KiaraI didn’t sleep. I couldn’t, not after what I had just found out. Each line, each word breaks my heart. The night stretched endlessly like a ribbon of silence that refused to break. I sat by the window, watching the horizon darken and fade into the faint blush of dawn. The world outside looked peaceful, still wet from rain, mist curling over the forest floor but inside me, everything burned. Within the walls of the Manor, everything faded. By the time the first rays of light touched the walls, I had already made my choice. The box rested beside me on the table, staring at me with its secrets. I needed Ryder to see. To understand. I needed him to know. So I stepped out. Not caring that my hair wasn’t put in its perfect bun or that I was not out of my sleeping robe yet. I found him in the training yard. The morning air was cold and sharp, biting at my skin. He was alone, bare-chested, his body moving in practiced rhythm as he swung his sword through the air. The edge glea
KiaraI did not know when I fell asleep last night until I was greeted by the golden light of the morning which reflected through the window blinds. I stretched out my hand to Ryder’s spot on the bed and it was empty. I had forgotten he was out of the manor since yesterday for the bimonthly Alpha conference. The wooden box was the first thing my eyes landed on as I tore them open. It sat on my desk like it was breathing. Each time my gaze brushed over it, I swore I felt something shift inside, not a movement, but remembrance. It was early. The sunlight bled through the curtains in soft golden ribbons, and the manor had long since fallen quiet like it had for months now. Even the creatures outside seemed to hold their breath.Ryder had wanted me to rest. He had seen the exhaustion written in the lines of my shoulders, the faint tremor in my hands when he video called me. But I could not, not yet. Not after what I had found last night. Brandon’s words still rang in my ears, sha
KiaraThe fight was over. The storm has passed. Ever since the duel with Eaton was done, the manor had a feeling. Although it was not completely healed but it felt close to peace. I have taken a liking to rearranging the Manor. From the common room, to the reading room, to Ryder's office, the chambers, the kitchen, and the terrace. The manor needs light and I want to restore that bit by bit. On my way to the terrace with a bouquet, I came into contact with the place in the Manor I have avoided. The one place that I try to forget even when it comes to mind. The very place that opens up the wounds I have been trying to heal for weeks now. But meeting the door which was creaking open with a sound that made my chest tighten. The feeling was soft, aching, like the memory of my punishment. Brandon’s room had not been touched since the funeral. It has not been entered by anyone. Not Ryder. Not the maids. Not me. The air inside felt still. The atmosphere in his room was heavy with th
RyderI had always believed compassion was weakness. A drawback. My shortcomingIt was what my father said before he died as I watched him fall to men who did not flinch when they killed. “Compassion is what breaks a warrior,” he told me. “Reluctance gets you consigned to the grave.”And maybe for a while, I believed him. Perhaps I became exactly what he warned me against.But now, standing over Eaton with my sword pressed to his throat, I did not feel strong. I felt sick.His blood was on my boots, warm and thick, and my own shoulder burned where his blade had kissed my tissues. To me, the crowd was gone. Their voices were nothing but a dull howl behind the storm in my head. All I could hear was her.Please, don’t lose yourself. Kiara’s voice, soft and breaking, threaded through my mind like light through fog.It should not have been enough to reach me, not after everything Eaton had done. Not after Brandon. Not after being a threat to Kiara. Not after the nights I had sp
KiaraI stood within the crowd with my hands wrapped around my belly and my chest. I watched as the love of my life fought for. He stood in that ring tall and powerful. He moved like a shadow cut from the morning. He moved sharply, fluid, relentless, and determined. For he was determined for his peace and his freedom. Eaton met him blow for blow, his strikes were wild and heavy, fueled by something cruel and ancient. The air crackled with the taste of metals and moisture; the earth trembled under their weight.I felt my lungs giving up on me. I could barely breathe.Every clash of their blades sent a shiver through my spine and the connection between us. It pulsed inside me, alive and aching. I could feel his pain, his rage, his exhaustion. I wanted to run to him, to throw myself between them, to stop the madness before it consumed him. But I could not. Not yet.“Water?” Ryder’s friend Zane offered and I accepted without saying a word. He must have noticed my unease. But I
RyderThe world is quieter when you know it might be your last day in it. The sunrise was barely up when I stepped out onto the training grounds. The air was cold, wet with dew, the kind that clings to skin and makes the world feel heavy. For once, I welcomed it. I wanted to feel the weight of everything as a whole. I wanted to feel the weight of loss, of guilt, and of the love I could not protect.The steel in my hand felt too familiar. I had not touched a sword in weeks, not since Brandon’s funeral. But the rhythm came back easily. The grip, the balance, the slow and steady sweep through the air. My body remembered what my heart wanted to forget. The violence of the sword. Brandon’s face still haunted me. The way his eyes went distant even as he smiled. The blood that wouldn’t wash off my hands no matter how hard I tried. Kiara’s scream still echoed in my chest like a wound that refused to close.And now she was carrying my child. My heir. The moment the doctor told us, I fel