DARIAN’S POVIt took three Guards to throw me into the cellar and they were quick to draw the door and lock it. The smell of decay and rotten meat set the tone for the dungeon and it was clear that they didn't prioritize cleaning down here.My breathing was disrupted by the snake still wrapped aroun
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HAZEL’S POVEveryone stopped in the halls and the housemaids retreated to their chambers after Gabe roared through the palace ordering everyone to call it a night. We stood in the hallway to Darian’s office and Gabe’s voice filled every square inch of the gigantic hallways and hundreds of rooms, it
“Darian fell in love with Ophelia when they were sixteen. She was that girl, the one that every guy drooled over, she was excessive in everything she did but also obsessed with Darian,”“But wait, did she die or not?” “Five years ago there was talk of a power struggle, the Council was hounding Dari
The painting on the wall was an immaculately detailed part of the Council. It was beyond anything I knew, that you could open a portal through a painting, step through it, and then appear in another place so far away from where you stood at the present moment.“My head hurts,” I said and poured myse
The first thing that hit me was the silence. I don't know why but I expected it to be buzzing with conversations and important people stressing through the halls but it was eerily quiet and the chilly gust of wind sweeping up my arms gave me goosebumps.“If you’re looking around for other people you
“Holy shit- Hazel, don't move!” I whipped my head up, stared him dead in the eye, and held in my scream. That was the suckiest advice I've ever heard. Of course, I'm not moving when I have a snake about to make me his next meal.“Gabe,” I whimpered when I felt it squeeze its long body around my leg
They were asking him to choose between me and his brother, the only person he’s had by his side since the day he was born.I backed away and saw in his eyes how his mind was reeling around the options, not who to choose but how to get the hell out of there. He looked at me and narrowed his eyes with
We were in one of the many malls browsing the stores and filling up on doughnuts and ice cream. Kiera was gawking at an assortment of stuffed animals and I told her to get anything she wanted. The girl walked over and picked a bunny, a grey one, and her eyes flickered around like she was ashamed to
Darian tangled his finger in my hair and pulled my head back. I felt him drawing a sharp breath through his teeth as they pressed against my ear- my legs shook under him when he dragged his lips over my cheek and hovered over my open mouth. I wanted him to do more, to touch me everywhere, to undo my
A growl rumbled from his chest and he pushed us back against the wall and leaned down.He lowered his hand and rested his fingers on my neck while his lips hovered over mine.“Mathilda is spared,” he said huskily.“And so is Kiera, but what about everyone else?” My voice was quiet as it slipped past
I stood outside of Darian’s office about to knock but I kept stopping every few inches from the door and pulled my hand back. My mind was groggy from the lack of sleep, I laid awake all night because whenever I closed my eyes I saw a pair of striking blue eyes, and our conversation played over, and
The little creature was talking a big game, saying things that could get his tongue ripped out and shipped to his mother as a warning for the others but that last bit- it couldn't be true. Why on earth would werewolves team up with the filth that they spent so long getting rid of?Blood was shed, wa
The young man lifted his finger to his lips and didn't make a sound. Did I just say, 'young man'? How old was I getting in this place? I'm not even nineteen and I’m calling someone else a young man, the shiver that shook my bones was valid.“Could you focus,” Trixy snarled.“I called him a young man
The days passed smoother than I ever remember them doing. There was no nausea or whiplash from sudden events that kicked me to the ground and Darian had been surprisingly well behaved. Gabe took Mathilda into town and showed her around, they went to the Royal Training Facilities where she got to see
Nora took me to a corner of the hallway where a lamp shone, the only lamp above a portrait as far as I could tell. A regal woman sat on top of a throne, it was a humongous throne, the back reached up a good meter above her head, yet she sat there as though she and it were the same size with her arms
We took Mathilda through every level of the castle starting from the bottom and working our way through every single room, many of which I hadn't been in myself so that was fun.The gym, locker rooms, and Royal Guard sleep halls were especially unsettling but we closed those doors fast enough. At fi