alace, the prison w
ough the corridors, swallowing their torchlight. At the center of the ancient ch
d-red ey
smi
For a thousand years, the royal fam
eard a h
his
e
Queen w
other. The sound rang thro
n sanctuary, A
e. Black bars rose around her, and chains swayed overhead. A man stepped from the shado
our time, l
d away. "Wh
our ancest
you want
d. "Everything th
ulled away. Instead, the bond between them
hands
traitor's fist. The silver-haired man kneeling beside a dying woman, cradlin
hand flew to her chest. Eryndor st
did yo
in ch
ar broke through the g
dor said. "The immortal so
n in th
the Wolf Queen's sworn protector. He helped her create the ancient laws that gave every wolf a voice. When the first Alpha King stole the t
still hummed there, unfamiliar and
oyal bond, formed bef
n I fee
ing has brok
re far below, another chain snapped. Eryndor l
when he's free
ne you are reclaiming and the vengeance h
d. "Then I'll make s
head. "That is what
ill. "What ha
d away. "She died
tuary gate. The messenger from the palace stood outside, bre
an's marriage to Seraphina and secure her claim to the
e was written in ancient royal script: TH
greed to b
nized the mark stamped into it: her mother's
parchment had be
bout your mother's death w
eone in the palace knows
may know what happened. That does no
he folded the message and slippe
he pa
acy. And to find out w
wer. His face was pale; one sleeve was torn and streaked
ds before the throne. Seraphina is beside him. The royal advi
er. "They intend to crown
s gaze fixed on the distant palace. "They inten
ave a relic. They said the Wolf Queen's b
crown she had brought from the a
e invitation was bait. They mean
e could disrupt with a speech. They had planned to cap
her cloak. "H
" Eryndor said. "Not enough to st
The ancient mural shivered. A thin crack sp
nger flared hot beneath her ribs. The council wanted her blood.
gger and slid i
em a coronation the
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