MasukCaspian: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 pain came first.A deep, throbbing ache at the back of my head, as though someone had cracked my skull against stone and left it to pulse with the echo of impact.I tried to process where I was. I tried to understand how I got here. I tried to allow myself to open my eyes, but it was di
Caspian:Valerie looked small.I had never seen her like this, pale, still, vulnerable. The woman who had spent the last few months defying me, challenging me at every turn, was lying unconscious on the infirmary bed, her breathing shallow, her body still.The sight twisted something deep in my ches
Valerie:I didn’t waste time searching for Elias. I knew where he would be.I knew that I should not have left the pack house and I should not have left Adrian there alone. But I also know that standing back there was not a good thing for me. I was just allowing Caspian to have his way while I was i
Valerie:I stood there, unmoving, my breath shallow as Caspian’s warmth faded from around me.I watched as he walked away momentarily trying to process what just happened.My heart was still racing, my skin still tingling from the weight of his embrace, and my mind, my mind was a mess. And no matter







