Novels by ARI✨✨

Kaid POVFog filled the air when I woke. Broken pieces lay everywhere around me.Nothing left of the courtyard now. Holes pocked the earth where steps once led. Fire climbed jagged rock, reaching skyward. Shapes writhed through smoke, bending without bones. Pupils sprawled in uneven heaps - one coughing, another not moving at all. Red trails marked the stones between them.Fingers slick, the stuff clung thick before I even noticed.Blood soaked my hands, climbing past the wrist. The claws jutted forward, stretched beyond their usual size, unsteady. They glistened, wet, hanging low under their own weight.“What… did I do?”A shriek tore into the fog.Scott.Down he knelt, two dozen paces off, hands pressed tight against his ribs. Red spread across the fabric of his clothes. From that distance, his gaze caught me - those ocean-colored eyes I had seen since childhood.Kaid…” He spoke softly.

Elias POVMy eyes flew open with a shout. Screaming filled the room as I came awake.The belt pressed hard against my chest before I even moved. Down spun the car - ripping metal, shattering glass, sky swapping with ground without warning. This moment had been lived before. That shirt clung tight. Beaten shoes on the floor. Fear rising like smoke."Stop!" I shouted, the very word ripped from me again like before. "Just stop fighting."A loud crash against the metal rail. Smoke rises. The vehicle trembles, teeters at the edge. After that, a slow fall into empty space. Noise fades. Only wind now. Ground far below.The wheels turned. One time. Then again. A third spin. Metal bent down from above. My legs stuck beneath the panel, mashed, lifeless, broken somehow. Blood spilled into my throat. Mother shouted from up ahead. Father said nothing - nothing at all.Fires rose out of the motor’s core.I couldn’t move.Frozen g

Solara POVAwake now, staring at gray steel, sharp scents filling the air around me.The Purity lab.Light bounced off pale walls. Overhead, the glow stung my eyes. Restraints dug into skin at arms and legs. Back in this place once more. Same as when they first dragged me away.“No… not this place again.” The words left my throat sharp, shaky. “Let me go.”I tried to summon fire. Just a spark. Nothing. My phoenix flames — the one thing that always came when I needed them — refused to answer.Out of nowhere, a known voice filled the air from the speakers.“Subject 47. Solara Phoenix project. Let’s begin the mana extraction process.”A sudden movement broke the silence as the doorway parted. It opened by itself, without a sound.Faces peeked from under hoods, coated in plastic shields. A figure stepped forward, gripping glass that hummed with light inside.

Lyra POVI opened my eyes to find the chandelier was already dripping with a liquid, it was blood.Just as the light shined through crimson crystal, making every turning a reflection scarlet. The grand dining hall of the Bloodworth mansion, a room so huge it stretched around me, marble floors gleaming, walls lined with portraits of my grandmother whose eyes always seemed to follow you wherever you went. My black velvet dress hung loose on narrow shoulders, lace sleeves swallowing my hands. The chair beneath me felt too big; my feet didn’t quite touch the floor.I looked down at my plate. A single crystal goblet sat there, half-full of thick, dark liquid. Still warm. The scent hit me—copper and iron and something sweeter, like rotting roses.My stomach turned.The long table was set for a ceremony. Candles burned with red flames. My family sat in their places: Taylor on the left, posture perfect, elder-sister smile already sharpene

Lila POVThe light came in wrong when I woke up. Things felt off right away.Above, space stretched upward, endless. Underneath, the mattress rocked, unsteady, as if caught in waves. Sheets pulled tight around my body, heavy. Into sight came my fingers, slow. They stayed there, still, in front of my eyes.A tiny shape rests there. Fuzzy edges give way to gentle curves. Little rolls form at each knuckle. These belong to someone young.A tightness gripped my throat, stealing the air. What’s happening, I thought, sound cracking like dry wood. This time, silence wouldn’t hold. The mist must have gotten to me.“Lila, honey.”I turned.There she was, my mother wearing that blue dress she loved so much, her hair gathered neatly like on holidays long ago. A quiet smile spread across her face - soft, familiar - the kind she wore when we were young and the world seemed gentle. Her eyes held mine, steady, just like they d

Lily POVWide awake, my eyes flew open.Everything looked… bigger.Above me stretched the ceiling, far off as clouds. Lying there, the mattress seemed huge, its covers pulling me deep. My hands rose slowly, caught in the quiet light.Little fingers. Round wrists. Hands of a young one.“No,” I whispered, voice high and piping. “No, no, no. This can’t be happening.”Fear hit fast. Together my palms slammed shut. Out burst mana - purple force tearing through air. Glass-like, the false world split open, fractures sprinting along walls, huge chairs and tables dissolving into shimmering powder. Gone then was the small frame of a kid.Footsteps steady, she stood - once more her full height, calm as ever. The Lily people knew filled the space, quiet but certain.Yet the space had vanished.Out there, heat wobbled above the sand, a slow breath without sound. Sun hammered down - white glare swa

