lle

in the inner door, watching the

hadn't

eatsword planted firmly in the stone, black cloak billowin

acknowledge squeezed

hing, poisoned me, and cast me out to rot... was now standing i

ive years ago that placing trust in

l out there?" Adell mumbled s

raw mattress where both girls were curled up t

ed the damp curls from her f

hem, I drew a breat

rough the imperial bloodline for generations. Gentle, haunting, imbued with

tte's little body. Her fists unclenc

lap, lashes flutteri

painfully similar to the man beyond t

per's nest. And most of all, I could NOT let Diego discover th

Rite of Severance, cutting whatever cursed tie bound me to

go

to the crack, straining

e night, ethereally beauti

g wolf inside my chest went utterly

nothing but restless pacing-haunted by ghosts of t

rofound peace washed over me so abrup

like com

, peeking throug

floor beside the bed, silver hair cascading down her back like liquid starlight as she gen

my life, I saw her w

t. And utterly, deva

at cons

sh the door open, cross the room, pull her into m

ss traitor who'd betrayed me. She'd su

ry soul insist s

er against stone snapp

nstincts roa

s NOT t

en eyes locking onto the s

rs, creeping along the high, grated ventilation windows. The blades

id s

r cliff face to bypass

RUDE

s the iron bars above began to shriek an