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Guardian of Ruin

Guardian of Ruin

He wasn’t supposed to be anything more than a favor. A protector. A shadow while my father was gone. But now he’s everything I shouldn’t want—and the only thing I can’t stop craving. My father’s a powerful man—military, respected, constantly away. After the divorce, it was just me. No mother. No softness. Just silence and an empty house that echoed louder with every year. Then came Roman Cross. My dad’s best friend. His war brother. Older. Stricter. And always watching. He moved into the guesthouse when I turned eighteen, “just to keep an eye on things,” he said. A promise made man-to-man, sealed with loyalty. But Roman doesn’t treat me like a child. Not anymore. Not since the night I saw what he really is—what he really wants. He runs something dark behind closed doors. A secret club, built on control and submission. And once I got too curious, there was no going back. Now every look is a warning. Every touch, a mistake. Every whispered good girl... a promise. My father thinks I’m safe. But I fell in love with the one man he trusted to protect me. “Guardian of Ruin” is a dark, forbidden romance full of secrets, age-gap tension, and the dangerous kind of love that can never stay hidden.
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Chapter: Chapter Twelve: The Crown Remembers
The moment my fingers touched the crown.the world disappeared.Darkness swallowed everything.The ruined village.The Veilkeepers.Kael.Gone.I couldn’t breathe.Cold spread through my body as the crown fused against my palms like it had been waiting for me all this time.Then the memories came.Not flashes this time.Not broken pieces.Everything.I stood in a massive throne room carved from black stone, towering pillars stretching endlessly into darkness. Silver flames burned along the walls without heat, casting eerie light across hundreds of kneeling figures below.Hollows.Thousands of them.Their heads bowed in absolute silence.And at the center of it all.me.No.Her.The first Queen of Ruin sat upon a throne of obsidian, draped in dark armor lined with glowing cracks. A silver crown rested upon her head like it belonged there.Like it had never belonged anywhere else.Her face slowly lifted.And I was staring at myself.Same eyes.Same face.Only colder.Older.Broken in wa
Last Updated: 2026-05-16
Chapter: Chapter Eleven: What the Ruin Wants
Dust drifted through the air like ash after a wildfire.The village was silent except for the crackling of broken wood and distant cries somewhere beyond the smoke.I couldn’t move.The cracked earth stretched beneath my feet in glowing lines that cut through homes, streets, walls everything.I had done that.Not the Hollows.Not some ancient queen from a forgotten story.Me.My chest tightened so hard it hurt to breathe.“No…” I whispered weakly.A child cried somewhere behind the smoke.The sound shattered something inside me.Villagers slowly emerged from hiding, staring at the destruction around them with hollow expressions.Then their eyes found me.And the fear on their faces turned into hatred.“She destroyed the village…”“I told you she would.”“She’s a monster.”Each word hit harder than the last.Kael stood several feet away, blood running down one side of his face from a cut near his temple. Pieces of shattered wood surrounded him where the blast had thrown him backward.B
Last Updated: 2026-05-15
Chapter: Chapter Ten: The Throne that Calls
Nobody spoke.Not the villagers.Not Kael.Not even the Hollows kneeling across the ruined streets.The entire village stood frozen beneath the cold night sky while dark energy crackled faintly around my body like dying lightning.I could feel every eye on me.Fear.Disgust.Shock.And beneath all of it.certainty.They believed the stories now.Because how could they not?An army of monsters had bowed the moment my power erupted.Not to Kael.Not to the village elders.To me.My chest tightened painfully.“This isn’t what it looks like,” I whispered.The words sounded weak even to my own ears.One of the villagers stumbled backward. “She controls them…”“I don’t,” I said quickly. “I swear I don’t.”The Hollows remained kneeling.Motionless.Waiting.Kael stepped in front of me before the villagers could react further.“No one moves,” he warned sharply.Several villagers already had weapons raised.Not against the Hollows anymore.Against me.Lena stared at the creatures surrounding t
Last Updated: 2026-05-13
Chapter: Chapter Nine: Echoes of the First Queen
The fire cracked softly between us.No one spoke.Not me.Not Kael.Not even Lena, who now looked like she regretted saying anything at all.But it was too late.The words had already settled inside me like poison.The last Queen of Ruin didn’t die.She was reborn.I stared at the flames, trying to steady my breathing.“That’s impossible,” I said finally.Lena shifted awkwardly near the doorway. “It’s just a legend.”“You didn’t sound uncertain a second ago.”Her expression tightened. “In the stories, the Queen always returns when the ruin wakes again.”Kael leaned against the wall silently, arms crossed tightly over his chest.Which told me everything.He believed it too.I looked at him sharply. “You knew.”His jaw flexed.“I knew there were rumors.”“That’s not an answer.”“It’s the only one you’re getting tonight.”Anger flared immediately.“People keep doing that,” I snapped. “Speaking in riddles. Treating me like I’m too dangerous for the truth.”“Because maybe you are.”The roo
Last Updated: 2026-05-11
Chapter: Chapter Eight: The Girl They Feared
Nobody moved.The lantern light flickered across terrified faces as the villagers stared at the glowing cracks beneath my feet.I could hear their breathing.Uneven.Panicked.One man tightened his grip on a hunting spear, his knuckles pale. Another made some kind of protective sign over his chest like he thought I was a demon standing in front of him.Maybe I was.“The ruin bearer,” the older man repeated, louder this time.The whispers started immediately after that.“It’s true…”“She’s awake…”“Look at the ground”“Don’t let her near the village!”Each word hit like another stone thrown at my chest.I took a shaky step backward. The cracks moved with me.That made everything worse.Several villagers recoiled instantly.Fear flashed across their faces so openly it almost hurt to look at them.Kael moved slightly in front of me again, subtle but protective.“She hasn’t harmed you,” he said calmly.One of the villagers barked out a bitter laugh. “Not yet.”Another pointed toward the s
Last Updated: 2026-05-09
Chapter: Chapter Seven: Queen of Ruin
The Hollows kept coming. They emerged soundlessly from the trees, their glowing white eyes cutting through the darkness like blades. Some crawled on all fours with twisted limbs snapping against the ground. Others stood tall and still, almost human if you ignored the cracks glowing beneath their skin. There had to be at least twenty of them. Maybe more. And every single one was staring at me. My pulse thundered painfully in my ears. Kael stepped in front of me instinctively, his dagger catching the faint moonlight filtering through the trees. “Stay behind me,” he said. I almost laughed. Because there was nowhere behind him to hide anymore. The Hollow closest to us tilted its head unnaturally. “Our queen,” it whispered. The others repeated it immediately. “Our queen.” “Our queen.” The words slithered through the forest until they became unbearable. “I’m not your queen,” I snapped. The creatures smiled. That terrified me more than if they’d screamed.
Last Updated: 2026-05-08
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