Mag-log inRHYDIANThe second bell had not yet sounded when the heavy footsteps started on the lower stone stairs.I was sitting on the wooden chest we had pushed near the door, my skinning knife in my hand and a small block of oak between my knees. Ana was still asleep in the bed, her breathing slow and soft under the dark blue wool blanket. The iron bar across the oak door had been down since midnight, the dark metal cold enough to draw the moisture straight out of the room's air.On the landing outside, a heel clicked against the flagstone. Not the light, dragging step of Daven’s boots. This was a hard, iron-shod heel—the kind worn by the guards who stood outside my father’s high council chamber.Then came the scrape of parchment and the dry, rattling cough of an old man who spent his life over ink-pots."Rhydian," a voice called through the oak panels. It was Master Cormac, the senior clerk of the council. His tone was thin and dry, like dry corn-husks rubbing together in a draft. "Unlatch t
RHYDIANI waited until the candle burned down to the brass nipple before I pulled my boots back on.Ana was sleeping on her side, her breathing slow and even under the blue wool blanket. Her hand was tucked beneath her chin, her cheek still flushed from the heat of the hearth. I adjusted the heavy iron bar on the inside of the door, checking the latch twice before I stepped out onto the landing.Daven was sitting on the top stair, a thin piece of pine in his lap and his skinning knife moving steady over the wood. Shavings lay around his boots like dry leaves."She quiet?" he asked without looking up."She’s asleep," I said. I pulled my wrap tight around my collar. "Keep your back to the plaster, Daven. If anyone comes up from the scullery lane before the second bell, don't ask for their token. Just drop the bar."He gave a short nod, the blade scraping another white ribbon off the pine. "Your father’s already had two scribes down in the guardroom. They’re writing new tallies for the g
ANARhydian didn't slow down until the double doors of the high hall slammed shut behind us, cutting off the low murmur of the garrison men. His hand was a heavy, warm weight around my elbow, pulling me through the dark stone passage toward the eastern stairs.I had to double-step just to keep up with him, my skirts catching on my knees with every stride. My heart was pounding so hard against my ribs I could barely catch my breath, the taste of stale bread and cold fear sticking to the back of my throat."Rhydian," I whispered, my voice barely making a sound in the narrow hallway. "Rhydian, stop."He didn't answer. He didn't even look back. His shoulders were set straight, his wolf still buzzing right beneath his skin like a trapped hornet. When we reached our corridor, he shoved our chamber door open, pushed me gently inside, and immediately swung the thick oak door shut behind us.He didn't just latch it. He dropped the heavy iron bar into place with a hollow, deafening *thud* that
RHYDIANThe food on the platters had gone cold before the third jug of wine came up from the cellar. Down at the end of the hall, the men from the southern garrison were already shouting, slamming their cups on the tables every time the kitchen boys brought out more bread.I didn't touch my plate. My fingers stayed on the silver salt cellar by my hand, tracing the small ridges stamped into the bottom.Ana sat right beside me, her shoulders straight under her grey dress. She hadn't eaten either. She had spent the last hour breaking her bread into tiny crumbs, piling them up near her knife. Every time a heavy barrel rolled past the door, the thick smell of the food made her head drop, her face turning pale.Across the table, Vessa sat next to her father, twisting a red ribbon around her fork. She still wore her heavy ceremonial coat, and she had pinned the white ribbons from the mare to her chest so everyone from the lower yard could see them."The wind is bad tonight, Alpha," Vessa’s f
RHYDIANThe white mare had arrived through the front gates at dawn, her grey flanks rubbed down with sweet oils and silver ribbons braided into her mane. The little brass bells tied around her harness kept clicking together every time she shifted her weight on the cobbles. Below my window, the lower garrison boys had been polishing tack that was already clean since the first bell sounded, their brushes making a dry scraping sound while Bram walked past the stables with his fingers hooked into his ceremonial belt.The blessing ceremony was older than Ironfang itself, older than the five southern septs that currently sent their tribute-grain to our vaults. A pregnant Luna was meant to ride the mare once around the inner perimeter while the guardsmen lined the wall to witness the bloodline. Afterwards, Alpha Bram would speak the winter names over the child, the priestesses would dump the hyssop water over the mare's hocks, and the clerk would register the birth-date in the iron-bound led
ANAThe linen of his shirt was damp where my forehead pressed into the seam of his shoulder.I didn't take my hand off my apron; the wool beneath my palms felt thin, barely separating the skin of my fingers from the small, secret heat that had stayed hidden since the new moon.My heels dug into the edge of the rug, my boots slipping a fraction on the stone before I could find my balance against his thigh."She can have the first cradle," I said, my voice catching on the dry salt that still sat at the back of my throat.I didn't look at his face, only at the silver button hanging by its gray thread from his collar."But she won't have the only one, Rhydian."Rhydian didn't shift his grip on my skirt.His fingers stayed tucked into the grey wool, but his thumb stopped its short, restless movement against the grain.His chin rose by an inch, his head turning toward the window where the light was turning the color of wet slate."What did you say, Ana?""The calendar board," I said, and my
RHYDIANI was late.My father was standing at the edge of the training ground with his arms folded and his expression crumbled into disappointment, the one that had not changed since I was seven years old and showed up late to my first sparring lesson. The warriors were already mid-drill, moving in
AZIZAHe knew the compound in the dark the way I knew the servants' passages in the palace. I thought he had an impressive memory already. Every corner, every shadow, every place the torchlight didn't reach. We moved through it quickly and quietly and he didn't speak and I didn't speak and in seven
RHYDIAN She held my gaze for a moment. Then she turned and walked toward the pack house without looking back, her footsteps measured and unhurried.I waited until she was inside.Then I turned back to the hedge.The omega had not moved. She was watching me with large dark eyes and an expression th
RHYDIAN The door opened.Vessa came in, like she had been expected and was doing everyone a favour by arriving. She was dressed in a manner fitted for a ball."Am I interrupting?" she said, in a tone that made clear she knew she was and had decided that was fine."Rhydian was just explaining how w







