The royals here are utterly outlandish. They seem far more obsessed with appearing human than embracing their wolf nature. Hestrel’s been painstakingly scrubbing my skin clean for hours, plucking stray hairs one by one, as if everyone around forgets that our wolves naturally come with fur. If mine happened to be hairless, the queen would surely disapprove.

I sit silently on a wooden bench in a towel while Hestrel handles my makeup. I'll admit, her technique is surprisingly ...