The walk back to the throne room felt long, longer than it should have been. Silence stretched as snow crunched under their boots, but the silence wasn’t empty, it was full of thought.

Aria walked closer to Lucien, letting the warmth of his side lessen the turmoil in her chest. The events of the morning looped through her mind, from Damien’s savagery to his death and even to the way his eyes screamed rage as he lunged at her.

She had not hesitated when she killed him and she did not ...