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Chapter 23
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2026-01-24 01:47:56
Latest chapter
A Flame in the Shadow Chapter 46
OrionThe dungeon doors groan open like the castle itself is tired of pretending this place isn’t a grave. Chains scrape stone. I’m already on my feet before I see him. Bloodied and bruised. Clothes torn like they’d been halfway ripped off his body and then decided he wasn’t worth finishing. His hair, once immaculate, dramatic, infuriatingly perfect, hangs loose and damp with sweat and blood. Lazriel. For half a second, I don’t recognize him. Then he lifts his head and smirks.“Well,” he rasps, voice wrecked but unmistakably him, “this is not how I imagined our reunion. I was hoping for applause.”The guards shove him forward. He stumbles. I lunge instinctively—but Caelan is already there. Caelan catches him like his body moved before his mind could argue.“Easy,” Caelan says, furious and shaking, hands gripping Lazriel’s arms like he’s afraid he’ll disappear if he lets go. “I’ve got you.”Lazriel laughs weakly. “You always do.”That does it. Caelan pulls him close, forehead pressing
A Flame in the Shadow Chapter 45
EmberAzrael stands at the right hand of the throne. Not beside me. Not behind me. Sariyah’s fingers curl lazily around the armrest, dark metal biting into her skin, and Azrael leans close to murmur something meant only for her. I can’t hear the words, but I see the angle of his mouth, the faint smile that never quite reaches his eyes.My spine locks as I kneel where I’ve been instructed. The stone is cold through the silk of my gown. Bastion’s hand rests possessively on my shoulder, fingers flexing as if to remind me I’m still here. Still his. Still obedient.Azrael finally looks at me. His gaze slides over my face like a blade testing the grain of bone. There is no warmth or recognition of any kind in his face, just assessment.“Your heir adapts quickly,” he says to Sariyah. “You’ve done well shaping her.” The word shaping lands like a collar snapping shut.Sariyah hums in pleasure. “She is learning what she is.”I wait. I wait for him to say it. For him to tell her I’m awake. That
A Flame in the Shadow Chapter 44
BastionShe stands at the window again. Always looking outward, like the world beyond the castle walls is still whispering to her. Like something out there is calling her name and she’s pretending not to hear it. It makes my jaw tighten. I tell myself it’s nothing. Queens look at their cities. Brides dream. Ember has always been like this, somewhat distant, thoughtful, too much fire in her veins to ever fully settle. But she didn’t used to feel out of reach. I move closer, letting my presence press into the space behind her. She doesn’t flinch. She doesn’t lean into me either. That matters more than it should.“You should be resting,” I say. “Sariyah expects us at council tonight.”She hums softly in response. Not disagreement but not agreement either. Just… acceptance. It should calm me. Instead, it makes something coil tighter in my chest.I remember what it felt like to stand beside her in the square. The way the crowd roared her name. Her, not us. Not me. Even when they chanted qu
A Flame in the Shadow Chapter 43
EmberThe room smells like smoke and crushed roses. The fire in the hearth is low, dying embers glowing red beneath blackened logs. Bastion stands too close, so close I can feel the heat of him, the tension coiled tight beneath his silk and steel. His jaw is clenched, eyes bright with something sharp and brittle.I shouldn’t have said it. I know that the moment the words leave my mouth.“She doesn’t need another public execution,” I say quietly. Carefully. “The city is already afraid.”Silence. Not the heavy, theatrical kind. The kind that pulls inward, compresses the air until breathing feels wrong.Bastion turns slowly. “You don’t question her,” he says. His voice is too calm. “And you don’t question me.”I barely have time to inhale. His hand comes out of nowhere, fast, precise. A sharp crack explodes across my face, the impact snapping my head sideways. Heat flares behind my eyes. For a second, the room tilts, the floor rushing up as I stagger.The pain comes a heartbeat later. Wh
A Flame in the Shadow Chapter 42
EmberBastion is almost smiling as he leads me through the hallways towards the dungeons. He holds me hand pulling me along as if he cannot wait to get there.“You’ll like this,” he says as we descend into the dungeons, his hand warm around mine, his thumb brushing my knuckles like this is a kindness. “I know you don’t always say it, but I can tell when something matters to you.”The air grows colder with every step. He doesn’t seem to notice. He’s practically glowing, proud, eager, convinced he’s giving me something precious.“A wedding gift,” he adds. “Something… personal.”My pulse hammers. I school my face into calm, into gratitude. “That’s thoughtful of you,” I say.He squeezes my hand, pleased. The cells open before us. I don’t look at them at first. I don’t let myself. I know who’s here. I know what I’ll see. Bastion leads me anyway.“They tried to use you,” he says, voice sharpening. “Tried to turn you against your family. Against Sariyah. I want you to see what happens to peo
A Flame in the Shadow Chapter 41
EmberPower doesn’t arrive all at once. It seeps in. It comes in whispers from guards who wait for my nod before they move. In servants who flinch when my shadow crosses theirs. In the way the castle has begun to listen to me.Sariyah walks beside me through the inner halls, her hand light on my arm, possessive without pretending otherwise. She doesn’t guide me anymore. She watches.“Do you hear that?” she asks pleasantly.I do. Screaming echoes up through the stone, raw, desperate, tearing itself apart. A man’s voice. Young. Untrained. One of the outer sentries, if I had to guess.My stomach twists, but my face doesn’t change.“They found the hidden stairs,” Sariyah continues, as if we’re discussing weather. “The rebels were very clever. Unfortunately for them, clever does not matter when your guards are loyal.”I know what’s happening without seeing it. I know because I’ve seen it before. The Hall of Thorns. A corridor warded to amplify pain, where shadows latch onto nerves and pull
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