re Gu

Gala. The moon cast long, skeletal shadows across the road, and th

tled into a bubbling, irrepressib

thought Lady Seraphina was going to swallow her own tongue! Y

ed smile this time. "It

opping to a conspiratorial whisper. "You know, I heard the maids in the po

placed by a sharp flick

de. "He's going to award the 'Moon's Laurel' at the end of the

a jolt through me, a phantom pa

my internal turmoil. "They say the winner gets the King's personal favor. And... s

had put her on Prince Damien's radar. It had given her the access and the perceived status she needed to become his confidante,

She had been thrilled. Britta's public humiliation had

that happen. I could not let Gwendolyn win it either. Sh

ces? Spread rumors of my own? No, that was their

ng, struck me. A thought the old Eleno

didn't jus

I won it

iet life. But the old Elenore was dead, buried in a snowy forest. The new Elenore knew tha

the lies whispered by his son? When Prince Damien eventually made his move against my family, a public endorseme

enough to simply avenge the dead. I had to outmaneuver the l

way. I looked out the window at the warm lights of my home,

a asked, her voice laced with

rt. I gave her a small, mysterious smile. "I was just thinking, Fiona,"

e were waiting for me. The news of the night's ev

arth, his arms crossed over his broad chest,

ice filling the hall. "We heard

an alright, F

t the one I had crafted for Ryder. The stor

in my eyes, the confidence in my posture, and he saw a daughter he had never seen

e said, placing a heavy, warm hand on my shoulder, "kn

spine. My decision was made. I would ente