I wasn’t eager to draw too much attention to myself if I could help it.
“Lovely choice, milady,” Amity said.
We had a quick breakfast in my quarters, brought in by the kitchen staff, and then the two of them dressed me in the fine gown. Rue tied the laces at the back of the dress, while Amity brushed my hair into a plait resting over one shoulder. When she was done, she pulled another lacquer box from the drawers of the vanity and opened it. Inside was a plain, delicate crown, a simple band of gold like the one the king wore for most everyday ceremonies. She set it on my head with the same care and attention she did when she’d dressed me in the tiara that represented Daybreak during the Choice. But this crown, despite its simplicity, felt so much heavier.
“Gorgeous,” she said with a smile.
“Thank you,” I said. I didn’t feel gorgeous. I felt tired.
Amity led me to the door.
“We had best go send off the guests before the hour gets any later.”Outside, it was an icy cold day, with the sun high in the sky reflecting off the snow coating the gardens. Activity bustled outside the main gates to the manor as servants loaded carriages with trunks and gifts and picnic baskets of food. Fina and Adora were busy packing up carriages as well, sending some of their escort parties back with news of their new roles in Efra.
The king was busy in conversation with one of the Dukes of Duskmoon, laughing loudly as he clapped his hand on the duke’s shoulder. For a man who hadn’t slept in his own bed last night, he looked surprisingly well-rested. His gaze shifted toward mine and I quickly looked away. Maybe it was childish, but I didn’t want to play the role of dutiful queen every moment, if I could avoid it— especially not in a situation like this.
My father’s carriage was in the midst of being packed as well, with Barion’s carriage—the one I’d ridden to Efra in—behind it. The horses stomped their hooves and tossed their heads, breath coming in puffs of steam with their eagerness to begin the journey.
“Wait here,” I said to Amity and Rue. “I’d like to speak with them privately.”
“Of course,” Amity said. They shifted into their wolf forms and lingered by the front door.
I strode toward the carriage with my head held high. The crown still felt heavy across my forehead.
“My lord,” I said in greeting.
My father looked up from where he was checking the trunks fastened to the back of the carriage. His expression soured. He stood up straight and smoothed his hands down the front of his travel wear, heavy canvas clothes and a long coat embroidered with the colors of Daybreak.
“Reyna.” His gaze lingered on the crown. “I trust you enjoyed your wedding.”
“It was lovely,” I said coolly. “I trust you enjoyed yourself as well.”
“Of course.”
The silence hung heavy between us as the other guests packed, laughed, and embraced each other during their goodbyes.
“I’ve come to wish you well on your journey,” I said. “The king will be sending a few pages in the next few days to gather the rest of my belongings.”
“You needn’t worry about your belongings,” he hissed. “It would serve you better to focus on your mission rather than your tchotchkes in Daybreak.”
I folded my hands together in front of my body to keep myself from squeezing my hands into fists. I wanted to scream and curse him. I wanted to beat at his chest like an angry toddler. My wolf growled internally, tossing her head in frustration. It took all my self-control to keep her from flashing in my eyes—flashing the silver of Starcrest instead of the clay-red of Daybreak. I wanted to tell him how deeply he’d wounded me with his lies and betrayal.
But what good would it do? He’d never cared about me, never loved me, not even as a child. It would only please him to know he hurt me. The only real revenge I could have over him was to forget about him entirely. I would never let him control any decision I made in my life. I would never sacrifice myself for the whims of Daybreak.
“Those tchotchkes will be moved to Efra,” I said. “So please be prepared for the pages’ arrival.”
My father narrowed his eyes. From my gown, and the gold crown on my head, and the cold tone of my voice, he knew I would not be using the poisoned knife he’d given me. And there was not a damn thing he could do about it.
“Your Majesty!” Barion hopped down from where he had been fastening boxes to the top of his carriage. “You’ve come to see us off?”
“Yes,” I said. “And to thank you for your service as my escort.”
Barion’s expression softened. He stood at the king’s side in his own fine travel wear of allfunctional heavy canvas and leather. It made him look like the man I’d spent so many childhood days with as we traded blows on the manor lawn, while he laughed and corrected my form. My heart ached. It was a different hurt than the pain my father had caused me.
Part of me wanted Barion to stay in Efra with me, and to join the Nightfall wolves as part of my guard. But he’d been the one to initially give me the poisoned knife. He’d known about my father’s plot. Barion cared, but he was a wolf of Daybreak through and through, and he’d always choose his pack over me.
