Through tear-blurred vision, she saw a figure emerge—a man walking toward her, the fire parting in his wake. His eyes and claws gleamed gold in the firelight, and black and gilded scales covered his face and body, reminiscent of a serpent. But something more specific hovered at the tip of her tongue. His beastly form slowly faded, leaving a beautiful man with warm skin and firm flesh behind. “Help me,” she croaked. “I don't remember…” “Anything?” the stranger asked, his voice deep and ominous. “Only my name. Araheen,” she whispered, her lips trembling.“What happened to me? What is this place?” “You fell behind the Mad End's Wall.” A shadow of a smile crossed the stranger's lips, though it was far from reassuring. Before she could dwell on it, he slid his powerful arms beneath her, lifting her effortlessly as though she weighed nothing at all. “Who are you?” she asked, feeling small in his grasp. He studied her with an enigmatic gaze before replying, I'm Gildeon.” A pause.“Your husband.”
View MoreARAH
Plumber Paul was dead.
Not even a month had passed since he’d walked into her shop and picked her Clover Wish for his first tattoo. She'd pitched that design as a lucky charm to her clients—just a gimmick of sorts. So imagine her surprise when Paul’s wish to win the lottery actually came true days later.
Now, he was gone. Just like that. It wasn’t because of her tattoo, of course. But with that last memory of him, how could she ever look at her Clover Wish and call it lucky again?
Her eyes drifted down to Barky, who was happily munching on his dog food. She squatted next to him, stroking his back and twirling her fingers through his soft brown fur. At least she had this big guy to cheer her up.
The bathroom door creaked open. She glanced up to see Gildeon strolling down the hallway in black sweatpants, rubbing his dark hair with a towel. She’d seen him naked plenty of times, but each time, his perfectly sculpted body drew her gaze like a moth to a flame. The way his muscles flexed with every move always made her blush like a teenager seeing a hot guy for the first time.
At least her past self had good taste.
For six months, she’d been scared and suspicious of Gildeon. How could she not be when she couldn't remember marrying him? Still, it’d be a lie to say she’d never fantasized about him making her come in every way possible.
But until she got her memories back and trusted him completely, she wasn’t about to give in to him—no matter how incredibly irresistible he was.
When Gildeon walked into the dining area, the scent of his minty soap and aftershave filled her senses. Everything about him was so addictive. It made her wonder what she was like falling in love with him before this whole amnesia thing.
“Dinner's ready,” she said, trying to hide her excitement. “Tonio taught me a new recipe for that tuna. Hope you’ll like it.”
Her heart sank a little when he barely glanced at the table. What was she expecting anyway? A loving smile? A “this looks delicious, you're the best wife ever” response?
‘Stop trying so hard to please him, Arah,’ she thought, smiling bitterly to herself. It wasn’t fair that she seemed to be the only one trying to make this marriage feel real. What else could she do? It hurt thinking he’d probably only start appreciating her efforts once she agreed to sleep with him.
Arah washed her hands and returned to find Gildeon already seated, now wearing a shirt from the pile of folded clothes on the couch.
She sat across from him and loaded some veggies onto her plate. “Did you hear what happened to Plumber Paul?” she asked, her tone somber. Gildeon’s attention was still on the food even as she said, “He got stung by a jellyfish. He didn’t make it.”
“Didn’t he just win the lottery?” he said, without so much as flinching. What was he made of? A block of ice?
“I really thought my Clover Wish gave him that luck,” she muttered, more to herself.
That made Gildeon pause and glance up at her. “What Clover Wish?”
“My latest art—the one I inked him with,” she replied before taking a spoonful of food. “Shame he didn’t get to enjoy his prize for long.”
Gildeon leaned back in his chair, staring pensively at his plate, drumming a finger on the table. Did the news finally get to him? It took a while, but she’d take it. Maybe he still had a heart after all.
“When did it happen?” he asked, meeting her gaze with a serious expression.
“This noon. I heard it from Tonio.” She bit her lip, pondering. “Though it’s weird he decided to swim in the rocky area alone.”
A lot didn’t make sense to Arah, but if she dwelled on it too much, she'd feel sorrier for the poor guy.
Pushing stray blue curls out of her eyes, she said, “Um, the mayor’s doing a public funeral for him. You should come with me.”
“Public funeral?” He raised a brow. “Where’s the body?”
“Yeah, it’s public,” she replied, reaching for her pineapple juice. “He didn’t have any family left, so there’s no one to organize it. But almost everyone on the island knew him, so—”
“Arah, where’s the body now?” His sharp voice cut her off, almost making her spill her drink.
What was up with him all of a sudden?
