ВойтиKaelSeeing the light flicker back into his eyes made it feel like my heart started all over again. I inhaled the largest bout of air I had ever taken in my life before I rushed to his bedside and grabbed his distraught frame. He was staring around the room frantically; his heart monitor had spiked again and I could tell that he was going into full panic mood.“Darius, Darius, I’m here,” I said in what I thought would be a soothing voice. I needed to be the anchor that would tether him in the storm. The doctors said he had severe panic attacks that had caused him to faint. It was strange because I had never known that he had such spells and I had done complete research on him even before I brought him to the pack.“Kael? What’s happening? Where am I?” he asked, grabbing my fingers tightly like a baby would do when they felt safe or scared. It made my heart flutter that even in his dazed state, he still considered me worthy enough to be that anchor to the ground.“You’re in the hospita
DariusThe whistling. The sound of the whistling bounced through the space and engulfed my entire frame. My skin rippled with goosebumps as I stood frozen once more. I had been to hell and back, I had survived a lot of things, but this one? This one was new. I was tired, it felt like the one time the sun had pierced through the gloomy clouds to engulf me, something even more drastic came.I inhaled, willing my heart to stand still and stop racing. That stupid whistling unraveled the peace I was trying to achieve. I inhaled deeply and exhaled, snapping my eyes to stare at the darkness.“Who the fuck is there? Who are you!? Show yourself!” I commanded into the darkness and the whistling stopped at once. Next came the creaks, the steady sound of wood buckling under pressure, the steady rocking chair that moved forward and backward.Enough was enough. Today was the fucking day I was supposed to get married to the one person I loved in the entire world. The one who made me feel peace and s
DariusThere was something in the air that morning. I don’t know what it was but it was something. I could hear the sounds of the people scrambling to put things in order. I could hear the joy from the way their voices were. I could even see the smiles on their faces from the balcony, but there was sickening feeling inside of me that this wasn’t over. It felt like something wasn’t right and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I sighed as I peeled away from the balcony into the room where my suit was. There was a soft knock on the door and I forced the fear into the back of my mind. I didn’t want to be a harbinger of bad news today, everyone was happy.Kael was back, I was getting married to my mate, the old tradition was abolished, things were turning around for good, there was no way I could be a Debby downer.“Hey,” Aveline said from her point by the door.“Hi,” I mimicked her happiness, but apparently, she saw through that.“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Nothing is wrong,” I said, forcin
163Darius"Darius," Kael whispered, his voice vibrating directly into my mind, bypassing the air entirely. "You have to understand... this isn't my body you’re carrying. It’s my soul."I tightened my grip on the shimmering, golden form of the man I loved. The sediments of the energy I had stolen to get here hummed, the rest had been used to break the chains "I know. Elena’s memories... they showed me the difference. But a soul without a home is just a ghost, Kael. I’m bringing the tenant back to the house."He let out a weak, melodic chuckle that sounded like silver bells. "Always the smart one. Even in hell." We reached the final threshold, where the violet haze of the void met the pine-scented darkness of what I called home. Kael stopped, his form flickering as the physical laws of our world began to take hold. "I can't cross this part with you, not like this. I’ll be in the morgue, Darius. Waiting in the cold. Don't be late, I need your sexy body to keep me warm.”“Are souls allow
DariusThe Ninth Circle was worse than it was in my dream. The obsidian pillars here were larger, etched with runes that pulsed with a slow, rhythmic violet light: the heartbeat of the digestive system Elena had described. The ground was no longer glass; it was a grey, ash-like substance that felt like bone-dust beneath my boots. This felt too real, like it was physical.I walked past the arch. In my head was Luca’s voice screaming at me now, a frantic warning of the creatures who guarded this final layer. I saw them emerging from the fog. Four of them. They looked like oversized wolves, but their skin was made of smoke and their eyes were the same bruised purple as the sky. They moved with a grace, circling me as I approached the central monolith."The Alpha is ours," they whispered, the sound a thousand overlapping voices. I didn't stop walking or even pause to draw my knife."He isn't yours," I said firmly, "He is mine. And I’ve already killed the one who sent him here."The first
DariusThe air in the First Circle felt predatory. It was a sterile, metallic chill that tasted of rusted iron and old copper, sticking to the back of my throat like a film of oil. I stood on a vast plain of glass that stretched toward a horizon I couldn't define. Above, the sky was a bruised, stagnant purple, swirling with clouds that moved like ink in water.I looked down at my hands. They were glowing with the same energy I’d siphoned from Elena was reacting to the atmosphere, a golden-red aura flickering around my fingers like a dying candle in a wind.Stay focused, Darius, I told myself, the weight of the rucksack against my spine a grounding reminder of the physical world. The First Circle is the Circle of Displacement. It feeds on the sense of being lost. A voice echoed in the back of my head, it was probably the knowledge of Luca.Elena’s stolen memories clicked into place, a mental map unfolding behind my eyelids. This place was designed to be confusing, almost like a labyrin
DariusDrew scrambled through the window, looking like he’d gone ten rounds with a mountain lion. There was a nasty gash above his eyebrow, and his clothes were torn and dusty. He looked around the room, taking us all in. He saw me, then Aveline, and finally his eyes landed on Kael. He let out a lo
ELENAThe air in the study was thick with the scent of old parchment and the faint, medicinal sting of the salve I’d used on my neck. Luca was standing at the tall floor-to-ceiling window when I entered. He didn't turn around. He always stood there, positioned perfectly to oversee the courtyard and
Darius“How much further do we have to go?” I asked, the balls of my feet already starting to burn from the distance we had walked. She didn’t say a word, just steadily forged ahead, crushing the twigs under her weight. I sighed, heaving a tired sigh once more and followed in her steps. We walked a
KaelThe pain cursed through my entire frame. It felt like steel burning through me and someone had poured lava into an open sore in my body and the liquid was burning its way down. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to focus on letting the process run faster because I had a feeling that someone lik







