Lahat ng Kabanata ng MAD END'S DECEPTION: Kabanata 251 - Kabanata 260

ARAHShe circled the misty figure of her father, feeling the raw force of her wings beating. Power surged through every muscle and feather of her owl form, energy crackling through her small body like wind caught in a storm.Just as a sword slashed toward her, she veered sharply to the side, then dove low, ducking beneath a slicing arc of wind unleashed by his other hand.She raked her talons across his abdomen, drawing a hollow, haunting groan from him. The figure dissolved into nothingness, but then, three more copies of her father materialized within the fog enclosure.Quickly, she commanded the male owl and her wind tattoo to take on the two flanking illusions, while she honed in on the one in the center.Then she felt a sudden presence from behind her. Like the prickling sensation of raised feathers, an instinctive chill swept through her owl form.Her head turned sharply, eyes locking onto the mortal body she’d left be

GILDEONAfter dinner, he and Roselia stepped outside for a private word while Arah stayed in the kitchen to finish cleaning up. He’d already filled Roselia in on everything that had gone down with Yonah.“I thought you’ve already abandoned the mission, My Lord,” Roselia said, rubbing her upper arms against the night chill.“I nearly did,” he admitted. “But Yonah showing up pulled me back in.”Through the window, he glanced at Arah standing at the sink. Her back was turned, but now and then she looked over her shoulder and flashed him a smile. She already had the sigil needle tucked into her curls.“How’s that progressing, anyway?” Roselia asked, catching his attention back.He gave a small shrug. “We’ve slept together a few times, but I haven’t felt anything shift yet.”“Maybe it takes time,” she murmured, her eyes drifting to the brass censer resting at the far end of the table. Pale threads of fog coiled lazily from

GILDEONThe dining area filled fast with chatter and loud music. A businessman had booked a birthday lunch at Tonio’s restaurant, and he’d brought his entire family and staff to celebrate.Gildeon didn’t mind the noise. His thoughts were elsewhere—Yonah, and when he’d show up again. The Awakening. Whether Ghulik had made it back to Shamibar with his message.And Arah. He hated leaving her with Jeric. Something about the guy still rubbed him the wrong way, though he couldn’t pin down exactly why.Hours passed. The party wrapped up. Guests trickled out, and the staff began clearing tables. They had a few hours before reopening for dinner service.He was at the counter, halfway through chopping a stack of vegetables, when Cora and Mabel showed up. They were meeting Arah to plan her birthday for the weekend.“Hey, Gildeon!” Mabel called from a nearby table. “Is Arah on her way?”He pushed his glasses up his nose. “She bou

ARAHThe creature that burst from her palm hit the floor with a heavy thud. It was a towering thing, plated in segmented, iridescent armor that glimmered faintly like oil on water. Steam hissed from its blue shell where her blood still clung. Behind it, a spiked tail swept around, smashing into vases and forcing her to jump back to avoid being hit.Six limbs anchored the creature, but the forward pair—its forelimbs—twitched restlessly, the jointed claws folding and unfolding with an audible click-clack that carried across the air. Its head—part insect, part reptile—swiveled toward Jeric, three unblinking blue eyes locking on him.Arah stared at the aquatic mantis-looking creature, hardly able to believe something like this had come out of her own hand. She glanced down at her palm—the sigil there had shifted to a deep, luminous blue, glowing and pulsing with a strange rhythm. The power it radiated felt both foreign and achingly familiar, as thou

GILDEON“I can’t believe you’ve had a hidden torture chamber all this time,” he said as he glanced around the cavern. “Why didn’t you tell me?”They were deep inside the cave, half a mile from Roselia’s farmstead. Jagged stalactites hung from the ceiling like teeth, decorated with vines he was sure Roselia had placed there. Cold water dripped from above, the sound echoing off the stone like a slow heartbeat. A few stalagmites rose from the ground to mirror them, spaced wide enough to walk through. These were wrapped in flowers he could only presume were poisonous.The chamber was large enough to hold at least a middling beast. Runes etched into the walls pulsed with strong yellow light. They served both as illumination and as a binding force to keep a prisoner contained.“Well, you never asked,” Roselia said beside him. When his glare cut toward her, she stifled a laugh behind her hand. “My Lord, I may be bound to serve you, but that does