EVELYNWhen morning came, I was still staring at the ceiling. My eyes felt sore from staying up, but I couldn’t sleep, no matter how much I wanted to.How could I sleep after what happened last night?I had known long ago that Elsa was holding things back and there was a reason for that, even if she wanted to help me. But I didn’t know what it was. Maybe it touched the core of Jack’s plan or perhaps there was something more to it.I knew Elsa was right. The only way I could figure out my own plan was to pretend to be obedient to Jack. I knew too little about this place and him—his abilities, weaknesses, and intentions. I wasn’t sure who this man I’d once been engaged to truly was and that was a terrifying sentiment.Besides, he now had my family in his hands.A sense of helplessness washed over me. Fate never seemed to tire of playing with me. I had a great many regrets, but there was no point in dwelling on them now. I couldn’t look back. I couldn’t afford to. All I could do was look
EVELYNMy father, Steven Caddel, thin and dressed in simple clothing, was followed by Jack and a man with a deep scar on his face. Father’s silver-streaked head was lowered, looking dejected and worried as he entered.Tears rolled down my cheeks at the sight of him and my breath hitched for a moment. I didn’t make a sound, but Father sensed my presence and lifted his head, his eyes widening.Every fiber of my being wanted to run over and hug him tightly, but my knees felt too weak to move.“Steven?” a voice called out and a small sound of pained shock escaped me.My mother’s voice, delicate and kind, called for Father with confusion.Mother.Father didn’t turn to answer my mother, who from the sounds of it, was still outside the door.“Evelyn,” he uttered my name in disbelief. His voice was rough but the tone was unwavering.Seconds later, I saw Mother, who appeared at the door, covering her mouth and crying. Her hazel eyes, the same shade as mine, were enormous and full of tears. In h
EVELYNThe sound of his fragile, tormented voice shattered my heart into a million pieces and for a moment, all I could do was stand there frozen.My breath caught in my throat and it took all of my being to keep tears from spilling down my face.Aiden… my poor dear Aiden… sounding so broken, as if he was giving up entirely, for reasons that I didn’t yet understand.He looked so… lost. So empty.I squatted down and gently touched his face, forcing a calm expression on mine to keep from upsetting him. “What are you talking about, Aiden? Why would you say something like that?”He remained quiet for a moment and I maintained my touch on his cheek.“Aiden we’ve been the best of friends since childhood,” I remind him. “You know that you can trust me with anything. Whatever it is… please let me in.”When he finally met my eyes, tears rolled down his pale cheeks and he placed his hand over mine.“I made a huge mistake,” he whispered, trembling slightly. “It’s all my fault.”“What’s your faul
EVELYNThe scarred man gestured ahead like a gentleman, but his manners were poor, as if he were a dog rather than a wolf.As I approached, his eyes scanned me, his gaze lingering a second too long on my chest before he grinned and whistled.When I stepped into the hall, he closed the door behind him, and I felt utterly disgusted. Still, I said nothing.I kept my distance from him and noticed that he walked with a slight limp. As much as I didn’t want to get to know him, I wondered who he was. He seemed to have a high status here, as I had seen him chatting lightly with Jack during lunch while the rest of us remained quiet. I wondered if he was a supervisor.Or perhaps he was also a... Crawford?Just like Elsa.The scarred man suddenly stopped and turned to look at me. Alarmed, I tensed and crossed my arms over my chest. My eyes studied him warily, steeling myself for the worst.The man simply grinned, as if I was full of myself or something. “You can relax. I might be a little more l
AIDENFor the first time in my entire existence, I felt utterly useless, trapped an injured like an animal, unable to do anything.As I thought of Evelyn, my jaw clenched, and the mere thought of Oakley being in her proximity… it brought me an anger I’d never felt before, an anger that I couldn’t put into words. It was as if my blood had been replaced with lava, threatening to erupt at any moment with my temper.I kept my head lowered, staring as my actual blood streamed down my pale arms. As much as it should have bothered me or made me feel sick, the truth of the matter was that I didn’t care. The pain in my shoulder was intense, but it wasn’t as strong as the pain and shame in my heart.When Oakley had pierced his shoulders with his strange, long claws and forced me to kneel, he had told me that I’d overestimated myself, that I was nothing more than a simple-minded imbecile.As angry as it had made me at the time, the truth was that Oakley was right. If I hadn’t foolishly taken thi
