The air outside her childhood home was sharp, heavy, carrying the faint scent of pine and hearth smoke from the pack houses scattered throughout the New Moon territory.
But River barely noticed any of it. Her chest was tight, her mind spinning violently with the revelations that had just been torn open inside those modest walls.
Her mother was the sister of Queen Victoria. Her father was a shadow—possibly still alive, possibly a ghost. And she… she was the child they had tried to erase.
Her steps faltered, but Heiko’s arm was firm at her back, steadying her before she could crumble.
“River,” he said softly, but his voice had that steel edge he only used when he needed her to truly listen. He turned her toward him, tilting her chin up with two fingers, so her tearful gaze locked on his
