Novels by Jonquil

Lila’s POV“NOT HERE,” I whispered. The words barely left my lips, but Jacob heard them.He was already looking at the same thing I was. The cluster of guards blocking the entrance to the west library, their voices low but present, their positions too close together, too deliberate. Not a casual rotation. Not random.Intentional. Everything about this was intentional.Marco’s breath left him slowly beside us, controlled but tight. “We don’t push through that,” he murmured. “Not like this.”“No,” I said quietly. “We don’t.”But we couldn’t stand here either. Not in the open. Not with the drive still pressed against my skin like a secret waiting to be exposed.“They’re closing spaces,” Jacob said, his voice low, close to my ear. “We need another route.”“Or another place,” Marco added.I shook my head slightly. “We don’t have time to rethink everything.”“Then we don’t rethink,” Jacob said. “We adapt.”The word settled heavily. Adapt. It sounded simple, but it wasn’t.Because adapting m

Lila’s POV“GIVE ITto me,” Jacob said.The words came the second my breath hitched. Too fast. Too certain. Like he already knew.My hand moved instinctively toward my sleeve before I could stop it, fingers pressing against the hidden shape beneath the fabric as if I could somehow shield it just by touching it. The movement was small, but not small enough.His eyes dropped to it immediately.“Lila,” he said, lower now. Tighter.I shook my head. “No.”The answer came out sharper than I expected, more immediate, like something inside me had already decided before I had the chance to think it through.His gaze snapped back to mine. “No?” he repeated.“I still have it,” I said quietly, forcing my voice to stay steady. “I didn’t get the chance to move it.”“I know that,” he said. “That’s why I’m telling you to give it to me.”“No.”This time, I didn’t hesitate.

Lila’s POV“WHERE WEREyou?” Jacob’s voice was low, tight.The moment I stepped into the corridor, the question hit me like something physical. Not loud. Not sharp. But controlled in a way that made it worse.I turned toward the sound immediately.He stood at the far end of the hall, half-shadowed, shoulders rigid, his gaze locked on me like he had been waiting for this exact second. Waiting for me to come back. Waiting for an answer.For a second, I just looked at him.Because something in his posture told me this wasn’t going to be simple.“I was with Adrian,” I said.The words felt heavier out loud.His jaw tightened.“I saw that,” he replied, his voice still quiet, but there was something under it now. Something coiled. “That’s not what I asked.”I took a step toward him.Then another.

Lila’s POV“YOU’REnot leaving me tonight,” Adrian said quietly.The words landed before I could step back.Before I could thinkor breathe.His hand closed around my wrist, firm but not rough, the grip precise enough to stop me without making a scene. It was controlled. Everything about him was always controlled. The pressure of his fingers wasn’t painful, but it wasn’t something I could ignore either. It was a decision made for me.I stilled.Not because I wanted to. Because I had to.The hallway stretched around us, empty and dim, the silence thick enough to hold every movement, every shift of breath. For a second, I didn’t say anything. I focused on keeping my expression neutral, on slowing the pulse that had started to spike under my skin.“I wasn’t aware I needed permission,” I said finally.My voice came out steadier than I felt.His grip didn’t loosen.“Not perm

Lila’s POV“DON’T LOOK nervous,” Jacob murmured behind me.I didn’t turn. I couldn’t.Because if I did, if I let myself lean into the sound of his voice, into the steadiness of him, I knew it would show. It would soften something in my face that I could not afford to soften right now. Not with everything tightening around us. Not with the air inside the estate feeling like it had shifted into something sharper, something that watched and listened even when no one was speaking.“I’m not nervous,” I said quietly.The lie sat too easily on my tongue.I stood in the dim corridor just outside the study, my hand curled loosely around the small object hidden beneath the fold of my sleeve. The drive pressed against my skin like a pulse I couldn’t ignore. Every second I held it, I became more aware of it. Of what it carried. Of what it could destroy.Jacob stepped closer behind me, just enough that I felt the heat of him at my back, not touching but close enough that my body registered it anyw

Lila’s POV“THAT’S too early,” Marco said sharply.His voice cut through the room before the door had even fully closed behind us.I stood just inside the study, the air still heavy from the rush of getting here, from the message still burning at the back of my mind. The shift in timing had already started to settle in my chest like something solid and immovable, something that refused to be ignored no matter how hard I tried to push through it.Too early.It echoed louder now. Because it wasn’t just inconvenient. It was dangerous.Marco paced once across the room, his hand dragging down his face as he turned back toward me, his expression tighter than I had ever seen it.“How much earlier?” he asked.“Morning,” I said. “Not afternoon anymore.”His jaw clenched. “That cuts our window in half.”“More than half,” Jacob said from behind me.I felt him step closer as he spoke, his presence settling at my back again, not touching but close enough to feel. Grounding. Watching. Always watchi