Novel-novel oleh Zahra Heart

CARDANDarkness. Absolute, silent darkness.The pain, the fire, the chaos. It was all gone. There was no sound, no sensation, only a serene, infinite void. I was floating, completely free.‘This is it,’ I realized calmly. ‘The end.’I had faced the most terrifying thing in the universe and won, only to be claimed by the simplest thing: exhaustion. The Destroyer had fulfilled his purpose by saving the world he was destined to destrot. A fitting, bitterly ironic end.Then, a low, familiar voice cut through the endless silence.“So, you finally arrive, son.”I turned in the void. Standing before me was a figure radiating strength and ancient authority, clad in the silver armor of the Royal Lycan Kingdom. My father. The King I had failed, the man who had always been my impossible measure of perfection.“Father,” I managed. My voice shook as I beheld him. My father. , He looked at me with an expression of cool appraisal. “You look terrible. Even here, you are bleeding like crazy.”“I foug

CARDANIMy vision swam, tinged red with blood and pain. The Dragon, Aethyros, loomed over me.“You won’t yield?” His voice boomed, echoing the contempt in its eyes. “Such a disappointing struggle for a creature of chaos. You are unworthy of the end I planned.”The massive claw began its slow descent, dragging the atmosphere with it. I tried to lift my functioning arm, to summon the white power one last time, but the well was dry. The dragon fire had scorched my core, draining the last dregs of the Immeasurable’s energy.I was empty. I was broken. I was about to die.I smiled, a bloody, bitter expression. My last thought, the only one that mattered, was of her. Scarlett. I hoped the decrees held. I hoped Harley and Cassius kept her safe.Then, through the ringing pain in my ears and the roar of the vortex, I heard it. A faint, frantic cry."Cardan!"The sound was sharp, piercing the chaos. It was her voice, terrified, desperate, and heading straight for me.No. It can't be.The Dragon

CARDANThe cold, unforgiving air of the mountains scraped against my lungs. I rode hard, a phantom King moving through the darkness, leaving the relative safety of the Lycan Fortress far behind.My steed, Rage, a massive black Lycan-horse hybrid, tore across the broken landscape, his hooves kicking up clouds of frozen dust. I pushed him relentlessly, urging him north towards the jagged, forbidding peaks of the Iron Mountains.The weight of the decrees I had just passed felt like a physical ache in my chest. They were final declarations. They were my will, should I fail to return.I had wanted to see her. Gods, I had longed to simply hold her one last time, to feel the fragile warmth of her skin, to hear the fierce, familiar beat of her heart, now nurturing our love child. But I couldn't.If I had seen her face, felt her new, vulnerable weight in my arms, I wouldn't have had the strength to leave. She would have argued, she would have fought, and I would have broken. It was better this

SCARLETT My mind recoiled. Legends of the Primordials were not bedtime stories; they were chronicles of extinction. They were the reason the oldest texts were sealed, the reason magic was fundamentally feared. Aethyros wasn’t a warlord or a monster; he was a cosmic force. If the Sleeper beneath the Iron Mountains was indeed stirring, then the tunnels, the Giants, the entire 'New Order' conspiracy wasn't a rebel threat. My nightmare of Cardan’s unmoving body was something I couldn't get rid of. "I can't," I choked out, pressing my palms hard against the churning terror in my skull. "I can't let him go in blind. He doesn't know the enemy. None of them do. They'll walk into annihilation."Harley was pale, her rose gold hair looking dull against the horror in her face. "Adam watched me with a focused intensity. "Scarlett, we have two forces converging. Cardan is dealing with internal dissent and raising his troops, believing the enemy is political rebellion and the Giants. Meanwhi

SCARLETTI jolted awake with a scream lodged in my throat.For a heartbeat, I didn’t know where I was. Darkness pressed in on all sides, the room spinning, my chest tight like someone had wrapped iron bands around my ribs.Then the nightmare slammed back into me.Cardan, lying on the battlefield. His body is unmoving. His eyes were open but empty. Blood pooling under him. My hands cupping his face while everything in me shattered.“No,” I choked, sitting up too fast. Pain shot through my skull. I pressed my palm to my forehead, breath trembling, tears already sliding hot and relentless down my cheeks. “No… Cardan—”The door burst open.Harley rushed in first, hair messy, eyes puffy like she hadn’t slept at all. Behind her were two guards, both pale and frantic.“Scarlett!” Harley grabbed my shoulders, steadying me. “What’s wrong? You’re safe, you hear me?”I shook my head violently, gripping her wrists with trembling fingers. “Where is he?” My voice broke. “Where’s Cardan? Something h

CARDAN“You need to stop the war,” she repeated, her voice trembling.I stepped closer, arms folding tightly across my chest. “You will explain. Now.”Her body shook. “Cardan, please—just listen to me.” Her fingers twisted together in her lap, white from strain. “If you go… you won’t return.”The words dropped like stones in the sea.Cassius stiffened beside me but didn’t speak.I narrowed my eyes. “You have five seconds to tell me what you mean.”She flinched. “I….I can’t. Not here. Not yet. They could be listening.” They? Who?My jaw clenched. “Mother—”Her voice cracked. “Cardan, I am begging you.” She leaned forward, gripping the edge of the chair as if the world itself was collapsing. “Do not fight. Do not lead the frontlines. You’ll die. You will die, do you hear me?”I stared at her, expression unreadable, heart drumming against my ribs.“You don’t know what you’re up against,” she whispered, her voice dropping to a quivering rasp. “You think it’s a simple war. You think it’s r