Book 5: Swarm

Ingrid

When Kieran and Raven claimed the kingdom, I watched the news spread through the castle windows. It started slowly—just a few dark specks of people in the roads. But those specks swirled, collected more to their cause. Like a cloud of gnats in the forest, swelling and pouring through the streets until I couldn’t even see the stone underneath them anymore. That was when the cheering reached us.

Kieran’s name, chanted over and over again. Louder and louder.

That was also when I stopped watching. I was glad they weren’t swarming to take revenge on the man who killed their king, but that kind of power is always terrifying. It makes you feel small.

Small might be the only way to describe how I feel right now.

The princess’s scream punctured the warm quiet of the morning. After the first flock of birds took flight, there was a moment of silence where I thought I might escape without the whole world knowing what happened.

Then, th