Novelas y relatos de Shattered Illusions

"Don't worry about it." But she was already worrying. I could see it in the way she bit her lower lip, the same thing Mom used to do before the pills made her stop caring about anything. "We're in trouble, aren't we?" Charlotte's voice was small. "Like, real trouble." I wanted to lie. God, I wanted to lie so badly. But I was tired of carrying everything alone, tired of pretending our world wasn't falling apart. "Yeah," I said. "We are." She nodded slowly, stirring sugar into her coffee. "How bad?"

Their voices were twisted with hatred. "Lies!" I shouted. The room shook as shards flew over the black floor when one of the mirrors broke. The others, meanwhile, increased in number, their murmurs harsher and louder. I regained my balance, fully aware of the trick. The mirrors thrived on uncertainty and shattered realities. I would be lost in the never-ending labyrinth if I listened or hesitated. I stepped forward as the illusions swung out more forcefully with each stride. In a rage, I pictured myself killing them all.

And over it all, Adrian’s voice whispered like a serpent. “This is what you fight for, isn’t it? A memory. A connection built on illusion. You think love is real here, inside a system made of lies?” Dream snarled, stepping forward. “Shut up.” Adrian turned his gaze to him, smirking. “You can’t silence the truth, Dream. You never could.” The ground fractured beneath us again. The illusion shattered, pixels breaking apart, the void bleeding back through the cracks. I fell to my knees, gasping for air that wasn’t even real. My body flickered, my hands fading in and out like static.

Dawn says calmly as she soothes my back. But I can’t. I can’t breathe. My chest tightens. My lungs seize. I wheeze, sucking in quick gasps that don’t reach deep enough. My ears ring. My skin is cold. Everything tilts sideways. It’s like my body is here, but the rest of me is floating just above it, watching from some detached place. I can feel the surrounding panic rising like steam. But inside, everything is still. Empty. Broken. I am standing inside the ruins of a dream. The tears don’t come. Not yet. What comes first is a stillness so sharp it cuts me open. I thought he loved me. I really, truly thought he was the one.

“Then let’s burn away every illusion. Let them see us—completely.” Their lips met again, a kiss of raw fire and unyielding devotion. Sparks and flame burst outward, shattering the false visions. The rivals stumbled back, eyes wide with awe and fear as the illusions dissolved like mist under the strength of their unity. Hours blurred into a storm of combat, temptation, and strategy. Again and again, the bond carried them through—Kael’s claws striking with precision, Elara’s fire answering with brilliance. When one faltered, the other lifted. When shadows closed in, their desire and trust cut them apart.

I walked straight up to the heavy iron gates, my eyes fixated on the dark second-floor window of the house. I thought I saw a shadow move behind the glass. A pale silhouette. My heart shattered, reformulating into pure, unadulterated violence. "Julian!" Marcus yelled, jumping out of the driver's side, running after me. "Wait! Think about this! If we break that gate, there is no turning back. It's war!" I turned my head slowly, looking at Marcus through the torrential downpour. My eyes were cold, devoid of humanity, filled only with the promise of destruction.

Cassian grabbed my hand. Don't listen. Why? They're trying to separate us. Suddenly, the darkness formed images around us. I saw Cassian with another woman. I saw myself alone. I saw our daughter crying. I saw our family dead. I saw Cassian abandoning me. I knew they were lies. But they still hurt. Cassian looked at me. Don't believe them. I looked at him. I believe you. The illusions disappeared. Then the darkness attacked. Cassian's body suddenly jerked.

It didn't understand sacrifice. I roared, a sound that wasn't a choir, but a single, sovereign note. The white light of the Hallowed merged with Kaelen’s obsidian shadow, turning into a searing, silver-grey flame. I pushed it into the glass. The Mirror of Souls shattered. The shards flew through the courtyard, evaporating into black mist before they could hit the ground. The illusions vanished. The thrum in my head settled into a low, steady hum once more. The Blood-Moon Pack stood in the courtyard, gasping for air, their crimson eyes returning to their steady glow. They looked at me, and for the first time, I didn't see worship. I saw clarity. They had seen their darkness, and they had seen

I hit end call. That witch thinks she can get next to me again. I laugh at the thought. I don’t care what anybody says about it. She thinks that she can lie to me, betray me, and everything is going to be okay. I shake my head. What am I saying? Of course, that’s what she thinks. That girl has always been trouble, but against my better judgment, I overlooked that. That’s a mistake I will never make again. She’s a spoiled rich girl who is used to getting what she wants. Her father babied her because her mother abandoned her, and she was his only child. She’s crazy, and spoiled all rolled up in one, and that’s some shit I want nothing to do with.

"You have ruined that dummy down to the dust. Is that not enough, or do you need another one?" I looked at the practice dummy. It had been reduced to crumbles, nothing but scattered straw and torn fabric on the floor. I had not even noticed. "What has got you so distracted?" Cass asked. "You would not believe me if I told you." Cass walked further into the room. He grabbed a new practice dummy from the corner and set it up in front of me, positioning it carefully. "Try me." I let out a breath and turned to face the new dummy. My hands clenched and unclenched at my sides. "Milo gets visions. Random visions of the future."