Helen led us down to the grand hall where Damon waited with Ronan and several guards. The other candidates were gathered loosely around.Damon’s imposing figure stood at the center of them all, arms crossed over his chest, his expression carved from stone. His eyes flickered toward me as I entered.
LilaThe tension in the hall hadn’t dissipated when Damon dismissed everyone. The girls hurried off, whispering amongst themselves, and Vanessa stomped away with her jaw clenched, her shoulders stiff with barely restrained fury.But before I could follow, Damon’s voice cut through the air."Elena. S
DamonAsher’s hand lingered on Elena’s shoulder, casual but firm. Irritation curled hot and sharp in my chest.I had no reason to care. No reason to feel this slow-burning irritation coil inside me.Yet, before I could think better of it, my feet were already moving.My long strides carried me acros
“I can’t train with the person I’m supposed to fight against,” I shot back, stepping backDamon didn’t react immediately, just tilted his head slightly, eyes scanning me like he was trying to decide how to serve me my own ass on a platter. His silence only made my frustration spike.“I can’t train w
LilaThe moment Damon stepped back onto the training grounds, my breath caught in my throat.He wasn’t wearing the royal black attire I had seen him in before. Instead, he was dressed in dark training gear—fitted black pants that hugged his powerful legs and a sleeveless top that left his arms and s
LilaThe moment I stepped into the training grounds, I felt it: eyes, whispers... that crawling, stinging sensation that spread across my skin like a rash I couldn’t scratch.“She must be sleeping with him. Why else would the king train her?”“Did you see the way he touched her yesterday? Shameless.
DamonShe was slower today.Not in technique; Elena moved with precision and surprising skill, but there was a slight lag between her reaction and recovery. A half-second delay in her counters. The tiniest hitch in her breath after each strike.No one else on the training grounds would notice, but I
LilaBy the time I made it back to my room, my clothes were soaked through, my muscles screamed with every step, and my patience had been wrung out like the shirt I’d just folded beneath the awning.The air in the palace halls was warm and dry, but I still felt chilled to the bone, like the rain had
The man reached us in a few long strides, all easy confidence and noble polish. He was handsome, I’d give him that—classic profile, wind-swept dark hair, eyes the color of expensive tea. Polished. Disarming.“Lady Elena,” he said first, bowing with an easy grace that struck a sour chord in my gut. “
LilaThe sun filtered through the slats of the carriage window, turning the cobbled road outside into gold-dappled ribbons. An official break from palace walls, a sanctioned “cultural immersion” outing for the Luna candidates.The irony was that most of us spent the ride rehearsing how not to look o
LilaThe palace looked the same, but it didn’t feel the same.I stepped through the east entrance just after dawn, my boots silent on the polished stone. The hall was empty, save for a pair of guards posted at the end of the corridor. One of them blinked in surprise when he saw me but said nothing,
LilaMy mother lay still beneath thick blankets, her breath shallow but steady now. The sharp rise and fall of panic from two days ago had eased into something fragile, but survivable. Her cheeks held a faint flush again, and the dark hollows beneath her eyes had softened slightly.It should have be
She never existed at all.The longer I stared at the folder, the more I wanted to tear it apart and pretend I’d never seen it. But that would make me a fool three times over.The fire in the hearth crackled faintly now—Ronan must’ve relit it on his way out. But the warmth didn’t reach me. In this mo
DamonOutside, the courtyard stirred with the usual sounds—guards drilling, candidates murmuring in clipped, polite tones. But in my office, the silence pressed in on me like fog, heavy and muffling. The only sound was the sharp scratch of my pen against parchment as I signed off on trial amendments
My fingers curled into fists. “You would let her die just to punish me?”“I would let a great many things die to keep this Pack on top,” he said evenly. “Including illusions of usefulness. You’re only back now because you’re scared.”“No,” I said, breath sharp. “I’m back because I care about her. An
LilaThe scent of pine and damp earth hit me the moment I stepped from the carriage. Nightfall Pack always smelled earthy. And like wet stone and forgotten promises thanks to my father.The estate loomed quiet and gray under a sky streaked with morning haze. It looked the same, but didn’t feel the s
But I couldn’t.I turned and walked out of the room with the truth still burning on my tongue and my heart breaking all over again.The guards didn’t say a word as they escorted me down the corridor. I didn’t expect them to. But their silence felt like a verdict.I held my head high anyway.My boots