The Cradle Book Novels & Stories

He has never done anything to me, other than give me blank looks, as if I did not exist, but there is something about that asshole that never smelled good to me. St. Cadence was the best orphanage in England, but the information was basically unknown, as it was way up north and it was on an enormous old 500-year-old castle not even the Queen wanted to have, on a hill, by the sea. So, she turned into what it is today. And all the kids that are left here, seem to be forgotten by society. I have wondered for too many years why was I left here, my theories went from being some royal’s bastard child, to being someone from the village nearby who had no money to raise me. It became boring to think

I lay completely naked and restrained on the exam table in the pitch-dark clinic. My wrists were tied above my head with medical straps, and my ankles were locked into the stirrups, keeping my legs spread wide open. The paper sheet beneath me was already soaked from earlier. I had no idea what time it was. Only the faint glow of the emergency exit light let me see anything at all. The door opened. Dr. Crowe stepped inside, still in his white coat, looking calm and powerful.

Floating in the black fluid was not a piece of machinery or a message from the Thirteen. It was a small, wooden cradle—empty, beautifully carved from the same willow wood as our old longhouse, its base rocked gently by a current that had no numbers left to count. And sitting inside the cradle was a single, fresh, green willow leaf, completely free of frost, its veins pulsing with a quiet, natural life that didn't belong to any draft we had ever written.

The house chooses. And the floor moves. The crystal tilts, the cradle cracks, and everything drops into rushing dark below.

⚠️ EXPLICIT CHAPTER WARNING ⚠️ This chapter contains graphic sexual content and dark themes. If you’re under 18 or uncomfortable with explicit scenes, do not read this chapter. Chapter 11 Vermont’s POV The room Adrian had prepared looked normal at first. At first glance, it looked like every other room in the palace. Same walls. Same quiet. Same faint smell of polish and old stone. I almost missed it until my eyes landed on the bed. Instead of the four-post curtains every other room had, this one was bare. Chains hung from each end, thick and heavy, bolted so tight they wouldn’t come loose no matter how hard I pulled.

“Then it’s not just showing me what’s happened. It’s showing me what will.” Theo reached beside the table again and pulled out a second item from the leather folder. It was slim, bound in deep red linen, the corners worn with time. He hesitated before handing it to her. Her breath caught the moment she saw the title: The Crimson Letter By Isla Ward She stared at it, her hand hovering. “Where did you get this?” “I found it last year,” Theo said quietly. “Tucked behind the books in the library’s upper shelf. I didn’t know what it was at first. Just that it felt… wrong.”

Lumi POV The hallway outside Wren’s room had already started to feel too small by the time the nurse stepped aside and let us in. Nobody spoke on the way there. Caius moved first, all hard angles and bruised pride, with Eleanor just behind him, her heels clicking like she was still trying to keep control of the situation by sound alone. Brianna lingered near the back, arms folded tight across her chest, her face unreadable in that way people got when they were trying very hard not to pick a side.

This time, I wouldn't let Winnie have her way. Reaching to grab Joey's bed tightly, I shouted, "I won't move a single step until the people from the donation center arrive!"

The words “Daddy” echoed in my head for days, a forbidden mantra that refused to fade. I avoided the main areas of the house as much as possible, burying myself in my room with the scholarship application as my only shield. But avoidance only made the craving sharper. Every creak of the floorboards, every low rumble of Mason’s voice from downstairs sent my pulse racing. I was twenty-two, supposedly an adult chasing independence, yet here I was — trembling like a girl with a crush on the one man I could never have.

⸻ 🌙 The Book Of Origins Then suddenly— A loud rumble echoed through the library. 📚⚡ The crystal’s broken fragments rose into the air. ✨ And from the center of the room… A massive book appeared. 💀 The largest book any of them had ever seen. Its cover was black. Its pages silver. Its lock made of living shadows. 🌑 Lyra’s eyes widened. 😱 “The Book of Origins.” ⸻ 🌙 The Forbidden Record The book slowly opened. Its pages turned by themselves. ⚡ One page.