LOGINCaspian:One Year LaterThe breeze was warmer today.Softer.Gentler in a way I hadn’t felt in years.More peaceful and more contenting, More calm and even happier.I stood at the edge of the gardens, the same gardens where so much had been taken from us, and so much had been given back, watching Ad
Valerie:The sun was rising over the horizon, golden streaks splitting the sky wide open, like a promise finally fulfilled.I stood at the highest point of the estate grounds, the wind tugging at my hair, the scent of fresh earth and morning dew wrapping around me like a cloak.It was over.Giovanni
“Impressive,” Giovanni called, his voice carrying easily across the clearing. His smile was cold, razor sharp. “I knew there was more to you, Valerie. I knew it from the second I laid eyes on you. I did say that I had more respect to you than I had for others, but it seems to me that I did not expec
Valerie:The boy's cries ripped through me like claws.My heart raced with each passing moment and I did my best not to harm that child. I did my best not to dirty my hands with his blood, to save him out of this, to get him out of this before the man played the game that I was not willing to handle
Caspian:The air was too still.It was the kind of stillness that came after the fight, when the blood had dried and the bodies were cleared, but before the real danger revealed itself.I didn’t like it. Not one damn bit.Because I knew that stillness was one that only told me that more danger was
Valerie:The earth still smelled of blood.I smelled of blood. People's blood the blood of our enemies the people who had dared invade our territory.The ground beneath our feet was turned upside down. We were going to need to fix that later, but I knew that the vines that worked their way from the
Valerie:The moment I stepped out of Caspian’s office, the weight of my conversation with him still burned in my chest. My fingers curled into fists at my sides as I walked, my breaths measured, controlled, barely.This was not a side of me that I liked. This was a sign that reminded me that even I
Caspian:The walk back to the villa was quiet, the evening breeze carrying the scent of pine and fresh earth. It was one of those scents that I found myself enjoying. It was one that I knew was both comforting and assuring, and I knew that it was one of the few normal things that I had in this world
“I allowed you to stay,” I reminded her, voice low and measured. “You wanted a villa? You got it. You wanted to be with Adrian? I made it happen. But if you think for one second that I will let you take my son away from me again, you are out of your damn mind. Because trust me when I say I am more t
Valerie:I watched from the front porch as Adrian played with his father, my eyes softening when I heard his laughter around, making something in me relax despite the ongoing raging war that I felt brewing inside me.Caspian knelt beside him, adjusting the wooden blocks Adrian had been stacking. His







