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September 3 - September 6, 2025
She screamed for the family she’d left behind in Vastala, for the friends she’d abandoned in Ellow, for the regent she’d betrayed, for the king she’d been too weak to fight, for the contradictory emotions churning inside as she took in what Ardow had told her. But most of all, she screamed for the helplessness she felt as Merrick’s warning of war lodged itself in her throat.
warm hand touched her lower back, and the smell of salt and wet wood mixed with Merrick’s untamed scent as he took up the spot to her right.
“If you believe that, you’re not as clever as I thought,” he said quietly as he lifted a hand and used his thumb to brush away another treacherous drop.
“He would if someone more dear to him was in danger.” Merrick placed a hand on her shoulder to steady her, and his grip tightened as he continued. “You were nowhere near to figuring out what King Rioner wanted to know. He knew that someone close to him must have been betraying him. Too much confidential information was leaked for him not to figure it out.”
She’d thought it strange King Rioner hadn’t disarmed Merrick when they’d captured him.
“She doesn’t need to get better,” he snarled softly. “If she decides to break apart this whole ship to deal with what happened, I’ll help her. If she wants to kick your lying ass into the depths of the sea, I’ll take your legs. If she decides to rip the world to shreds for what it’s done to her, I’ll cheer her on. And if you were a true friend… you would as well.”
Tearing her eyes from his, she met Raine’s gaze, and heat crept up her cheeks when she found his eyes glossed, the hand holding his cup trembling.
Merrick nodded, a muscle in his jaw flexing. “A long time ago. He’s not been the same since.” He let out a sigh. “But who would be? Finding the soul that mirrors yours, only to lose them… I expect it’s worse than never finding them at all.”
The cracks in her heart widened when something worked its way into Merrick’s voice, and she was certain from his tone that he hadn’t found his mate yet. It was loneliness, she decided, that sneaked into the deep rumble. Lessia wasn’t so sure that never finding them was preferable.
“We need to stand united if we’re going to take on an army of Fae,” she said, her voice quivering slightly. “We need to convince Rioner and L…” Lessia bit her lip when pain struck her heart. “And Loche,” she forced out. Jaw twitching, Merrick nodded, his eyes encouraging her to go on. Clenching her fists, she continued. “We need to see my father. He might be the only one who can convince Rioner.
“I will never regret meeting her. Not for all the pain in the world.”
“Isn’t the world how we perceive it? Isn’t the world how we think and process and imagine? Isn’t it our mind that shapes us, directs us, guides us toward our fates? Why wouldn’t the afterlife be the same?”
She didn’t understand the indignation swirling in his darkness, why a crease formed between his pearly brows, why his jaw locked and unlocked.
As if her dreams at night weren’t filled with cold gray eyes, stolen moments in a cave, and the shattering of her heart as a wooden door slammed shut behind her.
Stepping closer so his chest lined up with her back, Merrick continued, his voice barely carrying over the salty breeze. “No war, no torture, no pain could break him. That’s love. That’s what it does to you. To love someone and have them love you back… only to lose them…” Lessia’s breath caught in her throat when Merrick shuddered behind her.
“You can’t lose someone if you’ve never had them,” he finally responded.
Omg
glared right into her eyes. “I’ve told you before. You’re stronger than you think.”
But his voice was gentle as he whispered, “You do not carry that darkness. You may bear a name, but that name does not define you. You may share his blood, but that blood does not dictate who you are. And I promise you”—his eyes bore into hers as he stressed each word—“I. Promise. You. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Rioner, Loche, the rebels, the Oakgards’ Fae, or any of these fucking people won’t come near you. Ever again.”
“That’s a bold promise, brother,” Raine said softly, eyes locked on hers. “Let’s hope you do not have to break it.”
Oh no - title foreshadowing
Energy—wild, untamed energy—sparked within her, and her magic kindled across her skin, the light from her eyes brightening the polished stone beneath her feet once more.
“The Rantzier rule will end, its people disband, by the hands of the reluctant ally—the ally that should have stood by their side, that should have fought with them, that should have protected them. It’s the one loved by Fae and human, the one you may not slay for the war that fragile death would bring, who will finally bring the Rantziers to their knees.”
“I told him I loved him,” she said in a monotone, refusing to let the images of Loche’s disgusted face surface. A muffled cough made her whirl around, and her brows knitted when Merrick’s face drained of blood as he stared back at her. Mind spinning, she stepped toward him, but Merrick’s features quickly slipped into his usual mask, and he waved her away. Her frown deepened as he instead stalked up to her father and Raine and grabbed the glass in Raine’s hand to drain it.
Merrick laughed, a rough, quiet laugh. “I’ll make an exception.”
Something dangerous flashed in Merrick’s eyes. And it wasn’t the danger of battle or even magic but… something even more perilous. Something she wasn’t sure she was ready for.
It’s… it’s easy to turn to rage when love stabs a dagger right through your heart.”