There was nothing I could say to change it—nothing I wanted to say. We both knew our paths had diverged. I could never trust him the way I had in the past.
“It’s been an honor, Lady Reyna,” Barion said.
My father sucked his teeth, then turned wordlessly and climbed into the carriage. Barion lingered for a moment, gazing at me. Then he nodded and walked toward his own wagon.With my heart in my throat, I strode back into the manor. Before the doors closed, the horses’ whinnying filtered in, and the familiar strike of hooves on the road as they began to move.With the carriages went the last vestiges of my life in Daybreak.I paused in the foyer, unsteady on my feet as that realization washed over me.Amity and Rue trotted in after me, then shifted back into their human forms. “Are you all right, milady?” Rue asked.I brushed a loose strand of hair out of my eyes and nodded. “Yes,” I said. “Perfectly fine.” I was the Queen of Frasia, and I was alone.30n my new quarters, I dismissed Amity and Rue and then stood by the window, gazing out over the snowy tree line. I needed space. I needed somewhere to sit and read and think—I had a couch in these quarters, but why not a desk? Did a quee
“You see what you want to see and only that.” I flattened my hands on his broad chest and shoved him backward; to my surprise he acquiesced and took a few steps back. “You barely know me. You only think you know me. Love me. I won’t bow to your desires just because you’ve forced me into this role. From now on, no one controls me, even if that means this marriage is in name only.”The king’s expression became suddenly, strikingly hurt—like I’d hit him. Then just as quickly as the pain had appeared, it was gone, replaced by a stony anger so powerful that when he bared his teeth, it made my wolf whine internally. I’d pushed him too far this time. I’d gotten cocky, and now the Bloody king was going to make his title known to me, just like he’d done to the traitorous Lord, and then to Griffin.Then, the air crackled like an oncoming storm.The king’s wolf burst forth.He shifted effortlessly, the clothes tearing from his back and landing in shreds on the shining floors of my quarters. He s
1“Y ou’re not going to believe this,” I said. I leaned towards the map I had spread out on the oak desk. We were in the library, a round stone room with high ceilings and books lining every wall. I loved to read, sure, but the court cartographer had uncovered this map from deep in the archives just for me.Barion sighed dramatically and looked up from the novel he was thumbing through. He sank deeper into the overstuffed armchair.“What now?”His lack of interest didn’t deter me. I was used to this kind of reaction from Barion — he’d been my tutor in sword fighting and strategy since I was knee-high. He’d been the one to first encourage my burgeoning interest in cartography when I was a little girl. Now he had to deal with the consequences. I smoothed out the edge of the parchment and traced the faded ink with the tip of my finger.The map didn’t look too different from the ones I was familiar with. My country, Frasia, looked similar to its state today. The capital of Efra was still
I paused and glanced at my reflection in the mirror hanging above the fireplace in the library. My father preferred not to look at me at all, but when he did, it was easier if I looked presentable. I tucked the strands of white-blonde hair that escaped from my long plait out behind my ears and removed my reading glasses, meeting my own sharp blue eyes in the mirror. There were ink stains on my fingertips, but luckily I hadn’t gotten any on my white linen shirt and long brown skirt. My father would’ve preferred if I’d worn a bit of jewelry to show my rank. But that was his fault for summoning me on a day when I didn’t have any court responsibilities scheduled.Vuk cleared his throat.“I don’t need an escort, Vuk,” I said.“It’s my duty to ensure you make this appointment safely,” Vuk said. This meant he thought I was going to run off to the market square by the docks instead of to my father’s study. Which was, honestly, not an unreasonable assessment. I sighed and followed Vuk out of t
“Constantine held the Choice because he already had a handful of fine suitors to choose from—the packs were scrambling to join ranks with Daybreak. The Choice was seen as a fair way for the king to choose between them. Elias is attempting to bring back what was a joyous affair for Constantine, but he lacks the Daybreak charm and panache.”King Elias isn’t the only one lacking that, I thought to myself as I glanced around the dim study.“The king knows the packs are losing faith in his ability to lead Frasia. If he doesn’t stabilize his court and kingdom, it won’t be long before another pack attempts to take the throne by force, just as Drogo did.”“He dug his own grave, then,” I said. “I say let him lie in it.”My father shook his head. “You should realize the opportunity we have at hand.”“You don’t mean to say we will be participating in this Choice?”“Of course we are,” my father said. “If we don’t send a suitor to the Choice, we will be openly insulting the king. And you know Elia
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
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