Cress And Thorne Novels & Stories

And I still felt unprepared. The carriage rumbled up the mountain pass like it was trying to shake me loose. I pulled the velvet curtain back and stared out at the jagged, frostbitten peaks of the Oathbound Range. The sun had already dipped behind the highest ridge, casting long shadows across the snow-dusted road. Castle Thorne loomed ahead—tall, skeletal, and utterly uninviting. Like something drawn from the nightmares of children who’d grown up on war stories and ghost songs. But I wasn’t a child.

"I spent months convincing myself I could build something real with him, and the whole time he was standing at his window aching for you. Do you have any idea what that does to a person? Watching the man you're supposed to bond with slowly, quietly, disappear into grief for someone else?" "So you decided to help kill an infant." My voice had gone hard, sharp enough to cut. "That's where your grief led you, Cressida. Not to walking away with dignity like you did that night in the study. To this." "Thorne offered me something Kael never could." Her grip on the blade had steadied again, some resolve settling back into her posture. "A real alliance. A real future, once the compact secures proper

"Oh my god. Connor, look! She’s all over the news! 'Rose Hawthorne: The Missing girl. People have been searching for her for days!" Connor raised a blonde eyebrow, looking genuinely confused. "Seriously?" The girl nudged his shoulder, hard. "Are you even on this planet? It’s the biggest story in the country! You ran over the most famous woman in the city!" Connor looked at me, then at the girl, then back at me. "Well, I guess I really know how to make an entrance, don't I? I am Connor, by the way. Connor Thorne." I felt a small, hysterical bubble of laughter rise in my chest. "I am Rose. But I guess you already know that now."

He wore Black Hollow insignia on his coat, which meant he'd come with Cain Voss, which meant he had no reason to be standing at her door with an expression that looked uncomfortably like guilt. "Miss Ashford," he said. "My name is Thorne. I'm Beta to Alpha Voss." He held up a bundle. "I brought you some things. For the journey." Wren looked at the bundle. She looked at him. She opened the door wider and stepped back.

The soup was cooling fast and starting to feel deeply unpleasant against my scalp. And I stood there dripping and something clicked into my brain Eden Thorne. Betrothed to Rook Voss since they were kids Vera Thorne, the eldest. Betrothed to Zade. Lyra Thorne, the youngest. Betrothed to Cal. Three sisters. Three brothers. An arrangement that had probably been signed and sealed before any of them were in secondary school. And then there was me. Standing in a cafeteria full of phones and laughter with hot soup running down the back of my neck, bonded to all three of them by something neither I nor the Voss brothers had asked for.

A second passed before his voice clicked into my mind. “Alaric? Everything alright?” “Congratulations.” I meant it. My chest softened a little. “Evelina told me. I’m happy for both of you.” His relief and joy pulsed through the link. “Thank you, brother.” I exhaled. Then my voice hardened. “I need you to do something for me.” Dorian instantly grew serious. “Name it.” I stared down the empty corridor, jaw locked tight. “Find out everything about the Thornveil family.”

*Our family’s power hinges on this match. She moved to the Peerage, finding the Ashworth entry. Lineage stretching back centuries, alliances forged through marriage and war, lands vast and strategically important. And her own entry: *Lady Vivian Ashworth, b. [Date], Engaged to H.R.H. Crown Prince Alexander.* A simple line holding the weight of her destiny. Then, almost as an afterthought: *Sophia Bellweather, d. of the late Baron Bellweather of Willow Creek. Companion to Lady Marguerite Thorne.* The disparity was stark. Sophia wasn’t just lower-born; she was practically insignificant in the eyes of the noble registry. *Except to the Prince. And to the plot.*

“Before he thinks you’ve changed your mind about last night.” Amara hesitated only a moment — then, heart pounding, she slipped out the back door and followed the winding stone path toward the garden. The garden was breathtaking in the early morning. It wasn’t manicured like the grounds of some rich estate. It was wild, untamed — vines crawling over wrought-iron trellises, roses blooming in messy, glorious bursts of red and gold and ivory. At the center, sitting on an old stone bench beneath a weeping willow, was Rafael.

“ Yeah, sometime, now I have to head back home, guys, and you, Maddy, I will email the bank manager when I get back home. You better check your email to see the date of the next meeting, which I will fix.” “Yes ma!! Thank you so much, Rose.” “You are welcome, bestie.” She blew me a kiss. Rose hugged me, entered her cab and left; Andy hugged me and left shortly afterwards; now it was just me and Tyler standing, and staring at each other.

The face and prestige of the Thorne family were known throughout the city and beyond. After enquiring at the reception, he was directed to Jessica Willows, who had been sent in in the early hours of the morning. Getting there, Ann was seated there, worry and concern etching every corner of her face. But they were both unfamiliar to themselves. Except that Ann recognized Liam Thorne of the Thornes. “... Excuse me. Is this the ward for Jessica Willows?” He asked firmly. “... Yes.” She replied curtly. Liam, without waiting another Second, swung the door open.