By Sin I Rise Cora Reilly Novels & Stories

“You’ve seen what’s coming.” The tallest among them stepped forward first — a statuesque woman with ink-dark skin and golden tattoos coiled like snakes up her arms. Her gaze met mine with a strange sort of recognition, like she was seeing something beneath my skin that even I didn’t know was there. “I am Corin,” she said. “Shield and blade of the eastern sect. I was told I would find a storm here, but I didn’t expect the fire behind its eyes.” “Wow,” Orion muttered under his breath beside me, “they really send their poets to war.”

I would follow, and Kairi would come behind me, able to catch Elisse if she fell. The night was the longest of my life. The cold was absolute. We huddled together, Kairi, Elisse, and I, a single shivering organism fighting off the end. I could feel the heat leaching from Cora’s body just a few feet away. I didn’t sleep. I just held my family and waited for the dawn, praying it wouldn’t be our last. When the sun finally rose, it found us moving with a slow, grim purpose. We said a silent, agonizing goodbye to Cora. She merely nodded, closing her eyes, conserving her strength for an end she had already accepted.

"Welcome aboard." Then the introductions reached her. "Patricia Vance, the Senior Operations Manager." Dark blonde hair pulled back in a severe ponytail. Expensive navy suit. She had eyes the color of cold steel that fixed on me with an intensity that made my skin prickle. "Ms. Moonhollow." Her smile was technically correct but somehow wrong. "How... fortunate for you that Kaelen has such a soft heart." Liora stirred in my mind, a low growl forming. Danger. She's danger.

“Elara caught Colin and that little fox shifter girl from the neighboring town behind the butcher’s shop. Naked, can you imagine?” My eyes widened, and I clapped a hand over my mouth. “No! Colin and… what’s her name again? The one with the red hair?” “Cora,” Greta supplied, nodding enthusiastically. “Yes, her! And you know Elara, she made such a fuss. Colin’s been banned from seeing Cora, of course, but I don’t think that’ll stop them. I heard they’re planning to run off together. Can you believe it?” I gasped, letting myself play into the theatrics of it. “No, really? Cora’s only just shifted for the first time, she’s barely more than a pup herself! What does she see in Colin?”

I will have to face their music and bear the consequences. "I never knew you had this in you bitch. " One of them named Carmela says as she leans against the table while smiling and pulling at my nose. "So you are this corrupt? I thought you were always the goody two-shoes girl who has a lot of life planned ahead of her getting ready for the future. I never knew you dared to step into a rich man's home just to get into their pants. " She says as she continues to snap her fingers in my face. "You're such a slut you know that. You made it to the first position by overtaking me because it has been my dream to sleep with the prestigious one and only Mr Mitchell. But you overtook me, Amelia. You

Eric sneered and asked, "Where are you from?" Cordelia obediently answered, "Auqania, the Crimson Flame Cult headquarters." Eric pressed further. "The brute in the Majestic Hotel, who was he?" Cordelia answered, "He was a convict sent by the High Oracle, Mr. Dorian Haynes." Eric muttered, "Dorian Haynes… so that's his name, a convict of the Crimson Flame Cult. One last question. Where did you take Shiloh?" Cordelia opened her mouth to answer, but she suddenly let out a scream. Her face even contorted as if in tremendous pain.

Tina pointed at me and bellowed, "You knew! It was you… You did this to my son!" I smirked. "Calm down. You were the one who made the first move, and I'm just turning your plan in on itself. I should remind you that I'm still this bastard's biological mother, and I can take him off the incubator whenever I want so he can be freed of his misery." Tina's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare! That's my son!" "And who's going to believe you?" I shot back.

A shiver ran through me, not of fear but awakening. For the first time, I wasn't just a cast-off bride, or a desperate daughter, or a discarded sh*t as he said. I was something new, a mother, a fighter and a woman who would one day stand over Jethro Veylen's broken pride and say, You should have never let me go. And as Tristan's eyes held mine, sharp and unyielding, I knew he believed it too.

His face turned toward my direction, while I grabbed his head and kissed him like our lives depended on it. Our lips intertwined, and he seemed to kiss me back for a second. I was standing right in front of him when his hands slicked through my trousers. I backed off, without being told what to do. "I'm Adams Willer. The name?" he asked me. But there was something about him. He looked oddly familiar, and the way he kissed me, it reminded me of someone who I basically didn't want to remember. An obsessed ex. "My name is Cirila," I said warmly, while I took his hand which went out for a shake.

Jesus, if that was what it was like just thinking about her, actual sex with Cora was liable to kill him. Friday morning Cora woke herself up with a moan. She'd been dreaming about Val - again. Exhausted, she'd gone to bed early and had woken up every hour or so, her body aching and wet after dreams of hot, sweaty sex. And every single time she'd woken up before the actual climax, damn it to hell. A glance at her alarm clock told her it was too late to try again. She had to get up and get ready for work in another three minutes. Tonight she was going to dig out the battery operated boyfriend Marla had given her and hope the batteries were still good.