Novels by Rahmore

Seven DaysWe gathered that night in the library, exhausted, and I found myself looking around the circle with a heaviness I hadn't carried since the morning after the mourning flower first appeared on my pillow."We need a plan for if the wards fail before the eclipse," Kieran said, once everyone had settled, his voice steady despite the exhaustion pulling at the corners of his eyes. "Not a hopeful assumption that they'll hold. A real plan.""If they fail early," Akira said, "the covenant collapses unmanaged, the way the chaos faction wants. Whatever waits on the other side arrives without any of the preparation we've spent weeks building.""Then we accelerate," I said. "If there's any chance the wards fail before the eclipse actually arrives, we can't afford to wait for the exact astronomical moment Mireille's notes described.""That's dangerous," Kaiden said. "The release clause requires the eclipse's peak specifically. Acting outside that window might mean the clause simply doesn'

The Chaos Faction Shows ItselfIt found us on the seventh day, not the eighth, arriving a full day sooner than any of us had braced for, which was, I understood later, exactly the point.I was in the training yard alone at dawn, my palm pressed against the dead oak, the crack in its bark now wide enough that I could fit two fingers into the gap if I wanted to.The ground beneath my feet shuddered, once, hard enough that I stumbled and caught myself against the trunk. A heartbeat later, a second tremor followed, deeper this time. I heard, distant but unmistakable, the sound of stone cracking somewhere beyond the castle walls, a low, grinding groan that seemed to travel through the earth itself."Rory!" Kieran's voice, sharp with alarm, carrying across the yard as he sprinted toward me, half-dressed, clearly roused from sleep by the same tremor, his bare feet careless against the frost-hardened grass."I'm fine," I said, though my heart was hammering, my hand still pressed flat against

Eight DaysWe rode back to the castle in a silence heavier than the one we'd carried leaving it, and I spent the journey turning Shane's warning over from every angle I could manage, trying to fit it against everything the Keepers had already shown us, the ledger's two hands, Wren's gentle warning to Priya decades ago, the strange, patient cruelty of watching generations suffer without intervening, the whole shape of it too large to hold steady in my mind all at once."Do you believe him," Kieran asked, once we'd settled back in the library, the others gathered close around the long table, waiting to hear what had passed at the gate, Priya still pale from the morning's news, Elara sitting close beside her."I believe he believes it," I said carefully. "Whether Wren told him the truth, or told him a version calculated to serve some purpose we haven't guessed yet, I can't say for certain. But I don't think he was lying about how it felt, learning he'd been used.""A divided faction of a

The Gate at DuskKieran refused, at first, to let me go alone, and I refused, in turn, to bring the full circle to a meeting Shane had specifically framed as private, and we spent the better part of an afternoon negotiating a compromise neither of us was fully satisfied with, both of us arguing our positions with the particular stubbornness that came from caring too much about the outcome to simply defer. In the end, Kieran and Akira came with me, the rest of the circle holding position at the tunnel entrance, close enough to reach us quickly if the meeting turned into something worse than words, though I noticed Victor had insisted on scouting the approach himself an hour before we left, unwilling to trust the path to secondhand reports alone.We approached the gate slowly as dusk began to settle, the last light of the day bleeding orange across the black river behind it, staining the water the color of something molten. Kieran stopped us a good distance out, his eyes moving methodic

Nine DaysThe peace didn't last. It never did in this story, and some tired, wiser part of me had stopped expecting it to by the time the guard came pounding on the library door the next morning, breathless, his face carrying the particular gray of a man who'd ridden hard through the night, his boots still tracking mud across the threshold in his haste to deliver the news before he'd even caught his breath fully."Alpha," he gasped, finding Kieran already on his feet, the two of us having risen early to continue the training we'd fallen into a routine of these past weeks. "A rider came through the northern checkpoint an hour ago. Says he carries a message from Alpha Gledova, meant for Rory directly.""Bring him in," Kieran said, though I could hear the wariness threading through the order, his hand finding the small of my back in an unconscious, protective gesture he'd stopped bothering to hide from anyone weeks ago.We gathered in the library within minutes, the whole circle assembli

Ten DaysWe gathered in the library that evening, all seven of us, and I found myself looking around at each face with a different understanding than I'd carried even a week before, Victor's guilt now spoken aloud and settling into something steadier, Marcus's quiet confession still waiting for its moment with his father, Kaiden's old hesitation finally named instead of buried, a small pile of ash still faintly visible on the courtyard stones outside where we'd burned Mireille's map together only an hour before."I want to say something," I told them, once the evening's usual planning had wound down, Akira's charts and Mireille's notes spread across the table between us. "Not about the eclipse. About us. The Keepers warned that doubt fractures the circle. I've spent the last several days watching some of that doubt come loose, and I think it's made all of us stronger, even though it didn't feel that way in the moment.""Then let's finish it properly," Elara said. "Before the eclipse

