The First Gift

The heavy silence of the Royal Wing had become my loudest enemy. Since the night I saw Demetrius alone in his study, the simple hatred I held for him had turned sour and complicated. It’s easy to hate a monster. It’s hard to hate a deeply lonely man who is destroying himself to hold up a broken world.

My own Mate Bond felt like a constant tremor now, vibrating with that terrible pity and fear. I knew my fate was sealed. I was a tool, waiting for the King’s hammer to drop.

A ...