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
LolaI never see Willow outside of the castle, and I want to have a picnic, so I convince her to have lunch with me one day. She’s reluctant at first because she doesn’t like leaving the books alone, but I tell that the books will be fine for an hour. They can’t get up and run away.Emory isn’t feel
“About Emory’s pregnancy?”He nods. “We all want to make sure she and the baby are healthy.”“Okay,” I agree. “How would I tell you? You’re usually busy.”“You can ask a servant to send me a message, or you could come to my room.”“That’s inappropriate.” Willow finally speaks again. “You can’t have
He laughs, a boisterous sound that even makes Nellie smile. “You are so smart. Maybe you should be ruling a kingdom.”I frown. “Not if I have to live in a castle. They’re too big. There’s too many stairs. Not enough elevators.”“Those are all good points,” he concedes. “But I do have to tell you tha
RainerAfter trying to rack my brain for hours about how I know Willow, I decide to ask Kane if he knows anything. He’s always had a better memory than me. He has a good head for remembering the smallest details. I’ve always been more of a bigger picture kind of guy.I wait until after dinner to get
That explains Willow’s behavior at the picnic after I made that thoughtless joke about finding my own feeder. Even if it has been a century, some wounds don’t heal for the longest time. No wonder she looks so uncomfortable around me. She probably thinks Lex and I are friends. I need to apologize to
Shame makes me want to run away and hide, but I’m not a little boy. I’m a man who faces my mistakes head on. “I’m sorry,” I say sincerely. “I’m sorry for everything I did to you. I wish I could take it back-”“Don’t!” She turns away, and her whole body shudders as she does er best to contain her s
MichaelThe emissary to Red River–the real one–isn’t anyone I recognize. He’s tall and pale blond, his red eyes gleaming in the brightly lit ballroom where he and his posse of royal Red River guards have gathered. He scans the group before him–myself, my father, and my uncle, and smiles faintly, hi
I listen intently, watching a myriad of emotion play over her face as she knits her fingers together. “We spent an entire summer sneaking around,” she says softly, closing her eyes. “He’d find me in the garden, in the library, sometimes going as far as to sneak into my room at night. We couldn’t st
FayeStill in the library, I listen intently as Emelda discloses far more than I expected her to.There was a point in Emelda’s life as a vampire that she’d accepted she’d always be alone. Her bed would always be cold, her skin unblemished by a loving touch. She’d never know love again, and for deca
Faye“It really is gorgeous,” Emelda says the next morning while walking with me to the library. She runs her thumb over the massive sapphire ring and smiles faintly, raising her brows. “I think it’s a family heirloom, too. You should expect a load of fine jewelry to follow.”“You know I don’t care
FayeKing Kane is a slightly terrifying man. His presence is all consuming–like he sucks the light out of the room. He doesn’t look his age, like all vampires. The only indication that he’s a senior vampire compared to his son is the faint gray glow around his temples where his dark hair is starting
MichaelI watch Faye run a comb through her hair, over and over. The golden strands shine like golden silk in the pockets of sunlight shimmering through the curtains. Beyond the glass, knee-deep snow covers the castle grounds in a blanket of pure, untouched white. Deep inside, I feel a flicker of m
I shake my head, sniffling, trying to pull my tears back into my eyes but fail miserably. They trickle down my cheeks, freezing to my face. “We would have been caught.”“I wouldn’t have cared. I still don’t!”“You were getting married–”“I’ve been betrothed since I was a child,” he says hotly, gritt
Emelda“Why are you out here?” Cole asks, his hand moving up my back as he presses me closer. “You’re freezing.”“I wanted to check on Ravenfell–”“I was on my way–”“It’s not your responsibility–”“I was on my way to find you,” he cuts in, taking a breath. I open my eyes, breaking out of the haze
Finn leans against the fireplace while Cassidy stokes the fire, but everyone is waiting for me to start talking. That’s why I came here, after all. To share news from the castle about our duke and our friends. “Lowe is likely going to survive,” I say to the group, ignoring the shuffle of feet as pe