MasukThe heavy stone gate shuddered, sealing Julian inside the blood-red leyline vault with Alistair.I spun around on the stone floor, my hands clutching my swollen belly as my pulse thudded wildly behind my eyes. Gasps tore from my throat, my lungs working in fast, shallow hitches. Beside me, Cassian collapsed onto his side, coughing up blood as the silver rune-stone fell from his trembling fingers.A tall figure stepped out from the dark shadows behind the ruined altar.It was Lily—her eyes completely turned to solid silver, her throat bearing the dark purple scar where Vespera had cut her earlier. She didn't move like herself; her steps were rigid, almost floating across the deck as a cold, ancient aura radiated from her body."Lily...?" I gasped, my voice tearing through my throat."Lily is sleeping, Sun-Queen," she spoke, her voice layered with a deep, echoing ancient resonance that vibrated through the stone beneath my boots. "I am the First Progenitor's remnant. The ancient warden
our thirty-foot obsidian blades swung downward toward my pregnant belly, cutting through the heavy air with a deafening whistle."Not while I breathe!" Julian screamed, his voice turning into a terrifying, primal roar that rattled my ribcage.Julian didn't try to dodge. He locked his broad arms around my waist, lifting my rounded body off the floor and spinning us around so his broad back faced the incoming steel. His broad thigh wedged firmly between my legs, pinning my front flush against his chest as he slammed his free claw straight into the vibrating stone floor beneath our boots.BOOMA massive barrier of interwoven white-hot Sun-Fire and deep crimson Sovereign energy erupted from our locked frames, expanding outward at supersonic speed.The four giant obsidian blades slammed into our barrier with the force of falling mountains.The crushing impact shattered the stone floor beneath us, sending shockwaves through my legs. The sheer pressure flattened my lungs, forcing a breathles
The glowing red floor beneath us vibrated like a massive, beating heart, shooting continuous waves of raw thermal fire straight into my lower body.My stomach throbbed with a terrifying, unnatural pulse as our unborn child demanded energy at a speed that made my pulse thud behind my eyes. Gasps came fast and shallow from my throat, my hands frantically gripping Julian’s forearms as my knees buckled against the stone floor."Julian... ah... it's draining my core..." I panted, my voice tearing through my throat as a sharp, breathless ache spread straight down to my center.Julian didn't hesitate for a fraction of a second. His silver-and-gold eyes burned with unhinged, protective devotion as he hauled my body up, locking my back flat against his chest while his broad hand pressed firmly over my visibly swollen abdomen."I have you, Queen!" Julian rasped into my skin, his scalding breath hitting my neck like liquid iron. "Take my life force before the Cradle touches yours!"His hand clam
The fall through the crimson rift felt like spinning inside a blood-filled storm.Air ripped out of my lungs, my pulse thudding behind my eyes as gravity pulled us down into a deep, endless void. But Julian’s arms never loosened around my body for a single fraction of a second. He kept his frame wrapped around mine, taking the violent wind and dark pressure with his back as we crashed through the red veil and hit solid stone.We tumbled hard across the ground, sliding ten feet before coming to a stop.I pushed myself up onto my hands and knees, my chest heaving in fast, shallow gasps as my throat burned.Beside me, Julian scrambled to his feet instantly. His claws were extended, his chest expanding in heavy thuds as his silver-and-gold eyes scanned the area around us."Elena, don't leave my side," Julian growled, his low voice vibrating with fierce protectiveness.The air in this new place was thick and heavy, smelling of old iron and ancient fire. High above us, giant red leyline vei
The whistling hum of fifty anti-magic extraction bolts tore through the air like a wall of flying steel.Julian didn't hesitate. He locked his broad arms around my waist and pulled my body completely flush against his chest, rolling us over on the stone floor so his massive back faced the incoming barrage. His heavy weight pinned my hips flat onto the ground, his face buried deep into the crook of my neck as his muscles flared to take the blow.THUD THUD THUDA chorus of brutal impacts echoed through the cavern as dozens of heavy iron-tipped bolts slammed straight into Julian’s back and shoulders.Julian let out a guttural, agonizing gasp that vibrated violently through my chest. Steam rose from his wounds where the purple anti-magic poison bit into his Sovereign flesh, but his arms remained locked around my frame like titanium bands, refusing to yield a single inch."Julian!" I screamed, my voice tearing through my throat.My pulse thudded wildly behind my eyes as gasps tore from my
The cold, power-dampening iron collar burned against my neck like liquid ice, stifling every spark of Sun-Fire in my chest.Three shadow-enforcers pinned my arms forcefully behind my back, forcing my knees onto the cold stone floor. My heart slammed frantically against my ribs, my pulse thudding behind my eyes as I stared down at my flat abdomen.Pregnant. With Julian’s child. The next Sovereign Progenitor."Touch her and I will strip the flesh from your bones!" Julian roared, his primal growl vibrating through the subterranean chamber.The heavy iron chains binding Julian taut against the floor groaned under his tremendous force. Dark, steaming blood trickled down his shoulders as he pulled against the restraint rings, his silver-and-gold eyes exploding with unhinged, lethal rage.The Grand Overseer didn't even look at Julian. He stepped forward, his silver eyes cold behind his metallic mask as he raised the long, glowing silver needle."The High Council does not negotiate with vesse







