INICIAR SESIÓNEvaria The room was dimly lit, shadowed and quiet, filled only with the soft, steady hum of rain outside. I sat on the edge of my mattress, my fingers resting lightly over the faint red welt on my throat where the pendant used to hang. I traced the unburdened skin of my collarbone, waiting for the burning, for the iron taste of blood to rise in my throat again. But there was nothing. No tightness. No crushing pressure that I had been feeling all evening. Peep! The sound of a car. Instinctively, I stood up to see who was going or coming out. Through the tall window across the room, twin yellow headlights cut through the thick fog. It was Angela’s car moving past the estate gates and disappearing into the dark night. She was… leaving? By this time? But that wasn't just what my brain had thought. Over the past minutes, A cold realization had settled deep in my stomach. That necklace... The minute Ryker ripped that cursed chain off my neck, my lungs had opened up. A tightnes
Angela.The rain had just started to slick the asphalt when I adjusted the rearview mirror and saw a figure.Dominic.He was sitting in the middle of the leather backseat, lounging against the headrest like a lord in his estate, his dark eyes catching the dim amber glow of my dashboard.My heart slammed against my ribs. My foot hit the brake instinctively.Screeech!The car jolted to a violent stop, the tires biting hard into the wet gravel at the edge of the dark pine woods. We were barely five minutes past the main gates of the estate, and I swear I had not seen him when I walked into this car."Not so fast, Angela."Dominic’s voice floated forward, smooth, low, and completely devoid of warmth.I spun around in my seat, my breath catching in my chest, my hands trembling violently as they gripped the leather steering wheel."My God..." I gasped, my voice thin and high. "Dominic?! What the hell are you doing in my car?!"Dominic didn't flinch. He slowly leaned forward, his long, heavy
Ryker I slammed the door open, stepping straight into Angela’s quarters. She was sitting in a high backed armchair by the fire, her legs crossed comfortably under her robe. She looked up in surprise, her lips parting. Obviously, she wasn't expecting me. "Ryker..." She didn't get to finish calling my name. "What is this?" I barked, my voice cutting through the quiet room like a blade. I uncurled my fingers, letting the silver filigree pendant dangle from my fist. The metallic chain glinted under the warm firelight, with the pendant sitting in the middle. I lifted it high and let it drop hard onto the small glass table beside her chair. Clatter. Angela looked down at the pendant, her sharp eyes flicking to the broken clasp before shifting slowly up to my face. "What were you doing in her room?" Angela asked coldly, her tone clipped. "You were not supposed to be in her room, Ryker." "That is not the question!" I growled, taking a massive step into her space, my chest heaving wit
RykerI sat down behind my desk, resting my elbows against the dark wood and dropping my face into my hands.Angela stood directly in front of me, her posture stiff, her dark eyes sharp and cold under the dim lights of the study."I checked the girl," Angela began, her voice smooth and devoid of any emotion. "Whatever we have to do, we have to do it fast because the situation is not stable. I think this bond is having more effect on her than we can even imagine.""More effect?" I asked."Yes." She nodded.I raised my head, staring at her through tired eyes. "What are you suggesting, Angela?""I suggest we do this thing, get rid of her, in the next two days," Angela said without flinching. "If she is not fit, if she's not healthy, the process of the ritual will not be successful. So, for now, since I've stabilized her, I think this is our chance."My heart gave an uncomfortable thump against my ribs for no reason. I breathed out slowly. As much as I wanted this nightmare over, as much
Ryker.The door clicked shut, sealing Evaria away with Angela in the room down the hall.I stood in the corridor of my wing, my chest still heaving with the ghost of a panic I couldn't shake. Dominic was standing a few feet away from me, his shoulders rigid, his jaw clenched tight enough to break glass."So that's it, then?" Dominic muttered, his voice dripping with bitter disbelief. "Just like that? We're not allowed to go near her again?"Right.But I didn't say anything. I just stared straight ahead, letting the silence stretch between us like a loaded weapon.Suddenly, Dominic turned sharply to face me. His dark eyes flashed with an ugly, reckless spark. "She was fine before she came to your office""Says someone who kidnapped her from school and made her sick," I shot at him."Says someone who lured her into his office just to get an aftertaste of a sick girl," he shot back at me. "She had barely recovered, you pervert.""I didn't lure her," I snapped, my voice dropping into a lo
EvariaAngela stood in the doorway.My stomach gave a hard, anxious twist. The raw memory of what had happened between Ryker and me yesterday and the shadow from the hallway flashed through my mind.Seeing her standing there, looking like a storm in a tailored designer coat, made my skin crawl with an awkward, humiliating heat. I didn't know how to look at her. It was like guilt was eating me whole.For a single second, Angela’s posture radiated ice, that cold, sharp charisma of someone who had something to say or cheeks to slap.But the next moment, her eyes softened as she took in my state, seeing me slumped against the velvet cushions with blood smeared across my chin and soaking into my clothes."Hey..." Angela breathed, her professional composure instantly snapping as she hurried across the room. "What is wrong with you? What happened? Jeez, you're an absolute mess."She didn't wait for an invitation. She dropped right beside the sofa, her cool, practiced fingers instantly closin







