All Chapters of Welcome to Aetherborn: Crushes, Curses & Creatures: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Kade stood behind her, his tall frame framed by the morning light. His dark hair was tousled, his jaw sharp, his eyes an intense storm-gray that caught everything, missed nothing. “Kade…” Her voice wavered. “How did you even know I was here?” For a moment, he just studied her with that unreadable look of his. Then the corner of his mouth tugged upward, a smirk that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I could smell you from far away.” Her eyes widened, heat rushing to her cheeks. “Smell me?” “What are you doing here?” Kade’s voice was low, rough with suspicion, but not unkind. Seraphine straightened quickly. “I’m here to see Alaric… and to check on you. On all of you.” For a long moment, Kade just stared at her, unreadable. His gray eyes searched hers as though weighing truth from lies. Then, at last, he gave a small tilt of his head. “Come with me.” Her brows furrowed. “To where?” “To see Alaric. Isn’t that why you’re here?” Her heart leapt, but she glanced nervously at the clust

The smoke still lingered in the air long after the fire had been put out. Charred stone walls hissed with steam as water-mages doused the last embers. The once-pristine practice hall now looked like a warzone, its rafters blackened and broken. Seraphine stood at the edge of the courtyard, watching professors shout orders and herd trembling students away. Whispers carried through the crowd… “Damien lost control again.” “It was like a dragon’s wrath…” “He almost burned the place to ash.” Her chest tightened. Damien. When she finally reached the boys’ house later that evening, the atmosphere was heavy. Alaric was recovering, pale but steady. Kade sat in brooding silence. Lucien fiddled with a glass of wine he had no intention of drinking. “He’s not here, is he?” Seraphine asked, glancing around. Alaric’s gaze met hers. “He won’t let anyone near him when he’s like this.” “Where is he?” Kade’s jaw tensed. “There’s a place he goes when the fire takes over. Deep in the no

Seraphine’s stomach dropped. The five pairs of eyes locked on her felt sharper than knives. The night wind carried the faint smell of smoke still clinging to her from Damien’s wings, and it only made her feel more exposed. Cressida stepped forward first, her fiery-red hair catching the torchlight like a warning flame. Her voice was sharp, brittle, shaking with rage barely held back. “Do you think this is some kind of joke?” she hissed. “That you can swoop in and steal my boyfriend with your little wide-eyed innocent act?” The other four closed in behind her, a wall of hostility. One of them muttered under her breath, “Unbelievable…” while another sneered, “She’s not even his type.” Seraphine instinctively took a step back, pulse hammering in her ears. “I… I didn’t…” “Save it,” Cressida snapped, cutting her off. Her eyes glistened with something darker than anger, hurt, betrayal, or humiliation. “I saw it with my own eyes. Damien kissed you. Don’t you dare tell me it didn’t m

Seraphine lay on her bed, staring up at the canopy above, the moonlight spilling through her window like silver threads. Sleep wouldn’t come, her mind wouldn’t let it. All she could replay was what had happened on the cliff. Kade’s eyes. His hand against her cheek. That kiss. And the way the world had stopped, leaving her trembling in its aftermath. When he’d pulled away, he had looked stricken, almost guilty, his words tumbling out in a rough whisper: “I’m sorry if I annoyed you. I… I didn’t mean…” He hadn’t even finished and just turned away, shifting back into his wolf form, the silence between them heavier than the night air. The ride back had been quiet. Too quiet. No teasing remarks, no wry comments, no warmth. Only the sound of her heartbeat in her ears as she clung to his fur, both of them lost in thoughts they didn’t dare voice. At the castle, he shifted back to himself, standing a little awkwardly in the shadows. “Goodnight,” he’d said, almost too quickly, befo

The moment Seraphine stepped through the archway, the air changed. Cold. Heavy. The fog swallowed her whole, muffling sound, muffling light. She reached for the rune-marked stone behind her only to find nothing but more mist. The exit was gone. So it begins. The silence pressed on her ears until a faint rustle broke it. A whisper. Then another. The fog shifted, forming shapes, shadows with too many eyes, too many teeth. They slithered around her, circling, testing. Her pulse hammered. Her instincts screamed run. She clenched her fists instead. No. Lucien was right. Courage. If I start running, I’ve already failed. The shadows hissed, melting back into the mist. Then the world twisted. The ground cracked beneath her, opening into a dark forest lit by a red moon. Trees leaned too close, their bark peeling like skin, their branches dripping with something that smelled of iron. Her steps crunched on broken bones instead of leaves. Then suddenly the forest dissolved. When the mi