LOGINTHALRION How they think I have no idea what they are doing; I have no idea. I see the greed in Mara as she stares at Evelessa's portrait; she wants her and everything she has to offer to herself, but right now I'd play the blind fool and let her think I see nothing. I summon Samuel, who has replaced Shadow Kendrick in rank after Evelessa obliterated him. "Samuel keeps shadow warriors around Mara, make sure they are undetectable and let them report all her movements to you. You must miss nothing." He bows. "Yes, my lord." "Also keep an eye on Mara so she doesn't do anything foolish in the name of grief; she's become an absolute liability, and if she doesn't behave, you have my full support to eliminate her." He exits, and Garrick comes in looking defeated even with the full regalia he is wearing presently. "Hello, my lord".... "Hello, what report have you brought to me that has you looking completely defeated?" "Is there really no other way that we can get Alexis back withou
LIRA "I'm so sorry I'm late." After dealing with Thalrion and his silly order, I become completely irritated; I sit in the back of the car, one leg crossed over the other, watching the city blur past the tinted glass. Humans move around like nothing has changed. Like something ancient didn’t just try to recruit me into a war that will tear through everything they know. Ignorance. It must be… peaceful. “Are you going to tell them?” Aristotle’s voice cuts through the quiet. I don’t look at him. “Yes.” “You’re sure that’s wise?” Now I turn. “You think I’m afraid of them?” “No,” he says immediately. “Then what?” “I think,” he continues carefully, “that telling Evelessa anything right now… might escalate things.” I smile. Sharp. “Everything is already escalating.” “And I don’t like being the only one holding information.” He studies me. Knows better than to argue too much. Still tries anyway. “You burned his men,” he says. “I did.” “He sur
THALRIONFear is a language.Most people speak it poorly.They stutter.Hesitate.Drown in it.I don’t.I wield it.Shape it.Feed it to others until they choke on it.That’s why I don’t lose.That’s why I don’t run.That’s why I am still here.Even after they tried to erase me.Even after Lucian chose to stay with them what a fool. They'd all turn on him anyway once they discover he's tied to me.He created a version of me virtually, something no one has ever been able to do in all of time but he did it anyway.With help.The boy.Alexander.Unpredictable.I smile faintly.Yes.That one will be useful.Eventually.But not tonight.Tonight, I deal with something far more volatile.Fire.The kind that doesn’t listen.Doesn’t bend.Doesn’t negotiate.The kind that burns everything in its path and calls it justice.The dragon heiress.Lira.I stand at the edge of her territory.If you can call it that.Dragons don’t build kingdoms the way others do.They claim.They own.And the land res
EVELESSA Who would have thought that my imaginary friend in the shadows, my protector will be father to my kids? They look my age, the boys are the only ones growing at a almost normal speed.Love is loud.Not always in words.Not always in grand gestures.Sometimes it’s in the way someone looks at you like the world could burn and they’d still choose you first.Tonight?It’s deafening.I stand at the edge of the ballroom, fingers lightly brushing the fabric of my dress, watching everything unfold like it’s happening to someone else.The atmosphere is beautiful and enthralling and music drifts through the air; soft, elegant, deceptive.“Stop hiding.”I don’t turn.“I’m not hiding,” I reply.“You are,” Alexis says, stepping beside me.I glance at her.She looks… normal.Composed.Which is suspicious.“You look like you’re about to run,” she adds.“I don’t run.”“Emotionally, you do.”I almost smile.Almost.“This is a lot,” I admit quietly.Alexis exhales.“Yeah.”“But you said yes.”
CASSAIN "Ÿou have to help me Aristotle; I want to marry Evelessa.""What's stopping you from asking her?""I asked, she said no.""Did you ask her with flowers and everything?""Yes I did.""Then you don't even know the mother of your children. Evelessa does not do drama and unnecessary frivolities."There are battles you prepare for.You calculate.Strategize.Execute.Then there are battles you don’t realize you’ve already lost.This?This is the second kind.Because apparentlyI, Cassain, who has faced war, monsters, politics, and people with far too much power, am currently pacing like a nervous idiot over a ring.Alexander laughs clearly enjoying this entirely too much.“Stop walking.”I don’t.“Cassain,” Aristotle says again, slower this time, like he’s talking to someone unstable.“I’m thinking.”“You’ve been thinking in circles for the last twenty minutes.”“That’s because this is a serious matter. How do I get your sister to marry me?”He leans back in his chair, watching me
EVELESSA “Why do you look like that?”Alexis.She falls into step beside me, arms crossed, eyes scanning my face like she’s trying to read something I haven’t said.“Like what?” I ask.“Like you’re about to drown someone.”I glance at her.“That’s a very specific assumption.”“You get that look before things explode.”She’s not wrong.I exhale slowly.“Something feels off.”Alexis groans.“Everything feels off lately.”“That doesn’t make it less true.”She mutters something under her breath.Probably about how exhausting this all is.We walk in silence for a moment.The air shifts.I stop.So does Alexis.“…You feel that?” she asks quietly.“Yes.”It’s not like anything I’ve felt before.Not quite magic.Not quite power.Something older.Something… burning.The doors swing open and she walks in.Everything tilts.Not physically.But enough that people notice.Enough that conversations die mid-sentence.Enough that the air itself feels heavier.She’s striking.Not in a soft way.Not i
CASSAIN "So you're telling me that she forgave you but refuses to talk to us?I’m seated at a corner table in La Virelle, one of those dim, overpriced places with gold-lined menus and expensive waiters, facing Emmanuel and Richard watching them both pout in annoyance. I'd find them cute except I'm
EVELESSA "What do you think about Detective Hall Evelessa?" Aretha suddenly asks out of the blue as we put together last minute details for the show.I laugh "Why on earth would you ask me this now while we're trying to get through a show?"She scoffs "Because I'm genuinely curious...answer the q
CASSAIN Practice is brutal today and I feel absolutely out of it; I remain my human self most times during games to keep things fair but after my confrontation with the council, I feel absolutely restless and irritated yet here I am trying to survive today's practice.“Your head’s not here, we sho
EVELESSA "So nice of you to finally show your face at school Miss Evelessa, I completely concluded that our humble class is below your standard and likeness"Alexis scoffs "Thanks for such a grand welcome back, professor Kane." The class bursts into laughter as I move into the hall with Alexander,







