Selene watched the horizon long after the stars faded and the first fingers of dawn crawled into the sky. She hadn’t moved. Couldn’t.
The air had grown colder around her, and though she was wrapped in thick fabric, it was a deeper chill that kept her still the kind that came from within.
What she had read in the archives wasn’t a lie. It couldn’t have been.
Orion had betrayed her.
He had opened the gates. Let the Shadow King in. Then twisted the memory into something else, hid the truth, rewrote her story… and placed himself at her side again.
And she—she had welcomed him back.
The thought made her sick.
When she finally stepped into the solar, Orion was already there dressed as always in polished black, his hair swept back, his expression carefully composed. He rose from his chair
