LOGINCHAPTER 98KADE The chaos at the eastern gate had been contained by midday, but the tension in the palace remained thick and heavy. We had pushed the attackers back, captured three alive, and secured the perimeter, but the cost was already clear: more guards dead, more families grieving, more questions we did not yet have answers for. I stood in the war room with Dante and Lucien, maps spread across the table, when the bloodied guard from the cemetery was brought in on a stretcher. He had survived long enough to speak, but only barely. Elara had stabilized him, yet his face was ashen and his voice weak as he looked up at us.“Your Majesties,” he rasped, coughing once before continuing. “The eastern gate… they came from the trees. Trained. Coordinated. But that is not all. Before I passed out… I heard them talking. They mentioned a small town… near the southern border. The hollow. They said it had been breached. The entire town… wiped out. Families slaughtered. They laughed about it…
CHAPTER 97KADEThe burial took place at dawn in the royal cemetery on the eastern grounds. The sky was still pale gray, the full moon long gone, leaving only a faint silver line on the horizon. Everyone wore black. The nobles, the families of the dead, the guards, the kings. Black cloaks, black suits, black veils. The air was cold and still, carrying the scent of fresh earth and incense from the priest’s censer.I stood at the front with Dante and Lucien, our positions fixed by tradition. Rowan stood close to me, slightly behind my left shoulder, quiet and pale in a simple black coat that swallowed his smaller frame. He had insisted on coming even though he still looked shaky from the night before. I had not argued. I wanted him where I could see him.The priest, an old man with a deep, resonant voice, stood before the sixty fresh graves arranged in neat rows. His black robes fluttered slightly in the morning breeze as he raised his hands and began the rite.“Today we commit these so
CHAPTER 96KADE I sat alone in my study after Rowan left, the door closing softly behind him. The room felt quieter without his warmth in my lap, but the scent he left behind lingered heavily in the air. It was not the usual clean, slightly sweet smell I had grown used to from him. This was deeper, richer, warmer — unmistakably the scent of an Omega in the early stages of heat, even if it was heavily muted. My pen hovered over the paper for a long moment as I breathed it in again, confirming what my instincts had already told me. Rowan smelled very, very different. Like an Omega.I set the pen down slowly and leaned back in my chair, staring at the closed door. The suppressants he took every day were clearly still working to some degree, but they were not perfect. Not anymore. Not after the powerful aphrodisiac that had been slipped into his drink at the ball. The drug must have interfered, pushing his body closer to the edge. The realization settled in my chest like a quiet weight.
CHAPTER 95ROWANI decided to go downstairs because staying locked in my room any longer was driving me crazy. The palace still felt heavy with grief from the ball, but I needed to move, to breathe, to prove to myself that I was not completely trapped. My legs were still a little shaky from the drug and everything that had happened afterward, but I forced myself to walk slowly down the main staircase, keeping one hand on the railing for balance. The servants I passed gave me quiet nods and sympathetic looks, but no one stopped to talk. The whole place felt quieter than usual, like everyone was still recovering from the nightmare of that night.I had just reached the bottom of the stairs when I saw her. Nyra was standing near one of the large pillars, her red hair perfectly styled and her dress elegant as always. The moment her eyes landed on me, her expression changed. She watched me walk through the palace with a sharp, calculating look, like she was studying every step I took. I cou
CHAPTER 94LUCIEN The dungeon was colder than I remembered. The air felt thick and damp, carrying the scent of wet stone and old blood. Torches flickered along the walls, casting long, dancing shadows that made the iron bars look like teeth. I walked down the narrow corridor with two guards trailing behind me, my boots echoing loudly in the silence. I had waited until the palace had settled into an uneasy quiet before coming down here. I needed to see Seraph’s face. I needed to look him in the eyes and watch him try to lie.The deepest cell was at the very end. Seraph sat on the stone bench inside, his white hair still perfectly neat despite the grime around him. His hands were chained to the wall, but he sat with the same calm dignity he always wore in the council chamber, as if being locked up was merely an inconvenience. When he saw me approaching, the corner of his mouth lifted in a small, mocking smile.I stopped right in front of the bars and stared at him for a long moment bef
CHAPTER 93ROWANI sat up slowly in bed, my head finally clear after the drug had worked its way out of my system. My body still ached in places, but the dizzy fog and the burning heat were gone. What remained was a deep, burning humiliation that sat like a stone in my stomach. Someone had targeted me so easily. One drink from a passing servant and I had been helpless, dizzy, confused, and then Corvin had appeared, cornering me like I was prey. If Lucien had not shown up when he did, who knows what would have happened. The thought made me feel small and stupid and exposed all over again.I hugged my knees to my chest and whispered to the empty room, “Why me? I was just trying to have one normal night. I did not bother anyone. Why did they choose me to drug? What did I ever do to deserve that?”The guards were still standing outside my door. I could hear their low voices through the wood, quiet and watchful. The palace felt different now, like the walls themselves were watching me, wai
CHAPTER 20ROWANThree days later, the guards arrived at my door precisely when the invitation had specified, their expressions as impassive as ever beneath the elaborate silver masks that marked the gala's theme, and I followed them down the winding corridors without a single protest because fight
CHAPTER 15ROWAN Nyra scrambled off the floor first, smoothing her torn dress with shaking hands. Her cheek glowed red from my slap, hair wild and makeup smeared. She straightened fast, chin high, and launched into speech before I could even catch my breath.“Your Majesty,” she said quickly, voice
CHAPTER 16ROWANI stirred slowly, my body pulling me out of the deepest sleep I'd had in months. My eyes fluttered open to the soft afternoon light slipping through the heavy curtains. The room felt... different. Warmer. Heavier. That scent still lingered everywhere—pine, smoke, and something so d
CHAPTER 18ROWANI must have dozed off sometime after Lucien left. The books were scattered all around me on the bed like guilty little secrets, and that filthy one, Eternal Bonds was still open right on my chest. The pages were crumpled from how tight I had gripped them while reading. My eyes had







