Damon
Maps covered the table in uneven layers, edges curling from heat and time. The wax seal on the latest council decree sat half-melted where I’d pressed it down hours ago, forgotten.
I couldn’t stop pacing.
Every few strides I circled back to the table, fingers brushing the ink-stained edges of the parchment I hadn’t been able to burn. Ella’s copy of the engagement contract. My name scrawled onto it in black and blood, binding me to a future I didn’t want.
Zane prowled in my chest, restless, low growls rumbling under every thought, escaping my throat when I couldn’t keep them contained. We should kill her, he hissed, sharp and insistent. Kill them all and take what we need.
“And leave Lila to die?” I muttered under my breath. My voice sounded harsh in the empty room. “No. Not
