As it turned out, when the healers told Soren he was allowed “short walks but no other exercise,” they weren’t joking. It was a full week before they allowed him to move into a guest room at the keep, and another one before he was given free rein to walk wherever his legs could take…
The winged horse’s coat was seal brown, and the feathers of its wings were black. It watched Annalise for a moment with perked ears, before walking forward and snuffling at Helene’s hand. Helene giggled, a sound that Annalise would have expected to come from a young schoolgirl, not a dignified chieftainess. “No, you overgrown pony,…
Annalise patted her mount’s neck as the wind whipped her hair into a frenzy. She and Helene had ridden two shaggy horses out of the village and up a steep trail to an overlook that afforded a grand vista of the entire valley. Helene swung off her mount and Annalise followed her lead, joining her…
The next morning, Annalise woke to the sound of low humming as Elsabeth pulled the curtains and allowed the early morning light to shine through. Annalise took a moment to fully appreciate her assigned room in the dawn light. Like the rest of the keep, it was made entirely of wood, the floors worn smooth…
In the years since Queen Elvira’s death, Annalise’s memories had faded until the idea of her mother-before-she-was-sick was hardly more than a nebulous outline cast into shadow by her illness and death. Annalise had loved her mother dearly, but the circumstances of her curse left her with a bitter taste in her mouth and far…
Dovea’s throne room was a large, stately affair with gray stone columns, a white stone floor, and blue tapestries that exuded power and wealth. In contrast, the room where Annalise currently stood was much cozier with its wooden panelling, floor strewn with sweet rushes, and a ceiling that was half as high as the one…
“Stop.” The word was said in a rush and with such an authoritative tone that it even surprised Annalise. Elsabeth froze, one hand outstretched towards the dress. “Is everything okay, Your Highness?” “My blood. There’s so much of it. You’re not wearing gloves.” Annalise had been so distracted by Elsabeth’s chatter and her own fatigue…
Their journey took most of the day. The mountain ridges around them grew gradually steeper until they rose vertically hundreds of feet into the air like giant stone curtains. Captain Padrin rode straight ahead until the party emerged from the forest into a small clearing in the shadow of the cliff face. He continued riding…
Annalise shifted uncomfortably on her horse. Between the tense passage through the pass, the four terrifying days with the bandits, and her rescue the night before which was followed by a few hours of restless sleep on the ground with only a handful of scavenged blankets and an old tent for comfort and compounded by…
“Be brave, my sweet girl,” Queen Elvira said, squeezing Annalise’s hand even as pain wracked her body. Annalise squeezed back, willing her mother to get better. Queen Elvira had been sick for several weeks—far too nauseous and with too fierce of a headache to get out of bed. She was six months pregnant, the longest…