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
AgnesThe moment my teeth broke Elijah’s skin, everything changed.A rush of power surged through me, unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It started at the point where my mouth met his neck, then cascaded outward, flooding every inch of my body with heat and energy. My fingertips tingled,
We fell into a comfortable silence as I continued working. The dress was truly coming together now, each small adjustment bringing it closer to the vision I’d had when I first chose the materials.“So,” Lena said after a while, “are you nervous about the banquet?”I considered this as I straightened
I swallowed hard, feeling suddenly guilty. Maybe if I hadn’t stepped in, and had instead let Richard whisk her away, this wouldn’t have happened. “Richard, I’m sorry if I made things worse by supporting her desire to stay at the party,” I said softly. “I didn’t realize how serious her condition was.
Agnes“Hold still, please,” I muttered around a mouthful of pins as I adjusted the hem of the golden dress. It was nearly finished, but these final touches would make all the difference.Lena stood patiently on the small pedestal in my workroom, arms slightly raised to avoid disturbing the drape of







