Ashes Of Betrayal

he had light footsteps and a presence that did not sweep the room. Her dark energy hammered away inside of her li

to comprehend. Her body felt strong, fast, as if she'd been remade from the inside out. But there was a chill in her chest, an emptiness

mneys, and a hint of laughter on the wind. Evie paused, her fingers reflexively drifting to the dagger on her hip. S

ed information about Kael, about Seraphine, about the state of

he saw the farmers plowing their fields, children playing in the streets, merchants pl

thered around a notice board. Intrigued, Evie moved in closer, her gaze fast

a wante

ords under it were stark and damning: *Evelyn Ashford. Traitor

ace and turned her body away from the person in the mirror, her mind racing. Her face ha

seen a ghost," a voice

glinting eyes full of mischief. He was tall and thin, with messy brown hair and a scar alongside his face. His cl

asked, in a low an

peace and said, "Name's Rylan." "And yo

rrowed. "I don

e ready to run at any moment. Relax, I'm not here to turn yo

There was something about him that seemed authentic. Bu

nt?" she asked,

u is walking around with a price on her head. And maybe I

ched. "What do yo

her weight around as if the empire belongs to her. "And Kael Ardent is holed up in the capital pretending he's not drown

 nursed her face into immutabil

a weakness for people who've been wronged. In either case

t it might be useful to have an ally, however dubious. And if he knew s

"But if you go double-cr

. Now let's get out of here b

hat her life was getting more out of her control. But now, for the first time since her r

enser and darker, she could not help but question: W