Breakfast, Rue revealed, was sausage, eggs, crusty bread, and hot coffee. I was almost relieved— part of me had been expecting a raw leg of deer or something. Maybe that was what the king had but wasn’t going to subject his guests to it quite yet. I swung my legs over the side of the bed and found a plush pair of slippers waiting. As soon as I’d slipped my feet inside, Rue hurried over with a fine robe and pulled it over my shoulders.
“Good, good,” she said. “Eat first then we’ll help you prepare for the day. First impressions are the most important, you know.”
I sat down at the table, and Rue briskly fixed my coffee with fresh milk and a touch of honey.
“Thanks,” I murmured. “Just the way I like it.” After the first sip, my brain started to slowly rouse into wakefulness. “How did you know?”
Rue just winked at me. “In two hours, Lady Glennis has requested your presence in the Solarium. You’ll be introduced to the other suitors of the Choice before all five of you are introduced to the king.”
The easy pleasure of a good breakfast dissipated quickly as reality set back in. “What will that entail?” I asked.
“Unfortunately, Lady Glennis doesn’t provide us with details, milady,” Rue said. “Only what’s necessary for Amity and me to ensure you make the events as scheduled.”
“Right,” I sighed. “Well, that’s better than having to figure it out all on my own, I suppose.”
Rue smiled again. As I ate breakfast, she made the bed and fluffed the pillows, then stoked the hearth, so the room was just as warm and welcoming as it had been when I’d first walked in. Admittedly, I was surprised by the skill and warm demeanor of the maidservants so far. I’d expected things in the Nightfall court to be a little… rougher. Certainly not completely feral—that wouldn’t be good for the king’s reputation especially considering what had happened to his father—but I’d certainly thought the place to be a bit more animalistic.
It was a comfort but it didn’t make the thought of facing the king any more welcome. If anything, it made me more nervous. I was even less sure of how I needed to behave to ensure I was respectful, but not what he desired.
If this was how he was running his court, what exactly did he desire?
After breakfast, Rue guided me to the ensuite bathroom. It was a surprisingly large space with a large bathing pool built into the floor and connected to plumbing. There was a large window of pebbled glass which lit the room in warm sunlight, so brightly the torches remained unlit. The large vanity in front of the mirror had an array of bottles and soaps and various bathing tools. A dressing screen decorated with a pack of wolves running through a forest stood in the corner, though I doubted I’d be using it.
As was custom for the Choice, the maidservants undressed me carefully. It was nice to be tended to, but this wasn’t just for me—I knew Rue and Amity had been tasked with ensuring I had no physical markings the Lady Glennis and the king should know about before the Choice began. They weren’t just helping me look my best to meet the king. They were looking for scars—signs that I’d fought other wolves—or stretch marks that suggested I’d birthed pups before meeting the king. Neither of those applied to me, of course. Rue and Amity were joining a very short list of other wolves that had ever seen me naked. There were no marks or blemishes on my pale complexion, just a smattering of freckles on my shoulders, and a birthmark on my calf.
They guided me into the delightfully warm bath and my skin turned pale pink from the heat almost instantaneously. Amity tied my hair up in a towel, keeping it dry. As I washed, she hummed to herself and picked through the makeup on my vanity.
“How do you typically prefer to present yourself?” she asked.
“With makeup?”
“Yes,” Amity said. “Do you wear a bold look, or more subtle?” “At home, I rarely wear makeup at all,” I admitted.
Amity clicked her tongue. “Not surprising with a complexion that looks like yours.” She smiled.
“We’ll do something subtle.”
“Did you have a gown in mind for the meet and greet?” Rue called from the bedroom.
“Um,” I said. “No? Did you unpack my trunks?”
“Of course, milady,” Amity said. “This morning. You’ll find all your things in the wardrobe.”
“Thanks.” It did feel like a minor invasion of privacy—but that was the way things were done in Nightfall, and I had to adhere to their rules. It was only a week, and then I’d be back home.
