LOGINChapter One Hundred ThirteenHecate POVThe morning light was pale and cold, filtering through the narrow windows of the castle's lower level. The air was crisp, carrying the scent of dew and distant woodsmoke, the kind of morning that felt like a fresh start even when the weight of the past pressed heavy on your shoulders. Hecate stood in the courtyard, her arms wrapped around Tori, holding her close for what might be the last time.Tori's body was warm against hers, familiar and solid, a reminder of all the years they had spent together. The years of hiding, of running, of surviving. The years when they had been each other's only comfort, only ally, only family. The years when the world had been against them, and they had clung to each other like the last two leaves on a dying tree.Hecate had treated Tori's wounds herself, applying salves and bandages to the raw marks on her wrists where the ropes had bitten. She had healed the cuts on her ankles, the bruises on her shoulders, the
Chapter One Hundred ThirteenHecate POVThe morning light was pale and cold, filtering through the narrow windows of the castle's lower level. The air was crisp, carrying the scent of dew and distant woodsmoke, the kind of morning that felt like a fresh start even when the weight of the past pressed heavy on your shoulders. Hecate stood in the courtyard, her arms wrapped around Tori, holding her close for what might be the last time.Tori's body was warm against hers, familiar and solid, a reminder of all the years they had spent together. The years of hiding, of running, of surviving. The years when they had been each other's only comfort, only ally, only family. The years when the world had been against them, and they had clung to each other like the last two leaves on a dying tree.Hecate had treated Tori's wounds herself, applying salves and bandages to the raw marks on her wrists where the ropes had bitten. She had healed the cuts on her ankles, the bruises on her shoulders, the
Chapter One Hundred ThirteenHecate POVThe morning light was pale and cold, filtering through the narrow windows of the castle's lower level. The air was crisp, carrying the scent of dew and distant woodsmoke, the kind of morning that felt like a fresh start even when the weight of the past pressed heavy on your shoulders. Hecate stood in the courtyard, her arms wrapped around Tori, holding her close for what might be the last time.Tori's body was warm against hers, familiar and solid, a reminder of all the years they had spent together. The years of hiding, of running, of surviving. The years when they had been each other's only comfort, only ally, only family. The years when the world had been against them, and they had clung to each other like the last two leaves on a dying tree.Hecate had treated Tori's wounds herself, applying salves and bandages to the raw marks on her wrists where the ropes had bitten. She had healed the cuts on her ankles, the bruises on her shoulders, the
Chapter One Hundred ThirteenHecate POVThe morning light was pale and cold, filtering through the narrow windows of the castle's lower level. The air was crisp, carrying the scent of dew and distant woodsmoke, the kind of morning that felt like a fresh start even when the weight of the past pressed heavy on your shoulders. Hecate stood in the courtyard, her arms wrapped around Tori, holding her close for what might be the last time.Tori's body was warm against hers, familiar and solid, a reminder of all the years they had spent together. The years of hiding, of running, of surviving. The years when they had been each other's only comfort, only ally, only family. The years when the world had been against them, and they had clung to each other like the last two leaves on a dying tree.Hecate had treated Tori's wounds herself, applying salves and bandages to the raw marks on her wrists where the ropes had bitten. She had healed the cuts on her ankles, the bruises on her shoulders, the
Chapter One Hundred NineElsie POVThe bleachers were crowded, bodies pressed together on every side, the air thick with anticipation and the sharp scent of sweat and excitement. Elsie sat between her parents, her hands clasped tightly in her lap, her heart pounding so hard she could feel it in her throat. Beside her, Zuri sat with her back straight, her dark eyes fixed on the arena below, her hand resting on Elsie's knee beneath the folds of her gown.To anyone watching, they were simply mistress and maid. Close, perhaps, but nothing more. No one noticed the way Zuri's fingers curled around Elsie's, the way they held on to each other as if the world were about to end.Elsie's father, Alpha Garrath, sat on her left, his broad shoulders tense, his grey eyes scanning the crowd with the watchful alertness of a man who had learned long ago that danger could come from anywhere. Her mother, Nyra, sat on her right, her red hair hidden beneath a dark hood, her pale face unreadable. She had no
Chapter One Hundred SixThird POVThe dungeon was cold, the air thick with the smell of damp stone and rust. Torches flickered on the walls, casting dancing shadows across the room where Tori sat bound to a wooden chair. Her wrists were raw from the ropes, her ankle throbbing from the fall, but she held her head high, her dark eyes fixed on the king before her.Maddox paced the length of the room, his boots echoing on the stone, his golden eyes blazing with barely contained fury. He had been asking questions for what felt like hours, and Tori had given him nothing. Nothing but silence. Nothing but defiance."How are you still alive?" Maddox demanded, stopping before her. "How have you been hiding in my village for three years without anyone knowing?"Tori said nothing. She stared at the wall behind him, her expression blank."Where is Samantha?" His voice rose. "I know she is alive. I know she survived. Tell me where she is.""I have nothing to tell you," Tori said, her voice steady d
Hecate POVThe rogue den was unlike anything I had ever seen.It was carved into the side of a hill, a gaping mouth of stone and shadow that reeked of blood and old meat. Torches flickered along the walls, their smoke curling toward a ceiling lost in darkness. Bones littered the floor. Animal bone
Ysabella POVThe cottage was warm.That was the first thing Ysabella noticed when she woke, curled on a pile of blankets near the hearth. The fire had burned low during the night, but someone had fed it while she slept. Orange flames danced across fresh logs, casting flickering shadows on the woode
Hecate POVHours passed. Or perhaps it was only minutes. Time had lost all meaning in the white silence of the storm.The snow eventually stopped falling, but the cold remained, a living thing that clawed through my robes and seeped into my bones. My fingers were numb around the reins. My face was
Hecate POVThe corridors of the castle were a blur as I ran, my robes dragging against the stone, my breath coming in short, sharp gasps that had nothing to do with exertion and everything to do with where I was going.I was going to his chambers.After everything. After what happened on the workta







