The cup of blood I’d been drinking when I fell asleep sits cold on the coffee table. I scurry to shove my feet back into my shoes and take off for the door. Throwing it open, I nearly collide with Nellie and Helga. “Thank god, Your Highness. It’s Emory!” “In the library?” I ask them, and they conf
The doctor and his team work quickly to get the blood flowing back into Emory. At the same time, they patch up the marks in her neck where she was bitten, and the doctor sets her broken arm and puts it in a cast. He says, “Her shoulder was dislocated, but now that it’s back in place, I believe her b
Rainer Those two fucking assholes had a head start on me, but that doesn’t stop me from tracking them down. It’s not too hard. I just follow the trail of dead bodies they leave in their wake. Lex was able to get the guard on their trail as they left the library, so as I rush after them, I encounter
Is this really the same asshole I was sitting across from at dinner just a few hours ago? How did we get to this? “You really wanna die for her?” I ask him, as I continue to run at him full speed. “You only think you know what happened, but you’re wrong. It wasn’t Opal who planned this. It was Lex
“Come on!” he shouts, ready to run after again, but two things are stopping me. One, I see a puddle of fresh oil on the ground on the asphalt near where we are sitting, and two, I can hear the roar of an engine in the distance. We don’t have much need for vehicles when we can run almost as fast as o
Emory I hear a beeping sound, faintly, in the background, and I know that it’s some kind of machine. I remember hearing them in the hospital when Lola was born. For a moment, I am back there, and I am wanting to hold the baby but also want to see her mother, and I’m told that she died in childbirth
“He sacrificed himself for her,” Kane explains. “They had a car waiting on the other side of the wall, closest to their clan lands. Jacob slowed Rainer up so that Opal could get away. She’s gone now, and I’m pretty sure she managed to slip through our border patrol, too. I’m going to go call her fat
Emory Lex looks different when he comes in. It’s not just that he’s got smudges of dirt all over him and his clothing is torn, something I can’t imagine from the polished Lex I saw at dinner the other night and in the library earlier, but his countenance has changed. “Hello,” he says as he walks t
Fractured memories of the night I nearly drank myself to death careen to the forefront of my mind. There was a woman. I don’t remember her face or her name. I was so far gone with drink and self-loathing that I gave in to whatever kind of attention and stimulations she had to offer. It was consensua
ColeThe letter came in the dead of night, rain-soaked and smeared, but I’d know her handwriting anywhere, in any condition. She’d written that she needed to see me, urgently, that it couldn’t wait, and she couldn’t explain why, not in a letter, not at the risk of what she needed to tell me going pu
EmeldaIt’s a quiet night. A long, silent walk from the castle. I needed this quiet, this stillness in the late summer air. Ravenfell comes into view beyond the trees, twinkling in the darkness. I smile, shaking my head as I look down at my shoes. I can still feel the weight of the twins in my arms
MichaelI haven’t been to Scarlet Thunder in… years. I didn’t realize how long it’s been until I pulled up to the back of the castle, somewhat startled by how small it looks compared to my memories from my childhood. Not that it's a small castle, but I'm much bigger now. I step out of my car, my fac
Faye“Oh, Faye, this is beautiful,” Emory says as she walks around the wide room on the second floor of the newly constructed manor. She runs her fingers over the pale blue and pink floral wallpaper and white trim, her jade eyes sparkling as she takes in the lace curtains and soft cream carpet. “I l
EmeldaIn the week since the twins were born, I’ve been busy with the final touches on my cottage. I spent days this past spring digging in the front garden, planting herbs and vegetables, and fixing the front path. I hired a group of shifters to replace the roof and update the inside, installing ne
Emelda“Thank you,” I say, hurrying at a near run as a maid takes my cloak. The castle is buzzing with nervous energy but remains quiet with even the maids tiptoeing around, trying not to make a sound. I’d remained in Ravenfell for the birth. I spent all night and most of this morning at Alma’s hou
FayeSomething’s wrong. Something has to be wrong. “You’re doing great. Keep pushing, Faye. You’ve got this,” Alma says, her face glistening with sweat and determination while I roar in pain. Michael clutches my hand, his other hand bracing my inner thigh as I bear down with all the strength I hav
Michael“It could be hours–or a day,” Alma says quietly as she arranges her tonics on a table just outside the bedroom where Faye’s finally getting some rest. “It’s been hours already,” I tell her, motioning toward the window in my suite in the castle where moonlight drifts through the panes, casti