And Jackson...That name tasted like ash now. I used to want him. Gods, I loved him, even though I was using him. I gave him my best years… and he… he wanted me dead.And now, now he wanted to find me? What for? To finish the job?No. He wanted revenge, maybe even a second chance with Elise. I saw i
I had just gained their trust. I wasn’t in the high ranks yet but I was climbing, slowly but surely. And when I got high enough, I’d make sure none of them could breathe without asking my permission.But that night… that night wasn’t about power. It was about revenge.I returned to my chamber in the
GINA’S POV The ruins creaked as I stepped on them, but they were mine. It didn’t matter that I had once lived in palaces. Here, there was power. And that was what I had always wanted. This place… it had once belonged to exiled royals. Where I was now was an outpost carved into the edge of the Blac
FERRIS’ POVThe moment Raven stepped into the space, the atmosphere shifted.She walked in silently, wearing a black cloak that moved like shadows themselves. When she got to where I stood, she bowed her head in respect. The guards instinctively stepped away from her. She didn’t need authority. She
FERRIS’ POVIt was long past midnight, but sleep wouldn’t come.The halls of the castle were darker than usual. The silence was thick and it felt like the walls were closing in on me. I walked slowly, not really knowing where I was going—just needing to move, needing to breathe.And then I saw the n
She laughed at her own story. I didn’t.Lyra, perched in her high chair, kept turning toward me. Her small hands reached for me as she smiled “Dada,” she said, grinning.I leaned over and kissed her soft curls, then Kael’s head.And I stood up.Elise blinked, confused. “Ferris?”“I have something to