“Changed?” Kade’s tone hardens. “Why did it take you this long to act?”
They look dazed, confused, like men waking from a dream. “We… we didn’t see or hear anything,” one stammers. “It was as if—something fogged our minds.”
Jax crouches near the scorched drapes, fingers brushing the singed fabric. “It has an odd smell.”
“How could this happen?” Kade demands. “Who let this happen in my house?”
A new voice answers, smooth and calm. “Perhaps a candle fell.”
Izel stands in the doorway, her auburn hair falling in ringlets around her shoulders. “I came as soon as I heard.”
I stand, still holding Ivy. “Witchfire doesn’t come from falling candles.”
For a heartbeat, something flashes in her eyes—just enough for me to see satisfaction buried deep under her mask. Then it’s gone. “Witchfire?” she repeats softly, almost laughing. “You’re frightened, Freya. You must have seen it wrong in all that smoke.”
“I know what I saw,” I say. “And what I smelled.”
Kade glances between us, suspicion warring with denial in his eyes.
Jax steps closer to him, murmuring something low I can’t hear. Kade’s expression tightens.
“Enough,” he says finally. “I don’t want excuses. The children are moving out of here tonight.”
Izel blinks. “Out? To where?”
He looks at me. “With Freya.”
Her mask slips, and I catch the flicker of anger in her face before she schools it back into softness. “Of course,” she says tightly. “If that’s your wish, Alpha.”
“It’s not a wish,” he replies. “It’s an order.” He turns to me.
Before he can say more, I cut him off, “I want to reopen the Queen’s wing. My children will be safe there.”
He groans loudly in frustration before finally nodding. “Fine!”
I nod, still breathless and shaking, soot streaking my sleeves. “Thank you.”
As Kade leaves with the guards, Izel lingers one moment longer, her gaze burning into mine. “This,” she murmurs, “is exactly why I kept her with me. Some mothers invite disaster wherever they go.”
She glides away before I can speak.
I look down at Ivy and Finn and whisper to them, “Not anymore.”
Nyx stirs within me. ‘We’ll burn brighter than her fire.’
THE QUEEN’S WING
Freya
Iwake to soft breathing on either side of me.
Finn’s hand is thrown across my waist, and Ivy is curled beneath my arm like a kitten, her lashes dark against her pink cheeks. For a moment, the world is beautiful. There are no whispers, no threats, no Izel. Only my children, and a soothing peace.
The curtains sway with morning wind. Dust motes dance in the pale light, streaming through stained glass. This room hasn’t been used in centuries. The Queen’s Wing—the oldest part of the keep, shuttered since the last High Luna died. It is said to be naturally guarded—the walls themselves embedded with centuries-old protective magic.Which is likely also the reason why the structure hasn’t collapsed or even seen the slightest of damage despite years of neglect.
I don’t want to think of why Kade let me come here, or why he let me keep Ivy and Finn with me.
Is his heart slowly changing? Is he seeing Izel for what she truly is?
