LOGINThe day dawned adorned with gray clouds, bringing with them a heavy, melancholic air. It was as if the sun knew it was not time to rise, that its rays should not bathe the land I would soon stain with blood.Rayan was not beside me when I woke. The bed felt empty and cold without him, but I supposed it was better that I started getting used to it. The echoes of the previous night still resonated in my body.I wrapped the sheet around myself and walked to the mirror, studying my reflection, tracing lines with my fingers over the marks of possession and desire Rayan had left on me. That was when the memory struck.“I love you, Rayan.”The sound of my own voice felt distant now, unreal, perhaps. I leaned against the chair, searching my reflection for answers. Why had I said that? Was it true? I knew it was; questioning it was ridiculous.But if it was true, then I… I loved him?Did I truly love Rayan? Beyond passion, beyond the bond, beyond desire? And if I truly loved him, how could I k
Violet.I have always loved the feeling of Rayan’s body weighing over mine, the way I disappeared beneath him and felt so small, so defenseless, so utterly surrendered.The bed creaked softly beneath us, the room lit only by the low fire in the hearth and the moon peeking through the dancing curtains. Rayan kept me pinned to the sheets, my hands above my head while his held my wrists.His strong arms, the heat of his skin brushing against mine, his wet lips dancing against mine, everything was a delirium of pleasure, an intimate dream shared by only the two of us.And yet, I knew.I knew that this was our last night.The last time I would feel his weight, his scent, the false safety of belonging to someone I was about to destroy with my own hands.It was no accident that I had chosen that nightgown. The sheer, lightweight fabric molded to my body in a way I knew drove him mad. I wanted him to look at me, to desire me, to possess me. I wanted that night to be etched into his memory.M
Rayan.I told Violet that very night.We were in the bedroom, low, warm light wrapping around us, the fortress quieter than usual after the council meeting. She was sitting at the vanity, loosening her hair with slow movements, when I approached from behind and rested my hands on her shoulders.“There’s movement on the border,” I said, watching her reflection in the mirror. “Hertor will lead the troops. Raiders… renegades. Nothing small enough to ignore.”She lifted her gaze with a burning interest and then turned to face me, fixing me with those purple eyes that always undid me.“And you?” she asked. “Are you going with them, or will I be alone here with Roamur?”I shook my head.“No. I’m staying here.” My hand instinctively cradled her face. “With you.”I saw something soften in her expression, something I couldn’t name. A small, almost shy smile curved her lips as her hand covered mine.“Then everything is fine.” she said.Violet turned her face, kissed my hand, and then stood, wa
Rayan.The fortress felt different when I crossed its gates at the end of that hunt. Not because of the ancient stones or the banners fluttering atop the towers, but because of the uncomfortable sense of familiarity that had followed me ever since my father had begun walking at my side again.In recent times, since the banishment, his name had been an open wound, an echo of rage and grief that I had learned to push into a corner of my mind so I could rule. And now he was there, breathing the same air as me, sitting at the same table, sharing hunting strategies as if the past were not stained with blood.I had missed him. It was a truth I tried to avoid facing, but it asserted itself in the smallest details: in the way he walked to my left, as he always had; in his dry, direct manner of speaking; in his silent presence that, even when I was young, had always made me feel protected and pushed to be a better man.But missing him did not erase what he had done.I could never revoke the b
Violet.I returned to my room when night had already fully settled over the fortress. The corridors were silent, lit only by spaced torches, and each of my steps echoed as if betraying the secrets I carried in my chest.I closed the door behind me carefully, as if I feared waking someone, or perhaps as if I wanted to keep the world outside, far too distant to reach me.The bathtub was already full when I undressed. Hot water rose in soft vapors, enveloping the room, and I stepped in slowly, letting the warmth embrace my tired body. I sank until the water reached my shoulders and closed my eyes, breathing deeply.Hertor.His name surfaced in my mind like an old song that was impossible to forget.The memory of his touch was still imprinted on my skin, as if he had marked me in a way that could not be washed away. His firm hands, the careful yet hungry way he touched me, as if he wanted to memorize every detail, as if he knew time was running out.The way he looked at me, as if I were
Hertor.The wind battered the walls of the cabin, ricocheting outside as if it wanted to remind us that a world still existed beyond those walls. A world full of lies, waiting for our plan steeped in blood and betrayal.But here, within the warmth of these walls, the cabin kept us safe, as if it knew these were our last moments alone before the world collapsed.The windows were closed; it was already late afternoon, and Violet was in my bed. The low light of the cabin cast soft shadows over her bare skin as I slid my fingers over her, admiring every inch, every piece so soft and enticing.She looked at me with those eyes full of plea and desire, and I wondered how someone could carry so much strength, beauty, and ruin in the same body.I kissed her slowly, without hurry, as if every second were something to be saved, a precious memory. There was no urgency in that moment. No rush, despite what would come later. It was a silent farewell disguised as intimacy.My body knew hers with a







