PHIN

rounds below, woke me at dawn. Sunlight streamed through the ta

y exactly as I'd left him,

wool. I was no longer a young maiden; I was the lady of Iro

e a thin, nourishing broth, i

red at the door, his expression troubled. "My

no time. I had expected this-a "helper" sent to e

or," I said calmly. "I

would make them wait. That was the first lesson for

y stepmother's envoy. Matron Grimsby. A woman whose

ven bother to stand when I entered. Her

f the room, the lady's chair. A servant brought me tea

n, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "Lady Beatrice was so worried about

: I was an ignorant child

ind. However, I suspect the customs of Ironfang K

e, I am the mistress. I will teach my own s

fied, especially by me. I could see her preparing to unleash

This was the first battle for control of my ne

IEN

a gasp, my h

rd me, a vision in white silk. But as I reached for her han

into a colossal golden dragon, shielding Seraphina beneath one massive wing be

hed in a cold sweat. A ph

ed to the window, my mind in tu

diagnosed me with nothing more than an ailment

on sharing Gideon's bed the moment she arrived. Such a shameless creature.

how to cling to

ther's words felt like a sharp sting. An image of Seraphina's face at the ban

it wasn'

a jolt of genuine