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Chapter 48: Vastian

Penulis: Belle Heifer
last update Terakhir Diperbarui: 2025-11-25 00:34:04

The first thing I notice is that I’m not where I’m supposed to be.

The air smells of lavender and sage, thick with soil and nature. There’s no heavy weight of Khael’s silence pressing against my shoulders. No stone floor beneath my boots. No familiar shadows of my hut.

Instead, the ground beneath me is soft. Cushioned. Something plush sits beneath my head.

I roll over slowly, every muscle groaning. I blink open my eyes, and the blur resolves into color—deep violets, wild blues, sharp green shoots piercing upward from the earth. I’m surrounded by flowers.

And resting on Elunara’s pillow.

Damn it.

I was adamant. Stubborn. Told her I didn’t need it. That I’d stay alert and only rest for a minute. But I must have dozed off—and she must have slipped it under me. That woman.

I don’t move. Not yet.

Not because I’m groggy, though I am. Not because the sun is warm on my skin or because the scent of crushed herbs clings to the pillowcase. But because I see her.

She’s a little distance away, kne
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  • Taken by the Herd King   Chapter 64: Elunara

    The curse is gone. Not just broken, not just lifted—but dissolved so completely that the land feels as if it never bore its weight.The air is softer, sweeter, touched by a warmth that runs deeper than the sun. It thrums beneath my bare feet with each step I take across the moss-laced path.The Hollow breathes again. And so do I.We walk together—Darius, Vastian, Khael, and me.The sun sits high in the sky like a blessing, warming the tops of the once dilapidated barn and house that now stand tall again. What once almost fell to dust and rot has been born anew. Spires gleam. Doors no longer creak on broken hinges. Life sings from every corner.I watch as a creature—sleek, antlered, unlike anything I’ve seen before—bounds across the golden field to our left. Its coat is lavender-gray, and its eyes shimmer like pooled moonlight. I pause for a moment, stunned by the grace of it, my fingers curled around Darius’s.Behind us, laughter drifts on the breeze—children playing, elders calling ou

  • Taken by the Herd King   Chapter 63: Darius

    Elunara trembles in my arms, her skin slick with sweat. Her breath still comes fast, but the magic has begun to settle.The earth is quiet again. Not empty—sated.She leans into my chest, exhausted and radiant. I press a kiss to her temple, tasting the salt of her skin. My lips linger there longer than they should.I don’t want to let her go.But she’s already being gently coaxed away.Khael steps in first, silent and reverent. He cradles her waist with a tenderness that contradicts the raw hunger I watched consume him only moments ago. Vastian is at her other side, his movements slower, more methodical. He’s already pulled the dress from where it had fluttered to the ground. Together, they lift it over her shoulders like they’re dressing a goddess in ceremony.Because that’s exactly what she is now.I take a breath, then another, grounding myself. My heart is still beating hard enough to bruise my ribs. My hands shake as I reach for my pants and drag them up over my hips. I don’t bot

  • Taken by the Herd King   Chapter 62: Elunara

    The people on the other side of the veil stand silent from where I am, their mouths parted in cheers I cannot yet receive. But I feel them. In my ribs. In my throat. In the hollow of my chest.It’s not just their joy. It’s their welcome.I’ve never known these people. And still, I know them. Not by name, not by face, but by the way the Hollow moves inside them, the way their spirits reach through the thinning mist to embrace mine.It hits me all at once—the magnitude of what this is. What we are about to do. What it means.I glance toward the altar, then back to the three men who stand at my side.Darius is the first to move. His fingers go to the fastenings of his shirt, and with a single pull, the fabric slips from his shoulders. The air between us charges. The weight of this moment bends gravity around it. When he lifts his gaze to mine, his horns gleam in the moonlight. They curl upward like the arch of a blade, like the crown he never stopped bearing.Beside him, Khael follows. H

  • Taken by the Herd King   Chapter 61: Darius

    We move as one toward the edge of the Hollow, toward the field where the veil thinned under the last full moon. Where we showed her what remained of our world beyond.The stars blaze above, casting a bright light against the obsidian sky. The Milk Moon hasn’t reached its peak yet, but it’s close. High and full, it bleeds a silver-white glow over the trees, lighting the path ahead.Khael and Vastian lead, their strides slow and deliberate like the warriors they are. They move side by side, shoulder to shoulder, each of them more beast than man already. I see it in the way their spines have straightened, the way their hands clench at their sides. Every muscle is coiled and ready to strike.Elunara follows just behind them, quiet, head lifted. There is no fear in her.The sheer fabric of her dress trails around her, catching on the breeze, lifting and falling with every step. Her hips sway beneath the thin layers, each movement unintentional and devastating. Her shoulders are bare, glowi

  • Taken by the Herd King   Chapter 60: Elunara

    Light.It wakes me before sound does. It filters through the window and lands on my skin like a warm blanket, making everything in the room especially bright when I open my eyes.The sun is already high in the sky. I overslept.My potted plant is perched on the windowsill like it never left. Its burgundy leaves catch the morning light, their edges glowing faintly. The soil is dark and moist.I slide out from beneath the sheets and cross the room barefoot, heart full and aching at the same time. I press my fingertips gently to one leaf and whisper a thank you.And then I see the dress.It hangs across the back of the nearest chair, so sheer it almost disappears in the morning light. The fabric is pale, like milk diluted with moonlight, and shifts between white and pearl with the tilt of my head.It isn’t stitched like anything from my world. It flows without beginning or end, designed not for modesty but worship.I’m halfway to reaching for it when I catch sight of myself in the mirror

  • Taken by the Herd King   Chapter 59: Darius

    Elunara lifts her head, her gaze flicking between the three of us, still breathless and flushed from what just passed. Her dress hangs open, parted and forgotten. She makes no move to cover herself. No hint of modesty or shame. And gods, it makes something fierce and primal in me stretch with satisfaction.She trusts us.She owns this moment—her body, her hunger, her power.At her side, Vastian rests a hand in the grass, the corner of his mouth pulled upward in a way that still feels unfamiliar. A smile on him used to be a rare sight. Now, it comes easier. As if she’s cracked him open, too.“That’s your Rex,” I say, nodding toward the tiny pot nestled in the grass beyond her. “Or what’s left of him. He’s a little rough around the edges but stubborn, like someone else I know.”Her brows draw together. “I thought he was gone.”“We all did,” I say. “But it was Vastian who went looking for something to salvage.”Vastian shifts beside her and speaks without looking directly at her, the way

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