LOGIN**Chapter 84 – Sunrise Vows January 15, 2031 – Blackbird-Coyote Island, Aerie Academy**The sky is on fire.Not literally—though I’ve done that before, more times than I can count—but the kind of fire that makes your chest hurt in the best way. The kind that reminds you you’re alive.Dawn over the island, my dawn, painted in every shade of gold and rose I’ve ever bled—soft peach bleeding into fierce crimson, the horizon a molten line where sky kisses cloud-ocean.The air is crisp, carrying the sharp bite of high-altitude ozone and the faint salt from the drifting mists below. Wind whips my hair loose and wild, tangling black strands across my face.I’m standing on the highest floating spire, armor dismissed for once, just me in a simple white tank and shorts that cling from the morning dew. Bare feet on cool stormglass that hums under my soles like it recognizes its maker.Lucian is behind me.Wings folded tight against his back, copper scales catching the first glimmers of lig
Chapter 83 – The Calm Before the Next Storm January 2, 2031 – Blackbird-Coyote Island, Aerie Academy**The holidays end too fast—like a heartbeat you’re terrified to miss.One minute I’m drowning in the smoky char of mici straight off Mom’s grill, the sharp, comforting tang of zacuscă burning my tongue, frybread crisp and warm in my shaking fingers, laughing until my ribs ache while Aunt Luna’s voice—rich, gravelly, laced with pack love—spills embarrassing stories about Remy as a barefoot pup who once tried to skateboard off the pack house roof and landed in the bayou with a splash that broke my heart open with joy.The next—we’re portaling back to the island, bags heavy with Mom’s leftovers (the lingering scent of garlic, smoke, and home clinging to everything like it’s afraid to let go), and Aunt Luna’s frybread recipe scribbled on a napkin that still carries the faint, wild smell of pine resin and coyote fur.The dorm greets us like it’s been holding its breath.The air inside is
**Chapter 82 – Mortal Christmas** ** December 24, 2030 – Hot Springs, Arkansas**Christmas morning smells like smoked mici, fresh mămăligă, and pine needles.No rifts.No bosses.Just quiet.I wake up in my childhood bedroom—Remy sprawled beside me, one arm over my waist, braids tickling my shoulder.The crown is quiet, spinning slow and content.The system is silent too—no pings, no alerts.Just a soft golden notification:*Holiday Buff Active: +50% Recovery Rate (Family Zone).* *Pack Bond: Warm and Fuzzy.*I smile.Remy stirs.**Remy (sleepy, husky):** “Morning, Mrs. Tsatoke. Merry Christmas.”I kiss him slow.**Celeste:** “Merry Christmas, coyote.”We don’t rush.Mom’s already in the kitchen with Dad, arguing over how much garlic goes in the zacuscă.The Court is scattered around the house—Seras and Lucian helping (mostly eating), Kayo and Nerida decorating the tree with foxfire ornaments that won’t burn it down, Rowan reading by the fire with a stack of Mom’s cookbooks.
**Chapter 81 – Level Up, Storm Queen December 23, 2030 – Blackbird-Coyote Island, morning training grounds**I wake up to the smell of frybread, coffee, and ozone.Remy’s side of the bed is still warm—he’s been up for hours, probably running the island perimeter with the pack or helping Mom send tamales through the rift.The crown hums lazy above my heart, content, like it’s stretching after a long, victorious nap.The system window is quiet—no urgent pings, no red alerts.Just a soft, golden notification floating in the corner of my vision:*Daily Login Bonus: +10,000 EXP (Pack Bond Active).* *Current Level: Blood Wizard Lv. 108 → Lv. 109 (Overflow EXP applied to Storm Queen Branch).* *New Passive Unlocked: Eternal Stormheart (Shared HP/MP pool with mate – Death negated once per era).*I smile.One full day awake, and I’m already grinding.I roll out of bed.My legs are solid—no wobble, no weakness.Power thrums in my veins like I’ve been plugged into every storm that ever rag
**Chapter 80 – System Rebooting........ Full System Unlock** ** December 14, 2030 – The Edge of Waking**The dreamscape cracks like glass under too much thunder.One second I’m fourteen, dropping in endless on Velocity Park’s bowl, Remy’s hand in mine, the sky splitting violet and gold.The next—white noise.A hum in my veins like the crown is singing itself back together.Then the words appear.Not in my eyes.In my blood.Floating like code etched in violet lightning across the inside of my skull.*System Rebooting........ Full System Unlock* *Triggered By Self Sacrifice.* *(Accessed via oath-mark neural link – December 14, 2030)* The world—dream or real—fades to black.A heads-up display blooms open, like the crown finally decided to stop whispering and start screaming.Crown of Dacia and Twin Thunder Crown Hud **[Basic Info]** **Name:** Celeste Valentina Morau Tsatoke (née Morau) **Race:** Human (Moroi Vampire Bloodline – Ancient Wizard Bloodline) **Age:** 19 **
Chapter 79 Dreamwalker December 21, 2030 – The Space Between, guided by Caddo lore**My grandmother always said dreamwalking wasn’t magic.It was listening.Caddo lore calls it *Yasakni*—the path of the shadow-self, where coyotes run between worlds, carrying messages from the living to the lost.“You don’t force the veil,” she’d say, braids clinking like wind chimes. “You ask it politely. Then you run like hell when it answers.”I lie beside Celeste’s sleeping body, palm over her crown mark, and ask.The world flips—not into darkness, but into warm concrete under golden hour sun.Velocity Park.She’s there.Fourteen, twin pigtails flying, carving the bowl like she’s outrunning the world.I step onto the coping.The sky above us is bruised violet and coyote gold—our colors, woven from eight years of promises.She spots me.Stops dead.Board rolling slow to my foot.*Oh god, it’s him. Again. The coyote from the edge of every dream I’ve had since Hot Springs. But this feels… real. Too r







