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Prologue: Caleb
Tick, tock
Tick, tock
I sat inup at the clock in the corner of the roohtly visits growing longer Or perhaps it was just the absence of music
Nobody knehat the witches’ plans were now that Mona was protecting The Shade Annora hadn’t told any of us I didn’t care, as long as I never had to go near the island again I wasn’t sure if human abductions were to continue as usual, or whether she would continue harassing The Shade until she ed to penetrate it
Somehow, I suspected the latter But it didn’t concern me I’d already made clear to Annora that I wanted to be left out of visits to The Shade from now on
There was a knock at my door
I sed the last of lided in and sat down on the edge of my bed
“I wasn’t expecting you early today,” I said
“I’ it to slide down her shoulders and reveal her silk underwear
She stood up, roughly unbuttoningit aside Shea line of blood I barely flinched She crawled back onto the bed, kneeling and beckoning me over I remained still
“What?” she snapped
Breathing steadily, I held her gaze, taking in her dark beauty Her long hair, sharp cheekbones, cool grey eyes, pillowy lips How I used to yearn for this woman She’d once been my vision of perfection
It wasn’t often that I reminded myself of the life Annora and I used to share The proed The plans we’d made But now I did Perhaps it was because the vision of Rose was still fresh inin my ears
Rose likely consideredto fight for e had Of course, I couldn’t expect her to think anything different She didn’t understand
I’d already witnessed the wilting of one blossom I wasn’t about to risk the petals of another Least of all Rose
The princess still haunted me and it was all I could do to distract myself from the pain
That night, I touched Annora in a way I hadn’t for decades Instead of extending ripped her waist and pulled her against ht her lips in mine
Her eyes widened, and I thought I saithin the ainst hers But I could have been mistaken, for it lasted but a moment
I closed irl who’d once ownedfor The girl I’d sworn to marry