He swallows at that.
I shake my head. “Actually, I can’t remember the last time you were in my chamber.”
For a breath, silence stretches. My mind betrays me—remembering the night of the full moon, when his wolf had found mine in the woods. The gentleness. The nuzzle. The way it almost felt like care.Why?I shake the thought away.
“You shouldn’t have disobeyed me like that, Freya. I let you keep the crown, didn’t I?” He steps closer. “Why did you fire the head housekeeper?”
I glance up at him and study the face I long suspected of weakening me. Even now that I know the truth, there’s no relief in me. Just a numb sensation. But I can finally tell him.
“Because she was poisoning me.” My voice breaks on the words, but I push on. “On Izel’s orders… she had been slipping silverdew into my food. Izel’s a witch, Kade. She’s been using glamours—”
His face hardens like stone. “Enough.”
My chest heaves with a heavy breath, tears pricking the corners of my eyes. “It’s the truth, Kade. She’s been trying to muzzle my wolf. If I hadn’t found out—I could be dead in a few days.”
“You accuse the lady of this house without proof?” His tone sharpens, full Alpha now. “You shame yourself.”
Of course, I knew he wouldn’t believe me. My tears, my pain are nothing to him. The humiliation I feel fades and anger bursts hot in my chest. When he turns to leave, I grab his arm. The bond sparks under my palm, that familiar current trickling between us. His body goes still. I, on the other hand, am overtaken by the urge to move closer to him, to his scent. But I hold back.
“You saw me in the woods that night. Near the stream,” I whisper. “Did you never wonder why Emris couldn’t sense Nyx for six years? I told you what I thought it was—grief. My mother’s death. Finn’s birth—you know how painful it was. I nearly died, Kade. You held me.” I shake my head, knowing I’mtrailing off point. “But did you never think something else was at play? Something unnatural? I was weak. But can’t you feel the power in me now?”
The wordHigh Lunahovers on my tongue, but I swallow it back.
“It’s because I’m no longer eating at the table where I was being served poisoned food. And I’ve been taking antidotes regularly. I’ve been getting stronger.”
His eyes drop to my hand gripping his arm. When they lift, softened for one fleeting heartbeat, I almost forget to breathe.
Then he jerks away. “Don’t touch me,” he barks, and strides out.
The chamber is silent again, heavy with his absence. I drop to my knees in defeat, and then scream in anger. I let myself look weak in front of him. If he cared, even a little, he wouldn’t be with her. If he cared, he’d think twice before calling me a liar. It’s true.He hasn’t been mine for a long time.
A shadow flutters at the window.
The raven lands on the sill, claws tapping wood. A thick scrap of parchment is tied to its leg. I walk to it, my legs heavy after the conversation with my unfaithful husband. I untie the parchment with trembling fingers.
Proof enclosed. Izel bought silverdew from a coven in the Ashen Market. Use it well.
Another sheet, rolled inside the parchment, falls into my lap. I unfurl it. A ledger, marked with Izel’s name, a witch’s sigil, and the dates and amounts of poison.
My hands shake. I haveproof.
Nyx growls inside me, fierce with satisfaction.
THE COUNCIL’S ENVOY
Freya
When there are twenty-two days left until the Blood Moon Conclave, a raven flutters through the high windows of the dining hall and lands squarely on the long table. Its wings scatter crumbs into goblets, startling the servants.
The birdmaster hurries forward, unties the scroll, and passes it over to Kade who tenses as he reads it, “From the High Council. They are sending an envoy to Silvercrest.”
The hall stills.
Kade’s jaw flexes once, then again. I know that look. He’s always ruled within the reach of his own borders—conquering smaller packs over the last three years at a startling pace, yet never meddling in High Council politics, never giving them cause to meddle with him. But now, with the Blood Moon Conclave looming, the Council’s eyes are finally on us.
First the Conclave. Now an envoy.What is going on?
Nyx stirs in my chest grimly, ‘Be prepared.’
