RPOVSongs: Tired as Fuck by The Staves, I'm in Here by Sia, Cocoon by Marty O'Reilly & The Old Soul Orchestra, Movement by HozierI sat up, finally relenting on feeling sorry for myself. It had been a long time since I'd cried like that, but the thought of the Dragomirs being ashamed of me was the tipping point to my resolve.I could hear the first signs of a storm rolling in and could only assume our guests had started to make their way home before it came down. I ran my hands through my hair, setting it free from the intricate braid Lissa had put it in for me. In the end, there had been no point in dressing me up. With my outburst, I might as well have just gone in my normal clothes. At least then Victor might not have been so caught off guard by my hostile reactions.I couldn't remember ever seeing him so furious, not even when Natalie and I had gotten into some of most notorious antics. I didn't understand why he had suddenly acted so uncharacteristically. Maybe he was under more

RPOVSongs: Strange Times, Dark Days by Isla JuneAfter successfully sneaking back to my room undetected, I laid down on my bed, trying to get some semblance of sleep, but my mind was reeling with thoughts of Dimitri.It was only a release, a way to get rid of some of the tension—sexual or otherwise—that had been building. I just needed someone to tell my damn heart to stop fluttering like a pathetic trollop and listen to my head!Everything about our time together was exhilarating and mind-blowing. We were in such synchronization it was as if we had known each other for ages.Ugh, but those were exactly the kinds of thoughts I needed to avoid. There was no way it could go anywhere. Nothing serious could ever, EVER transpire between us…But I also couldn't stop thinking about every single detail like a friggin teenage stalker. Like how his eyes raked over my body as if he had never seen something so enrapturing. How his touch took my breath away and his kiss gave it back. And his lips

DPOVSong: Through the Dark by Alexi Murdoch, Beyond by Leon BridgesThe next week after Rose had asked me to take the role of High Constable was a nightmare. Victor was more than pleased at the news and insisted on having a small ceremony to make it official. It took everything within me to keep a scowl from my face during the charade as I was forced into the center of attention, but every once in a while I'd catch a glimpse at Rose, and the small, amused grin tugging at her lips kept my mood at bay.Immediately following the ceremony I was bombarded by tasks. Most of them were benign, routine undertakings to get me used to a position of authority in the kingdom, but others were necessities I had encumbered on myself. Specifically, finding out anything and everything I could about the íonachta. I had to be discreet in my findings but had managed to gather enough information about the extremist group from a variety of sources to determine our best defensive strategies. Apparently, the

CPOVSongs: My Dove, My Lamb by Phosphorescent, How Soon is Now by The SmithsThis place.I couldn't believe how much I had initially dreaded making the journey. I had only heard tales of the bleak and dreary Dragomir palace, but after spending just over a month there, I was already feeling more at home than I had even back in my native kingdom.People at St. Vladimir's didn't look down on me or pity me for the sins of my parents like they did back home. There, even some of my own family members tended to stay away from me, as if I contracted some kind of contagious sickness from my mother and father's sins. Natasha was the only one who truly regarded me as a vital member of our family—and was really the only one that cared about me.When she first told me that I would be sent to court Princess Vasilisa of the Dragomir line, I thought I was being punished. Finally being cast out of Inferion for good. If I was no longer there, then the constant reminder of what shame my parents had bro

RPOVSongs: Dusty Trails by Lucius, Bury by Unions, Destroyer by PhantogramOnce it was out of me, I couldn't stop saying it. Whether it was whispered in his ear when he finally managed to pin me to the ground, or screamed against his shoulder as he made sweet love to me, I was hooked. It was strange really, the more love I gave him the more I had bursting through me.Without meaning to, we had become protectors of one another, confidants, and true friends. And now, something infinitely more.It consumed my thoughts. When I wasn't with him I couldn't help my mind from wandering to when the next time I'd see him would be or reminiscing over every moment we shared. It was pathetic really, but I also couldn't remember a time of every being so undoubtedly happy. Apart from him, my only other thoughts centered around Lissa, and the Ozeras.In his tent, Dimitri had divulged some secrets about their family that had me seeing them in a completely new light. He had told me that a little over t