Novels by Layomi

ELARA'S POVThe portal spit us out at the base of the mountain, ground solid under my feet, it was a real ground, not shadow and not corruption.I took a breath, clean air, it was cold but clean.I looked back, and the Death Peak loomed behind us, it was still dark, still forbidding. But different somehow, less oppressive. Like something heavy had lifted."Where are we?" Kael asked.Scanned the area. Trees ahead. Path winding through them. Smoke rising in the distance."Village," I said. Pointed at the smoke. "That way."I started walking. Others followed. A baby guardian nestled in my arms. Warm. Still glowing softly.Ronan walked behind me. Quiet. Hadn't said much since the purification. My face is still pale. Eyes distant."You okay?" I asked. I kept my voice low.He looked at me. Took a second to focus. "Yeah. I think so."Didn't sound convincing. But I pushed it aside for now. I had to keep moving.Path opened up. The village came into view.Stopped cold.It was bad. Worse than I

KAEL'S POVThe light particles didn't disappear completely.They gathered together, condensed and reformed into something entirely new.I couldn't look away, none of us could. We stood frozen exhausted and watched the impossible happen right in front of us.The particles swirled faster. Brighter. Taking shape slowly.What emerged wasn't a beast anymore. It wasn't a shadow. Wasn't darkness.Pure silver light. Solid but somehow translucent. Beautiful in a way that hurts to witness.A being. Humanoid mostly. Tall and graceful. Wings spread wide behind it. Not feathered wings. Light itself forms wing shapes.It looked similar to the baby somehow. Same essence. Same pure radiance. But ancient. Powerful beyond measure. Like comparing a newborn star to an entire galaxy.The being opened its eyes. Silver like moonlight on water. Aware. Intelligent. Grateful."Thank you." Its voice was clear now. Single voice. No more thousand screaming souls. Just one consciousness speaking. "I was lost for s

ELARA'S POV"Trust me!"My voice echoed loud through the massive chamber, it sounded desperate and urgent.Kael froze mid-strike. The trinity blade still raised high above his head, ready to come down hard on the nearest shadow head."What?" he shouted back. Confused. The beast was right there. Attacking. How could we not fight it?I pulled deeper on the moon magic flowing through my veins. Let it fill me completely. The revelation was so clear now. So obvious. Why hadn't I seen it before?"The moon goddess told me something," I said fast. Words tumbling out. "In my trial. Shadow beasts weren't always monsters."The beast lunged at me again. All six heads striking together. I quickly threw up another barrier. Silver light barely holds."They were light beings once," I continued. Speaking through gritted teeth. Holding the barrier took everything I had. "Guardians. Protectors. But they fell. Got corrupted by darkness over centuries."Ronan pulled himself up slowly against the wall. Sti

KAEL'S POV"It's here."Ronan's voice cut through the chamber like a blade, it was sharp and certain.The darkness ahead of us moved wrong, it shifted like water and grew larger with each passing second.Then it emerged from the shadows completely.Gods. We weren't ready. Not even close to ready.The shadow beast was absolutely massive. Way bigger than any report had described. Three times the size it had been before we started hunting it. Maybe four times larger.It had been feeding well these past weeks. Growing stronger on dark energy and death and fear.Multiple heads sprouted from its enormous body. Five at first glance. No, six. Wait, seven. They kept shifting. Each one is completely different from the others. Each one horribly wrong in ways that made my eyes hurt to look at directly.Mouths full of teeth that dripped black poison constantly. Eyes burning bright red hot like coals pulled straight from hell itself. Smoke rose from those eyes. Actual smoke.Countless claws scraped

ELARA'S POVThe central chamber was massive, ancient and it was older than anything I'd ever seen before.We stood together in the middle of it, all three of us, changed.I could feel them now. I really feel them. Not just through the bond like before. Deeper than that.Kael's steady determination flowing through my veins like a second heartbeat. Ronan's fierce protectiveness wrapped around me warm and solid.And they felt me too. My thoughts. My emotions. Everything.The trinity bond had snapped fully into place finally. Complete. Unbreakable."This is different," Kael said quietly. Touched his chest where the bond pulsed bright. "Stronger.""The trials fixed us," Ronan added. His voice was steadier than I'd heard in months. "Fixed what was broken."I nodded slowly. Placed my hand over my belly. Our daughter glowed contentedly inside. Happy. Like she'd known this would happen all along."She knew," I whispered. "Our baby knew we needed to be broken apart to be put back together right

