Novels by ANURIKA ANGELA

LYRA POVMy knees scraped against the concrete, and pain kept moving through my side. I tried to crawl, but my arms shook badly, and my body refused to obey me.The shadow moved closer.“Please,” I whispered. “I will sign it. I will sign anything.”The figure did not respond. He raised his blade higher, and I screamed.But the sound barely came out. Before the knife could reach me, a loud crack came from behind him. The man holding the blade flew backward and hit the wall with a heavy thud.I stared in shock.Another figure stepped out of the darkness.Tall. Broad. Calm.The second attacker rushed forward. He did not even finish raising his weapon. The stranger grabbed his wrist and twisted it until the bone snapped. The scream that followed was short.The man dropped to the ground, shaking.“Leave,” the stranger said quietly.The third attacker hesitated.“Now,” he repeated, and they ran.I sat frozen on the ground, my chest heaving.The stranger turned to me.I could not see his fac

LYRAThey did not let me rest.I had barely finished processing Selene’s words when Lucinda straightened her sleeves and clapped her hands once, as if we were done with a meeting.“Well,” she said, “That concludes this.”I looked at her. “Concludes what?”“This situation.” She replied calmly. “You have fulfilled your role.”Darius finally spoke. “Lyra, you should calm down.”I laughed like a maniac, because at this point I was a manic.“Calm down,” I repeated.“You took a part of my body. You lied to me. You stood beside another woman while I was cut open. And now you want me to calm down.”Selene stood up. “You are being dramatic.”“Dramatic,” I said. “Is that what you call surgery without consent?”Darius rubbed his temple. “You consented to it.”“To save your sister,” I snapped. “Not your lover.”“She is both. It depends on how you want to see it,” he replied.“No,” I said. “She is your mistress.”Silence stretched across the room. Selene tilted her head. “Mistress sounds cheap.”L

LYRA POVThey discharged me the next morning.Not because I was fine nor because I was ready. But because they said I was stable enough to leave. That phrase followed me everywhere now.‘Stable enough.’I didn't have to be healed or safe. Just strong enough to be moved out of sight.A nurse helped me into a wheelchair. I did not argue anymore. Arguing required strength, and I had very little of that left. My body felt unfamiliar and fragile, as if one careless move could split me open again.“Your husband will be waiting outside,” she said.I did not respond. Husband huh. The same one who was with his sister the entire time his wife was in admission.The hallway smelled the same as before.Clean. Cold. Empty.I kept my eyes forward because I did not want to see that glass wall again. I did not want to remember how small I felt lying there while the truth stood on two healthy legs beside my husband.Darius stood near the exit when we reached the front. He looked rested and much better

LYRA POVI opened my eyes slowly as my consciousness began to return. The lights once again felt a little too bright. I really wish they would change these. I looked around a bit and noticed the ropes from the machines attached to me. I tried to raise my head a bit, but the pain in my body stopped me quickly. I groaned and lay down.“She is awake.”The voice came from my left. I turned my head with effort. A nurse stood beside the bed, her hair in a pulled-back ponytail, and she was quite calm for someone who was in surgery.“Easy there,” she said. “Try not to move too much.”“What happened?” I asked.“You are out of surgery.”Surgery.I closed my eyes briefly, and the images flooded back: glass walls, bright lights, Selene standing on her feet, smiling and kissing my husband.I opened my eyes again. “I saw her.”The nurse paused.“Saw who?” she asked.“My husband’s sister,” I said. “I saw her standing— She was fine. Perfectly okay, even.”She opened her mouth to say something, but qu

LYRA POVI should have been walking into a honeymoon suite, not being dragged through hospital doors.My wedding dress brushed against the white floor; the hem was already becoming very dirty, as the smell of antiseptic filled my nose.I tried holding the dress up a bit, and while doing that, my veil slipped off my shoulders. This night could not be more frustrating. And the more forward we moved, the faster my heart beat, so it felt like it wanted to escape my chest.Darius held my hand in a tight grip, but I did not pull away. His voice was filled with desperation as he spoke to the doctor in the hallway.“Doctor, please, hurry. Do not let her die. Please do not let my sister die.” He begged.Sister.The word felt surreal in my head. His sister. On our wedding night, my husband was begging for another woman’s life.I swallowed slowly. “Darius—uhm, what exactly is wrong with her?”He turned around and moved closer to me; from this view, his eyes were red, and his face was soaked with