Into the garbage chute, Flyboy!

THE KNIGHT AND THE MOTH SPOILERS!

“You want to throw me down,” Rory said, eyelids dropping as he whispered into my parted lips. “And I, prideful, disdainful, godless, want to drag you into the dirt with me.”

Nesta Week 2025: Day 6 Birthday

I lift my palms just enough to clear the table and summon the cooling darkness of the shadows. They stream out from under the table and blanket the room in less than a heartbeat, devouring all traces of light.

Panic skitters down the silver bond.

“Relax. It’s just me.” I crook a finger, and a strand of shadow solidifies to skim along Violet’s cheek.

“Fuck me,” a rider to the left says.

“I can surround this entire outpost, but I think that might freak some people out.” I close my hands, and the shadows jolt back to natural state, letting light pour in through the windows. Damn, that was fun. It was even worth the threat assessment I’m getting from Mira. Violet tenses like she spotted it, too. “I hope you didn’t get any ideas while we were in the dark there.”

She lifts her middle finger without even looking my way, and a laugh sneaks past my lips as Mira leads us through the rest of the exercise.

You might be angry when you realize I didn’t wake you to say goodbye. But it’s only because I no longer fully trust my ability to walk away.

—Recovered Correspondence of His Grace, Lieutenant Xaden Riorson, Sixteenth Duke of Tyrrendor, to Cadet Violet Sorrengail

The worst of all blessings

CLAIM

I love you ten times more, princeling