登入BELLA "Come on, sweetheart." I sit on the carpet with my arms stretched towards my daughter. She stands several feet away, swaying dangerously on her tiny legs. Her round cheeks are flushed with determination, and her little fists are clenched at her sides as though she is preparing to march into battle rather than take her first steps. Half the palace has gathered to watch. Which is making everything worse. "You're frightening her," Betsy whispers from beside me. "I'm encouraging her." "You look like you're trying to summon her." I shoot my twin a glare. She smiles sweetly. Behind us, Mother sits in a cushioned chair near the fireplace, both hands clasped beneath her chin. Her eyes are already wet, even though my daughter has not moved yet. "Oh, look at her," she murmurs. "She's trying so hard." Gael is lying flat on his stomach near the edge of the carpet, his bright red hair tied messily behind his head. "You can do it, little cherry," he coos. "Come to Uncle Gael
RHAIN My body is still weak. Each step pulls at muscles that haven't fully recovered. The pain is gone. Its absence feels almost as disorienting as the pain itself. I reach the old council chamber. Two guards stand outside and bow."Your Majesty."I stare at the doors. My mother waits behind them.For one humiliating second, I want to turn around. But the women my mother killed never got to turn away."Open it."The doors swing inward. My mother sits alone at the far end, wearing a simple grey dress.She looks so pitiful. That angers me. She has no right to look like that after what she's done. She raises her head."Rhain."My chest tightens. No one says my name like she does.Gael and Cain stop near the doors. I walk forward alone.She tries to stand."Sit,” I say.She freezes, then lowers herself back down. I stop several paces away. For a long moment, neither of us speaks.Her eyes search my face. "You look better," she whispers."How many?" I ask.She closes her eyes. "Rhai
BELLA The ache in my head is the first thing I register when I come back to my senses. I try to move, and a hand immediately closes around mine."Bella?" It's Rhain.My eyes fly open.For several seconds, everything is blurred. Then I see Rhain. He is lying on the floor beside me. His skin is grey. Blood stains his mouth and the front of his shirt. His long black hair is spread messily beneath his head, damp with sweat.But his violet eyes are open. And fixed on me."Rhain." The word breaks out of me.I roll towards him and throw my arm across his chest. He winces. I immediately pull back."I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"A faint smile touches his lips. "You stabbed me."Fresh tears fill my eyes. "I had to."But then, the presence of the bond settles over me.Rhain's eyes widen. He feels it too. The silence. He draws in a shaking breath."It's gone."Talia's shoulders sag with relief. "Yes."Rhain closes his eyes. One tear slips from the corner. His fingers tighten around mine."It
BELLA I fall through darkness and Rhain's scream chases me. I can feel it even in my bones."RHAIN!" My voice vanishes under the roar of rushing wind. So, I reach for the bond.But there's not even the slightest trace of him. Panic sinks into my chest. Then the darkness spits me out.I slam into wet ground, the impact knocking the air from my lungs. Rain lashes my face, icy. Mud soaks through my dress, causing it to cling to my skin. For several seconds I can only lie there, gasping as thunder rolls overhead.The old watchtower rises in front of me. Exactly as it was in the memory. Torchlight flickers over cracked stone. Trees bend hard in the howling wind.Somewhere beyond the tower, a man screams. Rhain.I force myself up. My body feels stronger. My hands tremble as I look down at them.Longer fingers. Pale skin. A thin scar across the left palm. Vespera's hands."No", the word comes out in her voice.I touch my face. Her face. Her dark hair whips around my shoulders in the s
RHAIN The dagger whispers my name again. My knees buckle. Bella catches me before I hit the floor, but my weight drags her down with me. Pain tears through my spine so horribly that the room whites out behind a blinding flash.I hear shouting—Gael, perhaps, or Bella. I can't tell. Blood rises into my throat. I turn my head just before I cough it onto the cold stone, warm liquid splatters."Rhain!"Bella drops beside me, one hand pressed to my chest, the other cradling the back of my neck. Her fingers feel warm against my clammy skin.I try to tell her I'm fine. More blood spills from my mouth instead, hot and sticky.Her face crumples. "No. No, no—look at me."I look at her. I always will. Even as my vision dims and her face slips in and out of focus.The curse burns through every vein. The fifth petal pulses under my skin, spreading from the sigil on my back towards my ribs. I feel it wrapping tighter around my heart, thorns digging in.Saint growls deep inside me. 'It's openin
BELLA Inside the box lies the dagger. The blade is no longer a silver metal. It is pitch black. Runes pulse along its surface like veins.A thin lock of hair—my hair, Vespera's hair—still winds around the hilt. It should have rotted away centuries ago. Instead, it gleams as if it was freshly cut.Whispers fill the air. Hundreds of voices—crying, begging, and screaming.Rhain drops to one knee.I rush towards him, but Talia slams the box shut. The voices die. Candles flare back to life.Rhain stays on the floor, breathing hard. I kneel beside him, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. "What was that?"Talia's face has gone pale. "The dagger recognized him."Rhain laughs weakly. "I feel wonderfully acknowledged."I glare at Talia. "How do we destroy it?""You cannot.""Then how do we break the curse?"Talia says nothing."Talia."Her silver eyes meet mine, soft with sorrow. "The curse was never contained only in the blade. The dagger is the anchor... but Vespera was the source."
BELLA The wedding dress is heavy. Layers of silk and lace cling to my curves like a cage, and every time I move, it whispers against my skin. I'm fully dressed for a funeral I never agreed to.My head spins in the sweetest way.Alcohol was a brilliant idea. After I demanded a knife to "cut
BELLA “If he’s not here for Betsy, who’s he here for then?” Steven demands through gritted teeth. My heart starts pounding so hard, it feels like I’m about to slip into cardiac arrest. “He keeps saying the other one,” the messenger blurts out, and Steven growls in f
BELLA How could he do this to me? The question loops endlessly as I curl into a ball on the cold, damp floor of the cell. They dragged me here without letting me speak a single word. The dagger they found in my hand was all the proof the epsilons needed. It feels like a nightmare I can
BELLA “Maybe the river will finally do us all a favour." Their voices blend together with the roar of water in my ears as they shove my face further into the river. Every inch of my body aches. It has been like this for weeks now. It feels like my bones are slowly being hollowed out from the ins