“The world is painful.” Merrick’s gaze drilled into hers. “Yours perhaps more than most. But it’s time for you to stop cowering before it. Make mistakes, and forgive yourself for them. Get hurt, and fight back. You’re a good person. A fucking great person. Stop letting guilt dim your light. I told you once, it’s time to shine…” His hands tightened their grip, and Lessia’s breath caught in her throat. “It’s time to fucking burn, Lessia. If we’re taking on the threats of this world, you’ll need to be willing to burn it down. Love. Lose. Hate. Win. They all come together in the end. Use them to
...more
Not when all the memories reminded her of what she’d long suspected… That she wasn’t worthy of that type of love. The love that was as pure as a winter night where no boots had yet to mark the newly fallen snow. But perhaps… Perhaps… there was a different kind of love out there. One that wasn’t untouched snow, but that was strange and wild and uncontrollable. That was tainted and broken and… all the while perfect.
“You are brave and clever and wildly loyal. You have such fight in you—even after everything. And you love so fiercely… so boundlessly. Don’t let your past convince you that you aren’t worthy of it in return.”
This one was younger—perhaps in her early twenties—with curly blond hair, amber eyes eerily similar to Lessia’s and Frelina’s, and a much shorter stature.
She was so sick of these leaders who only took and took and took, not caring who they hurt in the process. Meyah didn’t care for her people! Like Rioner, she only wanted power.
“Fuck fate. Fuck these leaders who think they can control us by threatening us. Fuck the gods who started this endless fight for power. I will not let them tell me how my life will end up. We are in charge now, and we will make the decisions we damned well please.”
She’d felt like Raine had kept something from her for a while now, and she was getting tired of it.
He knows they're mates
“You wouldn’t have to fight for me. I… I can’t say it would be easy, given what we’re facing, but I’d make sure this—us—would be the one place you can rest, where you’re always safe, where you never have to put on a mask to conceal your true feelings.” He makes you happy.
And that sense of falling gripped her again. But it wasn’t frightening, No, it was a fall she wanted. A choice. A decision. A surrender.
A deep breath rumbled through him as he lay his head atop hers, and that sense—that sense of home—came over her. Even in this small, dark, and terrifying place.
Still staring into her eyes, he spoke in that lethally low voice she’d been used to before everything changed between them. “Mark me. Hurt me. I truly don’t care. But you should know…” Merrick licked a drop of blood off his full lips. “I will come for you. And once I do—it’ll be worse than your darkest nightmares. I’ll show you exactly why they call me the Death Whisperer.”
She only looked into Merrick’s eyes, watching as emotions fought over his features. Anger. Fury. Guilt. Worry. Love. She was certain that was what it was. Because she knew that pain. Knew it as well as an old friend. The devastation of watching a loved one hurt.
They continued to stare at each other even as the men cleaned off the blade, even as they held a short conversation before announcing they were leaving them there to ensure their Fae blood would heal them enough for the coal to seal within their skin. Neither of them spoke as the men left the room. What was there to say? They’d lived with a traitor mark before. They’d do it again.
“It’s the same one,” he said softly. You and me. That’s what he’d said when she’d panicked. When only his touch could bring her back from the darkness.
It wasn’t the snake mark—the mark they’d shared with countless others who’d gone against King Rioner… It was their mark. And regardless of how ugly it was or what it said about them… it was theirs. Merrick’s and Lessia’s.
And when he lifted her arm and pressed his lips against the tattoo, kissing the letters one by one with a feathery touch, she released a trembling breath. Offering her one of those devastating smiles—one of the ones where he seemed to turn into a completely different person—Merrick wrapped an arm around her shoulders and tucked her against his hard frame.
“Do not touch her.” Ice dripped from Merrick’s voice as he pushed the regent back a step. “You lost that privilege that night. Get back before I kill you.”
It was Merrick’s dark eyes dragging over her body, the slight flare of his nostrils as he must be picking up her scent mixing with his, the fingers gripping the table so hard the others had to catch their glasses from falling over, and the heat that followed like a shooting star on a clear winter night. She felt lightheaded again. But for an entirely different reason.
And it didn’t help when a thrill raced down her back, a flame igniting within herself, and the heat in Merrick’s eyes turned to hunger. Swallowing, Lessia set her sights on the empty chair beside Kerym, but as she neared, the Fae violently shook his head at her, eyes flicking toward Merrick. “Absolutely not. I don’t plan on getting killed today. You go over there.”
“Do you want me to tell you no one—mate or not—has loved anyone the way I love you? That I would laugh as the world fell apart as long as you stood by my side? That even if I could only have one fucking night—one night pretending you’re mine—I’d take it?”
“I love you,” she breathed back when she came up for air, the heat within her becoming almost unbearable as it rushed through her blood. “And one night is not nearly enough. I told you. I want everything. I want to be your fucking mate, and I don’t know the right words, but I accept our bond—I welcome it—I’m proud of it.”
It was so simple. But so true. So clear that it was him and her. Merrick and Elessia. Two broken souls healing into one.
“You’ll have that again.” He pulled her to him, and after placing a whisper of a kiss on her lips, he rasped, “Better. I’ll make sure you have it all. If you’ll let me.” She smiled against his mouth. “I’ll let you do anything you want.”
