The Half-blood crown

e road. Sera's legs ached. Her eyes burned. But she did not slow. The child's

p with the ro

ves, maybe more. They were not organized like a proper pack. They were ragged, feral, w

rce to spread out. They had sixty w

d-on," Kael said quietl

ues had camped on the far bank. There was a narrow bridge half a mile upstream. "We split them. D

could work. But someone

wil

too import

e they want. If they see me, th

dded. "Fine. But you don't fig

ea

t and hid in the trees along the near bank. The sun rose higher. The rogues stirre

saw

She did not shift. Not yet.

ered. Half of them surged toward th

ped, drove her sword through its chest, and kicked it into the

eel clashed. Snarls filled the

Kael

ehind. The pack panicked. They had not expected an ambush. They turned to fight, but

ey wolf-their leader-stared across the river at S

reat. He charg

t him h

She felt the sting, the warmth of blood. She ignored it. She dropped her

his time. Less p

aller than the grey wolf, but faster. She dodged his lunge, sank her teeth into his flank, an

not s

ed at Sera-a wolf unlike any they had seen-and they broke. Some

ridge, naked and bloody, but unashame

you?" sh

ly more than a boy. "We don't know his name. He wore a mask. He paid us in silv

cold. "Where di

ital. He said he would send mor

ed to Kae

. We need to get back to the capital

e are

ore. He said they would attack the

s still thin, still dark. But it wa

she said. "We ride f

-

h without question-Sera's reputation had spread. The half-blood p

ssion. Voss sat at the center, calm and composed. Darius stood besi

"You've returned. We he

hall. "The rogues were hired. Paid in silver.

the council. Voss's ex

o such a thi

"But I will find out. And when I do,

ncess. But you are still unwed. The cou

"I fought for you. I bled for you. I buried a child's mother because of a war I did not start. A

ll was

ord, grey and bent. "The princess speaks the

Then another.

face we

She did not gloat.

l will be attacked on the blood moon. We have tw

lked from the hal

zen, his hands trembling

r had