Chapter Twelve
Ashridge rose from the mist like a forgotten god–ancient, brutal, watching,
We arrived just before dawn, the sky still painted in the ashes of night. My boots sank into wet earth, and the fortress loomed ahead, jagged stone and shadow. The scent of pine hung heavy, but underneath it, something darker lurked–blood, history, secrets.
all
I didn’t flinch when the guards stepped from the mist. Didn’t bow when one eyed me like prey. Kade spoke with them, but I didn’t listen. My gaze stayed locked on the blackened archway ahead, wondering if Lyra had ever walked through it. Wondering if I would leave this. place whole
Inside, the comidors were colder than the outside air, lined with faded tapestries and iron sconces that did nothing to warm the gloom. I was shown to a chamber–bare, narrow, the mattress hard. I didn’t unpack. My hands didn’t stop shaking.
I wasn’t afraid I was unraveling Not because I loved him Because I almost did.
And almost was worse than never.
The summons came by dusk. The Elders wanted to speak. Of course they did.
Their chamber was carved from stone, high–ceilinged and echoing with silence. Five of them. Old, power thick, and watching me like | was a pawn already moved into place X
“Selene of Stormvell,” one rasped, “You carry the blood of the Eastern Royal Line
No greeting. No warmth. Just the press of expectation,
“We propose an alliance,” another said. “Not as Kade’s mate–that title belongs to Callista. But as his conson.”
A pause!!
“In the old ways.
My lips didn’t move, but my wolf bristled.A concubine
A title dipped in politeness to hide the chains underneath.”
I held their gaze, let the silence stretch like a blade between us, then walked out without bowing.
Night fell heavy, and I couldn’t breathe in that stone box they called a room, I slipped out, down empty corridors, through iron gates that opened with a groan.
The wind kissed my skin like a warning
You shouldn’t be out here alone.”
Callista’s voice. Calm, Measured.
I didn’t tum. “Neither should you.”
She stepped beside me. Regal. Composed. Threat wrapped in silk.
“You’re not the first woman to think she could have him,” she said softly. “You won’t be the last. But you won’t win.”
I looked at her then. “You think this is about Kade?
She smiled–sharp, pitying. “Whatever it is… know your place.”
I let the silence answer for me. It echoed like a war drum.
I found Kade the next moming in the training yard, shirt off, blade in hand. His movements were fluid, lethal. A predator playing soldier.2
He dismissed his sparring partner the moment he saw me.
“I know what they offered you,” he said, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Do you?”
“I didn’t ask for it. I didn’t want-”
“Don’t lie to me again.“S
His jaw tensed. “Selene-”
“You said you knew where Lyra was.”
“I thought if you came with me, you’d be safe. You’d help me convince the council-
I stepped closer, anger twisting in my gut. “You used her.”
“No,” he said, low and raw. “I used you”
His words were meant to cut. They did
“I won’t trust you again, Not with my heart. Not with anything.”
He didn’t fight me on it. He just nodded, like it was already done.
That night, I sat alone on the bed I hadn’t claimed, staring at the cold stone wall!
Consort Pawn Traitor But maybe maybe I could turn their game on its head. Use their desire for control to carve out power. Leverage their secrets Protect Lyra. Uncover the truth!
I wouldn’t stay for Kade Or love. I’d stay for vengeance.And survival
And for the reckoning that was coming–fast, and without mercy.
The next day, as I walked the southern wing of the fortress, a whisper of movement caught my eye. A flicker of light, the turn of a familiar
silhouette..
My blood froze Golden hair. That gait
My heartbeat stuttered. “Lyra?”%
The corridor was empty I ran to where I’d seen her–but nothing. No scent. No trace.
Just silence. My breath caught. A trick of the light?Or had I just seen my cousin–alive and trapped inside the very heart of the enemy’s
den?
