The Temple of Fortuna (Wolf Den Trilogy)

by Elodie Harper

Berenice’s voice has taken on an edge, the way frost sharpens grass in winter.

With the sword he struck, with the sword he paid.

it was the sword that opened a way through embattled enemies, and the less men feared, the less, in general, was their danger.”

“Overcoming fear is indeed the battle we all face, every day. Not only in war.” Pliny waves a forkful of eel for emphasis. “Imagine all the great feats unaccomplished due to fear, the lives only half-lived. Courage is the truest mark of a man.” He glances affectionately at his sister. “Of a woman too.”

Amara sees a familiar flash of red hair, like flame. Britannica.

Perhaps nothing marks the passage of time as inexorably as the loss of love.

“I am often afraid,” Britannica says. “Fear is like an enemy you see on the road. You raise your hand to him, you greet him, and you continue on your way.”

unlike every woman here, this woman has the power to make men feel afraid.

Loneliness is a chasm, so deep and vast, she cannot move for fear of falling, even though she longs to reach across it.

have missed you so much,” she whispers, the first words either of them has spoken. Philos holds her tighter. “I missed you too.” “I can’t leave you again. I can’t.” Philos kisses her on the forehead. “Don’t think of all that now, my love. Just surviving is enough for today. Let’s not look further ahead than we have to.”

“I love you,” she repeats. “And what else truly matters, in the end?”

“I love you, Plinia Amara,” he says. “And I will always try to deserve you.”

“Julia always said you were the most determined woman she had ever met. That you had the tenacity of a wolf, and would make a success out of anything, however unlikely. So live your life, my darling. And don’t prove her wrong.”

Today, she has her family, she has love and she has a living. May this be enough.

The dead are with her constantly, yet she cannot reach them.

The past is buried and she is finally free.

Nothing exists except her will to win—it is a fire that burns within her, as terrible as the mountain that destroyed a city.

This is not where it ends.