Messages carried in the Smoke

FlashbackThe rain had not stopped for three days. It clawed at the windows of the high tower like a restless spirit, tracing shady water down the glass. The sky was a flat in merciless gray and the world below seemed to hold its breath. Somewhere in the distance, thunder rolled, it was a slow, rumbling echo that sounded almost like laughter.Erina had not slept.She stood before the wide window, her silhouette outlined by the dim glow of stormlight. Her reflection stared back at her. Pale, hollow-eyed as her lips pressed into a bloodless line. She looked nothing like the woman who had watched Jason ride out a week ago with that same storm behind him. He had promised he would return.“He said he would bring her back,” Erina murmured with her voice low, almost childlike. “He said he would be… Alive. He said it would be simple.”Her fingers twitched against the glass. The ring on her right hand, Jason’s token, was forged from the last steel of Jason’s armor. Decorated with his

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Avenge my Love

FlashbackThe smoke had thinned, but the scent of death still wafted in the thick air.For three days, the Woods had burned low, there was a scar upon the land. The gray branches clawing at a blood-colored sky, and beneath them, the soil blackened by magic that refused to die. The air itself felt wrong here, warped by the clash of power that had ended Jason’s life.Erina walked through the collapses without flinching.Her black veil dragged through the soot, leaving trails like wounds across the ground. Behind her, two warriors followed, hesitant, trembling, and scared. They had begged her to wait for the Council’s permission before investigating, but she had silenced them with a glance. She didn’t need permission. She needed answers. And she wanted them fast. Jason’s ring hung from her neck, a splinter of crimson crystal glinting faintly against her throat. It pulsed sometimes, like a heartbeat that was not hers.They reached the woods and at the center of the havoc was a hole

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Beneath the Cracks

FlashbackDays had passed since Erina burned the Woods to ashes. The flames had long died, but their memory, the memories of her husband still clung to the air like smoke. It was bitter, heavy, and breathing. It was alive. Even the moon refused to shine above that scarred land. What was once green and full of song had become a graveyard of shadows? Shadows forgotten. And in the center of it all, Erina stood cloaked in black, her silver hair streaked with soot, her eyes reflecting the dim glow of the ashes that refused to die.She had sent her scouts away. None dared question her anymore. The moment one of them tried, she had turned his own shadow into ash before his words could finish forming. After that, silence was their only answer.She wanted it that way.Tonight, there was only her. Her, and Jason’s ring which was now mounted at the center of a ritual circle carved into the ground. Flood of blood and ash glowed faintly, pulsing like a heartbeat.She had drawn them herself

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The Fugitive’s Flight

FlashbackThe news reached Sandra at dusk.She had been sitting by the training field, the one that stood by the border. She was watching the sky bleed orange over the horizon when one of Jason’s scouts arrived, his armor scorched, his face filled with sorrow. The moment she saw his expression, she knew something was wrong.“Lady Erina’s husband,” he rasped, bowing his head. “Jason… is gone.”The words hit her like a blow. For a moment, she didn’t breathe. She couldn’t “Gone?” she repeated, her voice small, thin, and shaky. “What do you mean gone?”“Dead.” The scout swallowed hard, glancing nervously around the courtyard. “The mission failed. Kiara escaped. Jason was burned alive.”Sandra’s cup slipped from her fingers, shattering against the ground. The sound was distant, muffled by the roaring in her ears.Kiara.The name struck like lightning through her chest. For months, she had convinced herself the betrayal had been necessary that handing Kiara’s location to Er

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Gratitude

Present dayKiara’s POVSometimes I wake before dawn, before the lake stirs, before the first bird calls, and for a moment, I forget where I am. Like Ryder would always say, “Old habits.”The silence feels like the kind that comes before a battle, and my heart races as if I were expecting another war cry. But then I hear the soft rhythm of Ryder’s breathing beside me, steady and safe, and the quiet creak of the house as it settles into morning.And I remember. The war is over.I slip out of bed and wrap a shawl around my shoulders, walking barefoot across the wooden floor. The boards buzz faintly beneath my steps as the energy here is alive, peaceful, and kind. Outside, the world glows in that gentle silver-blue that only exists between night and sunrise. The lake, Brandon's favorite place mirrors the sky, and the wind carries the scent of pine, soil, and dew.I breathe it all in. I take in the peace I once thought I would never find.There was a time when every breath felt

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Lahat ng Kabanata ng Rise of the rejected Luna : Kabanata 181 - Kabanata 185

Messages carried in the Smoke

Avenge my Love

Beneath the Cracks

The Fugitive’s Flight

Gratitude