“They’ll remember you as desperate.” She leans in, her breath sweet with roses and almond oil. “Enjoy your scraps of defiance, Freya. Soon, your wolf will choke on poison again.”
She slips past me, her skirts whispering like smoke on the stone floor, and disappears into the dark corridor.
I turn to the shelves, heart pounding. A jar is missing. Another lies open, the purple liquid inside darker than it should be.
Nyx growls within me, ‘The antidotes are tainted.’
LEDGER OF BETRAYAL
Freya
Tamsin circles me with a wooden staff in her hands. “Feet apart. Chin high. Don’t look timid,” she says.
“I’m not timid,” I retort, lifting my staff.
She lunges fast. I barely block the impact. My arms vibrate with pain.With a growl, I lunge at her, skidding her feet back against the ground.
“You’re angry,” she says. “Good. Use it. Anger makes you move.”
I swing—harder this time. She parries easily, but her grin sharpens. “Better.”
We clash again. My arms ache, my palms sting, but Nyx breathes under my skin, feeding me strength. Every strike I miss, I curse. Every strike I land, even half-right, I let the fury in my chest burn brighter.
When she finally calls halt, sweat drips into my eyes. “You see?” she says. “You fight better furious than meek.”
I lean on the staff, panting. “I thought Lunas were meant to be graceful.”
“They are,” she says dryly. “Grace is just dominance wearing perfume. Now drink.”
I drain the waterskin she tosses me. My entire body trembles.
“Next—etiquette,” she says.
I groan. “After this?”
“Yes. You’ll face the Conclave soon. They’ll look for cracks. Every bow, every word matters.”
She marches me into the small hall. We practice curtsies, greetings, the way to take a seat without lowering my gaze. She slaps my shoulder each time I falter. “Again. Keep your spine straight.”
I repeat until my legs ache more than from sparring.
At last, she nods. “Not perfect. But you’ll do.”
???
Back in my chamber, I almost collapse on the bed with exhaustion—only to stiffen when the door opens.
Alpha Kade marches inside. His gaze sweeps the room and catches on the sapphire crown lying across my quilt. His jaw tightens. “I commanded you not to wear it, Freya,” he says. “And yet you did.”
I fold my arms. “It is mine. I can wear it if I wish to.”
His golden eyes flash with anger. “You defied a direct order.”
“Your order,” I bite back. “Not the Moon’s.”
“I am your Alpha! And I’m your husband!”
I scoff. “My husband?” I whisper the words. “You haven’t been mine for a long time, Kade.”
