The ceremony was so transitory it had barely been a ceremony. The only proof that it’d happened was the ring cinching her finger. Though she’d protested that she’d dirty the ring, Elon had slid it onto her finger anyhow. Elon mounted the steps of the embassy, his feet clapping against marble. He stopped at the…

Though the pace was slow, each of the horse’s plodding steps jarred, rattling her teeth. She forced her pained breaths to slow, determined not to faint before arriving at the embassy, though Elon had assured her she could have a sleeping draught. She didn’t want to miss a single moment she spent in his arms….

Without waiting for a reply, Elon stepped forward, and the group of men surged backwards. “Where is she?” He scanned the crowd again—almost frantically. Carissa swallowed past her tight throat. Was he looking… for her? She was the only other nightwoman. Her body quivered with each beat of her heart. Did he know who she…

The men left her alone. In a matter of hours, a sickness had settled over her lungs. Now she not only spewed blood when she coughed, but yellow and green phlegm. Each cough seemed to scrape her throat raw, and merely breathing caused rivulets of pain to seize her. Judging from the men’s expressions of…

A shove from behind sent her sprawling forward, and her bones shrieked with pain—but it was a cry only she could hear. As Carissa fell into the barred room, she curled protectively around her satchel. After searching it for weapons, they’d allowed her to keep it. The other women and Akar were shoved in after…