Chapter 70: When Rules Break for Her
Damon's POV
The hall of the healer’s quarters smelled sharply of herbs and damp stone. Every breath I took seemed to carry the weight of sickness and age with it.
My boots echoed against the marble floors as I entered the chamber. My father lay propped against the pillows, pale and frail, his chest rising only in shallow, labored breaths.
A healer hovered at his bedside, murmuring quietly as he ground a paste in a small bowl. The rhythm of his chant barely touched the room’s heavy silence.
I clenched my fists at the sight of my father. The king who had once been an unshakable wall now looked like nothing more than a brittle shell of himself.
“How long?” I asked, my voice low and gravelly, scraping through the oppressive quiet.
The healer hesitated
Chapter 71: Safe Doesn't Feel Safe AnymoreCiara POVMy legs ached from the endless march, each step heavier than the last. The cold air bit sharper than the hunger gnawing at my stomach, but I forced myself to keep moving.The forest breathed around us in low whispers, leaves rustling, branches creaking as the first streaks of dawn pierced the horizon.Damon walked slightly ahead of me, his strides steady and purposeful. It was the way of someone who had carried people through the wilderness countless times. Every movement was precise and unhesitating.His gaze flickered back at me often. It was sharp and calculating, checking to see if I was still standing.By the time we crossed into unfamiliar territory, my lungs burned and every step felt like wading through heavy water.The air here smelled different, sharper, metallic with a hint of
Chapter 70: When Rules Break for HerDamon's POVThe hall of the healer’s quarters smelled sharply of herbs and damp stone. Every breath I took seemed to carry the weight of sickness and age with it.My boots echoed against the marble floors as I entered the chamber. My father lay propped against the pillows, pale and frail, his chest rising only in shallow, labored breaths.A healer hovered at his bedside, murmuring quietly as he ground a paste in a small bowl. The rhythm of his chant barely touched the room’s heavy silence.I clenched my fists at the sight of my father. The king who had once been an unshakable wall now looked like nothing more than a brittle shell of himself.“How long?” I asked, my voice low and gravelly, scraping through the oppressive quiet.The healer hesitated
Chapter 69:Ciara’s POVI had been asleep when the harsh sound of iron scraping against bars jerked me awake. My head throbbed instantly, each pulse matching the dull ache behind my eyes. I squinted, the dim light of the dungeon pressing against my lids. My stomach twisted painfully with hunger and growled in protest, reminding me of just how long it had been since I had eaten.I had lost track of the days in this cold, damp cell. Time had stretched and blurred until I felt as though I no longer belonged anywhere. The bundle of keys clinked against the bars, the metallic sound sharp in the silence. One of the guards twisted the lock, tugging at the door.“Up!” His voice was curt, commanding, but beneath it I caught a flicker of unease that made my stomach tighten.Another guard stepped inside behind him. Both approached me, reaching for my arms as if I might collapse. I wanted to collapse. My legs wobbled when I stood, knees weak from exhaustion and lack of nourishment. My body felt i
Chapter 68:Daryl’s POVMy vision blurred, and I was not sure if it was from the liquor I had consumed or from the fact that I was finally being touched again after a long stretch of emptiness.Her voice trembled when she lowered herself onto me. “Oh my God,” she whispered, breath shuddering. “You are stretching me.”I gripped her waist firmly, holding her steady as her body struggled to take me in. Her eyes were shut tight, her lips parted in a gasp. My instincts told me to help, so I lifted my hips and drove upward into her.She cried out, a sharp yelp that quickly softened into broken moans. Her fingers went to her breasts, squeezing them hard as her hips began to rock.I tilted my head down, watching every inch of my length disappear inside her before sliding back out, slick with her arousal. The sight of
Chapter 67: Daryl’s POVThe bottle in my hand was already half-empty, and the bitter burn of whiskey clung to my throat as if it wanted to carve its way down and make a permanent home inside my chest.I tipped it back again, even though the taste had long since turned to ash on my tongue. The room shifted around me, swaying with uneven lines, the shadows bending too far. Firelight flickered across the stone walls, mocking me with every movement, as if it wanted to remind me of everything I had once believed in and everything I had lost.Ciara’s face haunted me in every reflection. I saw her in the shimmer of spilled liquor, in the distorted glass of the bottle, in the fractured shine of my own eyes staring back at me. I saw her when she glared at me with defiance, when she rejected Damon and me both. I saw her trembling lips as she was dragged away, powerless and yet still proud.
Chapter 66: Ciara’s POVThe days in the dungeon blurred together until I no longer knew how long I had been there. The silence was not simple silence. It was heavy, and suffocating. It felt more like a weight that pressed against my ribs until every breath felt stolen instead of given.But today felt different.At first, I thought my mind was breaking again, that the shadows were playing tricks with me in the same cruel way they always did. I blinked at the dim flicker of the oil lamps in the corridor, their glow spilling faintly across the stone. Only then did I realize that the walls were no longer swallowed in shadow. Every ridge in the stone, every crack etched through the surface, seemed sharper than it had been before, almost alive beneath my gaze.My chest tightened. My vision had changed.I pushed myself up with unsteady arms, my hand tre