MasukKillian crumpled the letter slightly in his fist and sank on the bed, his head dropping into his hands. His most loyal soldier, who had followed him into battle when she was barely old enough. Who had bled for him, killed for him, almost died for him more times than he could count."She... " his voice hollow. "She just... left."Annie moved to sit beside him, her hand finding his back, rubbing slow circles."I know," she whispered.Killian looked up, his eyes red. "I'm worried about her, Annie. She shouldn't be out there alone. I didn't know she felt this way. I should have known." His voice cracked. "I've always loved her as my sister. But I ignored her for so long. I didn't know she... Annie, I have to find her. I have to bring her back.""Killian-"Annie wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close."She knows you love her," Annie said softly. "She knows you care. But she needs this. She needs to figure out who she is without you. Without us. And we have to let her. She had alr
Kael turned.Eloise stood at the edge of the cemetery path. The young seer who had fought beside him on that highway when Mallory hid.She smiled at him."Who says I want company?" But his voice was rough, his defences already crumbling."I know how this looks," she said quickly. "But I didn't follow you."Kael raised a brow."Your timing is suspicious."She let out a small breath. "My father just died too."That landed.Kael's expression shifted immediately. "I'm... sorry."Eloise shrugged. "We didn't really have the chance to be father and daughter."He frowned slightly."I only just found out he was alive," she added. "He was hidden." Her jaw tightened. "Belarie's doing. Apparently, he likes to keep people for later use."That made something dark flicker in Kael's eyes."Who was your father?" Kael asked.Eloise hesitated-just a second."Gaius."The name hit like a stone dropped into still water.Kael went still."...Gaius?" he repeated, slower now.Her gaze held his. "Yes."Then Ka
Annie's hand went cold in his.Killian felt it instantly-the way her fingers stiffened in his."They killed your parents," he said quietly. "Mr and Mrs Morales." His grip tightened slightly, steadying her. "I left them alive because I wanted you to decide what happens next. I stopped you once before... I won't do that again. Whatever you choose-I'll stand by it."Annie didn't respond.She just looked at them.Tommy dragged his head up slowly. His one good eye found her, and something ugly flickered there-something pleased. Something unhinged. His lips peeled back into a broken smile."The vessel," he rasped. "Look at you now... power couple, huh?" A wet cough tore through him, but he kept going. "Your father... he screamed. Begged like a coward. Kept calling your name -'Annie... Annie-'"He never finished.Annie's hand lifted.The fire came alive.It erupted-a violent column of white-hot fury that tore through the room, swallowing Tommy mid-laugh, cutting Connor's scream in half, burn
Lauren smiled."Kitty kat." As she had fondly called her back in their days. Katherine broke.She ran into her arms, sobbing like everything she’d been holding in for years had finally been released."I missed you," she whispered."I know," Lauren said softly.Katherine pulled back, laughing through tears."Well… dying isn’t so bad if this is the reward—If i get to see you again.""I'd hoped you'd live longer," Lauren said. "Both of you.""Well," Brie said with a dramatic flip of her hair, "I may be dead, but my music lives forever. And just so you know, I’m still iconic. Death didn’t change that. My fans? Obsessed. So, really, who's the winner here?"Katherine rolled her eyes."Delusional.""Legendary," Brie corrected.They laughed.The kind of laughter that heals."How did you die?" Lauren asked.Katherine's expression softened. "I saved Kael. Took a fireball meant for him."Lauren pulled her into another hug, this one tighter. "Of course you did.""The last person I want to see in
Mallory nodded slowly, her fingers knotting together in her lap like she was trying to hold herself together by force."Yes," she said, her voice quiet but steady. "I'm going to do the ritual. That's why I'm here—to get her discharged."Kael’s jaw tightened, a muscle ticking in his cheek."And what is Darlene supposed to do when she wakes up healthy and you're gone?" he asked, his voice low but trembling underneath. "A seven-year-old girl. Alone. In a world like this?"Mallory’s head snapped up, something sharp and desperate flashing through her eyes."What would you rather have me do?" she shot back, her voice rising, cracking under the weight of everything she’d been carrying. "Stand there and watch her die? Watch her fade away piece by piece while I do nothing?" Her chest heaved. "I won’t do that. I can’t do that."The room fell silent.Not the peaceful kind.The suffocating kind.Then Kael spoke.Slowly.Like every word cost him something."What about my child?"His voice was bare
And Katherine burst through the portal.She saw the fireball.Saw Kael in its path.Saw her son—the one she'd bound with a spell for years, the one she'd hurt more than any of the others—about to die.She didn't hesitate.She pulled Kael backwards with both hands, using all her strength to yank him and Mallory out of the way—Before she knew it, she was in the fire's path.The impact was soundless.The fireball hit her square in the chest, and the force of it lifted her off her feet and slammed her into the wall behind her.She crumpled to the ground, smoke rising from the wound."MOM!"Kael's scream tore through the monastery—broken and raw.He scrambled to her side, his hands hovering over the wound in her chest, too terrified to touch it, too desperate not to."I thought... I thought you hated me so why? Why would you jump in front of me— in front of the fire like that—"Katherine's hand found his. Her grip was very weak. Her fingers curled around his, and she held on.She looked u
Belarie stood transfixed, watching the fire robot cradle Jeffrey with a gentleness that shouldn't have been possible. The baby's tiny hand rested against the robot's glowing chest, and he was calm—peaceful in a way he hadn't been with anyone else.Belarie's mind was swirling, melting, fragmenting i
For a long moment, Eden said nothing.Then, finally, she squeezed back."Yours," she said quietly. "And Killian's."A smile tugged at Katherine's lips.Lady Eliana grinned, the tension breaking just slightly. "You know, this reminds me of when we were young. Remember when we snuck out to that bonfi
Annie didn't even have time to flinch before Belarie's hands were on her.He lifted her from the floor with an ease that made her feel weightless like a child being moved out of the way. His grip was firm but not careful, and that somehow made it worse. Like he was handling something precious that h
Killian's face went rigid. His jaw locked. Every muscle in his body seemed to engage at once, fighting it—But the Veritatem Vinculum was patient.It always won."I killed our father."Those three words detonated in the room like something physical.Kael's head whipped around. "You did what?"The c