EVELYNI’m glad my brother didn’t force his mark on you. Otherwise, I would have to chop off his head.My breath hitched and a shudder ran through me. I had heard plenty of empty threats before, enough to know that Jack’s words weren’t a lie. He meant every single one of them and I knew whole-heartedly that if Cole had left so much as a nip on me, Jack would have followed through on his promise.When the elder Elrod brother suddenly traced his cold finger along the curve of my neck, I finally realized how dangerous it was to be with Jack alone in his room. I gulped heavily as fear ran through me.While I didn’t think he would hold me down and force me, sinking his canines into the tender skin of my throat, my heart still clenched. He was taller and stronger than me. More powerful. If he truly wanted to hurt me, he could.I wanted to recoil from his touch.I wanted to cry and run.I wanted to return to my parents as soon as possible. I didn’t want to think about anything else. But I c
JASMINETo our disappointment and annoyance, there were very few records about Sylvia, Cole’s mother, in Hescor, even in the Royal Archives.I had heard once that the late King Theodore ordered everything related to Sylvia to be burned, as if he wanted to erase her existence entirely and pretend that she had never been his romantic partner in any capacity. Her very name was forbidden in the presence of the old king.Anyone who even casually mentioned Sylvia could be punished brutally, depending on why her name was being evoked. Sometimes, if Theodore was even in just a slightly poor mood, he would snap and order the devastating torture or execution of the person who dared utter a word about her.If the strange and beautiful sapphire bracelet I found in the river belonged to Sylvia… it could explain why something so precious had been thrown into the river. It would make sense that any physical reminders of her existence would be removed from the palace and cast aside.Though I had to w
JASMINEIt took me a moment to realize it, but my sister was utterly soaked with blood, her face, identical to mine, was nearly as grim as Flynn’s.Her steely gray eyes were serious and calculated as they met mine and I rushed to her at once as my stomach twisted into knots.The metallic smell of blood blew through the quiet room. I hadn’t seen my sister in such a mess in a long time, not since those bloody fights in the arena.“What’s going on?” I asked as fear rose from my belly. I glanced around at everyone before settling on Addison. “Are you okay?”“I’m fine,” Addison assured me. “I promise, Jaz.”“Addison, you’re covered in blood,” I pointed out with a raised brow, remaining composed externally while internally, I was worried about my twin.“This isn’t the first time you’ve seen me bloody, Jasmine,” she rolled her eyes, and the moment she did, I knew that she was okay. Had she been kind, something would have been completely wrong. But no, she was her usual blunt self, which mea
EVELYNI had never known there was a secret room attached to the Alpha’s Study, hidden behind the towering bookshelves that lined the wall opposite the long marble desk. A concealed passageway linked the two, its entrance masked by books that Cole now pushed aside. He twisted a small, inconspicuous knob, and the hidden door clicked open.I followed him inside, ducking low as we maneuvered through the narrow, dark passage. When he opened another door at the end, we stepped into a small chamber. It was even tinier than the room I had once lived in as a maid, furnished only with a round desk, a few chairs, and a cabinet against the wall.Despite its minimalism, the chamber exuded opulence. The desk was inlaid with jade, and each chair gleamed with embedded gemstones that caught even the faintest light.Clearly, this space had been intended for secret meetings—perhaps even assignations. Against one wall sat a low love seat, large enough for one person to rest comfortably. Or two, if they
