LOGINThe crowd continued to applaud as Thea took one final bow before exiting the stage. The moment she was out of sight, Elijah grabbed my hand.“Come on,” he said, already pulling me toward the aisle. “Let’s get backstage before everyone else.”We made our way through the crowd, accepting congratulatio
AgnesEight years had passed by.The concert hall was packed to capacity, not a single empty seat in sight. My spine ached like hell from sitting on the hard wooden chair for the past two hours, and my pregnant belly made it impossible to find a comfortable position. Elijah kept rubbing his neck and
“Mom?” Thea’s voice called. “Everyone’s waiting. Are you ready?”I took one last look in the mirror, adjusted the mask slightly, and turned toward the door.“Ready,” I said, opening it to find my daughter standing there in a midnight blue dress that she had designed herself. Her own mask, shaped lik
AgnesOne year later.I stood in front of my mirror, hardly recognizing the woman staring back at me. Two years. It had been two years since I met Elijah—not counting that foggy night we conceived Thea seven years before that, a night neither of us could fully remember thanks to whatever drugs had b
Initially, I resisted. The thought of sharing my pain with a stranger when I had spent so many years being treated like a madwoman for my trauma scared the hell out of me. But Elijah was persistent, reminding me that we all carried burdens that were too heavy to bear alone.And so, twice a week, we
AgnesThe weeks following the destruction of the Lunaris Stone passed in a blur.Elemental Enterprises, of course, was immediately shut down by the authorities. Every known international law enforcement agency descended on Richard’s territory, working alongside Richard and us to document the crimes
AgnesFire burst from my palm with more intensity than I’d ever managed before. The heat was incredible, searing through my hand and up my arm. My palm burned furiously, the skin already blistering and cracking, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop.Every instinct in my body was screaming at me to pul
One of the organizers approached us then, signaling that it was almost time to begin. Evelyn and I made our way backstage, where the mothers and daughters were being lined up in their walking order. Thea was practicing waving her wand for the big turn at the end of the runway when I found her.“I’m
He shrugged. “I think you can do it if you just put your mind to it.”I looked up at him, at the way his eyes held mine, and felt something soften inside of me. “Alright,” I said, my shoulders slumping slightly. “I’ll give it a shot.”Elijah’s mouth tugged upwards. “Good. This’ll all blow over soon,
AgnesOnce I got home, I slammed the front door behind me and leaned against the wood. The tears were still flowing freely down my cheeks, and I couldn’t seem to stop them no matter how hard I tried. Covering my mouth, I slid down until I was sitting on the floor, pulling my knees up to my chest.“A







