Delilah’s Pov I didn’t dream again. That surprised me. After last night’s nightmare, I expected another round of torment, but instead I slipped into a deep, empty sleep. Still, when I woke up, a strange heaviness pressed down on my chest, as if something bad had already happened, or was waiting right outside my door.The knock startled me.The door creaked open, and Alyssa leaned against the frame, her dark eyes playful. “Are you ready for our training today?”My gaze darted to the sun streaming in through the curtains. Too bright. Too late. I shot upright in bed. I never overslept.“You’re late,” Alyssa said, her smirk fading. “Are you okay?”“I… I guess.” I rubbed my temples. “Just the weirdest dream.”She stepped inside and sat at the edge of my bed, crossing her legs. “Tell me.”So I did. Every detail of the nightmare. Every shiver still echoing in my bones. When I finished, Alyssa’s expression had hardened.“I’m getting Reyna,” she said.“It’s just a dream,” I protested. “Nothin
Delilah’s Pov I opened my eyes slowly, the soft weight of the sheets tangled around my body. My skin still hummed with memory, every corner of the room carrying the ghost of what happened last night. I could almost see it…the way Malric had pressed me against the wall, the sharp rhythm of his thrusts, the way his hands had gripped my breasts as though they belonged to him and him alone. It was raw, it was rough, but it was also beautiful. Too beautiful.I didn’t even realize I was lost in thought until a deep voice cut through the silence.“What are you thinking about?” Malric asked.I turned quickly, heat rushing to my cheeks. He was already half-dressed, pulling his tunic over his shoulders. I pulled the sheets tighter around myself and sat up, feigning calm.“Nothing,” I said too quickly.Malric smirked faintly, but he didn’t push.“Where are you going?” I asked, watching him buckle his belt.He glanced at me once before reaching for his boots. “I have some business to attend to.
Verret’s PovI stood by the high window and watched the courtyard fold itself into twilight, the last of the day’s heat bleeding slow and red into the stones. For twenty years I had walked this world like a man with his feet in the sea: always wet with searching, always salt-stung with disappointment. Tonight the wind tasted different, thick with possibility, heavy with the scent of fate.I could not believe it. The discovery did not arrive with a trumpet or a herald; it arrived instead like a small, insolent footstep at my door. After two decades of threadbare hope, after rites that ate my years and bargains that shaved the edges of my life away, she was simply placed before me, as if the world had grown tired of hiding what I had sought.I am old by most reckonings. Older than the kings whose names are carved into vault stones, older than the women who still whisper my true title in dark shrines. Yet every spell I cast, every red night of sacrifice, took something from me. A few m
Seraphine’s Pov I did not sleep.How could I, with death rotting only a few steps away from me?All night my eyes stayed open, burning and dry, fixed on the rough wall in front of me. I could not turn back, could not bring myself to look at the corpse in the shadows. The stench was faint but present, that sickening sour note that clung to the back of my throat. My stomach churned. Each time the wind outside groaned against the wood, I flinched, terrified that the body would move.I curled into myself, the thin cloth clutched around my bare skin, and I whispered a thousand prayers to a goddess who had already abandoned me. My body screamed for rest, but my mind wouldn’t allow it. Not with him there. Not with that reminder of what awaited me if I failed.I don’t know when dawn came. It was the sound of the door opening that pulled me out of my trance. The hinges groaned, and a man’s voice cut through the silence.“Come.”I didn’t hesitate. Anything…anything to be away from that room, f
Seraphine’s PovCold. That was the first thing I felt. A sudden splash of water struck my face, dragging me out of the darkness I had collapsed into. My body jerked upright, trembling, my breath ragged. I was no longer naked, no longer scorched by fire, yet I wore clothes I didn’t recognize, plain and coarse against my sore skin.I blinked, disoriented. What happened? I remembered the fire, the burning agony that devoured me whole, the moment I gave in and screamed until my throat was raw. I should have died inside those flames. Yet here I was. Alive. Barely.“Get up.”The voice was sharp, commanding. I looked up, my vision blurred, and saw a man standing over me. His eyes held no mercy.“This is day two,” he said coldly. “You have another test waiting for you.”Before I could speak, another figure entered, a young woman, silent, her face lowered. She carried a tray with a single meal. She set it down quickly and vanished without a word.My stomach twisted. I hadn’t realized how starv
Seraphine’s Pov The chamber smelled of smoke and iron, thick enough to choke. Shadows stretched across the walls, swallowing the corners whole. Lord Verret stood there, silent, unmovable, his eyes gleaming like black fire.“Strip,” he said.The word cut into me sharper than any blade. My lips trembled. “What? Why?”His voice was calm, cold, absolute. “If you are not ready for what is to come, speak now. But if you agree, there is no return. Not tonight. Not ever.”I should have refused. I should have demanded dignity, demanded release. But I heard myself whisper instead:“I’ll do it.”He tilted his head, not smiling, not frowning. “Then begin.”My fingers shook as I untied the silk at my shoulders. Each layer falling away felt like another piece of me, my pride, my divinity, my strength. The cool air licked at my skin, yet heat flamed inside me. By the time the last layer slipped, I was trembling.Three men stepped forward from the shadows. Hefty, broad-shouldered, their eyes hungry,