*Ryatt*Rain pours over the glistening cobblestone street as I follow behind an anxious Ella. She’s wringing her hands beneath the floor-length cloak I draped over her head and shoulders before I hurried her out of the house and into the downpour. I debated letting her sleep. I paced for nearly ten minutes after Ravenna sent one of her minions to alert me of the change in Ella’s maid, waking me up from the first night of sleep I’d had in weeks. I’d gone to check on Ella after returning from my meeting with Ravenna. I had no right to go into that bedroom and stand there in the dark watching her silently cry in her sleep. Not after what I’d said to her. I should have left, but I sat on the edge of the bed, my body trembling from being flayed open by the hellhounds–wounds I refused to allow Ravenna’s healers to tend to–and laid back. I only shut my eyes for a moment, and woke up cradling Ella like an infant while someone banged on the door downstairs. Now, we walk a few feet apart, o
Ella“My dad doesn’t have powers,” I argue as I follow Ravenna through her crystal palace. Ryatt follows close behind me as we ascend a narrow set of stairs. “He doesn’t. I would have known. My mother would have known.”Ravenna opens a wide, heavy door at the top of the stairs and walks into a darkened room. I follow her inside, and overhead a domed crystal ceiling gives us a glimpse of the storm still raging outside. Lightning flashes, dusting the room in blue light. I pause mid-step as an observatory comes into view, brass equipment glinting in the hazy light. Ripples of unease flutter over my skin as Ryatt comes up behind me. Soft lights flicker on, swirling with that mysterious magic I’ve seen everyone we’ve gone. “You’re right, he doesn’t have powers. But that’s not what’s important, Luna. It’s your bloodline.”“My bloodline?” I mumble the words as Ravenna walks in a wide circle around her observatory. I glance at Ryatt, who stands by the door with his face cast in shadow. He l
RyattGranger glances to the window at the passing crowd. Even in the rain, and at this extremely late hour, people are busy hanging lanterns and decorating shop fronts. I stare down into my whiskey, lost in thought. Ella is up at the castle with Hannah. I didn’t need to stay for Ravenna’s history lesson. I knew all of this already. I didn’t have the stomach for it, especially if she went into detail about my mother. “What exactly is happening tomorrow night?” Granger asks from across the table. Thorne sits by his side, drinking his second pint of dark beer. “The Cleansing. It’s an old ceremony.”“Well, that clears it up,” Thorne says sarcastically then lifts a hand to motion to a passing bar maid to bring him another beer. I narrow my eyes at him, ready to light into him for drinking so much, but then I remember we’ve been on the road for months now, and none of my men have had a break. I sigh heavily and raise my drink to my lips. “It’s a ceremony to bring back the moon. It’s bee
*Ella*I hadn’t planned on beating up three witches today. It wasn’t on my schedule at all. Putting Petra into a headlock and dragging her to the cold crystal floor hadn’t been on the itinerary, nor had swinging her friend into the wall by the woman’s auburn hair, or using her other friend's cloak as a weapon I then strangled the third witch with. I didn’t kill any of them, but I wanted to. I’d scratched and bit and punched with all of my physical might until all three women were panting, gagging, and choking for both breath and mercy. Then, I’d simply stepped over them and walked out of the castle and into the rain. Petra hadn’t had any idea what she’d been getting into when she cornered me and raked her iron-tipped fingernails over my cheek. She has no idea I’d been trained as a warrior since the day I turned five years old, that I’d let grown men with decades of experience throw me around the sparring ring in the castle until my skin was bruised and covered in welts. She has no i
*Ella*Ryatt’s tongue drags over my core. He trembles with a low, satisfied growl that fills the room and blurs my senses. He grips my thighs–hard. Hard enough that I’d thrust back to reality and there’s nothing but the feel of his mouth on my skin and his tongue slowly, so achingly slowly, sliding up and done my entrance. My heart is racing. I feel it will burst out of my chest. No one has ever done this to me before. Even in college, during those crazy parties I’d attended with my sorority sisters and roommates, I’d never done more than kiss someone. I’d always backed out, or the guy would get nervous about going any further with the royal princess. But Ryatt… he’s not going to stop until I’m a writhing mess in his hands, and I can’t take it anymore.Ripples of pure pleasure erupt over my skin. My toes curl, and I close my eyes and bury my fingers in his hair, giving him the green light to do what he wants. Another low growl breaks through the still night air in the room as he gr
*Maddy*I curl my toes in the hot sand and shiver with warmth. The sun beats down on my bare shoulders, and a cool ocean breeze touches my cheeks. My lips taste like saltwater, and I squint up into the sun, shielding my eyes with my hand. I’ve never been anywhere more beautiful in my life, and I’m not sure I ever want to leave.“Two boys,” Maddox says, followed by the sound of him clapping Isaac hard on the shoulder as they walk ahead of me along the beach. “It’s a true blessing of the Goddess, Isaac.”“I know,” Isaac replies, his voice fading as he continues, “but I’m worried about succession…”My stomach does a little flip. Whether it’s from the nerves I’ve felt coming off my mate since we found out about our boys, or from one of those boys doing a little twirl, I’m not sure. I ignore the former and rest my hand on my belly as I let the gentle, turquoise waves brush over my toes and ankles. Isla comes to stand next to me in her wide-brim hat and sunglasses. She gives me a smug smi
*Ryatt*I watch my mate run her fingers through her maid’s tight blonde curls. Hannah is asleep, her cheek resting on her pillow as Ella kneels at her bedside. “She’s doing better with treatment,” says a cloaked healer, a man, who stands beside me. “Queen Ravenna has her on a tonic of wormroot, silver bane, arrowroot, and moonspring oil every two hours to keep her strength, but she struggles to leave the bed.”“She needs to be allowed to go outside and breathe fresh air,” I reply quietly.“Her strength continues to diminish, Your Highness.” The healer turns to me, and we turn away from Ella and Hannah and walk toward the door. “I’ve conferred with the other healers, and the mystics, and we’ve all come to the conclusion that she should remain here for treatment until her mate, if possible, is able to come here.”“What could he possibly do to help? Did crossing the veil not tear her to shreds like I was made to believe?”The healer tilts his head, his face shadowed by his hood. “This i
*Ella*Ryatt’s eyes are so full of heat my toes curl in my boots as I look up at him, trying to maintain the scowl on my face. He leans in close, whispering in my ear, “Did I not just come inside of you only a few hours ago?”A shiver runs down my spine and blooms across my belly. I fight the urge to close my eyes as his breath dusts over my skin, his lips brushing against my ear. “I plan to do that again tonight, Princess.” His hand slides down my belly. “You’re not drinking a single drop of wine from now on.”“What makes you think I’m not on a contraceptive tonic?” I grind out, and it takes all of my energy to do so. I’m melting into a puddle at his touch and the raw, heated tone of his voice. I’m also exceedingly thankful for the cloak of unnatural darkness around us. Hopefully no one can see, or hear, what he’s saying and doing to me right now, especially as his hand slides lower and into the folds of my cloak. “You’re not,” he says with finality. “I would have smelled it on you