“And he has crowned his mistress the lady of the house,” he points out bitterly.
“How do you—” I begin, then cut myself off. News carries over kingdoms, and he never stopped looking for me. He never stoppedlovingme. Of course, he knows what has been happening.
His thumb brushes my cheek again, softer this time. “If he does not honour his marriage vows, why do you?”
I shake my head, then take his hands and push them down from my face before stepping back. “I don’t know what to do.”
He looks at me with pain in his eyes at my unspoken rejection. Releasing a slow breath, he straightens. When he speaks, his voice is still gentle, “Let me help you, Freya.”
I nod weakly.
“Someone has been slowly poisoning me. You’re right about that… I didn’t want to believe it. Even when the healer from the pack showed me proof.”
“You should have.” Rowan’s jaw flexes. “There’s only one person who wants you gone.”
I glance at him. “You think it’s Izel.”
“I know it’s Izel.” His voice is certain. “An investigation into a ruckus near Nightfell led me to her. Before she moved to Silvercrest, she trained under a witch. What I’m saying is that—she carrieswitchblood. She’s able to mask it well which is why no one in your pack has caught the scent, but she is strongenough to bend loyalty, to twist men’s will. You understand that about witch powers, right? Your guards, your servants—why do you think they obey her so easily? Why Kade looks at her and forgets you?”
My lips quiver, but it still does not make full sense. “Witch blood?”
“Yes.” His eyes burn, reflecting the moon. “She’s not just sly. She’s dangerous. Izel doesn’t just want your place, Freya. She wants your end which is why she has been poisoning you.”
I flinch at the brutal honesty in his tone.Why?I wonder. She already has enough power now that she’s lady of the house. My children call her mama. What does she hope to achieve by killing me? Does she think I could sway Kade and make him love me again?
I look back at Rowan and realize it doesn’t matter anymore. I feel the need to ask, so I ask the question. “And what doyouwant?”
His expression softens, only for a breath. “To see you alive.”
The silence that follows is bittersweet, and painful.
I remember him as a boy, laughing as we raced through the fields, hair wild in the wind, his voice calling me back when I strayed too far. He told me once, in a whisper only I could hear, that he would always love me. That promise cost him everything.
Now he stands here, the Rogue King of Nightfell.
“I can help you,” Rowan says. “Nightfell knows ways to fight poison and glamour. I can give you something to keep your wolf awake. But you’ll need more than that. You’ll need to decide who you are.”
I almost laugh, bitter. “Who I am? I am nothing in that house anymore. Not to Kade. Not to anyone.”
He steps closer, close enough that I see the scar trailing along his jaw, lit by moonlight. His voice drops low. “Not true.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, and my gaze falls to his lips as I hold my breath.
He surprises me by reaching for my neck, and then he pulls down the robe I’m wearing before tugging down the sleeve of my dress, exposing my shoulder blade. I gasp at the action, feeling so afraid that tears fill my eyes until he pulls out something shiny and reflective. A piece of mirror. He holds it and says, “Look.”
He holds my neck with his other hand, rough calluses against my skin. Then his hand moves from my neck before his thumb brushes the centre of my scapula. In the mirror, I see a faint glow, something shaped like a silver crescent etched under my skin.
“What is that?”
Rowan’s voice is filled with awe. “Do you see it?”
“It’s just a scar.”
“No.” His finger brushes once again over the shape, touch featherlight. “It’s a sigil. The mark of a High Luna.”
The words hollow me out. “There hasn’t been a High Luna anywhere on the continent for the last three centuries.”
“But we have one now.” His green eyes blaze. “You bear the proof. Which means your path is larger than Kade’s house. Larger than his crown. You were never meant to rot in his shadow. You’re meant for more.”
