جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 100

Dustan's POVI stared at her, my mind reeling, the words echoing in my skull like a thunderclap."Elder brother," I repeated, my voice hollow. "I didn't have an elder brother. I was an only child. The only heir. Everyone always said—"She held up her hand, cutting me off. Her eyes were distant, lost in memories that clearly pained her."Everyone said what they were told to say," she said quietly. "The truth was buried so deep that even you, the one who deserved to know, were kept in the dark."I felt the blood drain from my face. "What truth? What are you talking about?"She rose from her chair, her movements slow and deliberate, and walked to a small chest in the corner of the room. She rummaged through it for a moment, then pulled out a worn, leather-bound journal. She brought it to me, pressing it into my hands."The truth about your brother," she said softly. "The one you were never allowed to know."I looked down at the journal, my fingers tracing the faded cover. It was old, the

Kael's POVI fled.The corridors blurred past me, the flickering torches casting dancing shadows across the walls. My heart was pounding, my breath coming in ragged gasps. The aphrodisiac was still coursing through my veins, clouding my mind, distorting my vision.I needed to get away. I needed to find somewhere safe. I needed—The images came without warning.Fire. Bright and roaring, consuming everything in its path. Screams—high-pitched, desperate, filled with terror. The smell of smoke and burning flesh.I stumbled, my hand bracing against the wall. My vision swam, the corridor shifting and twisting before my eyes.What is this? What's happening to me?The images flashed again. A palace—this palace—but different somehow. Older. Darker. The walls lined with shadows that seemed to move and breathe.A child's voice, crying out in the darkness."Please! Don't leave me! I'll be good, I promise!"I pressed my hands to my head, trying to block out the sounds. But they wouldn't stop. They

Elara's POVI lay on the couch, my body curled into a tight ball, my mind still reeling from everything that had happened. The night had been endless—filled with shadows and whispers and the lingering ache of something I couldn't quite name.The door creaked open, and I looked up to see Dustan rolling in, his wheelchair moving silently across the stone floor. His face was pale, his eyes tired, but there was a strange satisfaction in his expression that made me sit up."You're back," I said, my voice hoarse. "I was beginning to worry."He wheeled himself closer, stopping beside the couch. His hand reached out, brushing a strand of hair from my face."I'm fine," he said softly. "I had to take care of something. Something important."I studied him for a moment, searching for any sign of what he had been doing. But his expression was unreadable, carefully guarded."The guards were sent to Blackwater Ridge," I said, changing the subject. "To look for an antidote for the King."Dustan's lip

Kael's POVI stood there, frozen, as Ruth disappeared through the door leading to the chambers below. Her laughter echoed behind her, a soft, musical sound that grated against my nerves like broken glass."Come get it if you're desperate, handsome. Or perish right here!"Her words hung in the air, taunting me.What a player this one was… What a master stroke… I didn't even see this coming… I almost scoffed. I could feel her gaze even after she had vanished, the weight of her satisfaction pressing down on me like a physical force.I didn't move. I wouldn't give her the satisfaction. I wouldn't chase after her like a dog begging for scraps.I stood on the balcony, the night wind cool against my heated skin, and I told myself I was fine. I told myself she was bluffing. I told myself the poison was a lie, a tactic to break me, to make me vulnerable.I mean I grew up with poisons. I knew all their tastes. This one… it tasted nothing like the poisons I knew. I didn't even know I was poison

Dustan's POVI knew I acted on impulse. It was immature on my part. But I felt restless. The image of Elara's face lingered in my mind—the way she had looked at me during our kiss, the softness in her eyes, the warmth of her lips against mine. It had been everything I had ever wanted. Everything I had ever dreamed of.And then she had mentioned that wolf.It had been a passing comment, a casual observation made in the aftermath of our tender moment. Or maybe she had wanted to tell me something important.But it had lodged itself in my mind like a splinter. I didn't want to hear her talk about it or even think about it… I had tried to brush it off. I had tried to tell myself it was nothing. But I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to it.I needed to think. I needed to distract myself.So I wheeled myself to the Record Room.The corridors were empty at this hour, the palace asleep. The torches sputtered in their sconces, casting long shadows across the stone walls. My cha