a P

neve

of my room, a cruel mantra of my own foolishness. U

s gossip from jealous girls. Damien wouldn'

chase away the chill that had settled deep in my bone

rics. Black and gray combat tunics, leather le

ck, wrapped in protective

had given it to me for my eighteenth birthday, one of the few birthdays he'

rm as he handed it to me, his voice lo

felt like a relic from another life, a l

wear it

r it to the announcement. A silent reminder of his

ck on the door sha

the King's young messengers, stood in the hallway. He was

ide-eyed adoration, like I w

couldn't m

ng," he recited, his voice stiff and formal, "you are to summon Lady Isabel

ch had been fluttering with a fragile hope, felt

voice, unnatura

"His Majesty... His Majesty also commands that the Luna's c

was a ha

f my pathetic, frag

holding me upright. My knuckles w

led a hasty "My Lady," and practically fled down the corri

lick of the latch soundi

ld, rough wood until I w

ed, drifting in and out of consciousness from the silver poison. He

storm of emotions I couldn't decipher. Pain. Fear. An

aid, his voice raw. "Wait f

so tender it had made my heart ache. "You've done mor

ersto

n't a

a dis

e throne. I had absorbed the last blow meant for him. And

o be cas

roken thing that sounded more like a

tarted t

my throat raw. Tears streamed down my face, h

s felt unsteady, like they belonged to som

om its hiding place. A symbol of a future

t it didn't go to the s

the corner where my oldest,

esigned for durability, not comfort. It chafed against the

with a tray of breakfast I wouldn'

as the King's Shadow. A w

d at the corners. She opened her mouth to say

void of any emotion. "Braid my

orked, her hands deft and sure. The girl who ha

as a soldier w