Page 53 of A Kingdom of Shadow and Ash

Mal schooled her features, her smirk fading as she realised how childish she had been. But there was no undoing what had been done.

Then, without warning, Ash grabbed her.

Her breath hitched.

She had been so lost in her thoughts, in the chaos of her own mind, that she had not anticipated the feel of his hand against hers, the firm but careful grip of his fingers. She should tell him she didn’t want to dance anymore. That she had changed her mind. But then he looked at her and she forgot how to speak.

‘You were rude,’ he grumbled, his voice too close, too intimate.

‘I am never rude,’ she countered.

‘You didn’t want this.’

She frowned. ‘Didn’t want what?’

‘To dance.’

‘I’m allowed to change my mind, am I not?’

Ash exhaled sharply, as if she exhausted him. He almost rolled his eyes—almost. But before he could, Mal tugged himcloser.

‘Naughty,’ he whispered, and his voice sent a shiver curling through her toes.

Something clenched deep within her, something that felt too much like anticipation.

‘Do you only speak in one-word sentences?’ she teased.

His body went still.

In an instant, the warmth between them disappeared. His expression shifted, hardening into something unreadable, something distant.

Then he let go.

Mal barely had time to process the loss before he stepped away, his hands no longer on her skin, no longer grounding her. She wanted to stop him, to demand to know why. But she could only watch as his golden eyes—once bright, once playful—became guarded, shadowed by something unreadable.

‘Ash—’

She had never called him by his name before. It slipped from her lips without thought, driven by something she could not explain. But it was too late.

He turned and walked away, vanishing into the crowd, leaving her standing in the centre of the dance floor, alone, under the weight of too many watching eyes.

Mal’s hands curled into fists. The worry, the strange ache in her chest, turned to something colder, something sharp and bitter. Why did he always have to make everything so damn complicated?

She swore then and there she would never speak to him again.

He’d be dead within the week anyway.

Witches and warlocks have been confined to their own land. We are no longer allowed to travel outside of our kingdom. I’ve heard that in some cities drakonian soldiers are counting the amount of witches and warlocks that live there and they are even registering their names. I’ve had to return to my hometown from the Fae lands because it is too dangerous to stay there, I would not want to risk anyone’s lives for sheltering me. No one knows Hadrian and I married in secret months ago. We cannot tell a single soul. I have another secret that even Hadrian does not know.

I am with child.

Tabitha Wysteria

Vera entered the wyverian’s chambers earlier than usual, slipping through the heavy doors into the dim, stifling air of a room untouched by morning. The thick velvet curtains remained drawn, shrouding the space in a lingering darkness while the princess slept. Without hesitation, Vera strode across the room and flung them open, allowing the golden dawn to spill inside, painting the walls with light and chasing away the remnants of dreams. Sunlight pooled over the bed, illuminating the sleeping figure nestled within its folds.

Moving quietly, Vera set about her tasks, her hands deft and practiced as she prepared the room for the princess’s waking. Abreakfast tray had already been arranged perfectly upon the long wooden table—fresh eggs, warm bread, fruits glistening with morning dew—but she couldn’t help but fret over how quickly the food would grow cold. It was not her place to wake a princess, yet today, Vera found herself hoping for the delay.

She had hoped—foolishly—that if she could stretch the hours between them, Mal might forget what she had seen the night before.

---