Seraphina's POV
I crash through the forest on four legs, branches whipping past my wolf body. Everything is too loud, too bright, too much. I can smell things I never smelled before—earth, fear, blood from where the guards died.
Behind me, those yellow-eyed creatures are coming. I hear them crashing through the trees, their wrong voices calling to each other.
"She went north!"
"Cut her off at the river!"
I run faster, my wolf body knowing what to do even though my human mind is screaming in confusion. This is impossible. People can't turn into wolves. But here I am, running on four paws, feeling the wind in my fur.
Then, as suddenly as it happened, I'm human again.
I hit the ground hard, rolling through dead leaves and mud. My human body is weak and clumsy compared to the wolf. I lie there gasping, naked except for the torn cloth bag still somehow tangled around my arm.
How did I change back? How do I change again?
"She shifted back! She's human again—move!"
The voices are close. Too close.
My shaking hands dig into the bag. The glass vial with glowing blue liquid—the potion Mother said would hide my scent. I pull out the cork and drink it all in one gulp.
It tastes like moonlight and mint. Cold fire races through my body, and suddenly I feel invisible. Not actually invisible, but like I'm part of the shadows themselves.
I hold my breath as footsteps pound past my hiding spot. The creatures run right by me, their yellow eyes scanning the forest. They can't see me. Can't smell me.
"Where did she go?"
"The trail just... stops."
"Find her! The Master will kill us if we lose her again!"
They search for another hour, but eventually they leave. I stay hidden until sunrise, shivering and scared.
When I finally move, I'm alone in the forest. I pull the ugly brown dress from the bag and put it on. At least I have clothes.
But I have nothing else. No food. No money. No home.
And no idea what I am.
Three weeks later...
My stomach cramps with hunger as I huddle in an alley behind the baker's shop. The smell of fresh bread makes me want to cry. I haven't eaten in two days.
I tried to find work. I really did. But everywhere I went, doors slammed in my face.
"Sorry, we don't hire disgraced nobility."
"I heard about you. Marcus Vane's rejected fiancée. We don't need that kind of trouble."
"You're that girl who went mad at the ball. Stay away from my shop."
Marcus's lies followed me everywhere. He told everyone I was crazy, mean, unfit for decent society. People believed him because he's charming and rich, and I'm nobody.
At night, I sleep in alleys. During the day, I beg for work, for food, for anything. Some people throw coins at me like I'm a dog. Most people just walk past like I'm invisible.
The potion wore off after one day, just like Mother said. Now I'm constantly afraid those yellow-eyed creatures will find me. Every shadow might be them. Every stranger might be watching me.
And the wolf inside me? It keeps trying to come out at the worst times.
Yesterday, a man tried to grab me in an alley. My hands started growing claws. My teeth felt too sharp in my mouth. I ran away before I shifted completely, but it's getting harder to control.
Something is wrong with me. Getting worse. My skin feels too tight, like something is trying to burst out. Mother's note said I had to reach the Oracle's Temple before the next full moon, or the power would consume me from the inside.
The full moon is in three days.
I don't even know where the Oracle's Temple is. And I'm too weak from hunger to walk very far.
Maybe this is how I die. Not killed by mysterious creatures, but starved in an alley, forgotten by everyone.
I'm about to close my eyes and give up when I see it.
A notice nailed to the wall across the street. Fresh paper, bright white against the gray stone.
I force my aching body to stand and walk over.
SERVANT NEEDEDEastern Wing of the Royal PalaceRoom and food providedApply at the palace gates immediately
Room. Food. My heart jumps. This could save me.
But there's something wrong about this notice. The paper is too white, too perfect. And at the bottom, written in tiny letters almost too small to read:
"Only those with nothing to lose need apply."
A chill runs down my back. Why would a job notice say that?
I'm about to walk away when my stomach cramps again. The hunger makes me dizzy. I haven't eaten in so long. What choice do I have?
I walk to the palace gates.
The guards look at me with disgust. My dress is filthy. My hair is tangled. I probably smell bad.
"I'm here about the servant position," I say, my voice hoarse.
One guard laughs. "You? You look like a street rat."
"Please. I need work. I'll do anything."
The guards look at each other. Something passes between them. Something that makes my skin crawl.
"Wait here," one says, and disappears inside.
I wait for an hour. My legs tremble. I might fall over.
Finally, a woman in a palace uniform comes to the gate. She's old, with gray hair and sad eyes. She looks at me like she's seeing a ghost.
"You're applying for the Eastern Wing position?" she asks quietly.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Do you know what that position is?"
I shake my head.
Her sad eyes get sadder. "It's serving the Cursed Prince. The prince whose touch brings death."
My blood runs cold. "What?"
"Seventeen women have taken that job. Seventeen women have died." She steps closer to the gate. "Child, you're desperate. I can see that. But this job is a death sentence. Find another way."
But there is no other way. I have no other options.
"I'll take it," I hear myself say.
The woman closes her eyes like she's in pain. "Then may the gods have mercy on you." She opens the gate. "Come with me. You start tonight."
I follow her through the palace gates, my heart pounding.
I don't know I'm walking into a trap.
I don't know that the Cursed Prince was mentioned in Mother's note.
I don't know that he's the wolf with silver eyes I'm supposed to trust.
And I don't know that the moment I step into the Eastern Wing, my life will change forever.
The woman leads me through beautiful hallways to a dark section of the palace. The gardens here are dead. Everything looks gray and sad.
We stop at a large door covered in warning signs.
DANGER - DO NOT ENTERCURSED AREADEATH TO ALL WHO TOUCH THE PRINCE
"This is where you'll work," the woman says. She hands me a key. "The prince will give you instructions through the door. Never, ever touch him. Even a brush of skin will kill you instantly." She pauses. "What's your name, child?"
"Seraphina."
She winces like the name hurts her. "That was the Oracle's daughter's name. The Oracle who died twenty years ago." She looks at me closer. "You look like her. Around the eyes."
My heart stops. "You knew my mother?"
"I—" she starts to say.
But the door slams open from the inside.
A man's voice, deep and angry, echoes out: "Another one? How many servants must die before you people understand I don't want anyone near me?"
"Your Highness, she's accepted the position—" the woman begins.
"Then she's a fool, and she'll die like the rest!" Something crashes inside the room. "Send her away!"
The woman looks at me with pity. "Last chance to run."
But I smell something through that open door. Something wild and familiar. Like forests and moonlight and something else I can't name.
Like wolf.
I push past the woman and step through the doorway.
The door slams shut behind me.
I'm in a dark room. I can barely see anything. But in the shadows, two eyes glow silver.
Silver eyes. Just like Mother said.
A figure steps into the thin stream of light from the window. He's tall, with black hair and the most beautiful, angry face I've ever seen. He wears black gloves and stands far away from me, like I'm dangerous.
"Are you stupid or suicidal?" he demands. "Don't you know what I am?"
"You're the Cursed Prince," I whisper.
"I'm death itself!" He holds up his gloved hands. "One touch, and your heart stops. One brush of skin, and you die screaming. Seventeen women learned that lesson. You'll be number eighteen."
But I'm not afraid. Because I finally understand.
"You're a wolf," I say.
He freezes. "What?"
"I can smell it on you. You're like me. You're—"
And that's when the silver dagger in my bag suddenly burns hot. The wolf inside me snarls a warning.
Someone else is in the room. Hiding in the shadows. Watching us. Waiting.
I spin around just as a figure in a dark cloak lunges at me with a knife aimed at my heart.
The yellow-eyed creatures found me.
And this time, there's nowhere to run.