All Chapters of Alpha Marcel: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

Marcel:“Thank you,” Lia said, nodding at the maids as they walked out of the room.Some have cleaned the glass shards that were splattered about almost everywhere in the room, and then there were the others who brought in the food.I stared out the window, breathing heavily as I recalled how everything happened all too fast. Lia walked toward me and put her hand on my shoulder. A small smile formed on my face despite the weight on my chest. “You’re going to need to eat, Marcel.”“I know,” I said, turning to her, knowing that she wasn’t going to take no for an answer.The two of us walked to the table, and she watched as I sat before she took her own seat across from me.The food sat between us, untouched at first, steam curling lazily into the air. For the first time since the night unraveled, I allowed myself to sit. To breathe.To stay without feeling the need to break something.Lia was close enough that I could feel the quiet warmth of her presence without needing to reach for it

Marcel:The map on the table was still spread open, weighted at the corners with carved stones, but I hadn’t looked at it in minutes.“Are you sure that you are in a right state of mind to be discussing maps, Marcel?” Vladimir asked, and I hummed in response, not bothering to look up from the papers sprawled in front of me.“I am not going to hide from my responsibility, Vladimir. And the faster I get back to working on what is normal, the better the outcome is going to be for me. it is not like things are going to disappear in a day anyway.” I muttered, knowing where he was coming from. It was harder to focus after a breakout like last night, but I had no other option right now.Vladimir stood across from me, arms crossed, jaw tight. We were supposed to be discussing patrol rotations, the shifts near the forest line, the unease growing at the borders. Instead, the room felt coiled, waiting.“I am just saying… you can take a break.” He said, and I rolled my eyes.“And do what?”“I don

Marcel:She came to me quietly.No announcement. No hesitation.Just Lia, standing in the doorway of my quarters like she belonged there, and gods help me, she did.I closed the door behind her myself.The silence that followed was thick, charged, the kind that pressed against the skin and dared it to react. Her eyes lifted to mine, steady but alert, like she was bracing for something she wasn’t sure she wanted to stop.“You’re settled?” I asked, my voice lower than intended. “I heard from the maids and Theia that you spent most of the day fixing things,”She nodded. “Mostly. I was trying to find the right spot to keep myself busy. It is the first time that I’ve had to fix my own things, and though Theia and the maids did offer to help… I guess I wanted the full experience in what I was doing.”She walked inside, staring out the window, the same window that was broken yesterday, looking as if she was conflicting or contradicting herself before she turned to face me. “How was your day?

Marcel:She slept deeply in my arms, her breath slow and even, her weight fitting against me like it had always belonged there. I pressed a kiss to her shoulder, smiling as I traced the faint lines of her arm with my fingertip, committing the feel of her to memory… the warmth, the softness, the quiet trust she carried even in sleep.I didn’t rush away. I didn’t need to.It had been a long time since I’d allowed myself to give in like that. Longer still since I’d stayed still afterward, content to simply be. With her, restraint hadn’t felt like a burden. It had felt like care.Care I hadn’t known I was capable of.Care I didn’t want to lose.Care that I found myself wanting to hold onto.Eventually, I eased out from beneath the covers and pulled on a pair of boxers, careful not to wake her. The night called, cool air, steady stars, space enough to breathe, so I stepped onto the balcony and let the quiet settle into my bones.I didn’t hear her footsteps.I felt her.Arms wrapped around

Elara:Rage had a sound.It rang in my ears as I paced the chamber, sharp and relentless, my hands trembling no matter how tightly I clenched them. Everything was slipping. Control. Certainty. The future that had been promised to me since I was a child.All because of her.The consorts were restless. I could feel it, hear it in the whispers, see it in the way eyes lingered too long and mouths curved with envy instead of obedience. It didn’t take much to nudge them, just the right words, the right doubts planted carefully where pride already festered.I had my people do it.The loyal ones.The ones who still believed in me.“You’re going too far,” he said quietly. “And this is going to lead to your demise, miss.”I stopped and turned on him. My rage was one that I couldn’t contain when it was a moment like this one, and he wasn’t blind, he saw right through me.He stood near the doorway, head slightly bowed in respect, but his eyes, those foolish, loyal eyes, were full of worry. He had