ColeSnowy sunlight dusts through ceiling height windows in one of the guest rooms in King Isaac’s castle. I stare at the snowflakes sticking to the frosted window as a woman with mousy brown hair and bright gray eyes adjusts my tuxedo for the eighth time, her small fingers deftly plucking invisible thread from my suit jacket. “Mom,” I say, then clear my throat. “I’m sure I look fine.”She glances up at me with glassy eyes before turning from me, walking toward the vanity. She’s wearing a shimmering gray gown and a cape trimmed with white fur, possibly mink. Her braided hair is wrapped in an updo at the base of her neck, and she looks… stunning but lost in her thoughts. She and Dad never married. Not officially. She never took vows before the Goddess, but I know they were deeply, utterly completely in love. She lost her mate. I killed her mate, and now she’s preparing me to marry my own mate. I visited her alone shortly after the Winter Solstice. The reunion had been tense–heartbr
RyanSpringI try to flatten my back against the wall of the impossibly narrow corridor in the depths of the castle in Moonrise. It’s nearly street level, and dim, with witch nurses in starched white uniforms darting from door to door tending mother’s and new babies. I’ve been here all morning long. Since last night, actually, when I woke up to Aviva clutching the dresser on the far side of the bedroom in our Moonrise suite, screaming in pain, and then the sound of water hitting the floor. She’s two weeks overdue. For a while, we considered just having the baby in Silverhide. During the course of her pregnancy, when her morning-sickness waned, things had been… fine. Amazing, actually. I’ve never seen my mate look more beautiful than she does now…. Well, maybe not right now. I edge into her delivery room as silently as I can, not that it matters. Aviva screams, her face dripping with sweat. Her eyes are bright, however, and set with determination as I walk to her side, smoothing her
MistySpringCrescent Falls has erupted with spring blooms. The weather is soft and fair, which has been great, because this past winter royally sucked. I sigh heavily, tilting my face toward the warm sunlight dusting through the library at my parents’ castle and breathing in the warmth, letting it flow over my skin. It’s been six months since the war. The war that hasn’t yet been named, hasn’t yet become text in some new editions of our history books. The wounded memories of my time in Tarsian are still fresh enough to send chills licking up my spine if I think about them too deeply, but lately, there’s been a shift–something tangible. Something I can taste. Grief has turned to resignation, and resignation turns to conviction while I rise from one of the tables in the library and slip the books I’ve been studying into my messenger bag. I’m going to learn how to read the Book of Whispers because I won’t allow what happened last year to ever, ever, happen again. I pad downstairs, w
MistyTwo weeks after Georgia asked me to be her matron of honor, technically, at her wedding next fall, I wake up with a start–alone–in the cottage I share with Cole. It’s the middle of the night, and Cole’s at the hospital. His side of the bed is cold when I stretch my arm across it, pinching the sheets between my fingers. Echoes of pain drift in waves over my belly. My muscles are painfully tight as I roll onto my side, curling around the swell of my stomach. It hurts enough that it’s hard to catch my breath, and when I finally do, I feel… a pop, deep within me. “Oh, Goddess,” I rasp, sliding out of bed as my water breaks, soaking the sheets and falling onto the floor. My hands tremble, and my mind goes completely, utterly numb while I take the comforter off the bed and waddle to the laundry room where I do a load of laundry like… like this isn’t happening. I change my clothes. I pull my hair into a bun and brace myself on the bathroom sink before turning to leave the bathroom,
AvivaThree month old Lexa’s dark blue eyes are wide and round as she grips Mercy’s arm. Her eyes go glassy as her lower lip begins to tremble, her little face twisting with pitiful sorrow. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning,” I try to assure her, but my voice wobbles with sudden heartbreak. I look at my sister, desperate and unsure. “It’s too early, isn’t it? Leaving her like this?”Mercy rolls her eyes. “You’re going to be gone for like… ten hours, Aviva. She’s fine. She has plenty of milk–”I take a single step away, and Lexa wails. We’re attached, that’s clear. I’ve been wearing her on my chest since the day she was born. We’re rarely apart, and if we are, Lexa firmly believes she’ll never see me again. She wants nothing to do with Ryan recently. It’s not that she doesn’t like him, or can’t find comfort in his arms but… I’m her mother. I smell familiar, feel familiar….“I’ll be back very soon, love,” I croak, trying not to burst into tears myself. Lexa gives me the most heartbroke
MistySome days I don’t think about the war.Some mornings I wake to sunshine and Cole’s arms around me while I cradle Adrian in my arms and don’t think about how the three of us came to be. I think of clean sheets that smell like lavender, not the smell of Richard’s bloody war room where I’d healed that cursed wolf. I sip coffee while watching my mate–my husband–the love of my life rush around the kitchen packing his bag for another long shift at the hospital instead of watching him don that black cloak.We have a house instead of shared spaces. Our home is safe and full of love instead of constant stress and the crushing weight that, at any moment, our safety will end.But some days I have to remind myself that we made it out. That we’re here, and whole, and together.Today is one of those days.Mom peeks into the massive library at the castle of Cr
