Merce

rossed the courtyard and ground to a stop before the terrace, the sixtieth strike h

of two footmen. Every one of her fingers was weighed down by gaudy dragon cryst

-conscious on the bench, Gwyn sobbing on the dirt with a bruis

Gwyn!" she shrieked, rus

h a lace handkerchief. When she turned back toward me, her eyes burned with

d sorrow. "What is the meaning of this cruelty? Husbands and wives qua

past life, it was this exact maternal weeping that had c

said, my voice flat. "I am not your c

le of gray ash by the base of the stat

a secondary consort is difficult, but it is necessary for the preservation of t

. "You mean breeding half-blood bastards with a

ak so vulgar! I have treated you like my own fle

erate step down

why you forged the seal of my estate to secretly transfer three royal vineyards and

ace turning gray. "You... what nonsens

en my royal guard turns your family's

gentility. She pointed a tremb

Elder Council and Regent Kurt are already disgusted by your arrogance! Wi

dog," I

ridled pressure of my pu

e dry mortar between the flagstones. The air temperature spiked

uckled under the crushing spiritual mass, slamming

as her half-blood dragon core withered un

ng daughter," I said, looking down at he

lawing at her servants' tunics as

errace before commanding her guards to load Jah

gates slammed s

nd spilled blood slowly drift

ae

elt instantly at my f

anded. "No one enters or leav

all be

servants kneeling near the garden wall. "Search every quarter of this palace.

y steel in his eyes flared w

ur com

ters, his tall frame radiating a silent, c

lk back into t

n old kitchen maid, scurrying past the ros

tened rat was far more useful runni

he postern gate, and he changed direction without

exactly whom