(Daciana POV)
Tala helped me sit beside the open box while Conri paced near the door like a storm trapped inside a man’s skin.
Rieka stayed close, though I noticed every servant in the room gave her more space since the black feather was found beneath her pillow.
She pretended not to notice.
That made me trust her slightly more.
Or maybe it made me foolish.
The letter from my mother still lay unopened on the floor where I had dropped it during Bardolph’s pain.
I picked it up slowly, half expecting another wave from the living bond to drag me back into Blackfang’s sealed room.
Nothing came.
Only my own heartbeat.
Only my own fear.
I unfolded the letter and recognized nothing of my mother’s hand, yet my wolf trembled as if blood knew what memory could not.
My little wolf, the let
