Chapter: Chapter 66**MYRKON**By the time Nico pushed Lena’s shop open, it was already dark.The harbor was filled with fishermen shouting as they unloaded the last of the day’s catch, their ropes slapping against wet wood. Lena sat at her table, glasses halfway down her nose, mending a sleeve. A lamp burned low beside her.“You’re back,” she said without looking up. “We thank the gods of the sea that they didn’t swallow you this time.”“They tried,” Nico said. “I’m very charming. I persuaded it to spit me out.”Lena snorted, then glanced at the window. “You’re too late for any mending,” she said. “We’ve closed.”“I know,” Nico said. “I came for someone else.” He nodded toward the curtain leading to the back.“She’s sweeping,” She eyed him over the rim of her glasses. “You could come back tomorrow when it’s daytime.”“Tomorrow is far away,” he said. “I was hoping to walk her home.”Lena’s mouth twitched, but she didn’t tell him to leave.Catherine emerged a moment later, hair tied back, sleeves rolled,
Last Updated: 2026-03-19
Chapter: Chapter 65**DRAKONHELM**Back at the palace, Merren had already been through two of the supply courtyards, searching for more information on the real reason he was there.The problem was, in Drakonhelm, everything fit a little too well.Steady alliance. A new chapter. It was like listening to variants of the same script.He decided he needed someone less 'trained'.The opportunity came in the mid-afternoon, when he ducked into a narrow corridor off the main servants' passage to avoid a gaggle of Drakonhelm scribes.Inside, he spotted a young woman in Eldorian livery. She was one of the staff who had come with the Prince and Princess's entourage."A fellow Eldorian like me," Merren greeted casually.She blinked, then recognized his face from the press contingent. "You're one of the reporters?""Guilty," he said. "My name is Merren."She hugged the ledger tight to her chest."Dalia.""Tell me, Dalia," he said, as if in idle curiosity, "how are our people finding Drakonhelm? I've spoken to minister
Last Updated: 2026-03-19
Chapter: Chapter 64**DRAKONHELM**The next engagement was at an orphanage beyond Drakonhelm’s inner ring of walls.From the carriage window, George watched as the city’s hard lines gave way to narrower streets, laundry strung between windows, children darting around cart wheels.He sat opposite Katarina and her younger sister, Almeria.“This is one of three we sponsor directly from the palace,” Katarina said. “The others have parish support. Father insisted that at least, one should sit within sight of the inner towers. He says it reminds him of who he’s responsible for.”George glanced at her. “And does it?”Her gaze flicked briefly to the window. “Some days,” she said. “On others, it reminds him who’s responsible to him.”Almeria pressed her nose to the glass, humming under her breath and trying to decide whether to wave at every child they passed.At that, she turned to her sister, the motion jostling the ribbons in her hair.“You make him sound very stern,” Almeria said. “He’s not always. He smiled
Last Updated: 2026-03-16
Chapter: Chapter 63**ELDORIA**In the private chamber off their Majesties' apartments, the hour had slipped past most of the palace's business; the footsteps of their servants beyond their door had grown infrequent, the murmur of distant voices dulled.Charlotte sat curled sideways in one of the high-backed chairs near the hearth. A book lay open in her lap, thumb marking her place, though she hadn't turned a page in some time.Arthur stood at the window.The crown sat on a side table, a silent, gleaming presence that made its absence from his head feel more symbolic than practical."You're pacing without moving," Charlotte said softly.He turned his head slightly. "Am I?""Yes," she said. "I can hear it from here."He managed a faint smile. "That's a new trick."She closed the book and watched him. "You came up late," she said. "Later than you said you would. The council ran long?""It did," he said. He turned away from the window at last and crossed to the chairs. "They had much to say.""What did th
Last Updated: 2026-03-14
Chapter: Chapter 62**ELDORIA**Seren didn’t move, afraid that anything too abrupt would jerk her away from whatever thin thread of memory she’d finally grasped.“Where?” he asked quietly. “Where did you see Catherine?”Lucy frowned, eyes going unfocused again as she replayed the night in her head.“I was coming back,” she said slowly. “And then I saw her. She was… farther down the corridor, near the courtyard.”“Did you speak to her?”Lucy nodded slowly. “I… I think I did,” she said. “Honestly, it’s fuzzy. I have to admit I was drunk then, but...”She closed her eyes, one hand lifting as if to frame the scene.“I think I said, ‘Catherine, what are you doing up here?’ Something like that. And she sort of…” Lucy made a vague, helpless gesture. “She looked at me, but it was like she was looking past me. Eyes all wide and shiny. I thought maybe she’d been crying.”Seren’s chest tightened. “And what did she say?”Lucy’s eyes opened. “She didn’t respond,” she said. “She started to, but her mother answered for
Last Updated: 2026-03-13
Chapter: Chapter 61**DRAKONHELM**From the vantage point of the low rise, George could see the Jagged Pass, a narrow road between two shoulders of rock.Wagons crawled along it like beetles, tiny against the cliffs, their canvas tops pale in the winter light.“The pass is our spine,” Varos Dane was saying. “Without it, Drakonhelm would bend to every wind.”He sat his horse with the ease of a long habit, his dark cloak drawn close against the chill.Beside him, King Edward’s mount stamped impatiently at the thin grass.They had brought George to the Pass as part of his Drakonhelm tour.“And Eldoria has relied on it more than once,” Edward said, turning to George with a smile that might have been friendly if George hadn’t heard the way servants here whispered about “plans” and “missed chances.” “When your father pushed through that new grain treaty five years ago? Half of your shipments crossed this very stretch.”George let his gaze follow the road’s curve again. “I remember the negotiations,” he said. “
