เข้าสู่ระบบThe forest had swallowed us whole.For three days, Amaya and I had moved through the trees like shadows, bruised and starving, every step a battle against the ache in our bones. The fire that had gutted the hall was long behind us, but the scent of smoke still clung to my hair, my skin, my memories. I could feel it every time I closed my eyes.We hadn't stopped long enough to rest properly. Sleep came in fits, stolen in hollows and shallow caves, broken by the crack of branches or the distant cry of wolves. Hunger gnawed at us, but worse than that was the silence, Ciro's silence. That empty place where my bond had once burned was a wound that no amount of running could heal.By the third day, my legs moved on will alone. My body screamed to give up, but Amaya was relentless. She pulled me forward with the same iron grip she'd had that night, refusing to let me collapse into the dirt."Jas," she whispered as we trudged along a narrow path littered with pine needles. Her voice was hoars
The night smelled of smoke and blood.My lungs burned with every breath as Amaya and I stumbled through the trees, the glow of fire behind us staining the sky red. The hall was gone, swallowed by the destruction I'd unleashed, but I could still hear the chaos, the howls, the screams, the furious cries of those who'd survived.And they would come for us.Branches whipped against my face as I ran, but my legs were heavy, my body barely holding itself together. Amaya was beside me, her arm looped under mine, dragging more than guiding. She was bruised, battered, bleeding from her temple, but her grip was iron."Don't stop," she hissed through clenched teeth. "Not yet. Keep moving."I wanted to tell her I couldn't. That my ribs felt like they'd been shattered, that my heart was ripping itself apart with every beat. But I couldn't form the words. My mouth was dry, my throat raw, my chest tight.And worse, my mark was gone.I reached for it again, like I had a hundred times since Duncan sho
They didn't even bother to speak to me when they came. Just a group of maids, their eyes hollow, their grips iron. They stripped me out of the rags I'd been left in and shoved me into a gown, long, white, mocking purity. My body screamed with every tug of fabric against my bruises, but I bit down on the pain and stayed silent.The dress wasn't for me, work for me. It was for him.When they were done, they wrenched my arms behind my back, rope biting into my wrists. Two of them dragged me through the corridors. The air reeked of smoke and sweat, of fear, and something darker that made my skin crawl.They threw open the doors to a vast hall. The hall was brightly lit with a huge chandelier. The room was filled with wolves, rogues, council defectors, faces twisted with eagerness to watch. And at the centre, on a dais like a king, sat Duncan.He smiled when he saw me.The crowd quieted as I was shoved forward, stumbling until I dropped to my knees before him. My wrists burned against the
The door opened, and I didn't even have the strength to turn. My body ached, my ribs screamed with every breath, and my mind was still unraveling from Duncan's poisonous words.Then I heard a laugh, sharp and cold. It twisted my insides. Tilda.She strolled inside as though she owned the place, her heels clicking against the floor in a deliberate rhythm. She took her time, circling me like a predator toying with prey."Look at you," she sneered. "The great Luna curled up like a beaten dog. I almost pity you." She crouched, her face inches from mine, her eyes gleaming with cruel delight. "Almost."I finally raised my head, slowly, intentionally. My face was swollen, my lips split from biting back the tears, but I forced the corners of my mouth into the faintest smile. "Is this what you do to feel important? Kick around the broken?"Her smirk faltered, just for a second.I leaned into it. "Duncan keeps you around because you're useful, not because you matter. You're a tool, Tilda. Not
"Ciro?" My voice was barely a whisper, my throat closing around the name. He didn't stir.Isabella shook him harder, her hands trembling. "Wake up! Damn it, Ciro, wake up!" Her sobs cracked through the air, raw and jagged, the sound of someone breaking. Tears streaked her cheeks as she pressed her forehead to his chest, her cries echoing down the hall.I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. My body felt like stone, rooted to the floor, staring at the sight that shouldn't—couldn't—be real. My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I thought it would split open."What... what happened?" I whispered, but no one heard me. Or maybe no one cared to answer."Jasmine!"Amaya's voice cut through the haze, sharp and urgent. Suddenly she was there, grabbing my arm, yanking me back from the nightmare. "We have to go—now!"I stumbled after her, numb, my feet barely keeping up as she dragged me through the corridors. The walls blurred, Isabella's cries still ringing in my ears, carved into my bones."No
The room suddenly became stiff, small, almost closing in on me. Time slowed down drastically and my breathing became heavier.I felt it, being yanked out of my body suddenly and thrown towards the door. I shut my eyes, expecting to collide with the door but instead, I heard... sobs?My eyes flew open automatically, a sudden breeze hitting me. I wasn't in my room anymore.I was outside, where I had left them.Ciro was there, collapsed on the ground, his body limp, his face pale. My chest caved at the sight, the air torn from my lungs. Isabella was beside him, cradling his head, her sobs cutting through the silence like jagged glass.What?"No” The word ripped out of me, raw and desperate. I lurched forward, every instinct screaming to reach him, to touch him, to stop this, whatever it was. But my feet wouldn't move fast enough, like the air had thickened into water, dragging me back.The grass beneath me blurred, Isabella's sobs echoing, repeating, as if the world itself had narrowed t







