Two guards came by dawn and unlocked the cell, they dragged Aria into the corridor. Her legs were stiff from the cold. Her bare feet stumbled on the stone. The torch in the corridor had burned out hours ago. She had spent the night in absolute darkness, counting her own breaths. No one came to see her, not that she was expecting anyone.
They hauled her up the stairs and through the east wing. The blood had been scrubbed from the walls and the bodies had been moved completely. But the face of the servants they passed were all stone cold.
The great hall doors were open. This time around the pack members we’re all present.
They had gathered in numbers Aria had never seen.
Warriors lined the walls. Elders sat in a row on the dais. Servants crowded near the back, and among them, Mira stood
