ra

unds like hungry vultures. Every time I walked past the armory, I could hear the clash of steel and the heavy grunts of m

y protocol, every law, and every weakness of the royal court. The dream had shown me faces I didn't recognize-females in silk g

my room. As I approached the corner of the stone corridor, I hear

sounded exhausted, playing the role of the burdened heroine to per

tanding entirely too close to her, his

Vance murmured. He reached out, his fingers lig

Vance asked, his tone sh

etiquette tutor from the capital to prepare

high-born females." He stepped closer to Lyra, his voice dropping to a low, int

h churned

have to choose me, and your conscience will be clear.

equited love-exactly as the dream had shown. The vision replayed in m

ed out from behind the corner, my sho

other instantly. Vance's face went rigid, a

r eyes darting between me a

s collar, pressing my tongue hard against the roof of my mouth until a metall

e was a foot taller than me,

ts," Vance lied, puffing out his chest to assert

f I wanted to be your consol

Omega. You should be grateful a Be

cold. I studied the faint sheen of sweat on his upp

weight. To sever it completely, one had to invoke the ancient laws of the Moon Goddess-the

I tapped into the tiny, slumbering spark of my inner w

ect you, Vance

-step, his eyes widening in pure shock. Even without a fated bond, a forma

ds balling into fists. "You arrog

ded softly. "Or the Goddess wil

before spitting the words out like poi

g his gaze slide from my face and then shatter. Only when he looked away in humiliation did I move, letting the sharp

ed, he didn't yell. Instead, a slow, calcul

mself a glass of amber liquor. "But if you secure a place as a high-ran

ack, and I had done it publicly. If the Royal City rejected me, I would have nowhere left to crawl back to. The dream had shown m

far more than a forgotten grave. But first, I had to survive the King's gaze. Seven da