Leah's POV
I had imagined a hundred versions of what might explain Ariana's silence, but none of them had prepared me for the doors of the royal hall opening to reveal her walking beside the Alpha King himself.
For a moment, I did not understand what I was seeing. The woman in royal silver carried herself with the same steadiness I had grown used to at Silvercrest, the same measured grace that had made her stand out even when she was trying desperately not to. But the plain black hair was gone, replaced by something closer to moonlight, and the glasses she had worn every day for a year had vanished along with whatever else she had used to make herself smaller than she truly was.
Beside me, Ethan went completely still.
"Leah," he said quietly, not taking his eyes off the front of the ha
