ina

the hurried voice of Wyatt, Deacon's Be

has arrived at the courtyard w

turned to the wooden stand by the wall, and grabbed his heavy black comm

drink, she collapsed, and the healers found the poison in the goblet. The king had her locked in the Tower of the Deposed, and when Deacon pleaded for bot

into the royal court, where Jens Wolfe had arranged for him to be punished with a whip secretly laced with silver needles. The torture

act. Despite everything I had done to hurt him, he had secretly brought me to this very chamber and hidden me inside a passage he had built wit

ould at least return the protection he had once given me. I would not stand by

om and throwing my back hard against the heavy oak

front of me, staring down

the Alpha King's Command is

ut from behind him, sha

d now your madness is dragging my brother to the execu

ven had manipulated me into, but I knew better than to waste precious time defending myself to Jael

, fixing my eyes onto Dea

ou. The moment you step into the royal court, yo

crossing his eyes. He reached out with one massive h

d under the pressure, but I bit down hard on my lip and dug my

ame, my voice cracking from the strain. "

eyes seemed to stun him for a fraction of a second,

ist with both hands and pulled with all the weight in my b

ing forward to pry my hands away, but I threw

unfold exactly as they had before. But I remembered how, in my previous life, Deacon had chosen to protect me even after I was accused, telling

the way to the stone fireplace. Reaching behind the heavy mantelpiece, I sl

the hearth slid open, revealing a narrow, pitch-b

not explain it with memories from my previous life-not now. According to

rk opening before turning to the stunned princess. "You to

nd followed us into the narrow stone corridor. The hidden door ground shut behind us, c

d, our mingled breaths lo

e the silence, leaning his back against the wet stone, h

antries and drove s

the royal court has been secretly replaced by Jens

o drop below freezing in an instant. Silver

plinary weapons are guarded exclusively by the Council of E

ilitary funds," I replied coldly, repeating what I had learne

ension. He knew the rot inside the Council of Elders better tha

" he asked, his voice lo

in the eye, delive

order right now. He has already slipped into the capital secr

come in pieces, each one exposing another lie Jens had fed me and another part of the conspiracy I had been too blind to rec

color drained from her face, leaving her ghost-white as

e narrow passage as his Lycan aura flared violently,

nd around my jaw, lifting my face toward his blazing golden