ra

looking at Debora. I let my expression fill with the t

ling. "I... I did not throw myself at

ected immediately. "The enti

ld it silenced her instantly

. he was being cruel. He was insulting me in the street. I told him m

t know why Alpha Travis was there. I don't know why he said what he did. Maybe... maybe he

circumstance and Kane as the unpredictable, powerful Alpha he was known

o our name. It is my fault. I will accept any punishment you see fit. I only ask

olitical sense all in one breath. I had handed him ba

e gears turning in his head. My story was logical. More importantly, it o

ire dominion," he said, his voice hard. "From this moment on, you are confined to your quarters. You will not step

ion in her shoulders eased, and she cast a brief glance around my isolated room before falling silent. Whatever

submission. "Yes, F

as a gift. It was a sanctuary

m. Debora shot me a look of pure hatred before f

the bed vanished. I sat up straight, my back rigid, my face

f stage blood, I had bought myself the m

bed, closed my eyes, and turned my focus inward. I need

me deeper sense. It was a dark, viscous sludge clinging to my veins, my organs, a suffocating web of blackness. This was the Blightbane. It was more than j

d its nature, I felt a strange, gentle pull fro

iousness follow it, sin

ed. The feeling of m

as standing s

d moonlight, though there was no moon in the sky above. Beside the pool grew a handful of str

nar Locket was practicall

he heart of the Lunar Locket Clara's mother had left her. It was not an ordinary jewel, but

locked room. I was