SELIN'S POV.
The first thing I noticed was the smell. It was dark…smoke and cedar, sharp, clean, and warm in a way that made my chest ache. I'd smelled it before, on him. The King.
I blinked my eyes open slowly, squinting against the faint glow of firelight spilling from the hearth. The bed beneath me was impossibly soft, too soft for someone who'd been dragged, hit, and nearly…
I swallowed, the memory slamming back into me.
The queen. Her voice like cold metal. That other man—the one chanting, her hands burning with light. My hand trembled as I pushed myself up on the pillows. The room was massive, shadowy, lined with black stone and gold fixtures. Every inch of it screamed power, and something else…secrecy.
I turned my head, trying to steady my breathing.
This wasn't my old room in the Alpha's chambers. No, this was deeper, quieter, and hidden. It smelled like him. It felt like him.
"This has to be his room," I whispered. "His…hidden lair or something."
