MasukElara I was awakened rudely the next morning by Mara. She shook me violently until I jerked out of sleep. "Get up, we have to go." She said simply, dropped a cloak on the bed and walked out. As soon as she left, I felt compelled to do as she had told me. I got up, wiped the sleep from my eyes and followed her out the front door. The forest was already right in front of us by the time I stepped out. The moment we stepped past the last stone marker, the air changed immediately. I followed behind Mara blindly, my fingers curled into the sleeves of the borrowed cloak she had given me. She walked as if the forest knew her, as if it bent out of her way. I, on the other hand, felt like prey. “This is far enough,” I said softly, my voice sounding too loud in my own ears. Mara did not stop. “Not yet.” My heart began to race. My wolf stirred restlessly under my skin, my nails scraping against the inside of my bones. It was not panic yet, but it was close, the kind that came before a
Elara By the time night fell, a candle had been lit to lighten up the dark room. The shadows casted against the walls as a result of the reflection bouncing off the candle light gave the room an eerie feeling. Not that I wasn't used to such environments already. The forest outside had gone quiet. Too quiet that I could literally hear the heartbeat of the wandering creatures outside. I laid awake, staring at the ceiling, my body buzzing and hollow at the same time. The bond felt thinner now, stretched to a breaking point as panic rose in my throat. I tried to get the thoughts of the brothers out of mind but each time I tried, the thought of them only came stronger. I did not know if they could hear me. Tears slid down from my temples and into my hair. I wiped them away angrily. Crying would not help me now, this wasn't the time for me to break down, it won't help either. I forced myself to sit up, even as my body protested. The room swayed as I held onto the edge of the bed u
Elara By the time night fell, a candle had been lit to lighten up the dark room. The shadows casted against the walls as a result of the reflection bouncing off the candle light gave the room an eerie feeling. Not that I wasn't used to such environments already. The forest outside had gone quiet. Too quiet that I could literally hear the heartbeat of the wandering creatures outside. I laid awake, staring at the ceiling, my body buzzing and hollow at the same time. The bond felt thinner now, stretched to a breaking point as panic rose in my throat.I tried to get the thoughts of the brothers out of mind but each time I tried, the thought of them only came stronger. I did not know if they could hear me.Tears slid down from my temples and into my hair. I wiped them away angrily. Crying would not help me now, this wasn't the time for me to break down, it won't help either. I forced myself to sit up, even as my body protested. The room swayed as I held onto the edge of the bed until i
Elara I didn't try to put up a fight when the guards rough handled me. I simply smiled and kept on walking. I told myself it was because I was tired, because my body still felt hollow and weak, because the numbness had not fully left my limbs. But the truth sat deeper than that. I did not fight because the Luna was watching, and something in her eyes told me that resistance would only make things worse."Lose that ugly smile from your face, else I'm going to lose it for you." The Luna spat out as she walked past me. I didn't say anything—didn't want to utter the words that would make her upset. She took me down to a corridor that looked really strange. The palace felt different from this side, the place was colder and quiet than the rest, it was like it was holding its breath.I tried to run back to the brothers but this was the choice that I had made for myself and I had to go with it. Why was I going with this plan? I couldn't say. That little voice in my head told me that it
KaelI was standing outside my mother’s chamber with my brothers, my hands clenched at my sides. The corridor that led to her chamber felt colder than usual, or maybe that was just me. I could hear my own heartbeat, beating slowly and heavily, like it knew something I did not want to face. Cassidan stood to my right, his jaw was tight, preventing him from uttering a word. Damon leaned slightly on the wall, his shoulders were slumped and his breathing was uneven, he looked pale as ever. I wished he would recover quickly. I raised my hand and knocked thrice on the door. The door opened almost at once.A maid stood there, she bowed her head when she saw us and lowered her eyes. “The queen has been expecting you,” she said softly, then stepped aside for us to enter. That alone made my stomach twist.We all walked in at the same time. The room was warm and filled with soft light The curtains were drawn just enough to let the sun in. We found mother sitting just near the window, look
DamonWhen my brothers came into my room, I made sure I was already lying back against the pillows, I made my breathing shallow. I even let my hands tremble a little. It took effort. More effort than fighting through the pain I had earlier. I never thought that pretending to be weak was harder than actually being weak.I had to pretend to be sick so my brothers wouldn't get suspicious of anything.Kael entered first with his shoulders tensed and a tight jaw. Cassidan followed quietly with his eyes sharp and searching, the way they always were when something did not sit right with him.“How are you feeling?” Kael asked me, moving closer to the bed.I forced a cough and turned my face slightly away. “I still feel very dizzy,” I said. “My chest burns.” I lied even when I felt perfectly fine. Cassidan did not speak. He stood at the foot of the bed, studing me with his sharp eyes. I could feel his gaze on my face, weighing every breath I took and every blink.“You don’t look worse,” he s







