*Elva*

The cold of the night consumed all else. Even the bright flames in the fireplace did nothing to warm my cold hands as I held them over the fire. I shivered despite myself. Even after so many years in this castle, I had never acclimated to it as my mate had.

He was a brute of a man and cared for no one else. His was the only room in the whole castle that had any amount of heat at all. He hoarded both wood and food for himself, enjoying the suffering of the ...