The Night Prince

In a nightmare, Aurora wanders a dark corridor. Above one door, she sees the symbol of a key with two crescent moons. A powerful male voice asks why she is running. As she tries to escape, someone helps her break through a door, and they fall into darkness. The dream shifts to a palace garden where Aurora is a stone statue. Blake appears and asks when she is going to fight.

She wakes in the middle of the night. Blake waits outside her door and gives her a pot of ointment for her bite wound, saying it will fade but not remove the scar. Aurora takes it and shuts the door.

The next morning, Callum tells her he is riding to recruit an ally and asks her to stay at Lowfell for safety. He muses about a potential marriage alliance between them to unite their kingdoms, which panics Aurora, as it would involve her abusive father. Callum warns that Ghealach, the wolf goddess, decides whether Blake’s claim is accepted; if so, the bite will not heal. As her new alpha, Blake could use the Aithne—a command forcing wolves to submit—against her.