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
AgnesI floated back to consciousness slowly, like surfacing from deep water. The first thing I became aware of was the softness beneath me—a bed, not the cold cave floor. The second was a small, warm body curled against my side, and a tiny hand resting on my stomach.Thea.I opened my eyes, blinkin
By the time we arrived home, Thea was half-asleep. Elijah carried her up to bed while I poured us each a glass of wine.We met back in the living room later, settling onto the couch with a record playing faintly in the background. For a few minutes, we just sat in silence, sipping our wine.“So,” El
I sprayed a thin streak of vibrant fuschia down one side of her bangs. The effect was subtle but eye-catching—just enough to make her feel special without being too dramatic for a seven-year-old.“There,” I said, stepping back to admire my work. “What do you think?”Thea stared at her reflection, to
AgnesThea’s violin bow glided across the strings, her face so sweet and innocent and utterly concentrated that I found myself blinking back tears.When Elijah and I had slipped into our seats just moments before the recital began, she had spotted us immediately. The brief flash of relief in her eye