RONAN'S POVI chose the right tunnel because I knew, I knew it would be the worst one for me. The shadows welcomed me home like an old friend.The air felt thick immediately, hard to breathe through. The shadow poison in my veins recognized this place. It started burning hotter. Responding to something ancient in these walls.My head exploded with pain first. Not physical. Worse than physical.Images flooded my mind fast. Couldn't stop them. Couldn't block them out.I saw myself. But wrong. All wrong.Fully transformed. A complete shadow beast. Massive and terrible. Claws dripping black. Eyes empty of anything human left inside.And I was killing them.Elara fell first in the vision. My claws through her chest. Her green eyes wide with shock and betrayal. Blood everywhere. So much blood."Ronan," she whispered. Then nothing. Gone.Kael fought harder. Always did. But I was too strong in this nightmare. Too fast. I tore him apart while he screamed my name over and over."No." I pressed

Elara’s POVMy wish came true. Kael and I had lunch and dinner at a fancy restaurant, and it was perfect. Afterward, he drove me back to my condo. Of course , we couldn’t part ways without the main meal, and we had sex three times that day. First in my car, then in my bedroom, and finally in the bathroom. The next morning, my period arrived, and I told Kael. He didn’t have much to say afterall , just that he’d wait until it was over.Kael seems to be enjoying our agreement, and honestly, I can’t believe I’m in this situation. He’s pieced together half of my broken heart, the part shattered by Adrian when he betrayed me. Kael’s been teaching me new, wild things, things I never did before or imagined I would later do. I’m turning twenty-six next month, and at this stage, I should be thinking about starting a family.Well I owe so much to Kael. If he hadn’t come into my life, I’d probably still be drunk, and crying over Adrian’s cheating.“Elara, you coming with us tonight?” Call

ELARA'S POV I cursed under my breath when I saw my ex-boyfriend, Adrian, with his girlfriend, Selene, entering the FREX hotel. The hotel is owned by my family. Did they really choose my hotel to do their nonsense? I froze the moment they stepped inside. Through my blazing eyes, I watched their every move. It was only eight in the morning, and already my day felt ruined because of what I’d witnessed. Adrian knew we owned this place!!it’s my hotel, for crying out loud! What a shameless jerk. When they got their key, Selene snaked her arm around Adrian’s. I winced, feeling a wave of disgust. Honestly, I didn’t care anymore. What’s done is done, and not like I can undo the past or travel back to where it all began. All I could do was move on, and I was doing a damn good job of it.Once those two were out of sight, I stormed inside. We had a meeting about our new project, and my dad, Damian, had mentioned there was a new board of directors member. This new person apparently o

ELARA'S POV Callie , my best friend, stopped by early that morning. She was worried I might be spiraling, maybe even suicidal, after the heartbreak. As if I’d let a breakup reduce me to that. I’m not some fragile thing to be shattered by a jerk who didn’t deserve me.“You’re glowing, Elara,” Callie said, plopping onto the single sofa in my living room. “It’s like no one’s ever broken your heart.” I was so focused on the documents in front of me, I was signing some papers at least it kept my mind off things. “You’re imagining things,” I replied, barely looking up. “You and Dad said the same thing this morning. He called me radiant,now you are saying I'm glowing… same idea, different words. Thanks for the compliment, though.” I kept signing .Callie leaned forward, her voice teasing. “Come on, spill it. Is there someone mending your heart back together?” I paused, mid-page, and raised an eyebrow at her. “No. Why? Should I be crying all day, locked in my room, drowning in alcoh

ELARA'S POV Three days have passed since I gave my purity to a stranger. I laugh at the thought, I shared it with someone I didn’t even know, not with my boyfriend, Adrian. It’s absurd, but it felt… good, despite the pain. That night, I learned pain could turn into pleasure too.I can’t explain why, but I want to do it again with him, Kael Beaumont, the CEO of the Beaumont Group of Companies. The richest bachelor in town, a notorious womanizer, and a man who shuns commitment. I only realized it was him after finding a card he left behind in the room. His name was printed on it, and I researched him to confirm he was the same infamous playboy.He’s one of our major investors. I’ve seen him at elite parties, mingling with high society. Did he recognize me that night, or did he think I was just some prostitute looking for a paid thrill? I don’t regret what happened anyway. I want something new, that sex we shared. I want to explore deeper things with him.I decided to go to Kael's

ELARA'S POV I’ve been in a relationship with Adrian Cross for two years, the owner of the renowned Cross Bakes and Pastries, famous for its delectable sweets. He’s the man I always dreamt of spending the rest of my life with. But that dream was destroyed when I found Andrian cheating on me. He chose his best friend, Selene Hartman, the girl who obviously faked a sickness to steal his attention. Adrian, oblivious, forgot he had a girlfriend. Selene isn’t sick. She doesn’t have cancer. She just wanted to destroy what we had. One day, I caught Adrian and Selene in an intimate moment inside his condo. I’d gone there to surprise him for his birthday, but I was the one blindsided.I was reaching for another glass when Callista stopped me. “Enough, Elara!!! You’re already drunk!!,” she said, her voice firm.“Chill… I’m not drunk, maybe a little though,” I shot back, snatching another glass and downing it in one gulp.“What the hell Elara, I said enough!!!!” Callista grabbed my hands,