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Someone’s messing with the trials

作者: Author Calypso
last update 最終更新日: 2025-05-19 23:57:10
ALTHEA

The wind still clings to my cloak as they lead me away from the others. My limbs feel numb, but not from the cold. Everyone watched. Everyone saw. I was touched by all four elements.

It shouldn’t be possible.

An official walks beside me, saying nothing, his face pale and tight. I don’t ask questions. My heart is still racing too fast, and there’s a deep, twisting feeling in my stomach like something terrible is coming.

They bring me to a stone platform at the edge of the elemental grounds. The rest of the girls are lined up across the field, waiting their turn for what comes next. But I’m separated now. Watched. Whispered about.

“The elemental path awaits,” the man says, then steps back.

A new trial.

A massive arch of stone rises ahead. Beyond it, I can see the first challenge—fire. Real fire. Not the elegant kind that dances in torches. This is wild and angry, stretched across a narrow canyon in swirling waves of flame and smoke. It crackles so loud it drowns out
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  • The Mate Games   He’s coming

    ALTHEAHe’s here.In the middle of a damn fight, of all things. But somehow, it doesn’t surprise me. If there’s one constant in this twisted world of ours, it’s that Asher finds trouble, or maybe it finds him.I stand frozen, breath shallow, eyes locked on the crude fighting ring set up in the middle of the bar’s wide back room. The air is heavy with sweat, smoke, and the sharp tang of spilled ale. People press close to the wooden rails, shouting, placing bets, eager for blood.And there, right in the center, is him.The man moving with lethal grace, stalking slow circles around his opponent like a predator toying with prey. He’s so much bigger than the other man, muscles straining beneath a dark tunic, body coiled tight with energy. But it’s the way he moves that twists something deep inside me. Not just fluid—calculated. Like he’s already three steps ahead, mapping every dodge, every strike, every final blow.A cloth wraps around the lower half of his face, hiding his mouth, nose, e

  • The Mate Games   He’s here

    ALTHEAWe’ve finally made it.It feels almost unreal to stand here, just outside the kingdom’s walls. For days, this place lived only in my mind, twisted and tangled with memories I tried hard to bury. But now it’s right in front of me, familiar towers cutting into the sky, the faint outline of the palace beyond them.We have a plan. A fragile, dangerous plan.Theo gathers us all close under the shade of thick pines. His face is tense, eyes darting over each of us as if to make sure we’re all still here, still whole.“We split up,” he says. His voice is low but firm. “Jarek, Liza, you’re with me. We’ll head north to dig up the weapons we buried when we fled last time.”Then he turns to me. I already feel my stomach knot.“Althea, you go with Aaron and the two newest recruits—Kye and Rowen. You’ll stake out the palace. Watch for patrols, guards, shifts. Anything unusual.”I open my mouth to protest. “Theo, that’s—”But he shakes his head. “Out of everyone, you know your way around ther

  • The Mate Games   A confrontation

    ASHERRage. It’s an emotion that’s not appreciated enough. Not studied enough. But the rage I feel right now completely consumes me. It’s like molten lead in my veins, scorching everything in its path.The palace is already a disaster—my men have failed over and over to catch the revolutionaries, Caroline is pregnant, and now this? My vision blurs with hot fury. It takes everything in me not to tear the nearest tapestry off the wall and shred it to pieces.I storm down the hallway, ignoring servants who flatten themselves against the walls to avoid me. My boots thud heavy against the marble floors, echoing off the high ceilings. They all know to stay out of my way. Good for them.I reach Caroline’s door. Don’t bother knocking. I push it open so hard it bangs into the wall, the handle leaving a dent.“What the hell is going on here, Caroline?” I grit out, my voice raw with anger.She doesn’t even jump. Just sighs, looking up at me from where she’s perched on the edge of her bed, painti

  • The Mate Games   Wedding preparations

    ASHERIt’s been nearly a week.No. Definitely longer than that. Maybe.I’ve lost track of the days. My men have been out there, combing the forests and foothills for any sign of Althea and the rest of the revolutionaries. But so far, nothing. No footprints. No sign of them. Just empty leads and colder trails.It’s only a matter of time, though. It has to be. They can’t hide forever. Not from me.I scrub a hand over my face. The stubble scratches my palm, rough, uneven, evidence of how long I’ve let myself slip. I can’t remember the last time I shaved. Hell, I can’t even remember the last time I stepped outside this office. A week ago would be my best guess. That’s probably how long it’s been since I lived what could be called a normal life.Though to be fair, my life hasn’t been anything close to normal for a long time.Not since Father. Not since Althea.The days blur together. I spend most of them trying to avoid council meetings and, more than anything, trying to avoid Caroline.Sh

  • The Mate Games   Rightly mine

    ALTHEAMoonlight spills across the forest floor, silver and bright, bright enough that we don’t even need torches. It filters through the leaves, casting shifting patterns on the dirt path. I watch my muddied boots crunch over twigs and fallen leaves, trying not to let my mind drift too far ahead to what’s waiting for us.Theo walks at the front, shoulders squared, steps steady. He suddenly lifts a hand, and we all stop behind him. I breathe out, finally feeling the ache in my legs.“We’ll camp here for the night,” he says. His voice is tired, but certain. That’s enough to keep the rest of us from arguing.People start moving almost at once. Bags drop to the ground. Jarek and two others clear a wide circle of rocks and debris, stomping down the grass to flatten it. I help Liza pull free the thick canvas from her pack. We shake it out, stretch it, drive stakes into the hard ground. It takes effort, my arms burn from pounding the wood into place, but soon, little tents dot the clearing.

  • The Mate Games   Varya’s diary entry 10

    Many decades ago…I thought maybe that would be the end. That after all the blood and questions and waking nightmares, they would finally let us rest. Let us count our bruises in silence. Nurse the wounds on our souls without someone tearing them open again.But peace is a lie here. I should’ve learned that by now.It was late when they came. The moon hung heavy and yellow through my window, watching like an indifferent eye. I was half-asleep, sprawled across my narrow bed, the thin blanket twisted around me, when the knock came. Not sharp or urgent. Just a slow, deliberate tap. As if whoever stood on the other side already knew I would answer. That I had no choice.For a second, I thought about pretending not to hear. Letting them pound until they grew bored and left. But that was foolish hope, hope I couldn’t afford. Whoever they sent would just come in anyway. Drag me out of bed if they had to. Better to meet it on my feet.I opened the door.Another servant waited there, this one

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