LOGINThe Cathedral of St. Jude was bathed in a light so pure it felt like a judgment. Today was the day of the Royal Investiture, the moment Leo Draven would officially become the Protector of the Realm. Thousands gathered outside, their cheers muffled by the thick, ancient stone walls, while the high
The weeks following the "Great Glitch"—as the official palace records called it—were the most delicate in the history of the realm. While the public celebrated a swift recovery of the kingdom’s infrastructure, the Draven estate became a high-security sanctuary for a population that didn't officially
The North Wing of the palace was a place of soft carpets and muted sunlight, designed to be a sanctuary for the future of the realm. But as the Dravens sprinted through the gilded corridors, it felt like a labyrinth of ice. The silence here was worse than the screaming of the machines in the High Co
The High Court chamber, usually a sanctuary of measured speech and ancient law, became a slaughterhouse of chrome and code. The grey smoke was so thick that the only things visible were the glowing blue optics of the Twelve Judges. "Lucien, get down!" Kaiser’s voice boomed over the hiss of the gren
The surface of the harbor was a churning cauldron of black grease and freezing foam. Kaiser, Izora, and Caspian collapsed onto the swaying deck of the salvage barge, the massive crane still groaning under the tension of the warehouse roof it had just ripped away. "Leo!" Izora scrambled to the edge
Benedict paused by the tall window, the rain casting streaks across his reflection. He stared at himself, at the monster he had willingly become, and smiled. Monsters did not regret. Monsters survived. Let her mother protect her now, he thought, a sneer tugging at his lips. Let her husband shield
He set aside with silent accuracy one heel off and then the other. She swallowed hard. “You don’t have to—” “I know,” he cut in, softly. “No one’s watching.” He paused for a second, his hands still near her ankles. His gaze lingered there. And then he frowned. Almost like he was asking himself
“We lost two storage units in the fire,” Claude said, tapping a file. “One in Northport. One in Severen. The old structures can’t hold the new shipments unless we reinforce the—” Otis tilted his head. “Then maybe don’t send all the illegal shit there in the first place?” Enoch gave Otis a cold gla
Izora stared at him, heart pounding. She didn’t know whether to scream or whisper thank you. The lines between protection and possession had never felt so blurred. Her voice hardly audible now, she asked, "So... you killed him?" Kaiser slanted his head slowly and deliberately, his face invisible. “
The huge trees framing the mansion hummed with the wind outside, their leaves brushing against stone walls like restless murmurs. Spring had at last released the grip of winter, and sunshine sloppily poured through Izora's bedroom's tall windows, bathing the velvet drapes in golden warmth over the p







