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36-The assessment

last update publish date: 2026-04-11 16:29:34

Chapter Thirty Six

Aria

They did not bring me to the grand chamber. Knowing them, that would have been too honest.

Instead, I was escorted to a smaller circular room carved from dark stone. It was windowless, soundproof, and suffocating in its stillness. Five high backed chairs curved along the far wall like judges awaiting execution.

Mine was alone, and place in the center of it all. If that wasn't deliberate, then I had no idea what else was. It was a single chair beneath a narrow beam of wh
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    Chapter Ninety TwoAriaThe room was too quiet, not the kind of quiet that settled gently or gave you space to think. This one pressed in, heavy and suffocating, like it was waiting for something to break.Kieran’s boots were the only sound cutting through it. Back and forth, sharp, measured and purely relentless.It had been an hour since we got here, hell, but it felt like we'd been here all day. If I was being honest, I wasn't exactly surprised, since the situation wasn't ideal.I sat on the edge of the chair across from Zane’s desk, my fingers curled loosely in my lap, tracking the rhythm without meaning to. Every step felt louder than it should have, like it echoed off the walls and lodged itself somewhere behind my ribs.Zane didn’t move.He stood near the desk, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on Kieran like he was watching a storm build in real time and deciding whether to step in,or let it hit.Back and forth, back and forth. Kieran just kept on going and he didn’t look at either

  • Contractually Married my ex-mate's father   91-Mates

    Chapter Ninety OneAriaWalking felt like a bad decision the moment I swung my legs off the bed, but I did it anyway.“I’m coming,” I said, already pushing myself upright before either of them could argue.Zane was at my side instantly, one hand hovering at my back like he expected me to collapse again.“You can barely stand.”“I can stand enough,” I shot back, even as the room tilted slightly. “I’m not staying here while she’s out there.”“She’s not ‘out there,’” Kieran cut in from the doorway. “She’s contained.”“Then it shouldn’t be a problem for me to see her.”Silence followed that.Zane studied me for a second too long, like he was weighing something I didn’t have the patience for. You couldn't blame me, I'd kept my end of the deal, so it was time for him to honor his. He'd told me that if I ate and tested, then we could go see Lena. I'd done that, even though I felt like I would pass out the next second, but I didn't, and that was all that mattered.After what seemed like foreve

  • Contractually Married my ex-mate's father   90-Rescued at last?

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  • Contractually Married my ex-mate's father   89-Darkness

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  • Contractually Married my ex-mate's father   88-All alone in the woods

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  • Contractually Married my ex-mate's father   87-Almost had it

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  • Contractually Married my ex-mate's father   12-Push and pull

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  • Contractually Married my ex-mate's father   8-whispers of prophecy

    Chapter EightZaneAria Nightwind had never been anything but a prospective daughter-in-law to me. Make no mistake, she was beautiful.Beautiful in all the ways a blooming rose could be. But I willed myself not to spare her a second glance.I made sure I observed her with indifference then, just en

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