We sent Archer off with a hastily drafted letter to the Alpha King. It wasn’t much, but it seemed to make Eliza happy and it meant I wasn’t being completely neglectful.

Eliza was right–the royal family was technically my family. But it didn’t mean I was going to turn my back on Eliza and the curse that infected her.

Whenever I saw the tattoo on her arm, my own shadow stirred uncomfortably close to the surface. I’d never let that same curse claim her ...