تسجيل الدخولRiley’s POV"Mom..." The word came out as a pathetic, raspy squeak.I couldn't breathe. My brain refused to process the sentence that had just left her lips. I stumbled forward, my weak knees buckling, and reached frantically for the hem of her velvet dress."Mom, please!" I sobbed, tears flooding my eyes, blurring her cold, beautiful face. "I’m your daughter! I’m your blood! How can you say that?!"Mom didn't even flinch. She just looked down at me with a complex, unreadable expression—a mix of shallow pity and absolute detachment—before taking another step back to avoid my touching her."Drag her out," Soren roared behind her, his voice booming like thunder through the small hidden suite. "Put the traitor in the deep dungeons! I’ll deal with Ezra’s pathetic attempt to hide her later!"Two heavy guards lunged forward, grabbing my wrists and yanking me roughly off the floor. I was too weak to fight them, my arms bruising under their iron grips.As they began dragging me toward the doo
Riley’s POVI had imagined a hundred different ways my secret identity might end.I thought about being expelled. I thought about standing on a high wooden scaffold, looking up at the sky one last time before a blade took my life.But I had never, ever imagined this.I was buried alive in a windowless stone box deep inside the palace walls. There was no day, no night, no passage of time—only the thick, suffocating darkness and the sound of my own shallow breathing.3 days passed in absolute silence.I sat on the edge of the narrow cot, staring into the blackness, and realized Ezra wasn't going to change his mind.He wasn't going to let me go, and he wasn't going to kill me. He was going to keep me locked in this dark cell forever, a hidden prisoner kept alive only to satisfy his broken, territorial heart.If this is what my life is going to be, I don't want it.I stopped eating.When the metal slot at the bottom of the door slid open and a tray of food was pushed inside, I didn't move
Riley’s POVMy vision was swimming in black spots. The air in my lungs was entirely gone, replaced by a searing fire in my chest. Ezra’s hand felt like a burning ring of iron around my throat, crushing my windpipe bit by bit.I stopped kicking. I stopped clawing at his wrists. I just looked up into his pitch-black, demonic eyes, letting my own tears overflow and spill over my lashes. I was terrified, but beneath the sheer terror, my gaze remained stubbornly fixed on his.I didn't regret saving those people. I didn't regret being Veilwalker.The Moon Goddess played a joke on us. If there was anything that I regret, I regretted ever meeting him and falling in love with him.Ezra’s chest heaved violently. A single, clear tear cut through the dirt on his pale face, dropping onto my forehead."Damn you," he rasped, his voice breaking in two.Abruptly, he opened his hand and released me.Gravity pulled me down instantly. I collapsed onto the cold velvet rug, hitting the floor on my hands an
Riley’s POVMy breath locked in my throat. The room seemed to tilt beneath my feet, the air instantly turning to liquid ice.I stared at Viola in pure, paralyzed horror. Every muscle in my body went numb as the secret I had guarded with my life crumbled into dust right before my eyes.Viola collapsed forward onto her hands and knees, tears streaming down her pale, dirt-smeared cheeks as she sobbed hysterically."I was so terrified, Ezra!" she cried out, her voice raw and shaking. "When the rogues blasted into the hall, two of them dragged me out through the rear garden! They were so rough with me... they shoved me into a dark van... but then I saw her! She wasn't tied up like a prisoner! She was standing right next to Axel!"She lifted her head, pointing a trembling, blood-stained finger at me, her eyes wild with venom. "I heard Axel laughing with her! I heard him thank her for the security maps! They were so close, Ezra... so intimate! I swear on my life, she isn't just their informa
Riley’s POV"Five... four... three..."Axel’s voice was smooth, confident, and entirely convinced that he held all the cards. Ezra didn't flinch. His green eyes remained locked on mine, unreadable and cold as steel, his hand frozen on his sword hilt.I knew then that I couldn't wait for a savior. If I stayed in Axel’s grip for another second, someone was going to die.My right hand slowly crept upward toward my sleeve. Hidden between my fingers was a tiny, ultra-sharp scalp razor I had tucked into my hem before leaving the palace."Two..." Axel drawled, his claws pressing harder into my pulse point.I didn't give him a chance to say one.With a sudden, violent twist of my upper body, I slammed the razor straight down into Axel’s exposed inner thigh with all the force I had left!"AHHH!" Axel roared in surprise and agony as blood sprayed from his leg. His grip on my throat slackened for a fraction of a second.That split second was all I needed. I threw my head back, slamming the hard
Riley’s POVAxel watched my frozen expression, his smirk softening into something almost persuasive."Come with us to the rogue territories, Riley," he said, his tone turning surprisingly quiet and gentle. "There are thousands of people in the outer lands who know the name Veilwalker. They revere you. You could build clinics that no king could ever shut down, saving lives without having to hide in the dark."He took a step closer, gesturing toward the shadowy pine forest behind him."Your grandmother understood it," he added smoothly. "She knew the royal family and this Full Moon Pack were rotten to the core. She supported our cause because she saw what Soren’s world does to people like us. Out there, we don't care about noble bloodlines or royal status. We take care of our own."My head was spinning, my brain fighting against the quiet logic in his words. For a fraction of a second, the image of a life away from the palace's toxic politics and fake smiles felt like air to a drowning
Riley’s POVMy eyes widened a little, stunned.I never thought that warrior would pick me as his opponent.Not because I was scared of him. But warriors and healers aren’t even on the same playing field when it comes to strength or combat skills.Like Danica once said, healers are usually protected
Riley’s POVWhat?I could barely believe what I just heard.Ms. Bright just said I was in Ezra’s team?But that couldn’t be right. Something’s wrong!For a second, the entire field was completely silent. Then chaos erupted. Everyone started whispering to each other, some girls even screamed. Everyo
Riley’s POVOlivia’s face went white.“N-No! Wait—” she shrieked as two of Ezra’s men strode toward her.They didn’t hesitate for even a second. One grabbed her by the arm. The other reached for her shoulder like they really meant to drag her all the way back to the blasted camp and toss her into t
Riley’s POVCamila’s alliance took a brutal hit.Even from the ridge, I could tell they were finished for the day. The ones who managed to escape were half-dragging, half-carrying each other through the trees. Some were limping. Some were bleeding so badly their clothes were soaked dark.And right