POV: Ethan'sSmoke curled from the dying fire, filling the room with the scent of old wood. Cognac sat half-finished in crystal glasses near the hearth. A hint of jasmine lingered where Gwen had passed through earlier. Everyone settled into their usual spots after supper. These evenings happened without planning. Outsiders never came around then. Time moved slower among those who’d shared decades. Knowing one another deeply made silence easy.Facing the high panes, gaze drifting past them into the shadowed yard, drink held still, my eyes moved through the crowd like they often do - tracking who leans toward whom, catching pauses between words, sensing how warm or cold each exchange might turn out.Over by the window, Sam lowered herself onto the creamy couch next to Laura, back loose but aware. A gray knit hugged her frame, paired with clean-cut pants - not loud, not begging for notice - but pulling gaze anyway. Flames danced across the curls resting at her shoulders, lit up something

Sam's POVA hush followed when the glass doors shut at our backs, garden light fading through the panes. That small noise carried weight - less goodbye, more like stepping into a room where words mean more than they should.Back toward the main wing we went, Ethan beside me without a word. Questions stopped coming. The push to talk faded too. Every so often my arm touched his, just lightly. When I pretended not to notice, that was when his eyes stayed longest.Something inside me knew right away.I always sensed it lately. It showed up without warning.Away we went, back inside the big house - floors smooth and cold underfoot, air thick with flower perfume mixed with old wax. Through hallways that stretched too far, voices never rose above a whisper. Figures passed by, quiet as breath: women in stiff clothes, men balancing silver plates, others shaping green walls beyond glass panes. Back then, just like now, they knew me without looking. Their eyes dropped fast, careful not to meet m

Ethan's POVA twist in the gravel led between rose rows, each blossom trimmed sharp beneath the sun. Past where the stones turned, grass stretched bare toward stone cliffs cut above ocean swells. Air moved with brine and distant bird sounds scraping low. Peace might be expected here.It didn’t.Out front, Sam moved just a bit faster, her green dress glowing under the afternoon light, strands of hair drifting free despite the clips from before. When she glanced sideways at the scenery, the sharp edge of her face showed, while her arms hung easy, like nothing ever tensed her up. The sun held on to her shape longer than it should have.I had been watching.Since brunch.Since tea.That pistachio macaron changed everything when her teeth broke through its shell. A slow bite followed, savoring each crumb without hurry. Gwen meant to catch her off guard. Instead, silence settled in - heavy, unshaken by words. Victory came not with noise but stillness.A strange mix sat there, unnamed - half

POV: Sam'sHardly had the brunch dishes vanished from the table before Gwen was on her feet.Almost floating, she moved through the dining room as if the gleaming stone beneath her belonged only to her - which, inside her thoughts, it truly did. A pale silk gown drifted near her feet, jewels on her neck flashing when sunlight struck, her constant grin set firm, like something carved and fragile. Not once did she hurry. There was no need. Speed suggested fear.Fear never touched me back then.Not anymore.Away from the others, I moved past the archway into the east veranda, chasing a short break before tea started. That brief pause? Exactly what she waited for.Suddenly - her voice, like syrup left in the sun, slipped behind me. "Samantha, love," it murmured, cloying and slow. A pause. Then: could I spare a moment? Just one small talk?Halt. A slow pivot. Her gaze meets mine - no flinch, no retreat.“Of course, Gwen.”Into the gap she stepped, smooth like clockwork after long practice

POV: Sam'sFloating through the air was a scent of orchids - crisp, just-cut - mixed with rich coffee, sharp and dark. Underneath it all sat something quieter: tension, watchful eyes pretending not to stare.A beam of light spilled across the tall glass panels, glancing off wine glasses and polished spoons, making each corner shine like it was holding up a photo of me - someone out of place, standing among faces trained to see money as proof of worth. Then silence settled, heavy but clear.Stillness held me upright, jaw parallel to the floor, fingers resting soft in my lap under the cloth. That stitched square on my leg wasn’t much, yet somehow it braced me - fragile, still useful.At the top of the long mahogany table sat Mrs. Evelyn Sterling, ruler of her domain without ever needing proof. Silver strands pulled tight at her neck gave way to sharp eyes beneath. A navy jacket hugged her frame, crisp as morning air. That smile? It lit up just enough to keep you guessing. Coffee rose sl

Sam's POV The next morning, Ethan woke me up.It was not entirely my fault. After I got married into the Sterling family in my past life, I was immediately isolated and neglected. My mother-in-law detested me. Why would I need my formal attendance or services? I also had little sense of routine! My days were spent idly eating and trying to learn the stock market. When I wasn't doing either, I would be sulking and no one cared."Hmm?" I rubbed my sleepy eyes and looked at Ethan with confusion. The warmth from the Egyptian sheets imbued my pale cheeks with a flush of pink. Ethan was also enveloped by a subtle and faint alluring scent."Get up quickly! The household staff and security will be coming in soon." He was almost exasperated as he gazed at me with discontentment. But I still noticed that my innocent state made him soften slightly.I jumped up in a startle and picked up the white ceremonial sheet that I had casually thrown to one side.I said awkwardly, "This? How should we