ARAHShe woke in the middle of the night to find Gildeon gone from the bed. Pushing the sheets aside, she stood and spotted him through the window, pacing in the backyard. At first, she thought he was checking the security spells around the house—but no, he just looked lost in thought.Grabbing her robe, she stepped outside and quietly approached him. He didn’t even notice her until he nearly walked right into her.“Arah?” he said, startled.She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Couldn’t sleep?”“I did, for about an hour.”She resisted the urge to reach for his arm and instead hugged herself. “Is something else bothering you? What is it?”Gildeon raked a hand through his hair and sighed, his gaze drifting into the distance. He was silent for a long moment before he spoke again.“It’s the Light Faes, Arah.”She blinked. “What?”He turned to her, a dreadful look clouding his serpent eyes. It was the
ARAHShe’d forgotten how impossible it was to keep secrets on this island, and how Tonio seemed to have friends in every corner. A hospital staff member had told him about seeing her and Gildeon with a college student patient. It all escalated from there. Tonio had talked to Cora, and Cora unintentionally slipped up.Now Tonio looked like a raging bull, springing up from the couch, ready to charge out of her studio to confront Gildeon.“Sit down, you oaf!” Cora rolled her eyes and yanked him back down. “As if you could actually land a punch.”“Hey, I did knock a tooth out of your ex-husband,” Tonio countered.Cora planted a hand on her hip. “Romel’s half your size. There’s a difference.”Tonio let out a sharp sigh and dropped his gaze to the floor. “That son of a bitch Gildeon needs to learn a lesson too,” he muttered, grinding his knuckles into his other palm. “A real man should never cheat on his woman.”“It’s fine,
GILDEONLight Faes.His mouth parted slightly, eyes blinking in surprise. He’d only ever heard a few things about them. Ghulik had said they rarely crossed into the earthly plane, rarely involved themselves in the affairs of other beings.His jaw clenched. “You’re the ones who tried to harm my child,” he muttered, summoning fire to his hand. “Saved me the trouble of tracking you down.”A bitter wind whipped through the room, slamming into his hand with such force that it went numb. The cold snuffed out his flame in an instant.He stared, stunned. No other creature had ever done that before.“Your fire holds no power against us.”But he was already releasing another flame, ignoring the remark.“If you persist,” the Fae warned, “you will only kill this human.”Gildeon gritted his teeth, every muscle in his body tightening. It wasn’t about concern for Professor Leviste’s safety—he hadn’t meant to put her at
GILDEONThe department head made him sit through the scattered video clips that students had taken during yesterday’s incident. Most focused on the sudden bite to the female professor’s shoulder, and the fire that had exploded out of nowhere in the hallway.The problem was—he and Arah were clearly in them.“Care to explain why you were here, Mr. Ayadi?” Professor Leviste asked, her white hair catching the daylight pouring through the tall windows behind her. She had the stern face of a strict grandmother—but the voice of one who always had sweets in her pocket.“You weren’t due to report back until next week,” she added. “You even brought your wife.”He regretted ever putting that fake wedding photo of him and Arah on display on his desk. Back then, he’d thought mimicking human behavior would help them not stand out.Now the irony was biting him in the ass.Gildeon had to be careful about what excuse to give. And as R
ARAHJust when she thought she was ready to forgive Gildeon, he gave her another reason to burn.“It’s not enough that you slept with another woman—a crazy witch, no less.” She slammed her hands on the stone table. “Got her pregnant. And now you want her to live here?”She paused, catching her breath. Her chest stormed with rage, tight enough to burst. Wind slapped against them, tearing leaves from the tree, fluttering down like the last shreds of her patience.It was too much to take in.Ever since discovering she was a sylph, she’d been quietly training herself to keep her emotions in check. The last thing she wanted was to stir up chaos every time the wind responded to her mood.But this situation was pushing her to the edge. The fact that her outburst had triggered only a mild reaction felt like a small miracle already.Gildeon’s mouth parted slightly, his gaze flicking up to the tree above them with a mix of surp
GILDEONHis glasses hit the floor just as he charged Lexi, his arm shifting mid-motion into its full dragon form. His clawed hand locked around her neck. Her glass slipped from her grip, spilling dark violet liquid down her chest. She clutched at his arm, more out of reflex than any real struggle.“I killed you,” he growled, pinning her to the couch. The fabric tore, and the frame groaned beneath them.Her voice came strained, cracked through the pressure on her windpipe. “What... can I... say?” A weak smirk flickered at the edge of her lips. “I’m full of... surprises.”Then he remembered it—that faint red glimmer he’d seen rising from the Crab Witch’s burning body. Her soul. It must’ve been her soul.Didn’t matter. He’d kill her again. And this time, he’d burn the soul for good, too.His grip tightened, claws pressing deeper, feeling the pulse of her throat thrumming against the tips. A wet rasp escaped her lips, some mix b
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