Novel & Cerita Trials And Tribulations Of The Oathkeeper

"House by house, we see nothing but the back of those who fought before us. Five of my augurs had shorn their hair and thrown themselves into the fire. I can do nothing except report what I have witnessed. I cannot appeal to Ishara to lift her curse. I hope one of you can because if you can't and you kill her CLEARLY designated heir we shall all go down to ignoble ends," the Keeper of Records remained serenely poised as she delivered her doom-laden news. "By the way, Troika, what happened to your face?" "He stabbed me," Troika burbled. "Let me kill the bastard." I half-turned. St. Marie interposed herself between the two of us.

His voice came through the door, exhausted and commanding. Protection in name, but confinement in truth. I lay on the cold floor, listening to the sounds outside. The three of them arguing, then reconciling, a twisted picture of family harmony. I listened to Gavin speaking gently, soothing his mother and Lydia. My heart died completely. I thought I would wait for his apology and his protection. It turned out everything had been nothing but my own delusion. In this house, I was always the one who could be sacrificed, the one who could be abandoned.

You have passed the true trial. I looked up at her through my tear-blurred eyes. 【The Blood Moon Trial has never tested your ability to kill and betray. It tests whether, in the face of utter desperation, you can hold onto the love and bonds in your heart, whether you possess the courage to sacrifice yourself for your family.】 The Moon Goddess's voice was filled with approval. 【The selfish, who would harm their own kin to save themselves, were devoured by the blood moon the moment they betrayed. Only you, with your sincerity, your refusal, and even your final sacrifice, have proven that your soul is worthy of my blessing.】

Lidia searched his eyes. Desperately. Trying to find certainty there. Trying to find safety. “I promise you.” The old wolf’s gaze never wavered. “I am your father.” His voice lowered. “And I am giving you my word.” A long silence followed. Lidia stared at him. Part of her wanted to believe him. Part of her remembered all the promises people had broken throughout her life. Trust had never come easily. Not anymore. But tonight— She had no choice. Because tomorrow was coming whether she was ready or not.

The heir kicked again hard enough to make me press a hand to my stomach and the pulse that came through the bond felt like a demand instead of comfort this time. Mira pushed through the crowd and told Kael the moon was turning faint red at the edges, which had not happened in three generations and meant the old stories about corrupted oaths might be true. Elder Garrick tried to speak from the edge of the circle and insist the Rite must continue, but Kael silenced him with a single raised hand and every wolf felt the dominance roll out strong enough to force heads down all around the basin. I made the choice before I could second-guess myself and stepped fully into the circle while telling Ka

It wasn’t until I heard her voice, laced with authority and chillingly calm, that I faltered. "Are you familiar with the Sacred Healer’s Oath, Aria?" I froze mid-step, my hand hovering over the doorknob. The blood in my veins turned to ice, and an overwhelming sense of foreboding sank its claws into my chest. Slowly, I turned my head, meeting her gaze over my shoulder. She wasn’t smiling anymore. No. Her expression now was something far worse - victorious. Her voice was clear, deliberate, and sharp as a blade. "The oath you swore when you joined our medical center," she began, her pale eyes gleaming with something cruel. "Do you remember the terms?"

The way a flame could be soft or blinding, the way love could become fury if it had nowhere else to go. And suddenly, I heard the voice again. Not hers. Not mine. But older. “You stand before the First Oath.” My breath caught. “Do you remember what it was?” I didn’t answer right away. Because I did remember. Not with words, but with something deeper. A knowing that had lived in my bones since before I was born. Passed from my grandmother to my mother, from my mother to me—not in stories, but in instincts. The Guardian’s Oath was not about conquest or blood. It was not about control.

Caleb yelled, his arms flung open and wide out in a wavelike motion in an attempt to distract the soldiers from their charge. "Skirt around the north rim and the rest of the men so that none of these ne'er-do-wells will be escaping this time," Derek ordered. "This time, I'll be ensuring that I'll be returning with their master," Derek muttered to himself. "Kill any of the robbers you encounter along the trail, but bring back one alive," he ordered. That night after that, Diva lay in bed, half-upright and staring at the ceiling. Next to her on her bedside table lay the locket she had taken from Lillian's room that was open.

“I want to keep a low profile. Too many of us will attract attention.” “We are her guards. Our place is by her side. We failed her once, we won’t fail her again.” “You didn’t fail her,” I say, throwing my bags in the car. “If you did, you’d be dead.” “We are not abandoning her.” I’m about to order them to go back inside when Glenn interrupts. “They took the oath. They have a connection to her, they’ll be drawn to her.”

“Yeah. He didn't want anything to happen to you. It also explains why he didn’t kill me, even though he had the opportunity. He didn't want you to die, because he still cares about you...” “Liam is an asshole, but he was working with Samuel because he wanted something. I'm sure he was promised some type of position in return for helping him. They never got along when I guarded him, they tolerated each other because Liam liked knowing someone on the committee.” “I’m curious, why wasn’t the bond break painful for us?” “Because we didn’t break our bond.” She says as if the answer is so simple. “But you…” I start. “My oath was broken. The Guardian oath and the bond are different. The oath is my