Defy the Night (Defy the Night, #1)

by Brigid Kemmerer

He looks like revolution.

They’ll wrap it up in pretty language and dance around terms like torture and execution by asking if I’m encouraging forthright answers or terminating a risk to the populace.

I’ve seen Lochlan’s type before, men who think they can survive an execution through sheer force of will. They can’t.

He wears his role like a mantle, some kind of invisible weight that clings to his frame, echoed in every step.

It led to their deaths, so maybe that should be a warning to me. It’s not. It’s a legacy.

“Everyone in this palace expects the worst of me, Tessa.” When he reaches for the ripped fabric at my shoulder, I flinch and shudder, but he simply pulls the cloth back up to cover any exposed skin. “The only place I can offer you safety is here, in this room.”