“Yes.” For once she was thankful she looked more like Father than Mother. It would be easier to hide her connection to House Ravenwood.

“Good.” Her mother pressed a hand to her forehead and looked away.

Amara studied her mother in the dim light with a raised eyebrow. Was that worry she saw in her mother’s face? What in all the lands would cause her mother to be anxious?

“After the last snow melts, I will be traveling to Ironmond to make my own preparations and meet with Lord Ivulf.” Her hand dropped and tightened into a fist. “We will usher in a new era, one where House Ravenwood is in power. Then the other houses will taste of our bitterness.”

Amara watched her mother but didn’t speak a word. Hatred ran deep within Mother, so much so that if she were cut, Amara was sure hate would flow from her veins. Would she become like that someday?

“Now go. I need to rest.”

Amara bowed, conflicting thoughts tumbling through her mind. “Yes, Mother.”

She mentally shrugged as she left the bedchambers and her mother behind and followed the hall to her own room. If that was what it took to keep her sister safe, she didn’t care. Opheliana was the only person who mattered to her. She would become as dark as she needed to be.

23

I’ve received letters from Houses Merek, Luceras, and Vivek.”

“When?” Selene sat on the other side of Damien’s desk. Snow continued to fall outside from the storm that started the previous night. But the inside of Damien’s study was warm, thanks to the thick quilt over her lap, the fire nearby, and a cup of hot mulled cider.

“Sometime yesterday. We’re lucky the carrier birds were able to make it before the storm began.”

“Wait, House Vivek sent a letter? Who answered for them? Have they chosen a lesser house to fill the role of Great House?”

“No,” Damien said slowly and held up the creased parchment. “Lord Rune’s son, Renlar. Now Grand Lord Renlar.”

Selene blinked. “Lord Rune’s son? When did he have a son?” This didn’t make sense. She looked down and rubbed her forehead. Did her mother know about this son? If so, what was the purpose in taking out Lord Rune and Lady Runa if there was still a successor to House Vivek? Was House Vivek still a threat to House Ravenwood?

Ugh, and why do I care about that? I turned my back on Ravenwood when I left my family and home.

“As dual rulers of House Vivek, it was always assumed one sibling would continue on after the death of the other. I don’t know all the details behind Lord Rune’s secret marriage, only that it resulted in the birth of a son.”

She looked back up. “How come I’ve never heard of Lord Renlar?”

“Very few have. He was raised away from the palace as a scholar in one of the great libraries. Lord Vivek disclosed information about his son to very few people. My family was one of them.”