Chapter TwelveMaya's POVAt 4 PM, Lina abandons her usual duties and helps me into the black velvet gown.Eva's gown.The one I have to return in perfect condition or we're both screwed.I turn slowly in front of my mirror, taking in my reflection.The waist is snatched so tight I can barely breathe. The off-shoulder neckline sits lower than I'd like. Not revealing, exactly, but close. The train pools around my legs like dark water. One wrong step and I'll face-plant in front of Chicago's elite.Perfect."You look..." Lina gasps behind me."I look what?" I glance at her in the mirror, smiling slightly. "Come on. Say it.""Alright." She reaches for the zipper and pulls it up the rest of the way. "You look good."I give her a pointed look. "Are you joking with me? Be serious, Lina.""I am serious!" She giggles. "Just make sure nothing happens to it, or…""We're both screwed." I finish her sentence. "I've got this. Don't worry."I pair the dress with silver earrings. Knockoffs, but they

Chapter ElevenMaya's POVThe closet door swings open.I step out slowly, one foot at a time, like I'm walking through a minefield. Heat crawls up my neck. My face is burning.This is mortifying.Jax stands in the hallway, arms crossed. His eyes meet mine first, then slide past me to where Finn is emerging from the closet behind me.Finn doesn't flinch. Just stares back at Jax, jaw set, shoulders squared."What's going on here?" Jax's voice is calm. Too calm. "Everything okay?""Fine." The word comes out too fast. Too high. "Everything's fine."Jax's eyes narrow slightly. "I told you to stay away from my girl."He's looking at Finn now. The air between them crackles.Finn scoffs. He brushes past us without another word. "We're done here."Jax watches him disappear around the corner. He doesn't move until Finn's completely out of sight.Then he looks at me."What was that about, Maya?""What? You mean Finn?" I force a laugh. It sounds hollow. "He just wanted to discuss the PR strategy.

Chapter TenMaya's POVFinn pulls me into the service closet before I can react.The door clicks shut behind us, and suddenly we're surrounded by darkness. The smell of cleaning supplies burns my nose. A mop handle digs into my shoulder blade.I yank my hand away from his grip. "What is wrong with you?""We need to talk.""In a closet?" My voice comes out louder than I intended. I force it down to a harsh whisper. "What do you think people will say if they see this? You're ruining everything for me."“I don't have to be involved with you. Do you hear me? Don't you understand?Tara made it clear that…”"I don't care." His voice is too close. Too rough. "Let them say whatever they want."I can feel his breath on my face. Hot. Unsteady.The space is impossibly small. Maybe three feet wide. Our bodies are inches apart, and every time I try to step back, I hit a shelf or a bucket or the damn wall."Finn, this is insane…""I need to hear the truth, Maya.""What truth?" I push at his chest,

Chapter NineMaya's POVI couldn't sleep at night. I am anxious about how bad things could get if Ray happens to know where i live.It felt like i was standing guard for Leo, while he slept.It wasn't a nice experience. My eyelids feel very heavy, and i find myself dozing off every minute. I suddenly wished for Leo to grow up quickly. If he was bigger, we would have taken turns.The stress is on another level.I finally fall face down on my bed by 1 PM.That is when i felt less threatened. And exhaustion has won me over.I shouldn't be going to bed by this time. I'll wake up disoriented in the morning.And I have to show up early at practice at the agency tomorrow.The practice rink smells like ice and sweat and too many bodies crammed into one space.I walk in slowly, gripping my clipboard like it's the only thing keeping me upright. Reporters line the walls, cameras already raised. Of course they're here. They're always here now.The practice session today could get messy if I'm not

Chapter EightMaya's POV"You can head home early today."I look up from my desk. Tara stands in the doorway of her office, tablet in hand, looking almost... pleased?"Really?""You've earned it." She taps the screen. "Keep doing what you're doing with Jax. We're getting the exact response we need."I nod, not trusting myself to speak.The second she disappears back into her office, I grab my bag and practically sprint for the elevator. I don't want to run into Celeste. Or Jax. Or,God forbid—Finn.The doors close, and I finally exhale.Lina's surprised when I walk through the door at three in the afternoon."You're home early!" She's folding laundry on the couch, one of Leo's dinosaur shirts in her hands."Tara gave me the rest of the day off." I drop my bag by the door. "You can go. I've got it from here.""You sure?" She glances toward Leo's room, where I can hear the faint sounds of him talking to himself—probably narrating some elaborate adventure with his toys."Positive. You des

Chapter SevenMaya's POVTen steps. Twenty. Thirty.I count each step as I walk into the agency, like the numbers can shield me from what's coming. By the time I reach forty, I know it's not working. I wanted to feel safe and let my guard down.But eyes follow me down the hallway. A woman from the accounting department.Sarah? Sandra?watches me pass, her lips curled into a smirk. Two guys from the marketing department lean against the wall, whispering. One of them doesn't even try to hide his stare. Like I've commited the worst crime and they are about to throw me to the dogs.I glance down at my pants. There’s no terrible stain. Nothing out of place.So why do I feel like I'm walking naked through a firing squad?The whispers start behind me. Soft at first, then louder. I can't make out the words,I wish i could. But I catch the tone. Judgment,Amusement,Speculation.My face burns. I walk faster.Don't react. Don't give them anything.I'm about to turn the corner toward my desk when a