ANMELDENMy gaze sweeps across the courtyard, taking in the faces, the laughter, and the sense of peace that still feels surreal.And then my eyes find her.Xena.I can’t bring myself to call her Lola, just as she can’t bring herself to call me Sadie. To everyone else, we are Lola and Sadie but to each other
“Sadie?” Alec murmurs gently beside me, voice low and coaxing. “You ready?”I turn, and he’s there, exactly where he’s always been. Tall, steady, eyes soft in a way I once thought I’d never be on the receiving end of. He’s holding our son in his arms, swaddled in a light silver blanket that shimmers
He already knows. He always does.“Ready?” I say quietly, though everyone hears me.“Definitely… Been waiting to make you officially mine for months,” he says, earning a chuckle from everyone.Slowly, he puts Aspen down, who is smiling from ear to ear.We told her the truth, that Alec is her dad, an
The night is quiet. Not the tense quiet that comes before war, not the brittle silence of grief but a living stillness, deep and steady, like the world has finally exhaled.It has been a month since the battle. A month since blood stained this land. A month since Kaden fell. A month since I learned
Kaden sees it too late. He lunges, but we are faster.I raise my hand and time stops and light pours from me in radiant waves. Lola steps forward, shadows trailing her like smoke. Light and shadow coil around us, not fighting, but circling, choosing. The air thickens, charged, every particle vibrat
The guilt is suffocating. It crawls up my throat like it wants to rip me apart from the inside.This isn’t how it was meant to be. This isn’t how it was meant to end. Kaden wasn’t supposed to win.I wipe away the tears. No! I refuse to let her die.I feel something crack open in my chest at my deter
Nyx answers firmly. “You’re progressing, Sadie. You’re letting your walls fall, brick by brick. That is strength, not weakness. You’ve always been powerful, but power without trust? That only cages you. Last night proved you can open the cage.”Her words warm something deep in me, something that’s b
“We can tell her tomorrow,” she whispers.I nod, watching the tenderness in her gaze. “Tomorrow.”I guide her to the bed and help her settle. I then pull the covers, watching as she blinks in surprise when I climb in beside her. I hesitate, waiting for the pushback—for her walls to slam shut again.
Pregnant.The words fall from Sadie’s lips like a thunderclap. For a moment, the air in the office stills. My breath catches in my chest, and even Knox freezes inside me.The words hang in the air. No one moves, no one says anything. It’s completely still and silent.The word continues to ricochet i
Raven’s steady hands tilt my face toward the light as she dabs foundation onto my skin. I’m seated at my vanity, my heart thudding harder than it should for something as simple as getting ready for a date. A date. With Alec.Behind me, Aspen is sprawled on my bed, legs crossed, eyes glued to the sma







