Chapter 1

Seraphine's POV"Hey! Come back here, you little cunt!"My boots hit the marble floor hard as I ran, my hair flying behind me, my heart pumping with the kind of joy that only came from doing something I wasn't supposed to do. The Vale Manor hallways were long and cold and lit by torches that threw orange shadows on the stone walls, but I knew every single turn in this place. I had memorized them years ago.There were four guards behind me. I could hear their boots, heavy and clumsy compared to mine. Guards. They were my father's guards. Big men in dark uniforms who thought that because they were large, they were fast.They were not fast.I turned a sharp corner, cut through the side passage, and came out near the east staircase. I was almost at the servant's door that led to the outer garden. Twenty more steps and I would be outside. My friends were waiting on the other side of the garden wall. Lena had promised wine and Dara had promised gossip and for one evening I just wanted my

Chapter 2

Seraphine's POVDinner at the Vale Manor was never a warm affair.It had never been warm, not even when my mother was alive. But back then there had at least been the sound of her voice filling the silence, her laugh bouncing off the stone walls, her habit of sneaking extra bread onto my plate when my father wasn't looking. Now it was just the two of us, sitting at opposite ends of a table that was far too long for two people, eating food that was far too good for a family that had lost almost everything, while the candles burned low and nobody said a word.I liked the silence well enough. It meant I could eat in peace.I stabbed a piece of steak and chewed it properly, the way I always did, and stared at the candle flame at the center of the table while I thought about Lena and Dara sitting on the other side of the garden wall this evening, probably finishing the wine without me and complaining about it."A lady should never chew so loudly."I looked up. My father was watching me fr

Chapter 3

Seraphine's POVThe car came to a stop and one of the Ashford guards pulled the door open, offering his hand to help me down.I took it carefully, making sure my glove didn't slip, and stepped out onto the stone path.The first thing I noticed was the air. It was different here. Warmer somehow, even though we were well into the cold season, like the ground itself was giving off a quiet heat. The second thing I noticed was the manor.I had grown up hearing my father describe the Ashford estate as a place built on stolen glory, grand because it was paid for with Vale blood and Vale land. I had pictured something cold and arrogant, a big ugly building.I had not pictured this.The manor was beautiful. Genuinely, almost painfully beautiful. Stone walls covered in dark climbing vines, tall windows that caught the afternoon light and threw it back in warm gold sheets, a set of wide front steps flanked by iron lanterns that were already lit even in the middle of the day. The gardens on eithe

Chapter 4

Caelum's POVI stared at her retreating back.Her heels clicked against the tiles in a slow, deliberate rhythm, each step perfectly measured, her head up, her dark hair moving slightly with each stride.Edward was still on the floor behind me, curled around himself, gasping like a man who had forgotten how breathing worked.I looked at him for a moment. Then I looked back at the corridor where Seraphine had disappeared around the corner.She was stronger than I had expected. And I had expected quite a lot."Take him to the physician's chambers," I said to the two guards standing nearest to Edward. They moved immediately, getting their hands under his arms and lifting him between them. He was still making that winded, broken sound.I turned and walked in the opposite direction.Riven fell into step beside me before I had made it ten paces. "Did you see what she just did?" he said."Of course I saw it, Riven," I said. "I was standing right there. I'm not blind.""She's dangerous," he s

Chapter 5

Seraphine's POVThe room Caelum had given me was nothing like my room back at the Vale manor.My room at home was cold. Stone walls, a small window that let in more wind than light, a bed that had never quite felt like it belonged to me. I had spent years making it bearable rather than comfortable, filling the shelves with books and covering the floor with rugs I had bought myself because nobody else thought to.This room was warm.I stood in the middle of it for a moment after the maid closed the door behind her.Then I crossed to the window, sat down on the cushioned seat, and pulled off both my gloves.I did it slowly, the way I always did when I was alone and certain nobody was watching. I held both hands out in front of me, palms up, and let the cool air from the window gaps move across my bare skin.Outside, the Ashford gardens were quiet and dark, lit by a row of low iron lanterns along the stone path below.I breathed in.The air here was clean. Sharper than home, with a cool

chapter 6

Seraphine's POVI froze.My hand was still wrapped around the door's edge, the locket open in my palm, the symbol staring back at me like it knew exactly how much trouble I was in.I turned around slowly.Caelum stood a few feet away, dressed down from earlier, no jacket, sleeves pushed up to his forearms. His expression wasn't angry. It wasn't anything I could easily name, which somehow made it worse."Lady Seraphine," he said. "It's late.""I couldn't sleep," I said. "I went for a walk.""Toward a locked door in the oldest part of the east wing." He tilted his head slightly. "That's a very specific walk."I closed my fist around the locket, hiding it against my palm."I got lost," I said. "You know this is a new house and there are lots of corridors."He stepped closer and I stepped back a bit avoiding his gaze. His eyes dropped to my closed hand for half a second before they came back up to my face."You're a terrible liar," he said."No I wasn't lying”I muttered.Something flicker