AvivaIt’s just after dawn when I slide Lexa into her sling and head out of the house into another warm, later summer morning. The sun stretches across the pastures, casting golden light as far as the eye can see. Lexa–who I’ve taken to carrying on my back lately–coos softly as she uses my hair as reins, her chubby fingers tangled in the sloppy braid I managed to throw together just after I woke up, alone in bed, in a quiet house.I stare at the road leading into the forest–out of the valley of Silverhide. It’s empty. No wolves trot in my direction. I grind my teeth as the crippling unease that’s been coasting through my body for days nearly chokes me, but I turn toward Freya and Andrew’s house.Andrew built Freya a shopfront earlier this spring while they waited for their son, Samuel, to make his arrival. It’s cozied up beside his blacksmith shop, and her gorgeous tapestries and wov
AvivaThe last time we were in Moonrise was for Lexa’s birth. Four months have passed in a blur, which I assume is normal when you have a baby for the first time. Pile on our responsibilities as Alpha and Luna of Silverhide, let alone the rulers of all the Deadlands, and time is merely a construct in our lives that I’m keen to ignore as long as possible.Still, when Kenna arrived yesterday morning, chipper and excited to see us and Lexa, I felt a weight begin to press into my chest. Whatever Ryatt wants with me comes with a cost–which will be the end of our somewhat quiet, cozy life.I spent the entire day in Kenna’s company while she made her rounds checking on every baby and mother in Silverhide. Ryan went off to do Alpha duties, like making sure James, his Beta, had what he needed to take over for a few days in our absence. His mate, Dahlia, is pregnant again–with twins this time–but Kenna seemed h
Misty“Everyone’s okay,” I tell Lexa and Addy, laying them out in the center of Ryan’s bed, side by side. Both babies scowl up at me–Lexa, for not being her mother, and my own son for showing another baby attention. Lexa’s face scrunches. She puffs her cheeks out in the threat of a wail while Addy picks up on her energy and begins to whine. I cover my ears, taking the deepest breath I can handle, and scoop both screaming infants into my arms for the hundredth time in the last two hours. “They just won’t sleep,” I say, rounding the corner into the living room where Sarah is still camped out with her new babies, and Sydney is pacing like a madman in front of the windows, looking for any sign of Kenna, Ryan, Aviva, and the kids. Sarah’s fast asleep with her brand new twins resting in a floor cot nearby, but Sydney has free hands, so I thrust Lexa against his chest without saying another word. “Freya’s supposed to be coming up to help,” he says under his breath, still looking worse fo
AvivaRyan looks hilarious in the too-tight clothes borrowed from some rural villager half his height and weight. He glances at me with a scowl, rolling his eyes and cursing under his breath. “Don’t look at me, Aviva.”“I can’t help it. Your whole ass is out,” I giggle, wiping tears from my eyes. Goddess, I wish I had his camera with me. He reaches down to pull what had once been trousers down over his thighs while shooting me another glare. He had to cut them into shorts to fit. The shirt isn’t any less revealing, but at least he’s not naked… or worse, in his terrifying beast form. He’s too exhausted after being in his beast form to shift into his wolf, which would have been easier than this, but I’m enjoying myself thoroughly at his expense. A few of the men from the village titter behind us while I walk a few paces behind my mate who’s turning a deep red in the face and sulking as we walk up the rural road, passing a few shops and cabins where people peek from their windows as we
AvivaThe forest shifts from endless shadows to an assortment of pale gold as the sun rises. I’m sprinting in my wolf form, Ryan not far behind in his. There was no reason for him to shift into his beast, thank goodness. He’s actually slower in that form than his wolf, but we’ve covered serious ground in the two hours since leaving Silverhide. Forty miles, in fact. A new record. Panting, I reach the far edge of the forest that weaves through the tribal territories of the Deadlands. Behind us, the packs of Silverhide and Endova are just waking up for the day. Ahead of us, the sun hasn’t even begun to touch the towering mountains to the far west, where my new powers showed me a glimpse of Maeve and Logan. I’m still getting used to the prickle of energy that wasn’t there before. It’s now the air I breathe–the blood rushing through my veins–the rhythmic thump of my heartbeat. I’m changed; for better or worse, I don’t know. All I know for sure is that we have another twenty to thirty m
