INICIAR SESIÓNThat day had begun beautifully. After a few days of rain, the sun was warm to her skin. She could still smell the moist earth as she buried her feet into the loose soil and tilted her head backwards to feel the warm rays on her face. That day, her father had been busy with the elders, and she had no one to play with. So, after snuggling up by the fireplace, surrounded by books, she made up her mind to make friends. Just then, a string of voices drifted from afar into her ears, and her gaze shifted immediately in the direction. They were children like her. She could hear their laughter, screams… the bubbly excitement that came from warmth and carefree happiness in seeing the sun after many days of wetness. Friends… she whispered as her little heart swelled, still, it thumped in the anxious anticipation of being accepted. But she did not allow that to remain as she brushed her thoughts to the back of her mind with determination. Then, she clutched her favourite book tightly to her c
Lillia stared into space. She could still vividly remember everything like it was yesterday. The night her father died, and the next day she was rejected by her mate who had married the woman that murdered her. It was like a nightmare she had woken up from, and revisited every night she slept. Only it wasn’t a nightmare. She could finally have the revenge that had haunted her ever since she took over this body. She could save her father. Lillia’s vision blurred and her eyes stung but she kept her tears at bay, glistening beneath the eerie blue light. “I can… I can see my father again?” Her voice wavered, uncertainty loudly evident in them.“Not just that, you will remember everything.” Anubis went on, her tone almost coaxing now, like a soothing whisper curling through the mind. “You will remember every face, every lie, betrayal, every plot and this time… you will not lose.”Silence followed pressing heavily between them. Lillia was in a daze. Had she heard wrongly? Had Anubis rea
Yes… Lillia thought, her gaze sweeping the space again, more carefully this time.“Maera. Selene. You need to see this.” Lillia called out expecting a response but there was nothing. Wait… hasn’t it been a moment since we entered? Why had Selene and Maera not entered? They were right behind us. Fenris was on high alert as she spoke, and Lillia could feel her senses primed to the peak. That’s right. Lillia thought back quickly, a frown settling on her face as she turned back, but the fabric she had brushed aside to enter the tent had not been rustled or shifted. She couldn’t even hear footsteps outside. “Maera? Selene?” Lillia called out again but silence answered. Just as she was about to reach for the fabric, her pulse faltered violently as suddenly, the entrance stretched away from her reach, farther than where she stood, despite knowing she had briefly stepped into the tent. She had entered knowing the entrance was right behind her, but now it was a distance away.The space wit
By the time the three women stepped into the carriage and shut the door, he was already gone, his presence swallowed entirely by the passage they had emerged from… now sealed behind them. The carriage lurched forward soon after, the wheels rolling over uneven earth as the soft creak of wood and the steady rhythm of movement gradually settled into quiet. Lillia leaned slightly toward the window, her gaze tracing the passing trees as light and shadow flickered across her face in slow intervals, her senses stretching outward instinctively as she took in the scent of the forest. It truly was refreshing. She remembered the days when she would venture into the forest to read her books, write, or simply to be alone when things got suffocating. Back then, her father had always found her secret spots, no matter how carefully she hid them, and even now, she still could not understand how he always managed it, even when she took great measures to mask her scent. A sad smile traced her lip
“I have to find a way.” Lillia’s smile remained true, almost apologetic as she continued. “Also, someone has to distract Caelum and Bastian. Caelum is still recovering; I cannot afford to place you all in danger.” Lillia paused with the smile still on her face, but her expression was serious, and her words were firm. “That is why I will be going alone.”“What—no.” Maera’s reply was immediate. So quick it almost overlapped Lillia’s last words. Her face tightened with disbelief as she stepped forward. “No.” She repeated, this time firmer. “Absolutely not.”Lillia opened her mouth to speak but Selene was quicker. She held Maera back and reached out to also hold Lillia. “Maera is right.” For the first time, Selene looked crossly at Lillia. Her gaze had sharpened with all traces of softness gone from her expression. “You just woke up today, and have barely recovered. We do not know what lies ahead, and after what just happened with Amelia…” Her voice faltered briefly before hardening
Lillia picked up the pendant as a low growl vibrated through her chest. She, however, did not let go. Something within her stirred in a whirlwind of pain, sadness and immense guilt as she stared at it, and still, instead of putting it away, her fingers tightened around it. “This pendant belongs to my family. That mark was seared into my mother’s body when we found her.” Seth broke the silence soon enough, but even as Lillia listened to him, his voice only sounded more distant as her entire attention was fully engrossed on the pendant and the mark.On the smooth polished black stone was a downward-facing crescent, wider and more open, almost like a cradle, and resting within it was a small spiral, delicate and tightly wound. Fine, almost invisible lines extended from the spiral’s edges toward the crescent, like threads connecting them, as though the spiral was being held, restrained from unleashing and expanding. A crescent moon… and spirals. Lillia thought deeply as Seth’s voice be
BAM!!! The sudden sound carried through the Great Hall, halting the music so abruptly that the final note of the violin twisted into a sharp, unpleasant screech before collapsing into silence. Elder Montclair had risen halfway from his seat, both palms pressed flat against the table as though anch
“That is why you are going to tell me exactly what makes you so important,” the voice said calmly. “Why have you come to Wolfsbane, gypsy?”Sharee’s eyes hardened, though the sword still rested against her throat.“Important?” she scoffed. “You dragged the wrong woman from the district.”“Is that s
“Ready for what?”The voice cut through the silence behind her, but she did not turn at once. Slowly, Lillia closed her eyes. She drew in a quiet inhale, controlling her emotions until her fists loosened and the blazing fire within her chest cooled. When she opened her eyes, they had darkened with
Are you satisfied now? Fenris’ voice broke through her thoughts. “What do you mean?”Now that you have surrendered to blaming and hating yourself, to every poisonous thought that is not even true, are you satisfied? Fenris snarled as a wave of disappointment flushed through her. “I am a cursed ch







