with

ming like a silent drumbeat as I stirred awake. A bitter taste lingere

soriented. I hadn't died. That much I knew. The mark was still there, searin

t I was s

idn't speak, only glanced at me, then turned away again. It wa

up, wincing at the s

in agony, brought to his knees by something unse

l pulsed inside me like a

ce to breath

refully. The fortress was quiet, torches low, ca

e mark on my neck pulsed, faint but in

striking stone. Grunts and the

ned into the training courtyard. The air smelled of swea

of his warriors. His chest was slick with sweat, a long scar running over h

ruthless, deliberate,

he w

the jagged scar across his jaw, lunged

w, but not the second rogue's elbow tha

of yielding, he growled deep in his

ver under the moonlight. Maddox caught one blade wit

d the blade out of the rogue's grip

itch black. His spine arched unnaturally, as if something ancient s

lders, thick and midnight-dark, a

rogues shouted, backing a

x was too

to the arena wall. The rogue yelped. Maddox's fangs gle

s wasn't the same cold and composed Mad

mething dar

echoed from somewhere b

m and dared a step forward. "He's going feral again,"

spun, hackles raised, claws digging into

or ran through him.

ard me, still half-s

softly, unsure

moment, the storm

fur receded. Bones cracked back

, panting, covered in bl

Dropping to my knees, my inst

. I tore a strip from my slee

ing like a mo

ne. "Even kings bleed." Our h

d. The words struck deeper than I expected. I

ng the bloodied cloth at him. "D

at me. I turned and left before

t to name. My steps took me past the great hall, then around to a quie

r, keeping to the shadows.

first. "She's goi

She's already a problem. That m

ood c

Tarek said, his voice colder now, "we

but deadlier. "If he hesitates... we finish it ourselves. M

his chamber. In his head. If we d

all, knuckles white. They weren't worried about

ght in my throat. They weren't just wat

what. I might not survive