Todos os capítulos de MARKED BY THE UNBROKEN ALPHA: Capítulo 11 - Capítulo 20

‎POV: Isabella‎‎I could not make myself go back to my own room that night. The hallways were dark and full of shadows, and every corner made me think of the beast in the garden and the nine days that were slowly running out. ‎‎The tower chair beside James's bed felt safer than my large, silent suite, so I sat down and took his hand in both of mine.‎James sat in the chair on the other side of the fire, quietly watching the flames, and I told myself that I would only rest my eyes for a moment.‎‎ I fought against the tiredness for a long time, counting the crackles of the wood and pinching my own fingers to stay awake. Even so, before I knew it, my head leaned against the edge of the mattress and the room slipped away.‎‎The darkness that followed was thick and complete, and I recognized it at once. It was the same empty void I had entered on the day I first touched the prince, and I stood alone in it with my hands trembling and my breath uneven. The cold in that place was still

ISABELLA By the time the sun rose over the palace, I had already placed Riley's vial in James's hands, and he had promised to send it to the one physician he still trusted. I had also given him Noah's letter, and I watched his face grow serious as he read it twice."Who will you give it to?" I asked quietly."Healer Edric," James answered. "He has served my family since before I was born, and he taught me how to bandage a wound when I was six years old. He has never once lied to me, and he will not start now."I nodded, though my stomach felt tight with worry. Then I waited, and the day passed so slowly that I counted every hour by the light moving across the tower floor.Edric arrived at dusk, an elderly man with white hair and tired, gentle eyes. He carried the vial in both hands, and he set it on the table with great care. His face was pale, and I knew before he spoke that the news was bad."I tested it three times to be certain," he said. "The potion is genuine, Luna. It is expe

Isabella"There was a silver hairpin on his desk," I told James as soon as I stepped into the tower chamber. "It was shaped like a curling vine, and it rested on a folded velvet cloth. It was the twin of the one in your sketch."James went completely still, and his silence was not a careful plan this time. He stared at me with real shock, and I could see that he had not known."My father kept it," he said slowly. "All these years, and I never knew."‘He is telling the truth,’ I thought, and my heart softened in spite of myself. ‘He looks as lost as I feel.’"Then this is my question for tonight," I said, sitting beside him. "What do you know about it? Please, James. Give me something honest."He rubbed his forehead and let out a long breath. "When I was fifteen, I found the decree in his study. That same night, I saw my father sitting alone, weeping over an empty velvet cloth. It made no sense to me then. I only understood it years later, when I realized who the cloth had been made fo

Isabella The photograph stayed hidden in the hollow of my bedpost for two days.I did not sleep much during those two days. I spent the time rebuilding Riley from memory, piece by piece, because I wanted to be wrong so badly that the wanting shamed me."Riley came back in autumn," I said to my wolf on the first night. "Do you remember that autumn?""I remember," my wolf said."He left for six weeks on border patrol," I said. "When he returned, he had extra coins for Noah's potions. He said it was bonus pay.""It was more coin than border patrol pays," my wolf said."I know," I said. "And he went quiet whenever anyone mentioned the prince. He always changed the subject.""You noticed that," my wolf said."I noticed it but I did not ask," I said. "I was too grateful that he helped us. I did not want to question him.""You trusted him," my wolf said."I trusted him because he was kind when no one else was," I said. "He brought bread when we had no money. He fixed my mother's chair. He s

Isabella I returned from the tower before dawn and the corridor was not quiet.A palace guard was slumped outside my chamber door. He was wrapped from throat to ankle in silver vines that had burst through the stone floor. The vines were thick and bright even in the dark corridor."He is unconscious," I said when I saw him.Two of the night watch stood back against the far wall. They did not come close to him."Miss Isabella, do not touch him," one of the watch said. He whispered even though there was no one sleeping nearby. "It is witchcraft. We have never seen vines like that inside the castle.""What happened to him?" I asked."We found him like this when we came for patrol," the second watch said. "A knife lies beside his hand. He was holding it when the vines took him."I looked down and saw the knife. It was a plain steel knife, the kind the palace guards used. It lay beside his right hand, just outside the wrap of vines."The tips of the vines pulse faintly," I said softly."L