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CHAPTER 8
publish date:
2026-11-03 11:00:00“Valeria, you are far too curious. One day, that relentless curiosity of yours is going to get you killed.”
My mother’s voice had always drifted back to me whenever I pushed too far, warning me that not everything in this world required a solution, that some doors were better left sealed, and some secrets were safer buried. And my usual, stubborn reply had always been, “But Mother, every puzzle has a solution, and every question demands an answer.” We would laugh about it then, a fleet
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I must have drifted into a fitful, shallow haze near dawn, because suddenly my mother was there, lingering in the dark behind my eyelids.She stood at the edge of the ash-covered fields of home, her face ghostly pale, her hands reaching out to me through a rising, choking wall of black smoke. Her voice echoed, strained and desperate, warning me to run before the scorched ground caved in completely beneath her feet.I bolted upright with a sharp, ragged gasp, my heart hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird beating its wings to death. Cold sweat slicked my neck, and for one terrifying, disoriented second, I thought the smoke was real, that I was choking on the fires of our past. But as the shadows receded, I was met only by the bleak, weeping stone walls of my cell and the gray, weak light filtering through the high iron grate.Before I could collect my scattered thoughts or steady my breathing, a harsh iron bell cl
The hunt: Blood of the void CHAPTER 15
I had never truly been away from Pompeli. It was the first time I was stepping beyond the boundaries of what I called home, and as our wretched transport cart finally creaked through the sprawling gates of the capital, I realized with startling clarity how utterly sheltered my life had been.Pompeli was warm, intimate, and deeply lived-in a coastal haven steeped in sea-salted air, sun-bleached stone, and the comforting, rhythmic hum of everyday trade along the Sarno. Its streets were wide enough to encounter familiar faces, lined with vibrant frescoed villas, bustling market stalls, and the steady, protective backdrop of the mountains.The capital, Rome, by stark contrast, felt monstrous.The imperial heart of the empire was a staggering labyrinth of monolithic marble monuments, towering stone archways, and sprawling colosseums that seemed to swallow the sky. Where Pompeii moved with the leisurely, breathing pulse of the
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For the relentless days leading up to the tournament, my mind and body operated on a knife-edge of hyper-awareness. I poured every waking second into brutal, unbroken training, but I couldn't bear to remain within the suffocating, toxic walls of the palace among the swelling crowd of contestants. Before I fled back to our quiet estate, however, there was one agonizing debt I had to settle: I had to see Thalia.Finding out that Tiberius had deliberately targeted her, forcing her name onto the roster for The Hunt as cruel, calculated leverage against me, I had nearly broken what little sanity I had left. When I confronted her, watching her break down in hysterical tears as she begged me not to throw my life away, the raw, agonizing truth finally slammed into me. I finally understood why my mother had done what she did all those years ago. It hadn't been out of weakness or submission; it was pure, unadulterated, self-sacrificing love.Thalia ce
The hunt: Blood of the void CHAPTER 13
"Good morning, Your Highness," I said, my voice carrying a casual, unbothered warmth as I pulled out a chair and seated myself uninvited at the grand dining table.The abrupt intrusion caught them entirely off guard. The heavy silver cutlery froze mid-air, and a collective hush fell over the room. They had undoubtedly assumed I was still locked away in my chambers, broken and rotting away in my own grief. They probably thought they wouldn't have to look at my face again, though I doubted Tiberius had forgotten I was here. I could already feel his invisible handiwork, the calculated pressure designed to shatter whatever fragments of my sanity remained.Hecate recovered first, smoothing down her immaculate silk bodice with a performance of practiced innocence. "Valeria, wow... I wasn’t expecting to see you here. How have you been, darling?"How utterly pathetic, I thought, staring at the woman who would happily sell
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Everyone thinks they understand the brutal anatomy of pain until it tears their own chest wide open. A man isn’t your first heartbreak, Your mother is.Was there something I could have done differently? I tortured myself with the question as I watched her slip past the iron threshold, swallowed by the void before total darkness dragged me under and I passed out.Now, waking up meant descending back into hell. I had no zeal left, no purpose, no lingering ambitions. Everything I wanted, everything I had ever fought to keep, was gone.For a brief, agonizing second, I thought I was dreaming. I woke up wrapped in arms, surrounded by a familiar, comforting scent, looking into a pair of warm, gentle eyes. But reality is a cruel, mocking joke. It wasn't her.I was too late. Far too late. She had already bartered her life away to shield mine, stepping willingly into the executioner&rsq
The hunt: Blood of the void CHAPTER 11
The transition from the shadowed stone walls to the grand hall felt like slipping into a nightmare from which there was no waking. The air was thick, heavy with the scent of foreign beasts and ancient dust, and everywhere I looked, towering silhouettes watched me with hungry, calculating eyes. They were waiting for me. They had come for their sacrifice.Yet, as my eyes scanned the vast, glittering expanse of the hall, the rest of the world dissolved.Sprawled across the cold marble floor near the center of the room lay a small, broken heap. Unconscious. Limp.Every breath left my body. All maternal instinct, all calculated restraint, shattered instantly. I forgot the guards. I forgot the foreign lords, the King, the watching eyes, and my own impending doom."Valeria!" I cried out, a raw, tearing sound ripping from my throat as I dropped frantically to my knees beside her.Why was she dressed i
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