Masuk"Is that the book?" I demanded. My voice was a harsh, dry scrape in the dark.I stood in the center of the ancient, collapsing vault beneath the Blackwood castle. My arms were shaking. I pressed both of my hands flat against the heavy stone ceiling, using every single ounce of my Alpha strength to keep the cracked rock from caving in on top of us. The muscles in my back screamed in agony. Dust poured down over my face, but I did not close my eyes.Gaius was on his knees in the dirt right below me. The old healer was coughing violently, his lungs failing in the toxic, stagnant air. His shaking hands brushed the thick dirt off a massive, heavy leather book resting on a stone pedestal."Yes," Gaius choked out. He wiped his dirty mouth with the back of his sleeve. "This is the grimoire of the First Healers. The blood magic records are inside.""Read it," I ordered. The stone ceiling shifted above me. A loud, terrifying crack echoed through the small room. I locked my elbows, refusing to l
[Cillian's POV]The ride back to the stronghold was completely silent.The freezing wind whipped through the forest's bare branches, but I barely felt the cold. I held the thick leather reins of the massive warhorse with one hand. My other arm was wrapped tightly around Elian’s waist, keeping him pressed firmly against my chest. He leaned back against me, his body fitting perfectly into mine. His breathing was steady, slow, and calm.Just hours ago, the thought of losing him had nearly stopped my heart. I had stood in the clearing, convinced that Selene had outsmarted us all. But Elian had not panicked. He had not hidden behind my back. He had stepped forward and faced the woman who tortured him. He had looked the devil in the eye and broken her game completely. Now, holding him close as the horse walked through the deep snow, I felt a heavy, grounded sense of absolute pride. He was not a fragile victim. He was a survivor.Behind us, two of my personal guards rode on either side of Pr
[Kaelen’s POV]We walked down the fourth tunnel. The ground was flat, but the path was not straight. Within ten minutes, the hallway split into three different directions. The stone walls looked exactly the same. The dirt under our boots looked exactly the same.I stopped. I held my wooden torch up, but the light did not show me which way to go. I could not smell the old paper anymore. The air was completely dead again.I stepped back. I lowered my torch and looked at Gaius."Your turn," I told him.Gaius nodded. He did not argue. He walked to the front of the group and brought the young scholar with him. They held their torches close to the dark stone walls. They brushed the thick dirt away from the rock with their hands, moving slowly."Look here," the young scholar said. His hands were shaking slightly, but his voice was steady. He pointed to a small mark cut deep into the stone.I looked at it over his shoulder. It just looked like a random scratch."It is a builder's mark," Gaius
I walked the horse quickly through the deep snow until we reached the dark, freezing tree line. The castle walls loomed high and silent behind me. No alarm bells rang. No shouts echoed in the courtyard. They had no idea I was gone.I grabbed the horse's mane and pulled myself up onto its bare back.I looked back at the dark towers of the keep one last time."Enjoy your cursed mate, Warlord," I whispered to the freezing wind. "By the time you break the magic, I will be a thousand miles away."I kicked my heels hard into the horse's sides.The horse surged forward, galloping fast into the thick, snowy forest. The freezing wind whipped my hair around my face. I rode hard for several miles, pushing the horse through the deep snow. I put as much distance between myself and the castle as I possibly could.I planned to ride south. I would find mercenaries. I would send a message to Cillian telling him that if he ever tried to find me, I would cut my own arm and make his precious Omega bleed.
[Selene’s POV]The royal suite was completely silent.I stood in the center of the large room. I wore dark leather pants and a heavy black jacket. I had tied my blonde hair back tightly so it would not get in my way. A small leather bag rested at my feet. Inside the bag, I had packed a sharp hunting knife, a thick pair of gloves, and three heavy pouches of Eastern gold I had stolen.I walked over to the massive bed. I looked down at the shape hidden under the thick fur blankets. I had arranged the extra pillows carefully. From the doorway, it looked exactly like a person sleeping on their side. If a guard opened the small viewing slot to check on me, he would think I was safely in bed.I smiled. The plan was absolutely perfect.I turned around and began to pace across the stone floor. The fire in the hearth was dying, but I did not put more wood on the coals. I wanted the room to grow cold and dark.I thought about King Cillian. The great Warlord of the North was probably sitting in h
[Elian’s POV]The fire burned low in the hearth of the Warlord’s bedchamber.I sat on the edge of the large mattress. Cillian knelt on the hard stone floor right in front of me. He did not wear his heavy battle armor tonight. He wore a simple, dark linen shirt. His massive hands hovered nervously near my throat. His thick fingers were completely steady, but his breathing was rough and uneven.He carefully tilted my chin up to look at my neck.The dark bruises from the invisible hand were fading. They were mostly an ugly, sickly yellow color now, wrapping tightly around my collarbone.Cillian stared at the marks. His jaw locked so tightly that the muscle in his cheek actually ticked. He blamed himself entirely. He had grabbed Selene’s throat in the Eastern basement, and her sympathetic blood magic had forced my body to take the brutal damage. He pulled his hand back quickly and looked down at the floor, unable to meet my eyes."It doesn't hurt anymore," I told him. My voice was quiet b
Several people screamed. I slapped both hands over my mouth to keep from making a sound, biting down on my own palm so hard I tasted blood. My heart was beating so fast against my sore ribs that I thought my chest was going to split open. Panic. Blind, total, animal panic. My body got hot fast.
My ribs ached before I opened my eyes. That was how every morning started. Pain. A dull, steady ache burned on my left side where Alpha Thorne had kicked me two days ago. My crime? I hadn't scrubbed the blood out of the training mats quick enough. It wasn't just that my ribs ached. The screaming
[Cillian’s POV]Bong. Bong. Bong.The heavy iron bells of the Blackwood chapel did not sound like a celebration. To my ears, they sounded like a funeral dirge, tolling for the death of my soul.I stood at the high altar, dressed in ceremonial armor polished to a blinding silver shine. The great hall
The solid rock cracked under his fist, sending a shower of dust to the floor. The force of it snapped something back into place inside my head. Raw, pure fear cut through the fever haze. I pulled my hand back, pressing it tightly against my chest. What am I doing? I thought, panic cutting throug