Misty“Briar,” Sarah says weakly, sweeping her thumb over the perfectly pink baby girl’s cheek. Sarah smiles softly, her eyes still glazed with exhaustion and her hair damp with sweat. “And this one–” she reaches for the second baby, another girl, nestled in a traumatized Sydney’s arms. “Celeste.”“Those are beautiful names,” Aviva says gently, laying another warm rag over Sarah’s forehead. I’m watching from afar, my trembling hands cupping a mug of calming tea that’s doing nothing for my system. I was a teenager when Sarah came into Sydney’s life. I remember whispers about her falling ill but didn’t understand how horrifically sick she’d really been until now. Sarah is a Mystic. She’s different. It takes so much more energy to heal her. Healing her sucked my powers dry, and I feel… shockingly empty right now. It was like running a marathon and then getting hit by a bus, but she’s alive, and so are her twins. Sydney accepts another cup of tea from Ryan with a weak nod. He looks lik
MistyCole doesn’t tell me I should get some rest, and for that I’m eternally grateful. I pace the cabin, watching as he organizes and takes inventory of his medical kit. I remember the day I found out he was a physician. It had been a shock. My arm had been torn to the bone by a rabid, cursed wolf, and this man–this stranger who I thought was evil–sewed me back together again. That feels like a lifetime ago. Maybe it was, honestly. Sometimes I wonder if our weeks in Richard’s fortress actually happened or if it were a fever dream. But the glint of lantern light on the sharpened edge of a scalpel pulls me back into reality as he drops it into a pot of boiling water. “Are you going with us?” I ask into the silence. Cole’s mouth twitches with something unsaid. He shakes his head, glancing at me over his shoulder. “No. I’m going to stay here with Addy and be available to anyone who needs a healer.”I wait for him to tell me I should try to get a few minutes of sleep, but he doesn’t. I
Aviva“No one needs to worry about me,” Sarah says confidently, cradling the swell of her belly as she leads our group through the woods toward the lake. “I’m not going to go into labor right now, I promise.”Sydney grumbles something under his breath in response, the words drifting on the warm breeze making the leaves dance above our heads. Ryan’s hand is on my lower back–a warm, solid presence. Lexa’s asleep in her sling on his back, and when I look up at the two of them–with Ryan wearing a traditional Endovian sling and his face cast in uncertain shadows–I feel a prickle of regret. Part of me believes I shouldn’t have told him about what I saw in the forge. The past lives I walked through, the wars, the downfall of our kind… and most importantly, the fact that in another life, we lost our children and were separated for decades, only to find each other again in the very last moments before we both died. It stings to think about, though it doesn’t affect our lives now. I’m not sur
AvivaI watch Sarah and Misty leave the room. Misty takes Lexa with her, giving me a moment alone. I should be resting right now. If Maeve and Logan aren’t found by sunset, I have to put these new, unnatural-feeling powers to the test. I listen to the soft conversations taking place just beyond the bedroom door. I already know Ryan’s on edge and doing his best to handle this situation, but having Evander and Sydney here isn’t helping his stress levels at all, I fear. His wife almost drowned, his uncle wants me locked up in Moonrise until my powers fully emerge to ensure I’m not a danger to myself and others, and Maeve and Logan are still out there, hopefully together and safe. The door opens a crack before widening, revealing my mate and a large plate of food. The scent of blueberry syrup fills the air, bringing back memories of making this exact breakfast for my sisters, but that… causes my mind to drift back to the tangle of new memories. Memories of the countless lives my soul
MistySometime in the dead of night, Cole took Addy from my arms and laid him in his crib. I was next and woke up tucked against Cole’s chest as the first rays of warm, morning sunlight drifted through the window. Addy wakes up happy every morning lately and is beside himself with glee when he sees me looking down into his crib, extending my arms for him. Cole thinks Addy looks like me, but I beg to differ. I think his hair will be blond, of course, given that both his parents have fair, light hair but his eyes are starting to change from that soft blue to a paler, icier gray, like Cole’s. I run my fingers through his hair while he nurses. Cole continues to sleep, and I let him. I’m dreading starting our day, honestly, and stepping out into the village to see the aftermath of Kyra’s destruction and wait for news about Maeve and Logan.I feel awful for Kenna. My heart is shattered for her and Evander. I hold Addy c
MistyCole’s arms are wrapped around my stomach, his eyes widened in disbelief as he stares at Aviva. She looks like a wet rat right now–completely soaked to the bone with her hair plastered to her face and her knife belt hanging off her waist, but otherwise she’s whole.My powers are a meer flicker of what they usually are, but I feel them simmering to life as the strange, glowing symbols all over her arms and legs start to dim, and the roaring in my ears fades to the point I can hear my rapid heartbeat and Cole’s heart behind me. Ryan looks devastated. Devastated, and shocked–a myriad of emotions I can’t even begin to put into words. He shakes his head, mouthing Aviva’s name as he reaches a hand toward her then retreats. Aviva looks terrified as she scans the group, panting hard, her breath coming in shallow rasps. She turns her gaze back to Ryan, and her expression shatters, tears welling in h