LOGIN~ Kael's POV ~I woke up to the sound of a heartbeat that wasn't mine.I knew the sound of Risa's heartbeat and I could feel it anywhere, but this…this one wasn't that of the woman I loved.This was different. It was a frantic, echoing thrum, vibrating through the very floorboards of the room where I slept. I sat up in the heavy darkness, my hand instinctively sweeping across the sheets to where Risa should have been.But the bed was cold and empty."Risa?" I called out, my voice sounding hollow but I was met with silence. Not the peaceful silence of a sleeping palace, but a vacuum of sound that made the hair on my arms stand up. I got up immediately from the bed. I checked the bathroom, the water-marbled tile reflecting nothing but shadow. I checked the sitting room, but it was empty too. All the rooms were empty.My chest tightened as I couldn't think of where she would possibly be at this time.“The true bloods!” I growled. But it wasn't possible that they had gotten to her while
As I stared at the pages, the ink on the page didn’t look like ink anymore, but it changed to something I couldn't quite explain. Under the pulsing silver light of my skin, the jagged letters seemed to squirm like dying insects, etching themselves directly into my retinas and it burned. My heart hammered a frantic, hollow rhythm as I forced my eyes to follow the cramped, ancient script. It was painful, but I couldn't force myself to look away. The words started moving and I could read it all at once. -The Speaker is not born of man’s desire, but of the Goddess’s necessity-The first line read and I gasped.-From the first breath, the essence of the Eternal Flame is woven into the marrow--They are the chosen vessels, the living conduits of a power that predates the stars. But a vessel that holds the sun cannot hold the hand of a mortal-A cold sweat broke out across my forehead and my throat was dry but I still couldn't force myself to look away from the words. I turned the page, th
The flight back to the palace was a descent into a different kind of darkness. Outside the reinforced glass of the royal transport, the Northern lands blurred into a smear of desolate white, but inside, the silence was heavy enough to choke. Kael sat across from me, his face full of unsaid words and exhaustion. He hadn't let go of my hand since we left the prison, but his grip was different now. He was holding on to me as if I was going to run away from him. I held him back, to reassure him that I was going to be here. I already promised so I was going to do everything to keep my words.I stared at my reflection in the window. The silver light beneath my skin was quiet now, a dormant ember, but Zara’s words were a relentless loop in my brain. “You are utterly pitiful. Fire always ends in ash.” I shut my eyes tightly as I tried to breathe."Kael," I whispered, my voice barely audible over the hum of the engines.He looked up instantly, his blue eyes searching mine for any sign of dis
~ Risa's POV ~Seeing Cade in that state really made me feel sad.He was such a strong man in the past. A man that I had loved with all of my heart, but now he's been reduced to nothing.I knew the gravity of his offense, but if I could, I wouldn't want him to be killed.He has indeed committed treason, but couldn't he be spared? A punishment should suffice. But then again, people had died. Even if he was just a tool, his involvement has caused the life of many.Luckily, Kael had understood my heart and said he'd stand trial. Hearing him scream as a broken man now was painful to watch, so I turned away as I headed out with Kael, but then I saw the one woman I hated with everything in me. Zara. If anyone deserved death, it should be her.Zara looked like a ghost herself. The polished, predatory woman who had stood in the Conservatory was gone. In her place was a woman who had realized the exit was blocked and the building was on fire.She didn't try to run but she stood with her hands
~ Kael's POV ~The air in the Grayson territory didn't just feel cold but it felt stagnant, like a breath held too long in a dying lung.Our transport touched down on the reinforced helipad of the Northern compound with a thud. I needed to be here immediately so I took a private jet.I had to catch Cade before he escaped.Before the rotors had even ceased their whirring, Brandon and the vanguard were out, their silver-tipped rifles leveled at the line of Grayson guards who stood waiting in the floodlights. I stepped off the ramp, the wind whipping my coat around my legs. Beside me, Risa moved with grace, her face pale. She had insisted on wearing a coat of deep charcoal wool, but even through the thick fabric, I could see the faint shimmer of the light at her throat. It was as if she were a star wrapped in darkness."Sire," Brandon murmured into his comms, stepping back to allow us passage.The Head Elder of the Grayson pack, a man named Silas, shuffled forward. He lowered his head u
~ Cade's POV ~The cell smelled of old blood and the metallic tang of silver. They had shackled me to the wall with heavy chains, antiques from the Great War that were designed to suppress the wolf's strength. Every time I breathed, the silver-lined iron burned into my wrists, a constant, stinging reminder of my fall.“How did I end up like this.” I sobbed as I curled into myself. How the great has fallen. I used to be so powerful. My dream was to redeem my pack and bring it to glory, and I had done all that with Risa's help. Now she has left me, my pack has turned their backs on me and I am now a pathetic scum."Cade?"The voice was a whisper from the shadows. I looked up, my vision blurry. My nose was broken, and one of my eyes was swollen shut from the beating the Elders’ guards had given me.Zara stood outside the bars and she looked different. Her hair was disheveled, and there was a dark bruise on her cheek where Malphas had struck her. But her eyes were still that cold, calcul







