“You’re too young for that story,” she reasons. “Emory will be upset with me.”“I’m not that young!” I counter. “I’ll be a teenager before you know it. I’m not a baby.”Miss Willow contemplates telling me the story, looking into my eyes before giving in. “All right, but I’m not giving you all the de
“What happened to you after you became a feeder?”Miss Willow pulls away from me, physically and emotionally. “I’ve upset you enough. We shouldn’t talk more about this.”“I want to know,” I plead. “What happened to you when you came to this castle?”She goes quiet, her eyes closing. I wait as she br
EmoryI hear about Lex being sent off as a hostage at Scarlett Thunder from my maids after he’s already left. I don’t get the chance to say goodbye. Lex and I may not have started out on the right foot, but I still feel bad he’s essentially become King Peter’s prisoner. I want to talk to Kane about
When I reach the infirmary, I find Bernard unconscious on a bed. Dr. Martin is giving him a blood transfusion. I have never seen my father look so pale. He’s almost as pale as the vampire physician.All my life, my father always looked big and tough. He was the strong, domineering Alpha that bowed t
“I know; I know you’re angry,” he says. “But you can’t attack that son of a bitch even if he deserves it.”When I think of Jacob, I remember his smarmy face laughing at me as his sister insulted me. I remember a fake note and a cruel plot. I remember his teeth biting into my throat. He had tried to
EmoryBernard looks a mix of horrified and furious. His gray eyes are wide, and he stares at me dumbstruck for a full minute before he lunges. Dr. Martin and Helga grab him before he can get off the bed. They push him down, and Bernard is no match for their superior vampire strength. It doesn’t help
Kane cups my face in his hands. “Look at me, Emory. Those are just stories written by scared people from a long time ago. No one’s seen an actual hybrid before. Not recently, anyway. No one knows what they’re talking about.”“That means we don’t know what we’re dealing with. I don’t know what’s insi
“Leave me alone!” she shrieks. “I want to be left alone!”“You know, Opal, all that yelling is probably not good for the baby,”She lets out an angry cry that reminds me of a pelican and turns away from me, covering her head with a pillow as if it could block me out. I look at the door and consider
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