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he outgrew the old ones. Never enough for the medicines he needed when the winter coughs came. I folded the letter and tucked it away. The kitchen door swung open, and Brenna appeared, wiping flour-dusted hands on her apron. Her cheeks were flushed from the heat of the oven, dark hair pulled back in a messy knot. "He asked about the honey cake, didn't he?" she said. "Before he even said hello." "That's my boy." She leaned against the doorframe and studied my face. Her smile faded. "You got the letter." I nodded. "And?" "And nothing. Lord Harwick appreciates my service but regrets that the position requires someone of - and I quote - appropriate standing." Brenna's expression darkened. "That pompous old-" "He's not wrong, Bren. That's how it works. Common-born wolves don't get promoted into noble households. We get patted on the head and told we're remarkable for our background." "That's garbage and you know it." I did know it. Knowing didn't change anything. She crossed the room and took my hands. "Ella. Listen to me. I heard something yesterday at the market. There's a posting - at the palace." I blinked. "The palace." "The Royal Archives. They're looking for a new records keeper. The pay is-" She paused for effect. "Three times what Harwick pays you." The number didn't register at first. Then it did, and my stomach flipped. "Three times?" "Three times. Full lodging stipend. Meals provided on working days. And Ella - they don't care about bloodlines. The posting said merit-based selection. Your skills, your knowledge. That's it." I pulled my hands back. "Brenna, that's the Nightfire royal household. The Emperor's palace." "So?" "So I'd be working under the Alpha Emperor. The one everyone says is-" "Demanding? Terrifying? Impossible to please?" She waved a hand. "Rumors. Every Alpha with power gets that reputation." She's not entirely wrong, Moonlight offered. But she's not entirely right either. A memory surfaced, unbidden. Gareth - my former betrothed, the man who'd courted me with sweet words and then chosen Isolde without a backward glance - sitting across from me at a dinner table that now belonged to another lifetime. Bragging, the way he always did. "My brother is an Alpha of the Nightfire royal family, you know. Real power. Not like these provincial lords." I'd dismissed it then. Gareth said a lot of things. Most of them were designed to make himself sound important. The idea that his family had any real connection to the imperial court seemed laughable - the desperate boasting of a nobody trying to punch above his weight. I still thought so. Probably. "Ella." Brenna's voice pulled me back. "You've been stuck in that drafty library for over a year, translating documents for a man who won't even let you sit in the same room as his guests. Valerius is growing. He needs things. You need things. This is a real opportunity." From the kitchen, I heard Valerius singing to himself. Something tuneless and happy about a frog. She's right, Moonlight said quietly. We can't keep scraping by. The pup deserves more. You deserve more. "What if they reject me too?" My voice came out smaller than I intended. Brenna squeezed my shoulder. "Then we'll figure out the next thing. But you won't know unless you try. And El