Rue hurried back in, then guided me out of the bath and wrapped me in a plush towel. “I recommend the lovely teal gown in your wardrobe. Does that suit you?”
“Sure,” I said. I dried off and stepped into the undergarments and silk slip Rue had brought for me.
“I’ll prepare it,” Rue said to Amity.
These two seemed to work as one. Amity gestured for me to sit down at the vanity and carefully unwound the towel around my hair, sweeping it down over my shoulders with a small, pleased hum. Her delicate but callused hands worked carefully through the fine strands before she picked up a brush from the vanity.
“I think we should leave your hair down for today,” she said as she smoothed the brush over the strands. “Do you typically wear it in a plait?”
I nodded. My hair was long and fine, and the plait kept it from getting tangled or damaged as I went about my day back in humid Daybreak. Loose like this, it fell in white-blonde waves nearly to my elbows.
“It’s lovely down like this,” she said. “And the king does love long hair. He likes to have an idea of what a wolf may look like before he actually sees the wolf. Especially for his potential queen.”
I tried not to scowl at my reflection and mostly succeeded. I hated the thought of the king looking at me and imagining my wolf—she was a private part of my soul, and I loathed to share her with the world at all.“That’s fine,” I said.To her credit, Amity seemed to understand I wasn’t interested in chatting. Hopefully, she’d just chalk it up to nerves. True to her word, she only put a small amount of makeup on me—a tint to my lips and a blush on my cheeks, making me look a little more doe-eyed and innocent than I wanted to. Then, from the drawer of the vanity, she pulled out a fine silver box.“You’ll be wearing this today,” she said. “Lady Glennis had them made for all the contestants of the Choice.” She opened the box and revealed a delicate tiara.It was silver, with delicate white stone cut in the shape of a semicircle, flanked by nine small diamonds. “This stone… Is it…?”“Moonstone, yes,” Amity confirmed.“It’s lovely,” I murmured. I’d seen jewelry made with moonstone at the ma
She liked having the wolves at her side, liked feeling protected, and knowing other wolves were close by. The itch to shift was at the base of my skull, but it was a small, familiar sensation, and one I easily ignored.We made our way to the solarium, which seemed to act like a central courtyard. It was like a gorgeous, domed greenhouse, with the sunlight falling in through the thick glass panels and snow gathered at the rivets where the panels connected, but the space inside was much warmer than the air outside. Still cool enough that my Daybreak-acclimated self needed my long sleeves, but certainly comfortable.The space was full of plants that seemed to be adequately taken care of. None of the ferns looked particularly happy and some of the flowers were drooping, but it was overall lush and a clear display of wealth and status. Not everyone had the capacity to keep such aesthetic greenery alive in these temperatures. I couldn’t help but wonder if these were plants my grandfather, C
We had a cup each and some vaguely awkward chitchat, carried mostly by Fina doing her best to get us all to open up. But the other contestants were either uninterested, or simply anxious, waiting for the official start of the competition.Luckily for Fina, we didn’t have to wait long. The door to the solarium opened. Lady Glennis strode in, her heels cracking on the fine stone floor. Her simple green gown was cinched at the waist, functional, but still elegant. She had a notebook open in her arm and a severe look on her face.My heart dropped. What could an expression like that mean? If the king was already in a bad mood, I certainly didn’t want to be the one to meet him. What happened to make the Lady Glennis look so openly upset?“Good morning, ladies,” Glennis said curtly. “I trust you’ve enjoyed making your introductions.” She peered at us, brows raised slightly. We all nodded and murmured our affirmatives.“Good,” she said. “Unfortunately, there’s been a change of schedules. The
