Novels by Jayne

LENAI couldn’t see Kael’s face from this angle, but the silence that followed was enough to make my skin prickle.Raven tilted her head slightly. “You have guards outside her door.”“She was poisoned.”“And now she’s home.” Raven’s tone stayed light, but there was something under it now, something too careful. “I’m only saying the house has noticed.”Kael stepped slightly to the side, blocking her line of sight to my room without making it obvious.A very Kael move.“She can have whatever security I decide.”

LENAThe words hit the room like another break in the glass and Kael went very still, he didn’t look surprised or confused, he just stared at me. My breath caught as realization dawned on me. “You do know something,” I whispered.His eyes closed for one brief second and when he opened them again, they were unreadable. “I know enough to say this isn’t normal.”I laughed once, shaky and humorless. “That’s the least shocking information I’ve heard all day.”Kael didn’t smile. “I don’t know what it is yet,” he said. “And I’m not going to guess until I do.”“Yet?” The word slipped out before I could stop it.His gaze sharpened. “What?”“You said yet.”Kael rose slowly to his feet which was usually a very bad sign.I stared up at him. “Kael.”“You need rest.”I blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”“You heard me.”“No, I heard you trying to end this conversation without answering the question.”“You’re exhausted.”“And apparently setting household objects on fire, so forgive me if sleep isn’t my top

LENA“Lena.” His voice cut through the panic like a blade. “Look at me.”I did. His hand came up to cup the side of my face, his thumb pressing just beneath my cheekbone, grounding and warm and horribly steady compared to the chaos ripping through me.“Breathe.”I tried but heat pulsed again and behind us, the silver tray on the bed blackened at the edges. The curtains nearest the fireplace stirred though no windows were open. I could hear the faint, ugly crackle of fabric sizzling somewhere in the room.My nails dug into Kael’s sweater. “Make it stop.”Something in his expression changed, I had seen Kael angry, cold, violent, possessive and annoyed but I had never seen him look afraid.But there it was now, buried deep and hard and quickly masked, gone so fast I might have imagined it if his grip on me hadn’t tightened.“Listen to me,” he said, voice low and absolute. “You’re going to breathe with me.”Another pulse of heat rolled through me, worse this time, and a framed photograph

LENA“How do you feel?”I leaned back against the pillows with exaggerated dignity. “Like I’ve survived a summit, an attempted murder, and a four-hour drive with you interrogating me every ten minutes.”“So not well.”“I’m doing much better now that no one is asking me whether I’m dizzy every thirty seconds.”He looked unimpressed. “Are you dizzy?”I closed my eyes and Mrs. Eliara made a small, betrayed sound. “Kael.”“What?” He asked with

LENAComing back to the pack house should have felt like relief and in some ways, it did because the moment I stepped inside, the cold mountain air of the summit disappeared behind me, replaced by warmth, polished wood, and the familiar scent of cedar and coffee drifting from somewhere deeper in the house. The floors no longer echoed with the footsteps of nervous nobles and armed summit guards. There were no silver trays, no whispering council members, no poisoned desserts waiting under crystal covers.Just the pack house that one felt like home. Home? Coming from me who wanted out days ago.I was getting far too comfortable with that word.Mrs. Eliara, naturally

LENA“I think something is wrong with me.” The words settled heavily into the carriage.Maren’s expression softened immediately. “Lena—”“No.” I laughed once, though there was no humor in it. “Think about it. People don’t just touch dresses and melt carriage doors.”Kael’s voice was very calm. “You didn’t melt the carriage.”I turned to him. “There is literally a mark in the metal.”“A line,” he corrected.“That is not he