They thought I slept.

But I heard wolves whispering in the smoke-halls, their voices trembling like reeds in a storm.

“She bears both flames.”

“No she bears neither. The Huntress will claim her.”

“She carries a crown. Or a curse.”

“Kael cannot guard her. Not from Her.”

Fear moved through the pack like poison in the blood. Some knelt to me with awe. Others bowed only to Kael’s scar, not me. And some disappeared into the night, marrow-song in their throats, to carry word of ...