RainerThe feeders stare at me like sheep, confused and scared. They don’t move. I don’t think they’re even breathing. I step around Lazar’s burning body and make a shooing motion at the feeders.“Go!” I exclaim. “What are you waiting for?”One of the female shifters is practically shaking. “We can’
EmoryIt’s nice to be back from home. Sardonia has its charms, but it’s ultimately too cold and isolated. Kane and I give ourselves a moment of reprieve before we have to go back to dealing with King Myenas. Against Queen Olga’s advice, Kane wants to try to have a talk with the other king.The old v
RainerThe feeders are still at the camp, trying to untie the ropes around each other’s wrists. They haven’t thought about raiding the truck for anything sharp and were making due with whatever they could find around the camp. They all look surprised to see Lydia and I return. I make a beeline for t
RainerLucky for me, Bogdan is a bad shot. He fires the crossbow, but it misses, the arrow hitting the ground beside me. The sound makes several of the shifters burst into tears. Most of the group turns tail and runs, their survival instincts pushing them to run as fast and far away as they can.Lyd
LydiaI wake up in an unfamiliar bed. After being on the road for so long, sleeping in the back of a semi-truck, or on the hard forest floor, a mattress feels like heaven. My head rests on a pillow that might as well be made of clouds, I feel so comfortable. I open my eyes reluctantly, not eager to
Even vampires and shifters aren’t immune to bureaucratic red tape. Shifters are stubborn by nature, and Alphas can butt heads more often than necessary. Growing up seeing my grandfather argue with other Alphas for the most mundane things has made me grateful I’m not in line to be an Alpha. I’ll happ
KaneEmory and I both agree to have Mikey stay at Cerise Port while King Myenas is in Crimson Peak. We feel better knowing Mikey is far away and safe from any nasty surprises the old king might bring with him. Call it paranoia, but we’d rather be safe than sorry. My mother has met the vampire king a
KaneEmory stays close to me, holding my hand as King Myenas enters the ballroom. His entourage of guards and favored courtiers are with him. He’s an imposing figure, tall and muscled at six feet five inches. Some might consider him handsome, but there’s a wildness in his blood red eyes that’s unner
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