Last Updated: 2026-03-12
Chapter: Chapter 96Aria pushed off the door, the wood cool against her spine for one last steadying breath before climbing the stairs to the apartment and unlocking the front door.It was empty. The only sound was the faint hum of the fridgeLena wasn’t home. Probably still on her shift at the cafe.This was good.She needed the space to breathe. To scrub away the evidence clinging to her skin.It was a miracle Tyler didn’t smell sex on her.In the bathroom, the steam quickly fogged the mirror as the warm water hit her shoulders.She lathered soap over her thighs, her neck, anywhere Jason's hands had claimed, but the clean scent couldn't eras
Last Updated: 2026-03-22
Chapter: Chapter 95She had just reached into her bag to fish her keys out with her clumsy fingers when she heard her name.“Aria?”She froze, heart slamming in her ribs.Slowly, she turned around.Tyler stood a few steps behind her, his hands inside his hoodie, his face unreadable.Oh shit! How long has he been there? Did he see her get out of Jason’s car?Her heart fell to her stomach.She had told him that she had gotten home earlier, so she had to think of a bette
Last Updated: 2026-03-21
Chapter: Chapter 94Aria slid into the back seat, the leather cool against her thighs as her dress rode up slightly.Jason followed, ducking in after her and pulling the door closed with a soft thud.The tinted windows sealed them in the dim, confined space, amplying every breath, every shift of fabric.Her pulse raced as the air thickened with the scent of his cologne, woody and commanding, mingling with her own arousal.His presence dominated the space, making her squirm in her seat.Jason cupped her chin firmly, tilting her face up to meet his gaze. His blue eyes burned with hunger and raw desire.“You made me break my rules, kitten,” he murmured, thumb brushing her lower lip. “Now, all I think about when I’m in my office is you sprawled across my desk calling me daddy while I fuck your dripping cunt.”She shivered, her lips parting under his touch. “B…but you were ignoring me,” she said. “No texts. Nothing. I thought you regretted—”“Regret?” he cut in, a low chuckle escaping him. “You walked into my
Last Updated: 2026-03-20
Chapter: Chapter 93“So if you frame it through Butler instead of Foucault,” Aria said, tapping the open article on the table, “the focus shifts from surveillance to performance. The power’s still there, it’s just… enacted differently.”The students around her nodded, scribbling notes.“Ohhh,” one said. “That makes more sense. Thanks.”“Anytime,” she said. “If you want, you can email me your draft, and I’ll take a look before you submit.”They all cheered.Suddenly, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck prick up like she was being watched.When she glanced up, Jason was standing by the corridor with Hera beside him, but he was looking straight at her.Her breath hitched.Since that day in his office and after what happened in the classroom, it felt like he’d been avoiding her.Could he be regretting it? Ugh! She knew this would happen.She looked away and bit her lips, trying to focus her attention back to the students.“Does anyone else have any more questions?” she asked the group.No one did.The
Last Updated: 2026-03-19
Chapter: Chapter 92The next Monday, Jason stood at the dresser mirror with two different ties, wondering which would go with his suit.Victoria sat on the bed with her laptop, her glasses on as she skimmed a document.“Can you stop?” she said absently, her fingers still on her trackpad.He turned around. “What?!”“You’re whistling,” she said. “It’s distracting.”“Oh!”Jason didn’t realize he was doing that. “What’s got you in a good mood?” she asked, her eyes still on the screen.Aria.He shrugged, turning back to the mirror. “I’m just glad Saturday went well,” he lied. “That’s one less thing circling my neck.”“Mmm,” She made a non‑committal sound, already half‑absorbed in an email.Her phone lit up on the nightstand a moment later.She glanced at it and picked up the call.Jason took that as his cue.He smoothed his vest, grabbed his watch from the dresser, and headed downstairs.In the kitchen, he made himself a cup of coffee, added a splash of milk, and mentally laid out the day.The usual routine
Last Updated: 2026-03-18
Chapter: Chapter 91At the end of the school day, Jason’s brain was still half on Aria sprawled across his desk.Hera sat across from him, showing him something on her laptop. “I’ve arranged the numbers to align perfectly.”He looked at the spreadsheet and nodded. “That works.”She hesitated. “We could also—”“No, no need,” he said. “This is fine.”Her brows pinched. “We’re going to have to cut this meeting short, Hera,” he said, sitting upright. “I have to leave early.”,“Oh,” she said, surprised. “Alright. I can finish the grade entries on my own.”“Good,” he said. “Finalize the rubric we drafted, update the LMS, and email me the revised distribution chart by tonight.”“Got it,” Hera said, closing her laptop. “I’ll… see you tomorrow, then.”He nodded, his mind already half out of the conversation.The door closed behind her.He exhaled and leaned back in his chair.He wasn’t leaving early. He just needed the space to think properly.Closing his eyes, he let his mind fill with what happened in the morn
Last Updated: 2026-03-17
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