Novel & Cerita The Masked Empire

“Don’t worry you have always protected me in the past and today it is my turn to return the favour, no one is going to lay a hand on you. It will only happen over my dead body.” Emily said this to make her friend feel better but she knew deep inside that she was the one who was the more afraid of the two, she still can’t even imagine what the man with the mask wants with her. If last time he almost over powered her, what will he be capable of doing to them both this time round?

“You think you’ve won? You’ve lost. And now, you’ll learn what happens when you go against the Empire.” Eva’s blood ran cold as she stepped out of the shadows, blade still raised in defense, her eyes narrowing at the masked man approaching. He stood with two other rebels, their faces just as concealed, their bodies poised to strike. “Not so fast,” Eva shot back, her voice hard with defiance. “The Empire is done. You’re just as much a part of the corruption as they are.” The man’s laugh was dark, laced with contempt. “You’re naive if you think you can end this. You’re not fighting *for* something. You’re fighting *against* the inevitable.”

"Just briefly. And I need to find a mask to hide the bruise on my face." In the dressing room, she selected a more elaborate mask than before, one that would better conceal her bruise while still leaving her mouth and jawline exposed. The emerald and gold creation fastened securely, covering from her hairline to the middle of her cheekbones. It wouldn't hide everything, but combined with the dim lighting, it might be enough to avoid immediate questions.

Again, the spine-tingling voice. From what Aki had gathered from Zaterra’s mind, the Dark Emperor’s mask stayed glued to his face to the point that no one had ever seen him eat or drink. Right now he kept his head bowed and his hood low; even his hands were tucked inside contiguously arranged sleeves. “Never!” Temujin spat out.

“I haven’t seen anything or anyone kids, now you 7 need to leave because you aren’t allowed back here." “-The Masked Queen is a brand built by the Slim-Jim agency and from my sources, the image alone costs twenty million dollars, and with L.K being the representative it’s ten million dollars on the twenty million. That’s a lot of money to lose people!” Her loud exclamation can be heard through the speakers so I cover it in panic. “Hearing that you were able to get rights over your brand makes me curious how you did it, Slim-Jim isn’t an agency that would like to lose that much money without putting up a damn hard fight. The world is curious L.K, how the hell did you do it?”

Her people found her disgusting because of her scar and would look away at her arrival and some would avoid her entirely but the one person who had kissed her and smiled at her even while looking into her eyes, not once paying attention to the mask on the one side of her face. How could she have let him break down her walls, Marshall had abducted her and locked her up in here. He probably glared at her when she wasn't looking and washed up after being with her. Yes, he probably believed she was ugly behind her mask after all she was not his mate but he held her close at night and whispered fake words of love to her, fooled her good and she fell so hard for it. Blinded her with false love and

His slavery became— Legacy. Permanent legacy. Eternal legacy. Ashford Foundation. Ashford Empire. Ashford— Dynasty. Built on corpses. Maintained by slaves. Celebrated by— Fools who saw charity. Saw good. Saw— Nothing real. Just mask. Perfect mask. Marcus's mask. Covering hell. Covering horror. Covering— Us. His slaves. His weapons. His— Perfect children. Finally. Completely. Forever. And I could only watch. Could only obey. Could only—

For them. Because some things were worth fighting for, even when they seemed impossible. *Especially* when they seemed impossible. Tomorrow Lily would arrive, and Emma would have to wear a mask, pretend everything was fine. She'd smile and laugh and be the best friend Lily had always known. But underneath that mask, she would be planning. Waiting. Watching for the cracks in Marcus's armor. He could tell her to leave. He could cite morality and impossibility until he was blue in the face.

I'd dated models, actresses, women who made careers out of being beautiful, but none of them had stayed in my head like this masked stranger I'd met for less than five minutes. The door to VIP Room Three stood open, I stepped inside, but she wasn't there yet. I sat on the leather sofa, adjusting my cufflinks out of nervous habit. The door opened. Nyx stepped inside wearing black lace this time. The lingerie left even less to imagination than the crimson from last week. Her red hair cascaded over her shoulders in waves, and that jeweled mask caught the amber light. I couldn’t take my eyes off how stunning she looked in that lace.

I snapped, knowing that this was a new dress, one that I had just bought, just for today. “Sorry about that, I wasn't looking where I was going." his deep and husky tone came through; his voice carried a powerful aura, one that I was capable of sending shivers down my spine. I finally lifted my gaze to meet him. He was wearing a mask, and even though it was all my fault, he still went ahead to apologise. “No. It's fine, I was the one who was not looking at where I was headed” I muttered and was just about to walk away but he held my hand. His touch was so cold, forcing me to yelp as it sent shivers down my spine.