My eyes widened as I peered at the map, drinking in the unfamiliar lines and words. It wasn’t Frasia—it was a region I’d never seen before. It looked mountainous, riddled with winding rivers and small lakes, with a jagged coastline. A few towns were illustrated and labeled, but I couldn’t read the language. Where was this? What kind of people lived here? Were they shifters? Mountainous —maybe dragon shifters? The thought thrilled me. I traced the path of the rivers, imagining I was there charting them myself. I saw it clear as day in my mind, myself in functional pants and heavy boots, standing on the bank of a freezing cold river as I gazed up at the crest of an unfamiliar mountain range. I imagined myself sketching the shapes of the mountains, adding detail to my maps.“What do you think you’re doing?” a rough, unfamiliar voice said behind me.It surprised me so much I nearly jumped out of my skin. I straightened up and whipped around, and found I was staring directly into a broad,
4The richly detailed Frasian maps made it easy to lose the hours. It wasn’t until my stomach rumbled demandingly that I finally was able to pull my attention away from the richly detailed representations of cities and coastlines I’d never seen. With some regret, I rolled the maps backup and slipped them into their leather tubes.Downstairs, I found Fina curled up in an overstuffed chair by the fire, entranced in a novel and already three-quarters of the way through it.“Hey,” I said.She jolted so hard she nearly toppled out of the chair. “Oh!” She blinked rapidly. “Wow! What time is it?”I bit back a laugh. “Looks like you’re enjoying the book,” I said.She brandished it at me. “It’s about a wolf who falls for a dragon shifter,” she said. “Very intense.”“Sounds like it.”“And I thought the king was intimidating,” she said. “Whew. At least he’s a wolf.”“I don’t know,” I said, “I think I might prefer a dragon. At least then you don’t have to deal with the rest of the pack.”“What?
I hurried to the guest dining room, following Amity in her wolf form as she trotted briskly through the darkened halls. When I stepped into the dining room, small and cozy save for the vaulted ceilings and extravagant albeit dusty chandelier, the four women were already seated at the table.“I’m so sorry,” I said as I hurried in. “I was writing a letter and lost track of time.”“No worries,” Fina said with a smile. “We only just arrived as well.”Rona sucked her teeth. “Just like a princess to invite guests and show up late.”I started. Rona said that with such venom it shocked me. “It’s just as I said, I was only—”“Evening, ladies,” Lady Glennis said as she strode through the back door of the dining room. I wasn’t expecting to see her but I was grateful for the interruption. I took my seat at the table and took a quick sip of wine, avoiding Rona’s burning gaze. “I heard you had decided to dine together. I hope I’m not intruding.”“Of course not!” Fina said brightly. “The more the me
“Well, I’d only intended to give you this.” He pulled a small sheet of folded parchment from his pocket and offered it to me.Against my better judgment, I took it from his hand, and inhaled sharply in surprise when I unfolded it. It was a carefully drawn copy of the map he’d snatched from my hand earlier. Smaller, less detailed—but certainly the same. I gaped at it for a moment before I remembered myself, and straightened back up. Yes, I would definitely be spending time reviewing this copy in my room. But that didn’t make his behavior any more acceptable.“Thank you,” I said. “But I would appreciate it if you would refrain from bothering me further.”“Oh, I didn’t realize I was bothering you,” the guard said. He looked so damn pleased with himself, with his eyes flashing gold.“And I won’t be here in Efra long,” I said. “Better not to waste your time.”“And why’s that?” he asked. “You just said you were here for the Choice.”“The king won’t be choosing me,” I said. “I’m here to repr
The manor was quiet as I made my way to the nearby guest quarters. If I was going to get put in the stocks today, I should tell my escort about it. That was the right thing for a lady to do, wasn’t it?I cringed. Not that I knew a lot about being a lady, apparently. It’d taken me a grand total of two days to ruin my reputation with the court.“Barion,” I whispered as I rapped on the heavy wooden door to his quarters. “Barion, it’s me.”From inside the quarters, Barion heaved a great sigh. After a few moments of rustling around, he opened the doors and squinted blearily at me. “What is it?” “I need your help,” I said.A furrow of concern formed in his brow, and he stepped aside to motion me into his quarters. They were much smaller than mine, but the bed was still huge, and coals glowed in the hearth. I sat down at the small table, and Barion sat across from me. He was still barely awake, in a loose tunic and slacks. He glanced around the room like he might be able to will some coffee