Semua Bab MAD END'S DECEPTION: Bab 241 - Bab 250

ARAHShe could hardly believe what she was hearing. He wanted her to be his wife? To lead an army by his side?The thought of him meeting her for the first time when she was just a child—wanting to groom her like that—was hard to digest.“Why me?” she asked.“You were meant to be mine,” he said simply. “The Oracle saw it. I should’ve been the one you married.”Something in that last sentence made her mind race. Did he mean he should’ve been her husband instead of Gildeon? Had Zephyr known what had happened to her at the Mad End’s Wall?Questions rushed to the surface, but she hesitated. She didn’t know this sylph well. Was he even aware she’d lost her memories? What if he used that to take advantage of her?“You have questions,” he said after a moment, as if plucking the thought straight from her mind. “I understand you don’t have full recollection of your past.”Arah gasped softly, startled by how he knew. Then again, maybe she shouldn’t have been. She’d already established that Zeph

GILDEONHe jolted awake in a bed that didn’t feel familiar. The last thing he remembered was the sharp sensation of electricity surging through his body, then everything going dark.A musky blend of incense and herbal smoke filled the air. As his eyes adjusted, he spotted clusters of crystals around the room and slowly began to recognize where he was.One of Roselia’s rooms.He’d come here earlier that morning to check on Roselia and Ghulik—who were both still in hibernation—before he’d lost consciousness. Judging by the fact he’d been moved and was clearly receiving healing treatment, at least Roselia was awake.He swung his legs over the edge of the bed.The door just opened.“Oh, good. You’re awake now, My Lord. Perfect timing.” Roselia stepped in and set a tray on the nearby table. On it sat a bowl of fragrant, steaming soup and a cup of freshly brewed tea.“What happened to me?” he asked.“Same thin

GILDEONShock and confusion tore through him like wildfire. Even his dragon spirit stirred uneasily within him. He had already suspected that his real mother wasn’t just an ordinary higher mortal. But to hear the words, Dragon Queen and High Immortal, was almost impossible to grasp.“Don’t know much about High Immortals, myself,” Roselia remarked, “only that Yonah’s one, far as I know.”“We don’t know much about them either.” Gildeon stared into what was left of his tea. “All we know is the Shining Keeper came down from the higher dimension with her companions—the High Immortals. They helped her shape the world how she wanted.”Arah chimed in, “So… could it mean your mother was one of those companions?”“Could be,” he replied simply, his thoughts beginning to spiral inward, tugging him deeper.But before he could get lost in the weight of that revelation, he forced himself to pull back. He needed to shift the conversation be

ARAHShe woke up with a big smile on her face. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept that well.A small pang of disappointment hit when she realized Gildeon was already gone from the bed. However, the sound of movement in the kitchen made her heart skip a beat. She sprang up, nearly tripping over Lexi’s scattered things on the floor, which she quickly gathered and tidied up.Arah tiptoed down the hallway, careful not to make a sound. Not that it mattered. Salamanders like Gildeon had incredibly sharp senses too. Still, she wanted to do some silly, sneaky things with him—just like human couples did.She leaned against the wall at the end of the hallway and watched him move around the kitchen, cooking breakfast. His back muscles flexed beneath the soft stretch of his white shirt, and she bit her lip, smiling to herself.Her mind drifted back to last night, to how big and hard he’d been for her, the hunger in his kiss,

GILDEONHe’d imagined a few different ways Yonah the Fallen might appear to him, but this had come as close to a shock as anything.Besides, it wasn’t the look he’d been expecting. Was this a lower mortal disguise? Because Gildeon found it hard to believe Yonah could look this young.Then again, he’d never seen a High Immortal in person before. They revealed themselves only to Seers, and even then, the Seers had always said High Immortals were hard to describe.Yonah casually cracked the crab body, scooped a generous dollop of buttery garlic onto the meat, and sucked up the crab roe without missing a beat.It was strange to see the infamous Fallen Immortal act like an ordinary human.“It was Kohina,” Yonah said, “wasn’t it?”Gildeon nearly asked how he knew her, but stopped himself. Yonah knowing all the Seers shouldn’t have come as a surprise. And the fact that he’d called him the dragon was explanation enough.