an'

I leaned over Mollie's shoulder, taking the parchment from her shaking fingers to examine the messy handwriting up close. S

d the edge of the ink with my thumb. "It belongs to the subterranean prison beneath the

e looked up at me with raw pain burning in her golden-tinted eyes. "Arthur let

o check the mechanical gears inside. "Arthur knows you are alive, he knows the mate bond sn

eclared, stepping closer to me, her practical t

ush the cosmic mate bond down, and to focus entirely on my ailing mother. I hated the magic that tied my life to a human girl. Yet, watching her stand in

ura settling into a calm, commanding weight around us. "If you stay in my fortress, you stay as an active

she replied without a si

rounds," I commanded, handing the pocket w

watch against her chest as she took a slo

urn toward the door. "Get some rest, Mollie. You

unsharpened iron swords. Mollie stepped into the courtyard precisely as the bell rang, dressed in tight l

ossing the heavy iron sword

the sudden weight of the forged metal, but she quickly

d, circling her with slow, deliberate steps. "If an enemy ca

justing her stance and pla

ed, springing forw

y blade in a broad arc that clattered violently again

er feet, her teeth grinding together as sh

my leg to knock her ankles out from beneath

r grip, Mollie," I stated, standing over he

ear, instead pushing herself up with bleeding pal

parrying her swing with a sharp crack

n her heel to dodge my counter-attack, h

to its absolute physical limits, watching her soft edges turn into lean, dangerous muscle. Every morning brought

s," I called out during a rain-slicked morning

uted back, wiping water and damp hair from her ey

r arms," I advised, holding my ground a

to pass, her speed improved drastically, her instincts sharpening until she could dodge my heavy strikes by mere millimeters. T

blocked a brutal overhead blow, her feet locking into pl

offering a faint, confident smirk befor

ing her a leather water skin.

g the water skin and leaning against t

orts. The flickering candlelight threw long shadows across the dark oak wood of my father's old war desk. The constant threat o

tic mess of documents scattered before me. I needed answers about Arthur's

strange, raised notch near

ing clicked inside the thick paneling. A secret compartment popped open near the b

er cylinder-identical in every way to the sealed

g the silver container out into the dim light. I used my sharp claws to rip open the

execution decree dated twenty years ago, signed