All Chapters of THE LOST TIDE KING : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

CHAPTER 12: AYAME'S FIRST VISIONScene 34: Restless SleepKiyomi slept behind a locked door.Hayate sat outside it with his back against the wall and a blade across his knees.Her red eyes had faded before we carried her into the eastern tower, but the voice from the mirror remained trapped inside my head.That is not me.I stood at the end of the corridor, watching the candlelight move over the palace walls.Fresh seawater still ran through the cracks between the stones. It carried the smell of salt, coral, and rooms closed for centuries. Outside the narrow windows, rescue boats cut across Silvercrest Bay while helicopters circled the risen kingdom.Raiken approached without making a sound.I felt him before I saw him.A slow warmth spread beneath my ribs, followed by the ache he was trying to hide.“You should be resting,” I said.“So should you.”His shirt had been replaced, but the dark fabric pulled across the bandage beneath his ribs. A bruise shadowed one side of his jaw.I loo

CHAPTER 14: FORBIDDEN PROXIMITYScene 40: Protection OrderGrandmother’s red eyes remained fixed on me through the doorway.The cottage cellar waited behind her, damp and dim, with Kiyomi chained beside the old stone wall.Raiken stepped in front of me.“No.”Grandmother smiled from the rocking chair.“You still answer for her.”His shoulders tightened.“I answer when someone tries to lure her into a trap.”The doorway trembled. Its edges bled black smoke into the library.Kiyomi lifted her head.“Ayame.”Her voice was weak.Hayate moved toward her.Tsukiko drove the end of her cane into the floor.The doorway snapped shut.The library returned in a rush of cold air.Hayate spun on her.“What did you do?”“Stopped you from walking into Orochi’s hands.”“She was there.”“So was something wearing a dead woman’s face.”His jaw flexed.Daigo folded his arms. “I dislike agreeing with her, but she is right.”Hayate looked ready to strike him.Raiken turned to the palace guards waiting outsi

CHAPTER 16: HAYATE'S LOYALTY TESTScene 46: Rising ThreatsDarkness swallowed Silvercrest in one breath.Streetlights died along the coast. The towers beyond the harbour vanished behind black glass. Even the red beacons on the news helicopters blinked out.Only the risen kingdom remained lit.Blue fire burned along its bridges and palace walls, turning the bay into a cold, glowing wound.Raiken pulled me closer as people screamed behind the police barricades.“Stay beside me.”“I am beside you.”“Closer.”His hand settled at my lower back.Heat moved through the bond, sharp against the night air.Across the harbour, Elara’s image dissolved into the fog. Severin stood where she had left him, staring at nothing. Blood ran from his cut palm and struck the pier one drop at a time.Daigo looked toward the city.“This is not a power failure.”A low growl rolled through Raiken’s chest.“No.”Phones began ringing around us.Not one or two.Hundreds.The sound rose from abandoned cars, police

CHAPTER 18: THE COTTAGE SECRETScene 52: Return HomeThe cottage lights were on.No smoke rose from the chimney. No car waited beside the broken fence. Still, warm yellow light glowed behind every window as though Grandmother had been expecting us.Rain swept across the cliffs and struck the windscreen in silver sheets.Raiken switched off the engine.No one moved.The sea crashed below the road, hidden by darkness and fog. Each wave carried a low vibration through the ground and into my bones.Kiyomi sat in the back with Hayate. His side had been stitched at the palace, but one hand remained pressed beneath his coat. Her shoulder rested against his arm without either of them acknowledging it.Shin waited beside the gate.Rain darkened his coat. His silver eyes stayed on the cottage.Daigo broke the silence.Is anyone else concerned that the dead grandmother has excellent taste in lighting?Kiyomi gave him a tired look. You could stay in the car.I could. Then you would miss me.No on

CHAPTER 20: KISS OF REMEMBERINGScene 58: Between Life and DeathRaiken’s father drove his hand into Raiken’s chest.No blood came out.Silver light did.It burst through Raiken’s back and threw me across the ravine.I hit wet stone hard enough to lose my breath. The White Tide crown rang against the ground beside me.Raiken remained on his knees.His father’s arm had vanished inside him to the wrist.The crowned shadow thrashed above them.Its mouth opened in a silent scream.Stop, I gasped.The silver wolf king did not look at me.If I stop now, the seed survives.Raiken’s fingers dug into the earth. Black fire crawled over his shoulders, fighting the silver light pouring through his body.His face lifted.Our eyes met.One was blue.The other had gone completely black.Ayame. His voice broke between two tones. Do not come closer.I pushed myself upright.The pack surrounded us in silence. Even the sea seemed to hold back from the rocks.Kiyomi stood beside Hayate, one hand pressed