LOGINAella POV The throne room had never been so productive. Which was honestly alarming. Dozens of reports had been organized. Territorial maps had been sorted. Population records had been updated. And somehow, despite being barely more than a baby, Althea had become the unofficial supervisor of the entire operation. The little girl sat in her high chair beside my desk. Tiny crown still perched on her head. Several maids were openly consulting her before making decisions. I had stopped questioning it. For the sake of my sanity. The Void seemed delighted. Chaos seemed delighted. Order seemed proud. The three of them together worried me deeply. I was reviewing a proposal for a new settlement when a familiar warmth brushed against the Bond. Sol. Before I could react, sunlight burst into existence in the middle of the throne room. The portal expanded. Golden. Bright. Warm. Home. I smiled immediately. Then froze. Because Sol wasn't alone. Queen Samantha stepped thro
Aella POV The silence on the Bond was glorious. Absolutely glorious. I could practically hear Sol trying to figure out how his supposedly sleeping daughter had somehow escaped the sanctuary, crossed realms, and established herself in my throne room. Finally, he spoke. Very carefully. Aella... I smiled. Sweetly. Dangerously. Yes, darling? Another pause. What exactly do you mean Althea is there? I looked toward the center of the throne room. Toward my daughter. My baby. The tiny girl wearing a crown almost larger than her head. Althea was currently supervising several maids who were sorting documents into organized piles. One maid moved a report. Althea immediately pointed at a different pile. The maid corrected herself. The tiny tyrant nodded approvingly. I felt a headache forming. Exactly what I said. Silence. Then confusion. ...What? She is here. More silence. Here where? I leaned back against my chair. Enjoying this entirely too much. In the Void. T
Aella POV I finally lost. Not a battle. Not an argument. Not a political negotiation. Sleep. Sleep won. One moment I was reviewing reports about agricultural districts and settlement permits. The next— Nothing. Darkness. Peace. Silence. The kind of silence only exhaustion could bring. When I opened my eyes again, I wasn't in the throne room. I was in my bedroom. My actual bedroom. The one connected to the royal wing. The one I definitely hadn't walked to myself. I stared at the ceiling. Then sat up slowly. The blankets shifted. The pillows moved. Everything looked suspiciously comfortable. Someone had tucked me in. The realization made me narrow my eyes. Immediately. Then I noticed it. A familiar dark mass floating beside the bed. The Void. The ancient realm itself hovered awkwardly near the wall. Watching me. The moment I looked at it, the darkness shifted. Almost nervously. I blinked. The Void pulsed. Once. Twice. Then slowly pushed a tray towa
Aella POV I was exhausted. Not battle exhausted. Not pregnancy exhausted. Not even childbirth exhausted. This was a special kind of exhaustion. The kind caused by paperwork. Mountains and mountains of paperwork. The Void apparently hadn't had a functioning government in six hundred years. Six hundred years. Do you know how many reports that generated? Far too many. I was currently surrounded by maps. Land grants. Infrastructure proposals. Agricultural plans. Population estimates. Transportation networks. Housing requests. Trade routes. Construction permits. The list never ended. Every time I finished one pile, two more appeared. I was beginning to suspect the Void generated paperwork as a defense mechanism. I rubbed my eyes. Then immediately reached for the Bond. Seeking something familiar. Something comforting. Something that wasn't a report. The connection responded instantly. Warm. Bright. Sunlight. Sol. The relief was immediate. His presence set
Aella POVThe Void did not ask.It simply decided.One moment I was standing in the sanctuary arguing with a sentient mass of darkness.The next, the darkness surged forward.I barely had time to point accusingly at it."No."The Void disagreed.Then it swallowed me whole.For a brief moment, I floated through endless darkness.Not frightening darkness.Familiar darkness.Comfortable darkness.The darkness welcomed me.Then promptly spat me out.I landed unceremoniously in my throne room.The impact wasn't painful.Mostly because I landed on paperwork.Paperwork.I blinked.Then blinked again.The entire throne room was covered in reports.Every table.Every chair.Every surface.Every available inch of space.Paper.Stacks and stacks and stacks of paper.Reports.Requests.Maps.Documents.Records.The Void had apparently decided that if it couldn't force me to rule willingly, it would bury me alive in administration.I stared.The paperwork stared back.Then a familiar voice spoke.
Sol POVAlthea started babbling what sounded suspiciously like instructions.Order appeared from nowhere.The sanctuary moved furniture.Chaos laughed.Beatriz shouted.Aurora chased Riot.Leo proudly announced that he had "helped."And suddenly the nursery exploded into chaos.Again.In the middle of the madness, a familiar presence brushed against my mind.Warm.Tired.Very, very tired.Aella.The connection strengthened immediately.Sol?Relief washed through me.The Bond had told me she was safe, but hearing her voice made it real.Aella. Are you okay?I felt her exhaustion through the Bond.The kind that came from weeks without proper sleep.The kind that no amount of power could fix.But beneath it, I also felt amusement.A lot of amusement.I'm fine.A pause.Then annoyance.The Void is ridiculous.I laughed.Several people looked at me strangely.I ignored them.What is it doing?I felt her sigh.Showing me reports.Silence.Hundreds of reports.I immediately felt sorry for he
Maxwell was gone. Truly gone.For a flickering second, a memory I had tried to bury surfaced. I remembered his laughter as a pup, high and bright. I remembered him rolling around in the dirt with Caleb and Jax, four children making a mess of the world. He used to help me in ways no one else dared,
The announcement arrived via a royal scroll at breakfast: a Medieval Masquerade Gala. Attendance was mandatory for all towers. The King’s decree was clear—this wasn't just a party; it was a showcase of the hierarchy. "A group entrance," Marcus proposed, leaning back with a grin that was all sharp
Two months had passed since the cafeteria incident, and the hierarchy of the Imperial Tower had shifted permanently. Amelie had leaned fully into her "victim" persona, limping through the halls and wearing silk scarves to hide bruises that had long since healed. She whispered to anyone who would li
The arena was a theater of carnage. Maxwell stood on the sands, his chest heaving, his wolf pushing so hard against his skin that his eyes were a constant, unstable amber. Sol stood opposite him, calm and immovable. Before the first blow was struck, Pamela stepped onto the lower ridge of the stand







