LOGIN“Mommy. Come on. Get up.”I shifted before I could think twice, dropping to my knees in the dirt beside them. I pressed two fingers to Charlotte’s pulse. Steady. Her chest was rising and falling. The burn marks on her palms were already blistering, but she was breathing, and that was the important p
Kieran’s POVNora was born at 3:47 in the morning, and she screamed the whole way into the world.We’d been at it for sixteen hours by then. I’d held Elena’s hand through all of it; she’d nearly broken three of my fingers, and I never said a word about it. Once Nora was cleaned up and swaddled and p
Ten feet. Fifteen. My hands were shaking by the time I hauled myself into the fork beside her, and I couldn’t feel my right palm anymore, which was probably a mercy. A branch to my left was fully alight now, needles going up in a quick bright rush, heat rolling off it in a wave that stung my eyes.I
Charlotte’s POVThe smoke was thick enough to taste in my mouth.I kept low over Kieran’s back, hands fisted in the fur at his shoulders, my face turned sideways against the heat rolling in from the flames. The fire had spread further than I realized; on either side of us the undergrowth was going u
“I’m not… the parasite! You… are!” I grunted. I felt fresh strength surge through me, through the pain and the smell of my own hair burning. I managed to push away from the forest floor, bucking my hips up, then rolled sideways with Sophia clinging on.She scrabbled at my neck, lighter still burning
Charlotte’s POVI couldn’t explain it any better than I could the first time. That invisible pull somewhere in my chest, like a compass needle guiding me north. It dragged me toward the treeline without hesitation, like it had always been there, like it had existed from the moment Nora was born.The
Charlotte’s POVI found the note when I woke up.“Charlotte: You may take Nora to one training session today. Stay with her the entire time. If anything happens, you must bring her back immediately. —Kieran”He was letting us go.I sat there for a moment, staring at the note.After last night, I had
“Trust me when I say this, Kieran.” I took a step forward and tucked my chin, looking up at him through my brows. “I would never be interested in a man like you. Not in a million years. In fact, you repulse me with your arrogance, cruelty, and selfish pride.”“Oh, please. I saw the way you looked at
She was gone before I could say anything, but the look in her eyes softened me somewhat. I didn’t even get a chance to ask her name, and yet, looking at her, I felt a strange connection to her, like we understood each other in a way no one else could.My stomach churned then, gurgling as if in remin
Charlotte’s POVMy face went aflame.Whore.The word stared up at me, mocking me, ugly and hateful. No wonder people were laughing at me.“Who did this?” I demanded, spinning around to face the hallway. Several servants were lingering nearby, pretending to be busy with their tasks. “Who put this on







