right now, Kenna.”“My mate, too!” Kenna shouts. “But we’ve been told to stay, to be prepared to defend Moonrise
MistyI wait in the hallway for Luke, not believing he’s actually here, in Moonrise, in the same place I currently am. Eventually, he’s escorted around a corner by two of Ella’s royal guards. His eyes go wide when he sees me, his cheeks flushing. “Misty–”“Luke,” I whisper, trying to smile at him, but my heart is skittering out of my chest. He glances at the guards before taking several swift steps ahead of them to reach my side. I pull him across the hallway to a set of windows and benches overlooking the city of Moonrise, now bathed in afternoon light. “You got out,” he says in disbelief. “I heard that you had, but I didn’t believe it–”“Is Georgia safe?” “Yes, she’s with her family. Her father’s fighting, but she and her mother went to Crescent Falls–”“What did Cole have you working on in the castle?” I rush out. “I was supposed to help you with it but never got the chance.”He pulls a small, oval object out of his jacket pocket and hands it to me. “It’s a cryptex. He said it wa
MistyBefore my body even catches up to itself, Mom has her arms around me, pulling me into the tightest hug possible as Sarah’s powers shudder away, falling like ash that covers the ornate red carpet in one of the upper wings of Aunt Ella’s palace in Moonrise. Golden finishes blur my vision. My senses go haywire for a fraction of a second before familiar scents and voices bring me back to reality. I slowly fold my arms around Mom’s back and squeeze. Neither of us says anything for a long, long time. I stand on my tiptoes and rest my chin on her shoulder, closing my eyes and breathing in her sweet, floral scent. She’s been wearing the same perfume for decades. She always smells the same–the smell of my childhood. “Mama,” I whisper into her strawberry scented hair. She trembles with silent sobs, cupping the back of my head as she pulls away. Her big, dark blue eyes–eyes she shares with Sydney and Ryan–sweep over my face, over the new lines of exhaustion and heartbreak. I feel a p
MistyIt’s morning. Early morning–still too early for the sun to breach the mountains and send light spilling over the village of Silverhide. I roll over on the couch, wrapped in a thick blanket, and stare at the dying embers in the stone fireplace across the room. I haven’t slept. Pain echoes through my body, settling deep in my bones. It’s not a sharp, bright pain. It’s the kind that aches and throbs–a dull thrum of noise that makes it impossible to focus, let alone close my eyes and rest. I feel empty. Empty, and alone. ‘Why did you do this to me?’ I ask through the sliver of bond I still share with Cole… I hope. I hung on so tight when he rejected me, refusing to let him do it. But his voice is no longer in my head. My eyes are dry and rimmed red as I watch the embers flicker like stars against a sea of darkness. I have no tears left to cry. I used them up. They’re gone. Ryan and Aviva’s bedroom door opens nearby, a shadowed figure ducking as Ryan steps out of his room and