lea'

lled with the frantic beating of my own heart. By daw

nning every detail. Then I saw it. In the corner near the

. I pulled a pin from my hair and worked at the edge, prying

as dark, but I could hear muffled voice

eanor and

ick with false sympathy, "isn't it t

e Prince. With Galilea married off to a brute like Barnes, no one will quest

" Rosalie whispered. "About

ressed my ear harder

That she's not the daughter of some distant cousin? That we found her swaddled

lted. My blo

amily. Not even a distant relation. J

e her a name, a roof, twenty years of a life she ne

snapped. Those twenty years weren't kindness. The

-a small sum, just for appea

I'd believed lay in rubble. I stood, face pale in the morning light. The girl who'd loved

gan to knock. Not frantical

rned. A guard cracked the d

or and Harold," I sa

osition to make demands." H

ngerous. He paused. "Or when I become Luna of the Black Moo

my face that hadn't been there yesterd

Eleanor, Harold, and Rosalie were all there,

t the guards. I looked at the three people who'd crafted

arold demanded, impatient

d softly. "

conversation. Word for word. The beast. Securing Rosalie's path. Th

red, mouths agape, eyes wide with undiluted horror. Harold looked from me to hi

d, the silence

g, savoring

w we can discuss my dowry. Not wh