All Chapters of The new worlder: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The soft rapping on the door pulled me from a dreamless sleep. I groaned, burying my face deeper into the pillow and wrapping my arms tightly around my head to shield myself from the intrusion. The knocking came again, followed by the soft creak of the door swinging open. "Not yet, Sofia," I mumbled irritably into the fabric, my voice muffled and thick with sleep. But then, that scent, the cool rain and spiced cedar, filled my senses again, and the fog in my brain cleared instantly. Right. Not home. Not Sofia. I bolted upright. "I’m up! I’m up!" I blurted out, staring at Ruth, who had taken a cautious step into the dim room. She let out a bright, melodic laugh. "Good," she said, her blue eyes dancing. "Baby M is finally home. Come on, let me introduce you." I scrambled off the mattress and followed her out into the long corridor. As we walked along the balcony, I leaned over the railing to look down at the main floor. The apartment was buzzing with energy now. The guys were

Felix froze. His smirk vanished, replaced by a momentary look of stunned silence. Before I could lower my hand, his long, fingers clamped around my wrist, locking it in mid-air. He looked at the cream on my fingertip, then locked his gaze onto mine. The intensity in his eyes was electric, radiating a heat I could feel across the small space between us. "Oops," he whispered, a predatory glint returning to his eyes. He didn’t break my gaze as he deliberately pulled my hand toward his face. Slowly he wrapped his lips around my finger and sucked the cream clean, his tongue hot and smooth against my skin. He released me with a soft, distinct plop sound and blinked one eye at me, a quick, wicked wink. He dropped my hand, gave me a lazy half-grin, and bounded down the stairs before I could even find my breath. I was left standing there, staring stupidly at my own finger, my entire hand tingling from his touch. I could feel the heat roaring up my neck and flooding my cheeks.

I took a deep breath, feeling the weight of the silver crystals on my dress. I looked down at my hands, my nails had retracted, but my heart was still racing. The Queen had yet to make her grand entrance, which meant we were forced to socialize, a skill I lacked even on my best days. The crowd descended like hungry hawks. They were fascinated by the "New Worlder." The questions were relentless: How did you get here? Where do you sleep at night? Where exactly is your home? Do you have powers? Apparently, magical abilities weren't as common as I’d assumed, and being a rarity made me a target. I felt the walls closing in, the air in the dome turning thick and stifling. Ruth, bless her, noticed my eyes darting for an exit. She stepped in like a seasoned diplomat, distracting the nobles by complimenting their elaborate silks and asking about their lineages. Taking the opening, I slipped away, hugging the walls and seeking the shadows. I finally found sanctuary near t

Standing amidst the rubble was a man who looked like he had crawled out of the deepest pit of the underworld. He wore a mask that sent a shiver of pure ice down my spine. It was a cold, rigid face with a mouth frozen in silence. The mask covered his entire head, hiding his hair, but two massive devil horns erupted from the top, twisting slightly as they spiraled upward. they looked as if they were burning with an internal fire, a hellish heat. Behind the dark eye-sockets of the mask, his eyes burned with a piercing, serpentine red glow, tracking the movements of the panicked crowd like a predator. The mask itself was pitch black, but streaked with haunting shades of crimson around the eye-holes and the frozen mouth, as if it had been dipped in blood. It was scarred and covered in deep, jagged gashes, testifying to a violent history. A night-black, tattered cloak hung from his broad shoulders, fluttering behind him like wings, while underneath, he was clad in charcoal-black gear that

I felt the weight of it in my palm and the weight of the responsibility I now carried. "Thank you, Your Highness," I whispered.  The queen left us. "Constance... do you have any idea what this means?” Ruth said looking at the emblem in my hand. “You're basically royalty now!" I looked back at the spot where Noxius had vanished. I wasn't royalty. I was just lucky. And something told me that Noxius wasn't done with his worst nightmare just yet.  After we had hopped out of the leaf basket for the last time and finally felt the solid ground beneath our feet, it felt like a weight was lifted. The entire way home, Ruth had talked incessantly, but I had barely heard a word. The moment we stepped inside the door, we were ambushed. Ruben, Felix, Jinkyu, and baby M were perched on the edges of the sofa, practically shouting questions about how the ball had been. I couldn't bring myself to answer right then, I just needed to get out of th