Chapter 1
COSIMA
Prince of Surhiira.
The words circle in my brain like vultures, picking at the remains of everything I thought I knew. Everything I believed.
The crown fucking prince.
The food I just ate feels like I swallowed cement instead. My hand trembles in Raven's gentle grip, and I jerk it away. Even his gentle touch is too much right now.
"I apologize," Raven says, his voice soft with regret. "I just assumed he'd told you. I thought?—"
"That makes two of us," I mutter. The words burn my fucking throat.
Geo leans against the counter, his one eye watching me with unusual softness. Maybe it’s sympathy. It’d better not be pity. "Knew he was an asshole," he grumbles, looking away.
Knight shifts closer, sensing my distress, his scarred blue eyes softening the impassive expression of his silver mask. Hiswarmth should be comforting, but right now, I can't stand all the walls pressing in, can't bear the weight of their eyes.
I need space.
Room to breathe before I suffocate on betrayal.
"I need some fresh air," I manage to say, pushing myself away from the counter so violently the stool nearly topples over.
I storm out of the kitchen, my heart hammering. The burgundy dress swishes around my ankles, suddenly too tight, too constricting. The tunnels feel narrower, the air thicker. I hear heavy footsteps behind me—Knight, always my shadow. Then lighter ones. Raven, no doubt. Then the heavier tread of Geo.
I whirl around to face them, pressing my back against the cool concrete wall, feeling cornered all of a sudden. "I need a minute. Alone."
They all hesitate. Three alphas, each so different, yet each radiating the same protective instinct that makes me want to scream right now.
"Please," I add, hating how my voice cracks on the word.
Knight growls softly, clearly reluctant, but he takes a slow step back.
Raven bites his lip, warring with himself.
"Five minutes," Geo says gruffly, grabbing Raven's arm and physically dragging him away. "Come on, kid. Let her breathe."
They retreat down the hall, Raven throwing concerned glances over his shoulder, Knight's massive frame retreating with obvious reluctance. Knight glances back at me one more timeat the end of the hall, his normally fairly blank gaze so full of concern, I think he might decide not to keep walking.
I manage a stiff smile, choking back the tears burning in my eyes, and give him a little wave.
He growls worriedly, but he follows Geo and Raven.
As soon as they're out of sight and I don’t hear Knight’s heavier footsteps anymore, I'm moving again, my feet carrying me blindly through the tunnels. I have no particular destination in mind. Just a desperate need to escape the suffocating feeling.
The man I've loved for years, the alpha whose scent made me feel safe when every other alpha so far had made me recoil, the man who promised to take me away from everything…
He never once mentioned he was royalty.
Never said anything that evenimpliedit. I knew he had his secrets—things he claimed were too dangerous for me to know—butthis?
How many times had we talked about "after"? After the war. After my father's schemes. After all of it, when we could finally be together. When he would take me away from all of it. From Reinmich, from the Council, from Monty.
I knew Azarel was from Surhiira, of course. That much was obvious. But he only rarely spoke of it as a distant home. Never as the place where he was heir to the godsdamnedthrone.
I take a turn, then another, moving on instinct. I find myself facing a metal ladder leading up to what looks like another hatch. An exit. Fresh air. I climb without hesitation, my hands gripping the cold metal rungs.
