Chapter 7: It Was Her Birthday

The barge was a floating palace. Gold lanterns down every rail, a full moon on the water, three hundred wolves in silk. I came up the ramp in plain white with my heart beating like a bird's. I thought they'd stopped seeing me at all, I thought, looking at all those flowers. But maybe… maybe they did this for me. I was smiling when I saw them. "Kael! Draven—" The smile died on my face. Selene stood between them in rust-red silk and a gold crown, holding both their hands. "Happy birthday,...