Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 131 - Chapitre 140

Ivy.I slammed the door so hard it echoed off the marble like a gunshot, the vibrations rattling through my bones. My boots clacked furiously against the pristine floors as I strode into the room, rage simmering just beneath my skin. Each inhale scorched my throat, and the image of Ellison’s smug expression lingered behind my eyes, those cold, condescending eyes, his voice soaked in that entitled, regal smugness that made me want to shatter every vase in the room.Who did he think he was, barking commands at me like I was one of his damn servants?I paced the room in furious strides, fists curled tight, knuckles white. Anyone standing outside the door could probably hear me seething, and honestly? I didn’t give a damn. Let them listen. Let the whole damn palace hear that Ivy wasn’t someone to be ordered around, not by Ellison, not by any man.Minutes ticked by. My breathing began to slow, just barely, when the door creaked open behind me. I didn’t need to turn to know who it was. The

Ivy.The early morning chill cut through my coat like blades, but I barely registered it. I felt nothing, except for the hard weight of the silver-handled pistol in my grip. My fingers stayed clenched around the weapon, like it was the only anchor I had left keeping me grounded.Sleep hadn’t touched me. Not after what I found out.Ethan had betrayed me, was planning to siphon off parts of the explosives intended for our military campaign. Our fight. Not his alone. Ours. And he was ready to gamble away our future, our strength, for what? A few silver coins in his pocket?I tightened my hands on the wheel, the low growl of the car engine vibrating beneath me, sounding like a beast eager to pounce. As I turned onto the gravel drive that led to his office, I eased my foot off the gas. His car wasn’t there yet. Good. I needed a moment to gather myself, before all hell broke loose.I parked the car and stepped out, standing at the cold steel door of his office. Locked.“Of course,” I mutter

Aurora.Hospitals had always unsettled me. The harsh glow of fluorescent lights, the overpowering odor of antiseptic that clung to every surface, the muffled cries seeping through thin curtains, it was all too cold, too clinical. And now, confined to a bed with gauze wrapped around my skull and a deep, bone-deep soreness radiating from the fall, I felt more breakable than I ever had before.That fall kept looping in my head like a cruel reel. I had been descending the palace stairs, and then nothing but air beneath me, a sickening jolt of pain, and then darkness. Then blood. I’d screamed when I saw it, a guttural, panicked wail torn from some ancient place inside me. The only thought in my mind was that something was wrong with the baby. Our baby.I wept until my voice gave out, until my limbs trembled and my body curled in on itself. The nurses murmured reassurances, but they couldn’t touch the fear clawing at me. Not until the door creaked and he walked in.“Aurora.”His voice was b

Lucy.That morning, like so many others, I opened my eyes to the soft golden light pouring in through my bedroom window but I didn’t feel ready to face the day. I lay still, staring up at the ceiling, the early sun casting faint patterns on the walls. Outside, everything was eerily quiet, the silence wrapping around the house like a thick blanket. Inside my head, however, my thoughts were anything but still. They spiraled wildly, bouncing from one worry to another. And always, like a shadow I couldn’t shake, one thought returned again and again: the slave trade.Every night, it haunted me as I drifted into sleep, and every morning, it greeted me with a fresh weight on my chest. How could I possibly stop something so large, so vile, and so deeply entrenched?I rolled onto my side, pulling the heavy covers tightly around my shoulders. The warmth should have brought me some peace, but today, like so many other days, it didn’t. There was no comfort to be found. Not with what I knew. Not w

Lucy.The afternoon sun cast a warm, gilded light over the training yard, bathing the steel blades and gleaming armor below in a radiant glow. From my window, I observed the guards maneuvering in the same motions, their drills precise and fluid. Each clash of their weapons sent a metallic echo that filtered faintly into my room, a distant reminder of the realm I was meant to rule. But today, my spirit wasn’t in it.I rested my elbows on the windowsill, arms folded tightly, my gaze unfocused. My mind drifted again, just as it had all week, back to the twins. Had Emilia finished her bottle without fussing? Did Elias manage to fall asleep after breakfast? It had barely been a few hours since I’d accompanied Elizabeth to drop them off at daycare, and already I yearned for their little arms wrapping around me, their laughter that could brighten even the darkest corners of my soul.The abrupt vibration on the table jolted me out of my thoughts. My phone rattled across the surface, buzzing i