Crescent (Book 1)

+ 8 +

A mellow breeze carries voices to my room. Whispers, echoes bouncing off corridors, winding their way past the guards at my door and twisting their way around me. "Brenna..." a voice gasps and I jolt awake. The voices stop.

It's sometime in the early morning. There's just enough light outside for me to see the window is open again. The curtains float on that same ghost of a wind. I step out of bed, cautiously making my way over to it. The same stomach-churning drop as yesterday sits just outside. The window slams shut, and I jump back, rubbing at the cold air still itching at my skin.

There's a knock at the door. I throw myself into bed at lightning speed as it opens, and Ceth strolls inside. He takes a turn about the room, hands behind his back as he glances over everything.

"We're going out," he announces rather loudly considering the sun hasn't risen yet. His all-black attire is back, his hair slicked back, and an emerald ring flashing on one of his index fingers. I scowl as he pulls a drawer of my dresser open, closes it, strolls over to the mantle, taps his fingers against one of the golden figurines sitting on top of it. I don't want to go anywhere unless it's outside of this castle. Permanently.

"Out?" I query, pulling the duvet up to my chest as he looks me over. "Where? What for?"

"Don't tell me you're that naïve," he scoffs and offers his signature saccharin smile. "When was the last time you shifted, love?"

I haven't. Ever. Like hell I'm gonna tell him that. Wolves can shift at will, but the first transition is always the most painful... and I've nearly lost control enough times to know that it isn't something I want to experience. "You forget I haven't agreed to anything yet."

Amusement is written all over his face, practically daring me to say it again. "You're of no use to me wasting away in a room all day."

I tease a smile I don't feel like giving, hoping to lessen the starkness as I speak. "Well, I'd be wasting away at home with my family if I hadn't been taken from them."

Ceth's face goes blank as he watches me. I continue wearing a smile, settling back against my plush comforter. I pretend indifference. His gaze turns predatory as he nears, gripping the bed posts. "Clever girl," he leans over and yanks the covers back. The door opens with a wave of his hand. "I think you'll come to find the cold quite comforting."

He's gone with a blink. The tension lingers because I know there's no escaping him. There's no escaping what's about to happen. There's only cold.

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Moira is silent when she comes to escort me down. The guards linger behind like shadows, soundless save for their footsteps, and Moira makes it a point not to look at them. I want to ask what we're doing or where Ceth is taking me, but she's probably just as in the dark as I am. Her lips remain a thin line as we wind our way down the grand staircase. The front cathedral doors stand wide open, and Ceth waits at the threshold as snow plows inside past him. Frost creeps across the polished marble, and Ceth closes his eyes, inhaling deeply. Then he walks straight into the cold. I know I'm supposed to follow, but my feet root in place. I can't stop what's about to happen.

"He's always watching," Moira warns, her face carefully blank, and before I get the chance to stop her, she disappears in a wave of smoke. The guards don't follow as I step outside.

Flurries blast the side of the castle. Ice crunches beneath my feet, and across the bridge, I can barely make out Ceth's silhouette ahead. The maze of pointed birch trees blurs with the white horizon, but he continues. He rolls the sleeves of his tunic, baring himself to the storm before he veers off somewhere into the trees. The snow slows its ascent.