The fortress was quiet after the battle, but it was not peace that filled its halls. The silence was heavy, weighed down by whispers that carried through the corridors, by the sharp scent of smoke and blood that lingered long after the fires had been put out. Selene sat by the window of her chamber, the moon hanging pale above the horizon, her reflection staring back at her in the glass.

She touched the mark at her neck, the skin still tender, still pulsing with the bond that tied her to ...