Mag-log inGILDEON
He couldn’t shake the suspicion gnawing at him about the sylph Arah had called Feviel.
Gildeon knew he was hiding something. But what unsettled him most was whatever the sylph had done to make the hunter release them. It didn’t make sense.
As far as Gildeon understood, hunters never abandoned a mission—not unless directly ordered by the Shining Keeper.
What the fuck was that sigil? Everything had happened so fast, he hadn’t gotten a clear l
GILDEONAnother sphere. Then two. Then five.They burst from the fog at shifting angles—some high, some low, others vanishing and reappearing through warped currents of steam. Gildeon dodged what he could, hurling his bulk sideways through shattered towers and open sky, but even he couldn’t avoid them all.One struck his shoulder and locked every muscle along that side of his body into a savage convulsion.Another slammed into his ribs and drove white-hot agony through his spine.A third exploded against the membrane of his wing, jolting the entire limb hard enough to throw off his balance.Electricity crawled beneath his scales like living knives.He surged upward to escape the trap.The storm answered.Above him, the unnatural clouds split apart and speared lightning downward in a single blinding strike.It hit him across the back.The force drove throu
GILDEONThe battle above the citadel had turned the sky into a slaughterhouse.Stone towers split apart under the force of it. Steel arches screamed as they tore free from their anchors and plunged into the inferno below. Roofs collapsed. Balconies folded inward. Entire sections of the upper citadel sheared away through smoke and sparks, crashing into courtyards already buried beneath rubble.Fire crawled across shattered walls and licked along beams blackened by dragonfire. Far below, servant sylphs fled in panicked waves toward the outer edges of the citadel, throwing themselves through broken gates and crumbling colonnades before the next collapse buried them alive.And through all of it, Gildeon flew in his dragon form like a living siege engine.He dominated the sky—massive, black-and-gold scales flashing beneath the ruin-lit clouds, each one veined with thin streams of steam bleeding from the fissures between them. Heat
ARAHEENFor two seconds, Theobald just stared.The shock on his face caught her off guard. She had never taken him for a man who cared deeply for anyone beyond his mother and sister. For one brief, stupid beat, she felt sorry for him. If she lost Gildeon without warning, something inside her would die with him.Then Theobald’s mouth flattened. The muscles in his jaw locked so hard they twitched. The surprise burned out of his eyes and left something darker behind—cold, hard, murderously clear. He bared his teeth, let out a low, animal sound, and drove his sword in a brutal sideways cut that sheared through her creature’s hind leg at the joint. Bone cracked. The beast shrieked so sharply it split the air.Pain ripped through Araheen with it.Her knees almost buckled, but the Awakened power raging in her blood took the edge off, turning agony into a hot, manageable throb. She gritted her teeth.Theobald didn&
ARAHEENPain shot through the back of Araheen’s neck as Hedda tried to drive her hold deeper, but her Awakened power snapped the connection apart. Araheen ripped free and got to her feet in one hard motion. Hedda barely had time to register it before Araheen sent the pain back through the bond—clean, sharp, and just as vicious as what Hedda had forced on her. Hedda recoiled and bit down on her scream.Araheen turned on Theobald at once. Her wind current spilled from her skin, and the female owl tattoo peeled free after it, both of them surging forward to hold the line while she dragged her sigil needle across her palm and triggered her Creation Sigil.Theobald came in hard. His sword flashed and clipped the owl’s wing. Pain tore across Araheen’s shoulder as though the blade had cut her own flesh. She grunted and gave ground, leaving the wind current and the battered owl to keep him busy while she finished the craft.
ARAHEENHe made it.Relief hit her hard at the sight of Gildeon freed at last, able to take his full beast form again. She saw Kohina too, her flame-colored hair beginning to grow back, along with Yadira and Eitan riding behind other sylph riders.There were salamanders with them that she didn’t recognize. Loyalists, most likely. The ones who still stood with Gildeon and had come to see this through. She believed not all salamanders approved of their general’s choice to side with Zephyr.Araheen had not truly expected to see many of them here. Most salamanders would rather hang back than throw themselves into a sylph civil war.This wasn’t their fight, after all.She stepped away from Zephyr without drawing attention and slipped out her sigil needle, keeping both hands behind her back. Quietly, she pricked her left palm, where she had etched and hidden a special sigil earlier.She had to be ready for
GILDEONHe shot Lothair a hard, questioning look. If this wasn’t about him, then why were the sylphs here? They had their own war with Zephyr. They wouldn’t bleed themselves fighting salamanders unless they had something to gain.“I am no longer their general,” Lothair said, lifting his head. “The man leading them now wants Zephyr brought down, and my daughter saved. If that means siding with the one man who can make it happen, he’ll do it.”Gildeon followed his gaze into the swarm overhead and caught a face he recognized at once.Feviel.His eyes snapped back to Lothair, and the former sylph general gave him one last thin smile.Then Paikon moved.He came in from behind, fast and wild, his face twisted with rage. His claws ripped across Lothair’s throat before anyone could even flinch.“That is for Baltae and Father!” Paikon snarled.He stood t
GILDEONHe had always known Arah could shut out the world when she needed to focus, just as she had a minute ago. She’d remained oblivious even as he parked the car and walked through the door.But her picking the lock on his study had caught him off guard. This was new. A black box lay sprawled on th
ARAH“You haven’t broken the lock yet?” Tonio's curious eyes bore into her after she admitted she couldn't get into Gildeon’s study. Of course, she left out the steamy details that now distracted her, making her heart race. Her tattoo machine hung idle as she fought to drown out the memory of her hus
Six Months Ago (Part 1.2)GILDEONHe sprang to his feet, slipping into his trousers before joining Kohina outside. They stood together, looking down at their camp in the ravine below. Captive sylphs lay scattered around like cattle awaiting slaughter. Compared to their state, the cattle would’ve been
GILDEONHe trudged up the narrow dirt trail, eyes locked on the abandoned farmhouse behind the broken wooden fence. It was laughable how people spun stories about this place, scaring the shit out of themselves. Haunted, they said. The rumor was that the old woman who died here had cursed the land—any







