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.
n 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 queen not do any work? My heart hurt, my chest ached; I
was lost and confused and exhausted. I needed something familiar. I needed the library.
The door to my quarters slammed open abruptly, and the king stormed in with his expression caught somewhere between anger and concern. I took a step back, pressing my shoulders to the stone wall behind me as he approached. “Reyna,” he said. “Where were you?” “What?” I asked.
“We were supposed to see the guests off,” he said sharply. “Where did you go?”
“I did see them off,” I said. “I know you saw me.”
“You only saw your father off. The rest of the guests were left unable to give their well wishes. Some had traveled quite far to attend.”
“Well, I wasn’t the one who made the guest list, was I?” I snapped. “I greeted everyone at the wedding, was that not enough?”
I braced myself for the expected argument, but to my surprise, the king’s posture softened. He sighed, then pulled his crown off his head and set it on the small table near the hearth.
“You’re right,” he said. “You were quite charming during all the events around the wedding. You must be tired.”
“Of course I’m tired,” I said quietly.
“Your quarters are adequate?” he asked.
“Where did you sleep last night?” I asked, brushing off his questioning. “Where did you go?”
“It should be of no consequence to you,” he said. “I thought you’d be pleased that I left you alone.”
“Okay,” I said. “More secrets.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Would you have rather I stayed? You seemed angry.”
“I’m still angry! I’m angry and I’m tired and—” and I’m lonely. I snapped my mouth shut.
“What do you need?” he asked. “How can I make this right?”
“You can’t,” I said. “You won’t. You made that clear last night.”
He sighed heavily and raked one hand through his hair. Then he removed his cloak and tossed it carelessly over the couch and gazed into the fire. In his plain dark trousers and white shirt, he looked more like the man I’d run into in the library what felt like a lifetime ago. Handsome. In control.
Unreadable. He gazed into the fire.
“I need time,” I said. “Time to adjust. Time to grieve.”
“How much time?” he asked. “What is there to grieve? What is your life in Daybreak compared to your life here? It doesn’t compare!”
“We’ve talked about this,” I said. “You don’t listen. You haven’t listened to anything I’ve said.”
It hurt even more now, knowing the carriages were long gone. It wasn’t the life I’d left behind, but the future I’d really lost. Now more than ever, I yearned for a different life. A way to leave this all behind. Even the thought made my wolf whine in dismay, but she’d get used to it—I was used to ignoring her complaints. If only I could take a horse from the stables and ride off.
But what kind of life was that, alone? I was always supposed to have someone I loved with me. Now I had no one. No one except the king, standing in the quarters I hadn’t chosen, asking me to explain my grief again and again.
“You are the Queen of Frasia,” he said, low. “You have won a crown that other wolves would— and have—died for. This is who you are now.” “You don’t get to tell me who I am,” I said.
“You don’t have a choice,” he said.
“I may be queen,” I said, “but I will never be happy here. Not with a king who keeps secrets from me, lies to me, and treats me like his prize without any regard for my feelings or needs.”
He stalked across my quarters toward me, his eyes blazing gold. He caged me against the wall, his hands bracketing my head, and his face tipped close to mine. “You are not a prize,” he growled. “But you are mine. There’s no going back.”
My wolf thrilled at the claim. I closed my eyes and thought for a moment I could hear the thundering beat of his heart.
“If you think, even for a moment,” I whispered, “that you will be able to control me like my father did, you will be sorely disappointed.”
“I never wanted to control you,” the king growled. “If I wanted a mate I could control, I would’ve picked that suck-up Rona, or the Starcrest woman who actually wanted your crown. I chose you because you—” He reared back, eyes still blazing but with a furrow of concern in his brow. “I chose you because you are headstrong. I chose you against the advice of my council. I chose you because I see something in you that you refuse to see yourself.”
“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
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