All Chapters of CHOSEN BY RUIN: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

LILIANAI go into defensive mode immediately- out of impulse and utter fear. “That doesn’t belong to me!”I blurt, my voice trembling at the edges. Professor Imogene scoffs, the sound dripping with mockery. “Lying will not save you, child. If anything, it will only worsen your punishment.”I still. Punishment…My hands curl into my black sweaty dress. I already know what that punishment is. Students who trespass into forbidden floors are not spared.They are executed.Death is the punishment.The hall feels colder out of nowhere, the air pressing down on my lungs as if it wants to suffocate me right here.No. I cannot break.I have to keep denying it, no matter what. One of the Elders steps forward, his robes dragging softly against the floor as he reaches out and takes the wrist chain from Imogene’s hand. His eyes narrow as he studies it, then he lifts his gaze toward the others.“There is a simple way to confirm the truth of this situation,” he says calmly. “We call the mind-reade

“What were you doing on the eighth floor?”Though weak, I am committed to defying Imogene’s expectation of me, which is very risky- considering the fact that my death will be her pleasure.I lift my head up to her and smirk with shaky lips, “What do I gain from entering the eighth floor? Ask yourself.”Another slap lands on my cheek, and I fall hard onto the floor, whimpering. Pain blooms across my face, and I’m sure it’d already bruised up. That’s the third slap I’ve received today.“You wretched thing. I’ll watch with entire satisfaction when life slowly leaves your eyes very soon.” Professor Imogene seethes. Beside her, I hear Beta Aegon scoff.“I take it. The girl is stubborn than she looks.”I hear him, but I don’t hear Imogene’s response. My fingers curl against the ground as my brain goes into a slumber mode temporarily, the chains clinking with the movement.I already feel like I’m dying but that doesn’t seem enough for Imogene, because she closes up on me again. So fast that

XADENThe moment the lie leaves my mouth, the hall shifts.Murmurs rise at once, crashing into each other like restless waves, voices overlapping, disbelief spreading from one face to another.But I can’t seem to care. If this is what it takes for the little flame to live… then I will burn for it.I will burn for her. And this feeling right here— is beyond my logic too.Gamma Miriam is the first to step forward, her brows drawn tight with suspicion. “How do you have her adornment?” she demands.I meet her gaze squarely. “I train her,” I say, my voice even. “It must have dropped while she was training without her noticing.”Eyes shift between me and the chain in my hand, then toward the one still clutched tightly in Imogene’s grip.With the confused looks on their faces, I know they’re doubting. But that doesn’t matter. I am here anyway, there judgment doesn’t count if I say she lives.But even as I stand here, holding the room in place with nothing but a lie, my mind is anything but

XADENI pull away instantly. I wait for her to wake but she doesn’t. She’d only responded to my touch. She stills again, breathing softly. She’s so beautiful.My jaw clenches hard.What the hell is wrong with me?Why do I want her this much?She’s too dangerous. Just like me.And yet all I want… All I crave… Is to touch her again.There’s this burning need to claim her. To mark her. And she isn’t even mine. I want to know why her hair is dyed, why she wears contact lenses. What’s she hiding?I want to know where she begins and where she ends. Who’s really Hannah Wales? Why is she both a werewolf and a Siphon?And why do I want to be inside her so bad? I can’t…Until I lift my curse, I can’t risk killing her.After that…Maybe. Just maybe… I’ll give in to it. Maybe sex with her is all I need to see clearly again beyond her. And after that, I will leave her for Darian.And I will choose Supraveil over her.I growl inwardly. I’m thirsty- thirsty for blood and destruction. It’s been a w

“How far into my mind did you get?” Enya asks me, her hand tightening around my arm in a vicious manner that makes me panic silently.Her white eyes bore into mine, sharp and unsettling, like she’s trying to pull the answer out of me.“Stop it, Enya.” Liam interrupts.Enya turns her head slowly to look at him and I use that opportunity to snatch my arm from her hold. “You know already. Don’t you? Why didn’t you report her?” She queries Liam.Liam’s jaw clenches, the muscle ticking visibly. “You won’t report her too.”Enya laughs mildly, but there’s nothing soft about the sound. “I have no reason not to. Perhaps she saw something when she read my mind.” Her gaze flickers back to me. “She’s risky if kept alive.”My breathing labored.Liam steps between us, his voice lowering. “She won’t speak. Not if she doesn’t want her identity to be revealed. She will be executed without doubts.”His hazel eyes move to me, pinning me in place.And I feel it. The impending danger that’s bound to com