VOWS TO THE DEVIL

ons came

ounds of the pack house settling around her. She had heard her mother's footsteps in the hallway, pausing brie

d nothing fr

since the night she had begged him to let her stay home. Not

A servant with a cold exp

uires your prese

that never happened for her. It was the only dress she owned that wasn't the coarse wool of the Moon-Cursed. She

not m

red, silver-haired, with the sharp features of a born leader. He had once been a warrior of

glass of wine. He di

" he

t her eyes down. She had learned the posture of co

still not looking at her. "The negotiation

ch dropped.

not inte

ell s

-she might have preferred cruelty. Cold indifference wa

weakness, and they will strike when the opportunity presents itself. Your mother's family has offered no assistance.

ened. "What does th

alliance. The strongest alliance we could hope for. The Alpha of Black Holl

w. Black Hollow. Home of the Shadow W

Dra

hree kingdoms before he turned twenty-five. He was called the Devil because he had no mercy, no conscience, no soul. He had killed his

him," Lyra whispere

linch. "I am sav

our dau

honor. No future. You cannot shift. You cannot fight. You cannot even defend yourself a

m back furiously. She would not cry in front of

continued. "You will go to Black Hollow. Yo

ut then she saw something in his e

e

her was

ds were shaking slightly on the edge of his desk. His jaw was clen

r seen her f

of? she wanted to

that questions were not welcome. Her father

ead, sh

," she said.

*

f the Silverfang village and watched her h

not come to see her off. She was leaving her sister Elara, who had wept and clung to her and begged h

not lo

hat if she did,

*

Black Hollow

oon. Her escort was small: a handful of warriors, a handmaiden who refused to meet her eyes,

trees of Silverfang gave way to black pines and twisted oaks. The

of the moon. She was ente

ight, she had

sky was black. Everything was black, except for the mist that coiled around h

r-it was shadow made solid, rippling with movement like a living cloak. His

He did not move. He

t was a thought pressed into her skull, heavy and warm

peak. Her throa

have run. But something in her chest-that caged thing, that burie

ou," the wolf said. "I'v

oke g

he corner of the carriage, star

ounding. She was drenched in sweat.

managed. "Just

were frightening. This had been something els

hat felt li

*

ay, they reach

er carriage. She had expected darkness. She had expected

not disa

things. The architecture was harsh and unforgiving. There were no gardens, no flowers, no softness to be

to watch her arrival did not sm

ugh the carriage walls. Th

an't s

er. She's

will eat

't last

ed that too. The mask of composure. The

e, she wa

ped down onto black stone. She wore her finest gown-silver silk emb

like statues, their faces cold, their eyes sharp. They were

ll, on a throne of black sto

t what sh

rute. A beast with fangs and cl

man who looked like

nd war. His hair was black as obsidian, falling across a face carved from ice. His cheekbon

in place the mom

ot how to

e did not offer her a single gesture of welcome. He looked at

gone. The words she had practiced, the careful

ence st

en Kae

Ashb

. Disinterested. It cut

at was all she

ard her. The court held its breath. Lyra

ding at the edge of a cliff and feeling the wind pull at your clothes. She smelled him. P

swept over her from head to toe,

g more. Stay out of my way. Stay out of my

d and wa

alone in the center of the great hall, hundreds of ey

ruelty. She had pr

t prepare

regard. He had looked at her like she wa

er whole life b

realized it co

el reached the

cond. A heart

ver his shoulder.

omething flickered in

gnit

left. The heavy doors boomed shut behind him, and Lyra

moment

rstand it. She

est stirred. That caged

w

*

en wanted. The sheets were black silk. The canopy was carved from s

a storm of fear and confusion a

he heard t

ed. Somewhere in the pa

o her ears, trying to block out the sound, but it only

arp gasps. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to r

nside her would

ams. The same voice from her

little

ened he

chamber, she saw two amber

chi

it

scre