Faye's POV
Dark magic coursed through my veins the moment Selena spoke those words.
"A letter from the south."
The parchment felt heavy in her hands as she stepped into my chambers. I had just finished reviewing the endless stream of council reports that cluttered my desk. Supply inventories, mining schedules, merchant grievances. Each document had demanded my attention until my temples throbbed with exhaustion.
The hot bath had been my salvation. Steam had melted the tension from my shoulders, and for precious moments, I felt human again. I wrapped myself in a silk robe, ready to sink into blessed sleep, when Selena appeared with that damned letter.
My fingers trembled as I broke the wax seal. Sally's precise handwriting stared back at me, each word a blade to my heart.
Father lay dying in a coma. Mother had drawn her final breath. And my younger sister, sweet Sally who once braided flowers in her hair, now wore the crown of an Alpha.
