Chapter 24: The Crown She Chose

They crowned me at moonrise in the stone ring, where Soren had once spared a man who didn't deserve it.

The ring was full to the top of its tiers.

Lycan grey filled the north side, and Crescent Moon green filled the south.

In the middle the two colors had mixed, because people wanted a better view.

Torches burned on every pillar.

The gates of the keep stood wide open behind the dais, and no one had been told to close them.

I walked down the long aisle alone.

I had asked for that.

Nobody gave me away, and nobody walked beside me.

I wore a plain dark gown, my pendant, and the silver moon-lines bare on both arms.

On the first row of the south tier, Gwen caught my eye and wiped her face with the heel of her hand.

Joss sat beside her with his Alpha's ring on his finger and his other hand wound tight in hers.

The cook sat behind them and told everyone near her that she had known all along.

Halfway down, a small noise made me glance to the side.

At the very back of the green tier stood a man with a bundle of firewood at his feet, in a grey work coat.

Cade had walked two days to see it.

He did not bow, and he did not call out.

He met my eyes once, and then he lowered his own.

When I looked again he had turned and gone out through the gate.

I let him.

I did not feel anything I could name, and I kept walking.

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