Marked By Two のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 41 - チャプター 50

**Cassian’s POV**The steam was a thick, suffocating shroud that tasted of lavender and the copper tang of my own self-destruction. I knew I should walk out. I knew that every second I spent in this room, breathing in the scent of a woman who wasn't Aria, I was digging a grave for whatever shred of honor I had left."Don't look at the door, Cassian," she whispered, her voice a silk ribbon winding around my neck. "There’s nothing out there for you but ghosts."She stepped closer, the damp towel she’d been wearing slipping to the floor. She was beautiful in a way that felt like a warning—all pale skin and dark, wet hair that clung to her shoulders like vines. She reached out, her fingers trembling slightly as she began to undo the buttons of my shirt.I didn't stop her. I didn't want to. I wanted to drown the noise in my head, the sound of the Grand Luna’s laughter and the beep of Aria’s monitors. When her hands slid inside my shirt, her palms hot against my chest, I let out a low, jagg

**Third Person POV**The guest suite had become a cage of silk and paranoia. Elena paced the length of the Persian rug, her footsteps silent, her heart hammeringagainst her ribs. Every time the floorboards creaked in the hallway, she flinched, expecting the door to burst open, expecting the Grand Luna’s guards to drag her into the woods, or Silas’s men to claim her as part of a debt she never signed for.She was alone. Truly alone.The realization had settled in her gut like lead the moment she realized Maeve hadn't come back. Maeve, the girl she had trusted, the girl she had thought was a fellow victim had played her for a fool. Maeve had taken her secrets about the Mark, taken the jewels, and vanished into the night, leaving Elena to face the fallout of moving Aria to that damp, dark cell."Stupid," Elena hissed to her reflection in the mirror. Her face was pale, her eyes shadowed with a desperate exhaustion. "You were so stupid."She stopped pacing as a wave of nausea rolled throu

**Noah’s POV**"Noah."I looked up. Cassian was standing at the end of the hallway. He looked ravaged, his shirt unbuttoned, his eyes bloodshot. He didn't have to ask. The psychic weight of Aria’s agony was radiating through the walls, a frequency of grief that only a Vaelor could truly feel."She knows," I whispered.Cassian’s face went slack. He walked toward me, his steps heavy. "Knows what? About the office? About the money?""About the village," I said, the words feeling like shards of glass in my throat. I held up the yellowed document Maeve had displayed. "She knows it wasn't rogue wolves. She knows it was Father."Cassian grabbed the paper, his eyes scanning the lines of our father’s cold script. He let out a sound that was half-sob, half-growl. "We were kids, Noah. We didn't order this. We went there to help...""Did we?" I asked, looking him dead in the eye. "Or did we go there because we knew a prize was waiting? We lived a lie for ten years, Cassian. We let her love us whi

Noah's povPeople don't just disappear. People like Aria don't just disappear without a trace, which means one thing–something happened. A soft knock came at the door. I didn’t look up. “If you have something useful to say, say it.”Her heels clicked softly against the marble as she walked in, slow, deliberate. I could feel her eyes on me, studying.“You’ve been shutting everyone out,” she said lightly. “Even me.”That almost made me laugh.Almost.“I don’t recall inviting you in,” I replied.She ignored that, circling the desk like she belonged there. Like she belonged anywhere near me.“You’re chasing ghosts,” she continued. “She’s gone, Noah. At some point, you have to accept that.”My hand stilled over the file.Slowly, I lifted my gaze.“And you seem very certain of that.” “She's your cousin Maeve."Maeve paused.Just for a second.But I saw it. That resentment.“I’m being realistic,” she said, recovering quickly. “Something happened, yes, but she’s not coming back.”“Tell me

Noah's povThe invitation arrived when I wasn’t expecting it.It sat at the center of my desk, black seal. I hadn’t touched it at first. Most things that came across my desk these days were either requests, demands, or thinly veiled attempts at alliance.None of them interested me. I reached for it slowly, breaking the seal without much thought. My eyes scanned the contents, already half-dismissive.Until they weren’t.A grand opening at Ravaryn City.The name alone was enough to hold my attention a second longer than necessary. Ravaryn wasn’t just another territory, it was an influence. Power. The kind that didn’t need to prove itself loudly.I continued reading.Hosted by Alpha Max Cooper.My old friend. We've had our fights, but he was someone I could always count on. A smile tugged at my lips, probably the most I've done in a long time.A knock sounded at the door before I could think too much into it.“Come in.”Cassian didn’t wait.He stepped inside like he always did, unboth