Masuk🎀 CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-TWO🎀 "Of course it’s me, darling," Morgana purred, her smirk cutting like a razor. Sylvara spun toward Zayla, who was standing there looking completely lost. "Run! Now!" Sylvara hissed. "Wait, why? What’s going on?" Zayla asked, her voice shaking. "Don't ask stupid questions,just move!" Sylvara yelled, her panic rising. "I can handle this. Go!" Zayla didn't need to be told twice. She bolted, but she didn't leave the woods; she scrambled behind a thick, ancient tree to hide and watch. Morgana turned her attention back to Sylvara. "You must’ve forgotten you carry a mark on your body. You honestly thought you could just walk away? You’ve been hiding. This is the first time you’ve stepped outside your hiding, and I wasn't about to miss my chance to find you." "What do you even want?" Sylvara spat, her hands glowing with dark energy. "You escaped the Abyss, which was cute," Morgana mocked, her eyes glowing. "But you were my slave. And my pro
🎀CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-ONE🎀As Zayla hurried back to her quarters, a heavy, suffocating gloom seemed to hang over the entire palace. She tried to shake the feeling off, heading straight to her room to wash herself, Once she was done, she plopped onto her bed, the mattress bouncing under her as she waited for Lyra. Sometimes, Lyra was already here with a tray of tea and some gossip, but the room remained dead quiet. No Lyra. Nowhere to be found. Frowning, Zayla stood up and walked out into the hallway, her gut twisting with a bad feeling. As she rounded a corner, she spotted two servants huddled together, their voices low and frantic. "I’m telling you, they found him just as the sun was coming up," one whispered. "I can’t believe it. Who would even have the guts to kill him?" the other replied. Killed who? Zayla’s heart started thumping against her ribs. She stepped forward. "Who are you talking about? Who was killed?" The servants jumped, spinning around to
🎀CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY🎀 The morning light struggled to pierce through the heavy curtains, leaving the room trapped in a dim, grey haze. Zayla groaned, her eyelids feeling like lead as she kept them shut. Her head was banging with a rhythmic, pulsing pain, each throb making her wince. She felt like her skull had been cracked open and put back together wrong. She shifted under the covers, turning to the other side to find a more comfortable position. As she settled into the pillows, she took a deep breath. She paused, her nose wrinkling slightly as she sniffed the air. Wait. This room didn't scent like hers. Instead of the familiar smell of her own linens, the air was thick with a sharp, masculine fragrance, the scent of expensive cedarwood and a faint, lingering trace of something dark and cold. Zayla scrambled as she sat up, as if the silk sheets were made of fire, her eyes darting around the dim space. A cold realization hit her like a bucket of ice water,this
🎀CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-NINE🎀 "Do you really hate being alive that much?" The voice sliced through the silence of the library. Edan spun around, his heart dropping into his stomach. The Grandmaster had reappeared, stepping out of the shadows like a nightmare that refused to end. "I’m not a villain," Edan snapped, his voie defiant. "I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I’m done being your puppet." The Grandmaster began to move, circling Edan like a predator cornering a wounded animal. "Is that so? Then maybe I should just take your heart instead. It’s clearly too soft to be of any use to me." Edan stumbled back, his heel catching on the leg of a chair. " What are you going to do to me?" "You should know the answer to that," the Grandmaster said, his tone turning into a soft, mocking whisper that was somehow scarier than a scream. "I can't let a failure like you keep breathing. Aren't you embarrassed? After everything I gave you, you're still just a weak, path
🎀 CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-EIGHT🎀 There was a heavy, suffocating silence in the dungeon. Rufus just stood there, paralyzed, realizing that neither choice offered him a way out. One path led to a life of being a broken, helpless shell, and the other led to a terrifying end. "Should I make the choice for you, then?" Asher asked, his voice echoing coldly from the balcony. "Maybe I should just spare you the humiliation of living without your limbs. It seems like the more 'merciful' thing to do, wouldn't you agree?" Without waiting for an answer, Asher tapped the button one last time. The heavy iron gates creaked open, and the low, hungry growls turned into high-speed footsteps hitting the stone. "Enjoy your meal," Asher said, directed at the predators as he turned his back on the cell. As Asher stepped down the stairs, his face was a mask of total satisfaction. He didn't need to look back to know what was happening. Rufus’s desperate screams filled the air, bouncing off th
🎀CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SEVEN🎀 Asher went quiet for a long time, his eyes fixed on his mother. The silence was heavy as he processed her request. Finally, he turned his head. "Kai, escort her back to her room," he commanded. Kai nodded and did as he was told. Elira followed him, but she paused for a second to glance back at the scene before facing forward and walking away into the darkness. Once she was gone, Asher walked over to Rufus and crouched down to his level, his shadow looming over the broken man. "If I had known she would ask me to let you go... I would have slaughtered you back then without a second thought," Asher hissed. Rufus shivered violently, the dirt on his face mixing with his tears. "Please... you heard her... she said to let me go..." Asher grabbed Rufus by the jaw, forcing him to look into his eyes. "Just so you know... I’m not my mother. I don’t forgive, and I definitely don’t forget. I’m not letting you go anywhere." "Please... please!" Ru
🎀CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR🎀 Nil stepped forward, boots biting into the blood-soaked snow. He looked down at Asher with an unreadable expression. “We’re done,” Nil said. “This ends here.” Asher coughed out a laugh, thick with blood. His golden eyes burned as they lifted. “You think you get to de
🎀CHAPTER FORTY-THREE🎀 Nil blinked, still staring at her. “Sera…?” he whispered, shock thick in his voice. “So this is who you came all this way for?” Sera said slowly, her eyes moving to Zayla in his arms. “Princess...zayla ?” Nil frowned deeply. “You followed me here? Are you out of your m
🎀CHAPTER FORTY-TWO🎀 The moon was bright in the sky, hanging over the kingdom like a pale lamp. Nil moved through the streets quietly, keeping his hood low. The city was busy even at night. Shops were still open, guards walked in pairs, and people moved in and out of taverns, laughing and talk
🎀CHAPTER FORTY-ONE🎀 Maera froze. For a moment, she couldn’t even breathe. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. “My lord…” she finally managed, her voice shaking. “I was only—” Asher lifted a hand. “Don’t,” he said flatly. The single word cut her off completely. He stepped closer







