LOGIN~Alerion~
I stood in the doorway of her room watching the medic finish wrapping fresh gauze around her shoulder. The black lines were gone, thank fuck, but the skin still looked like
~Valeria~I waited until the house was quiet. Alerion had finally gone to train in the basement gym. Zane was in the kitchen banging pots around like he was mad at the stove. Lysander was out back running laps to burn off whatever energy he still had. Caius was locked in his room with the ancient book and his screens. I slipped into the small sitting room at the back of the hou
~Valeria~I woke up to the smell of breakfast drifting under my door like it was trying to bribe me. Again. Third day in a row. My shoulder still throbbed under the bandage, but at least I could move my arm without wanting to scream. Small wins.I pushed myself up against the pillows. The second my feet hit the floor, the door opened. Lysander walked in carrying a tray like he was delivering gold bars. Behind him, Zane hovered with a second plate stacked high, pancakes this time, drowning in syrup and whipped cream. My stomach
~Alerion~I stood in the doorway of her room watching the medic finish wrapping fresh gauze around her shoulder. The black lines were gone, thank fuck, but the skin still looked like one wrong move and it would split open again. Every time I blinked I saw that dark smoke punching into her. Every time I breathed I smelled the burnt-sugar stink of shadow-rot. And every time I looked at her sleeping face I wanted to put my fist through a wall.
~Valeria~They dropped the guys they were holding. Then they turned and walked out the side door. Calm. Like they had all the time in the world. One of them even waved. “See you never. Enjoy the funeral.”They left for good but without the book, at least.My stepbrothers were free but they did not chase. They ran straight to me instead.
~Valeria~We found the remaining men of my stepfather right at the back of the warehouse. I recognized them immediately: the one with the missing tooth who always smelled like cigarettes, the short one with the neck tattoos, and the big one who used to guard his office door. They were laughing. Laughing like they’d already won.No book in sight.The cigarette guy spotted us
~Valeria~Someone finally screamed “suspended until further notice” and that was it. Lights flickered back on, people started shoving toward exits, and I just stood there covered in vine ash.I knew this shit was gonna go wrong from the start. Like, deep down, I felt it in my gut. All that prep, the stupid crown, the fake smiles, total waste. I could’ve been chilling at home bingeing Netflix instead of dodging killer plants. “Fuck this,” I muttered as we hustled out. “I knew it. Wasted my d
~Valeria~
~Alerion~
~Valeria~
~Valeria~







