All Chapters of The Valisteen Princess : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Chapter 72: You're a Problem (Part 2)I didn't lower the knife.Jared's pale green eyes gleamed through the crack in the door, sharp and assessing. The kind of gaze that made your skin itch—like he was peeling back layers you didn't even know you had, searching for cracks to dig into.The kind of man who could tear you apart without ever lifting a finger.Too bad I'd been torn apart long before I ever stepped foot in this place."You always sneak into girls' rooms at night?" I whispered, keeping my voice steady.His mouth curved behind the black mask, slow and lazy."Only the ones worth watching."I squeezed the knife tighter, the rusty handle biting into my palm. He was trying to rattle me—poke at the edges until I slipped up.He'd have to try harder."You came to flirt or deliver a message?"Jared leaned a little closer, the faint scent of smoke and cold metal clinging to him."Both."His gaze flicked behind me—just for a second—to where Mimi slept, curled up on the thin mattress. M

Chapter 74: Regaining ControlI paced the small, cold prison cell, trying to keep my mind calm, but it was hard. Every inch of me was screaming with frustration and confusion. How had things gone so wrong so quickly? Celeste—always so calculating, so manipulative—had taken control, and now we were the ones paying the price.I could feel the bitterness between Celeste and me simmering beneath the surface, like it always did. I hated her, and she hated me. It wasn’t just personal; it was power. She wanted to take over, wanted to take what was mine, and now she was using me as a pawn in her game.Mimi sat on the edge of the cot, her eyes red from crying earlier, but she was trying to hold it together. I could see the fear in her eyes, but she wasn’t saying anything, just silently pleading for something to change. I felt helpless, completely trapped by a situation I had no control over.Then, the door creaked open, and I immediately stiffened, ready for whatever Celeste or one of her lack

Chapter 76: The Dawn of ReckoningThe passage was dimly lit, the only light coming from scattered emergency bulbs and the occasional flicker of neon from a distant bar. Here, the air was thick with dust and the bitter tang of oil, but it was our only sanctuary.In the cramped space, I could hear our attackers reorganizing outside. My heart pounded in my chest as I looked at Mimi’s determined face. “We’re almost there,” I murmured, though every second felt like an eternity. The passage led to a side alley that opened up near the docks—a perfect spot to intercept Celeste before she could vanish into the maze.Emerging from the passage, we found ourselves at a crossroads of shadows and harsh light. The docks were spread out before us like an industrial battlefield: towering cranes, rusted cargo containers, and winding pathways that formed a network of escape routes for the desperate. I signaled for silence, and for a moment, everything was eerily still. Then, the enemy burst in from the

Chapter 78: Ashes and AscensionDawn painted the sky in muted shades of gold and gray, casting a solemn glow over the ruined docks. The scent of blood and gunpowder clung to the air, mingling with the salty breeze from the sea. The battle was over, but the weight of it lingered. Bodies lay motionless across the cracked concrete, a stark reminder of the price we had paid.Celeste had surrendered. Her once fierce eyes were hollow now, devoid of the fire that had driven her. She had dropped her weapon without a word, letting it clatter against the debris-strewn ground. I had given her a choice—to live, to face the consequences of her actions, to see if redemption was even possible. Yet as she sat slumped against the cold metal of a shipping container, I wondered if she had already accepted her fate.Dylan and Liam moved with quiet efficiency, securing what was left of Celeste’s forces. The chaos had faded into an eerie silence, broken only by the murmurs of survivors and the distant cras

Chapter 80: Unspoken ChangesIt started subtly.A joke here, a lingering glance there. Nothing obvious, nothing that screamed pay attention, yet somehow, it became impossible to ignore.Liam and I had never been particularly close. We worked together and fought on the same side but beyond that? He was Dylan’s right hand, and I was just another piece in this ever-moving game of survival. I never thought much about him outside of strategy meetings and battle formations.But something had shifted.It wasn’t anything drastic. There was no grand moment, no sudden realization. Just a series of small changes that built upon each other until I found myself second-guessing everything.Like now, for example.We were in the middle of a supply run at one of our storage units near the southern border. The air was thick with the scent of dust and aged wood, crates piled high as we took inventory. Liam and I were supposed to be focused, but instead, we had somehow started bickering—again.“That’s th