The contesting women would be the center of it. Not only would we be competing for the king’s affections—we’d be competing to win the hearts of the pack and all the wolves the king ruled over.
Diplomatically, it was a good idea. If I were to take the throne, Daybreak would gain a muchneeded boost in power, and my skills would benefit Nightfall in softening their reputation as bloodthirsty, savage wolves.
I huffed and shoved the letter in a drawer. Unfortunately for my father and for the king, I wasn’t going to be winning this competition.
Even still, there was a tiny chance that this could work out in my favor. If I went to the King’s Choice and lost, without a doubt, my father would lower my status. I’d have substantially less responsibility in the Daybreak Court. One of his advisors would step up and complete the traderelated duties I usually took care of.
I’d no longer be tied to Daybreak. If everything worked out—maybe, possibly, I could leave Frasia and travel the world like I’d always wanted to. I could finally explore the lands I’d admired so extensively on the maps I adored in the library. I could finally find a place where a shifter like me actually belonged.
I wound my plaited hair up onto the crown of my head and then pinned it into a bun. I fit my loose sunhat over it, so most of my blonde hair was hidden beneath the straw. With that and a light linen cloak draped over my shoulders, I looked like one of the normal wolves of Daybreak, instead of the Lady of the Court. There were no other wolves in Daybreak with the white-blonde hair I had, courtesy of my mother, of the Starcrest pack.
It was just another way I didn’t fit in.
I wondered sometimes how my mother had felt in Daybreak. What she’d been like. Had she felt like a misfit as I did? Or had it been easier for her, somehow? Would she have been able to help me figure out what to do in this competition?
But she wasn’t here, and there was only one person I was going to let in on this plan. The only person other than Barion that saw me as me, instead of as a pawn in the court’s games.
When I opened the door, Barion was waiting for me. “Lady Reyna—”
“Sorry, Barion,” I said, pushing past him. “I’ve got to run some errands.”
“Reyna, please,” Barion said, in the defeated tone of a man who knew this request was going nowhere. “We have a lot of logistics to cover regarding the Choice.” “We can discuss it over dinner,” I said, “preferably with a lot of wine.” Barion sighed.
“If you insist,” he called from behind me as I hurried down the hall.
It was a gorgeous, sunny afternoon, and I adjusted my sunhat to shade my eyes as I strode down the path from the manor into the main strip of the town. It was crowded, as it usually was in the afternoon, with fisherman coming in from long days on the water and innkeepers opening the doors to their taverns. I carefully held my skirt so the hem grazed my shins, out of the dirt and dust of the cobbled street. The noise washed over me like a familiar wave as I made my way down a narrow side street to Marco’s.
Marco’s was already busy, despite the afternoon hour. Outside the door, I palmed a coin to a street boy and asked him to fetch Griffin. There was no way a woman of my standing—dressed as a commoner or not—would be caught in a place like Marco’s. Even if Griffin enjoyed spending time there, often to my dismay, I refused to go inside.
I stepped into the alley to wait for him as I usually did. I peeked in through the back door, careful
not to rouse any attention. Marco’s was busy. Inside, sturdy wooden tables were populated with rough-looking wolves, occasionally baring their teeth at each other over games of dice and cards. I tried not to cringe. I didn’t like that Griffin went in establishments like this but at least he didn’t get awfully drunk like the wolves already spilling beers on the bar in broad daylight. Small favors.
Griffin was in the far corner, at a darkened table with three other men, all a bit larger than he was. I smiled when I saw him and watched with affection as the boy ran up and whispered into his ear. Griffin nodded, then spoke to the men at the table and levered to his feet. He was without a doubt the most handsome wolf in the room—tall, slender, with his deep red hair pushed rakishly off his forehead and a smattering of freckles on the bridge of his nose.
He was a member of the court as well. Griffin worked under the duke, focused mostly on trade taxation. He was smart, ambitious, and had priorities similar to my own: We both wanted more than the lives we were offered here in Daybreak. Out of everyone in this town, Griffin was the only one who saw me as more than a Lady of the Court—a pretty face and fine manners.
After a moment, Griffin stepped into the alley. He looked a little worse for the wear, with bags under his eyes and his lips turned down into a grimace.
“Not going so well in there, I take it?” I asked.
He sighed and combed his hand through his hair. “Yeah, we’re just getting started. I’ll earn back what I lost.”
“Right,” I said, biting back a smile. That never really went the way Griffin thought, but he enjoyed the game, so I held my tongue.
“What’s up?” he asked. “I thought you had court duties today.”
“I do,” I said. I tugged my hat off and held it at my side, trusting that no one would look down this narrow alley where we were hidden in shadow. “I just… I needed to see you.”
He must’ve seen something in my face, because his expression softened, and he stepped a little closer. I leaned my back against the brick wall of the alley and set my free hand at his hip.
