Chapter 93

Briar’s POV

Tears spilled down my cheeks, hot and salty in the cold water around us. I couldn’t tell if they were for my mother’s sacrifice or for the family I’d never known I had, for the heritage that had been stolen from me before I even knew it existed.

"Where are they now? Her tribe?"

"Hidden. Moving. Surviving." The figure’s voice grew urgent. "But they grow weaker without their queen, and the threats that seek them grow stronger every day. They need their royal bloodline restored. They need you."

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked, though I was beginning to suspect I already knew the answer.

The figure reached out, her ghostly hand hovering just over my arm. I could feel the cold radiating from her, a chill that went deeper than temperature. "Because you are her daughter. Her heir. And soon, very soon, they will call to you."

"Call to me how?"

"The blood bond