LOGINGrayhamโs POVItโs Saturday which means I donโt have to be at the office. The last time I checked, my session at the company which was supposed to last for a week ended yesterday so Iโm back at the cafรฉ.I must say the past week was one of the best weeks Iโve had since the switch. I donโt want to sound selfish but I wish my Grandpa would give me a call to say that Miles needs more time to recover so I should continue running things at the company.With twenty days left to the final ritual, I need something to keep me off that thought.โWhat are you thinking about?โI sighed and turned to Max. He was standing right in front of me with a tray filled with dirty mugs. He dumped it on the counter.โNothing much,โ I said.Shirley doesnโt work weekends so Max is here to help with the serving. Itโs a cold morning and the cafรฉ is packed. Customers have been trooping in for coffee and tea to keep them charged for the day ahead.โThose should go into the kitchen. They should be cleaned,โ I told
The world hushed around them.The only sound was the soft rustle of blossoms stirred by the breeze, the faint catch of their breaths as they held on to each other. Words had emptied out. There was nothing left to say that grief hadnโt already said for them.So they sat.Shoulder to shoulder. Heart to heart.Kaelโs fingers clutched at Alaricโs tunic like a lifeline, and Alaricโs arm circled him, steady, anchoring. Their bodies trembled with the aftershocks of mourning, but slowly, slowly the sobs dulled into silence.The sun dipped.The sky blushed, then dimmed, then deepened into velvet black. They didnโt notice. They couldnโt feel time.Until the first glow sparked.And then another.And another.Fireflies. Dozens, then hundreds, rising out of the grass and hovering in a shifting veil of golden-green light over the mound where their son lay. The blossoms shimmered under their glow, the tiny lights flickering as if answering some unseen call.Alaricโs throat burned as he leaned closer
Silas rose slowly, his chair scraping softly against the stone. He pressed a trembling hand to Alaricโs shoulder, gave it a firm, lingering pat, and when Alaric looked up, Silasโs eyes were wet. The manโs throat bobbed with words he didnโt speak, then he turned and walked out, shutting the door behind him, leaving them alone.For a long moment, Alaric just stared at Kael, his mate, his anchor, and yet now a ghost of himself. Every breath Alaric tried to take felt like it splintered his ribs. Finally, he leaned forward, cupping Kaelโs pale face between his hands. His thumbs brushed along cold, hollowed cheeks. His voice broke low, raw, but steady enough to reach Kael.โI missed you,โ he whispered. Just three words, though a storm of others fought to claw out of him; โI thought I lost you.โ โI wouldโve torn the world apart to find you.โ โWhat happened to you?โ โWhat happened to our child?โ โI canโt stand seeing you like this.โ But none of it found his tongueโ only I missed you.Alaric s
Trumpets split the air. Drums thundered from the palace towers, rolling across the hills and crashing like waves over the capital.โHis Royal Highness, Prince Alaric, has returned!โ voices roared from the walls.Alaric rode at the head of his men, the Veridian banner snapping high above him. Dust clung to his cloak, his body still sore from every wound, but he sat tall in the saddle. Behind him, warriors marched, their armor gleaming in the morning sun. The gates yawned open, and the flood of sound swallowed them whole.The palace spilled out in full ceremony. Courtiers in silks, guards in shining mail, priests raising their hands in blessing, an ocean of faces bowed and waited, the road to the palace lined with petals thrown from baskets. At the top, King Theron stood on the low platform of carved marble, elevated above them all, his silver crown catching the sun.Alaric dismounted. Each step across the courtyard was heavy, his muscles dragging with exhaustion, but his gaze stayed fi
The crown felt heavier than a huge portion of oak wood, even though it wasnโt on Aaronโs head yet.โAll hail King Aaron.โThe words still echoed in his skull as he stood in the great hall, his body rooted like stone while the world swirled around him. Advisors whispered. Servants bustled. Guards shifted. And still he stood, silent, sick with grief, as if his fatherโs death had carved a hole straight through him.He wanted to drink again. To drown. To run back to the battlefield and scream into the cliffs until his lungs burst. Anything but this. Anything but kingship.But he didnโt move. He couldnโt. Not when so many eyes watched him, weighing his every breath, his every silence.It was Alaric who stirred him. A hand โ bruised, cut, unsteady โ pressed briefly to his shoulder, grounding him. Aaron blinked and looked at him, the Veridian prince as battered as the war itself, but still standing. Still here.And then word reached them.โThe kingโs body rests in his chamber. The queen awai
The courtyard reeked of steel, sweat, and horsehide, yet beneath it all lay the sharper scent of tension. Veridian soldiers stood in ranks, their cloaks battered, their blades still stained from Selvaneโs blood. They should have been preparing to march home, and should have been returning in triumph with their prince.But their prince was gone.Aaron stood before them, bottle in hand, his red cloak slipping from one shoulder. His eyes were bloodshot, and the hollows beneath them looked carved out by sleepless nights. He swayed faintly, but his voice carried when he finally spoke.โYou should have been home already.โ He raised the bottle, took a sharp swallow, and lowered it again with a grimace. โBut I canโtโwonโtโsend you back without him. Not like this. Not with empty hands, empty saddles.โ His throat bobbed. โNot with Veridiaโs crown waiting for a son who hasnโt returned.โA ripple passed through the soldiers. They had been hardened in battle, yet there was something desperate, unf
The mountain loomed black against a sky streaked in violet dusk. Selvaneโs stronghold clung to its slopes like a nest of carrion crows, torches dotting the ridges, watchfires burning high. The air was thin here, sharp in his lungs. Behind him, the army of Eldoria and Veridia lay crouched in silence
The queen mother pressed a final kiss to Kaelโs damp temple, whispering words only a grandmother could breathe, before she rose. Her robes whispered against the stone floor as she gathered her satchel of herbs, her voice low but firm.โI must prepare for the ritual,โ she said, her hands trembling t
The kitchens of the palace that's normally bustling with the clang of pots, the hiss of steam, the chatter of servants, were silent now. Silent, save for the heavy tread of armored boots and the sharp clink of chains.Guards filled the corridors, torches held high though it was still morning, their
The corridors hummed with the sound of preparation: clattering armor, the distant bark of orders, the heavy tread of boots across stone. Alaric and Aaron walked side by side, tunic neat, weapons polished, the solemn air of men who knew what waited beyond the walls.Soldiers straightened when the pr




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