Ducking my chin, I gazed down at our feet. His presence always grounded me—made me remember that there was more to life than the political demands of the court.“What is it?” he asked. “What’s wrong?”“The duke summoned me to his study today.” I looked up, meeting Griffin’s eyes.He raised his eyebrows. “The duke? He hasn’t asked for you specifically in… Gods, in years.” “I know,” I said. “He got a dispatch from Efra.”“From the king?”I nodded. “He’s holding a King’s Choice.”Griffin was silent. He set his hand at my waist and squeezed like he knew where this was going.“Reyna… You don’t mean…?”“Yes.” Somehow saying it to Griffin made it more real. Anxiety curled in cold in my chest. “I’m to go as the representative from Daybreak.”Griffin stepped back and pushed both hands through his hair. “You can’t. Reyna, you can’t go to the Court of Nightfall.”“I don’t exactly have a choice here,” I said. “I’m a Lady of the Court, and the duke has ordered me to go.”“Fuck the duke,” Griffin s
Now, I stood at the front gate of the manor. Three trunks were stacked up behind me and a fine brand-new, fur-lined coat hung over my arm. I was dressed simply in a linen skirt and blouse for the travel, but I had a fine silk gown to wear for when I made my entrance at Efra.Over the past three days, I felt like I’d barely had a chance to breathe. I’d had my hair done, my nails groomed, my skin exfoliated, undergone a brush-up on my etiquette, and a crash course in the history of all five packs. No one knew exactly what to expect from the King’s Choice, especially one held by Nightfall after a hundred years. The best I could do was to be prepared in, well, everything.“You think you brought enough?” Barion asked, eyeballing the three trunks stacked up behind me. He had a simple canvas bag swung over his shoulder and was dressed in his usual workwear of linen pants and boots.“I wasn’t the one who packed them,” I huffed as I crossed my arms over my chest. If it was me, I’d be traveling
Barion climbed into the coach, rapped his knuckles on the front, and then settled onto the bench across from me with a heavy sigh. The horses nickered and began to pull us away from the manor. I leaned out of the small window of the coach and watched as Griffin shrank in size, until the manor was just a distant structure on the horizon.“I don’t get what you see in that boy,” Barion muttered. He reached into the basket he’d brought with him and ripped off a chunk of crusty bread, as if we were already hours into our journey instead of just getting started. It was early in the morning, and we’d be riding in this bumpy coach all day. “There’s plenty of other lads in Daybreak that’d be honored to court a lady of your status. I doubt thatGriffin could even raise a broadsword over his head.”“This may shock you, Barion,” I said, “but a man’s ability to wield a sword is not the most important thing to me.”“I’ve never seen him shift, either,” Barion said. “He could be a sad, mangy dog in t
“I’ll show you to your room, my lady,” he said. “These fools won’t trouble you at all.”He nodded to the haggard-looking barkeep behind the counter, who sighed and abandoned her post to lead us up the stairs. Barion gave her more than a few coins, which brightened her mood. She unlocked the furthest door in the upstairs hall with a heavy brass key and motioned me inside.Barion followed me in and set my trunk by the foot of the bed. There was already a hot bath steaming in the room, which I desperately needed after a long day on the dusty road.“To your liking, my lady?” Barion asked.“Of course,” I said. “We can have our dinner downstairs, if you’d like.”“Oh, certainly not,” Barion said. “Those brutes are nothing but trouble. I’ll have dinner sent up to your room, and I’ll be right next door should you need anything.”I nodded. “If that’s best.”“We’ll leave just after dawn tomorrow,” Barion said, “to ensure we make it to the capital in time for the welcome dinner.” He glanced aroun
“Mmf,” Barion grunted as he eased into wakefulness in the afternoon. “Ah, we must be close.There’s that cold weather the Nightfall wolves love so much.”“It’s too cold,” I huffed. “This coat isn’t enough.”“I told you to put on the thicker socks this morning,” Barion said.I sucked my teeth. I was dressed to travel and also to make an entrance at Efra, somewhere between comfort and formality. The simple dark gown and heavy cotton skirt had been uncomfortable earlier in the day but now I was grateful for its warmth. I’d tucked the pendant Griffin had given me into my trunk this morning. I didn’t want anyone in Nightfall to ask about it. Instead, I’d worn my simple silver jewelry, a necklace and rings, just in case anyone doubted my status.“Here,” Barion said as he rummaged through his canvas bag. “I brought a pair for you.”I bit back a smile. “You think of everything, don’t you?”“It’s what your father pays me for,” Barion said with a wink. He handed me a pair of wool socks, and I q
“Lovely,” she said. “Don’t worry, Barion, if the wolves of Nightfall excel at anything, it’s ensuring our guests are well-fed.” She smiled at him, and then gestured at a handful of servants lingering near the front door. They hurried forward to the coach. “My staff will show you to your quarters, Barion. As for you, Lady Reyna, I’ll escort you to your quarters myself. The staff will bring your things.”“Thank you,” I said with another small curtsy.I followed Lady Glennis into the manor. The front hall was immense, with vaulted ceilings and polished stone floors; the low heels of her boots echoed through the space. The stained-glass windows were covered, but the room was well-lit with torches and a huge, roaring hearth, making it feel warm and cozy despite its size. She led me up the immense staircase in the center of the hall, then down a narrower path, to what I assumed must be the guest quarters.“I hope the journey was kind to you?” Lady Glennis asked.“Oh, it was lovely,” I said.
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
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