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Last Updated:
2025-04-07 18:32:11
Latest chapter
The Mate Games Help me
ALTHEAThe days after the trial pass slowly.The kind of slow that crawls under your skin.There are no new tasks. No screaming monsters. No cursed dreams trying to drag us under.But there’s also no Noor.Her room stays empty. Her laugh doesn’t echo down the hall. And every time I turn my head too fast, I expect to see her coming around the corner, smirking like she’s about to tell me off.But she never does.Some days, the silence is louder than anything.We stay close to each other now. Not out of fear, exactly, just out of something deeper. Something like grief.We sit together at meals. We walk together. Even sleep closer.Because what if next time, one of us doesn’t come back?What if next time, we’re the ones left behind?***It’s on one of those slow days—when I’m sitting by the fountain with a book I’m not really reading—that I hear someone clear their throat behind me.I glance up.Charlie.She’s dressed more casually today, boots, soft black pants, and a dark blue sweater t
The Mate Games Varya’s diary entry three
Many decades ago…I don’t even know how to begin this.Nothing feels real.Not the way the carriage smelled like rose oil and velvet.Not the way the guards flanked us like we were something precious.Not even the way the palace looked when we first arrived, like something carved out of a dream.It’s bigger than I imagined. Bigger than any storybook or whispered rumor ever prepared me for. The gates alone were taller than the clocktower in the city square, with curling golden designs etched into black iron. Inside, the palace grounds stretch endlessly, stone paths twisting through fountains and flower gardens, white swans floating in glittering pools, walls climbing high into the sky like they’re trying to touch the moon.The main hall we entered through had crystal chandeliers, taller than three grown men stacked together, and the floor was polished so clean I could see my reflection, dirt-smudged and stunned. The walls are painted in soft ivory with silver trim, and every few feet t
The Mate Games Even dreams leave scars
I don’t know how long I’ve been here.Time doesn’t move right in this place. Sometimes it feels like hours. Sometimes it feels like years.The same loop plays again and again.The blood. The throne. Asher dying in my arms.And the worst part?There’s a moment, just before it resets, when I forget it’s not real.I forget it’s a dream.I start to believe I really killed him. That I really deserve this.The weight of the crown. The knife in my hand. The silence in my chest.It’s like the dream is trying to dig into me. Twist me up from the inside until I don’t remember who I was before I got here.And maybe it’s working.Until this time.This time something’s different.Because when the knife drops from my fingers, I don’t fall. I don’t cry.I breathe.Just once.And I focus on it.The inhale. The exhale.That’s real. That’s mine.The blood isn’t.Asher’s pain isn’t.The voice whispering that I’m alone? That’s not mine either.I press my palms to the floor. It’s cold and slick with red,
The Mate Games Dreamland
ALTHEAThe morning sun shines through the tall windows of the women’s room, making everything look warm and golden. I sit near the center table with the other girls, half-listening as they chatter around me. My thoughts keep drifting, to Sophie, to Asher, to the way his lips felt against mine.I keep touching my mouth like I’m trying to make sure it really happened.Elise nudges my shoulder with a grin. “You’re smiling,” she teases. “That’s a rare sight.”“I am not,” I say, but I know I am. It just won’t go away.Before I can say more, the door opens and two figures walk in.The queen and Lady Ivanna.The room falls silent instantly. Every girl sits up straighter. I do too.The queen smiles as she glides forward, her pale gown flowing behind her like water. “I hope you all enjoyed yesterday’s event,” she says. “We were quite impressed with what we saw.”Lady Ivanna stands beside her, her chin high and arms folded like always. But her eyes are focused on our corner of the room.“After
The Mate Games I want to fall
ALTHEAMy knees almost give out.I reach for the wall, but I miss, and my hand falls limp at my side. My chest rises and falls too fast. I can’t breathe right. My heart pounds in my ears. I’m frozen.She’s here.She’s really here.Tears sting my eyes, blurring her face, but I don’t look away. I can’t.Sophie.I feel Asher step close behind me, his voice low and steady, like he knows I need it. “I told you I had something to show you.”But I can’t answer. My throat is too tight.I can only stare.And then she moves. Her lips tremble before she lets out this small, broken sound, like a sob and a laugh all at once, and runs straight into me.I catch her in my arms, and everything inside me breaks.All the fear. All the confusion. All the pain I’ve been holding in since the bear. Since I thought she was gone. Since I thought I lost her forever.She’s here.She’s real.I hold her tighter than I should. I bury my face in her hair and breathe her in like that’s enough to keep her with me.An
The Mate Games She’s here
ALTHEAI don’t move.Charlie’s hand is still in the air when Asher appears behind her, like he’s just been waiting for the perfect moment to make everything worse.He grins wide when he sees her.“Hey, trouble,” he says, fist bumping her like they’ve done this a hundred times.Charlie smirks and hits his shoulder with a punch that’s way too familiar. “You’re late.”“Royal duties,” he jokes, and then he leans closer and says something I can’t hear.Whatever it is, it makes her laugh. Really laugh. Head back, eyes shining.He nudges her with his elbow and she nudges him right back. Then they walk off, side by side, laughing like they belong together in a way I don’t understand.I just stand there.What the hell?***The rest of the day goes well.Better than expected, honestly. The guests are happy. The judges look pleased. The queen even gave us a small nod, which I’m taking as a victory.Elise says it was the lighting. Marcy swears it was the bread and honey-butter. I think it was the
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