EVELYNSkyla blinked.For the first time since I had stepped into her cell, she looked truly caught off guard. Her lips parted slightly as if to form words, but no sound came out.I could understand why she was so shocked. According to the traditional Hescorian law of crime and punishment, as the heir of a rebellious Great Lord, she would be sentenced to death. If not death, it would be a life-long sentence of heavy labor and exile – just like the punishment my family had received.Personally, I wanted her to suffer that fate. I had no intention of showing her mercy – mercy she neither deserved nor ever would. But as the future queen of Hescor, I couldn’t. I couldn’t let my personal hatred dictate justice. I was determined to change Hescor’s wretched, severe penal system, and I wouldn’t allow myself to become a hypocrite in the process.Collective punishment had a long history in Hescor. It’d be difficult to abolish, as many lords firmly supported it, or so I had been told.I recalled
EVELYN“So he punished him—made him kneel on the cold stone floor of the Great Hall, day and night, with the servants as witnesses. He kept him there until he was exhausted, starving, and on the verge of collapse,” Stephanie said. “And still, Jack never gave him an answer. He only said it was a girl from a dream. That was all. In the end, Father had no choice but to give up. But before he did, he tore the painting to shreds and warned Jack—if he ever dreamed of that girl again… he would find her, dig her out, and destroy her.”A shiver ran down my spine.I could almost see King Theodore’s looming figure, feel his hands closing around me, tearing me apart as he had done to that painting.I felt paralyzed by Stephanie’s words. And angry. Why was she telling me this? What did she expect from me? This had nothing to do with me, did it? It wasn’t my fault Jack had drawn a picture of me.And yet, beyond the anger, there was something else. A deep, inevitable sorrow.I didn’t know why.I tri
EVELYNI searched Stephanie’s chestnut-brown eyes with scrutiny, trying to make sense of her words. I was relieved she wasn’t lying, but I couldn’t understand why she had bothered making such a request after everything that had happened.Her expression remained composed, as if she saw no issue with her decision. But even at my most optimistic—even if Cole ever found an excuse to forgive his brother—Stephanie’s request to move Jack’s body to the Royal Crypt was absurd.Crypts held deep significance for every noble family in Hescor, and the Royal Crypt was the most sacred of them all, reserved for the royal bloodline. The people of Hescor believed it was a resting place only for revered monarchs who had contributed to the kingdom, rulers whose legacies were honored by both history and the people. Only the purest souls were meant to be laid to rest there. Of course, that was an exaggeration—one could hardly call King Theodore a saint, considering his debauched ways in his later years.As
EVELYN“Sometimes, I can’t tell if you’re supporting me or siding with those who oppose my ascension,” I muttered, lifting my head from the stack of documents to glower at Flynn. Across the room, he met my gaze steadily, unfazed.“Why don’t you go bother your King instead?” I snapped. “If anyone’s to blame for my ignorance of these documents, it’s him! If he hadn’t—” I bit off the words, heat crawling up my face as memory surged forward, unbidden and all too vivid.Cole had been unbearably possessive last night after I returned from my conversation with Aiden by the river. He had exhausted me until dawn – until the first golden rays of sunlight spilled over the horizon, peering into the room to find our bodies tangled in the damp sheets.Flynn arched a brow but returned his attention to the report in his hands. “I’ll remind him to exercise restraint,” he said coolly. “He shouldn’t wear you out when your schedule is this full.” Then, without a hint of emotion, he added, “Tell your maid
EVELYNThe royal garden was bathed in the golden hues of the afternoon sun, the crisp air carrying the mingling scents of blooming roses and freshly turned earth. I found Aiden standing near the river, his hands clasped neatly behind his back. He wasn’t alone.Leila was beside him, waving her hands animatedly as she spoke, her excitement evident. It seemed she was sharing something with him, and though Aiden nodded in response with a faint smile, his attention was clearly elsewhere. He looked distracted.Sensing my approach, Leila turned, her face lighting up. “Evelyn!” she called cheerfully. I returned her smile and quickened my steps toward them.Oh, I nearly forgot to mention—Leila was alive. Or, more accurately, she had been resurrected, along with Addison Madden and Skyla Fox.After Augus’s death, Sylvia had used the shattered sapphire, which contained the heart blood of all three, to perform a resurrection spell. And it had worked. But of course, it wasn’t as simple as it sounde
EVELYNMy coronation was set for a week after Cole officially announced that he had marked me, and that I had marked him in return. At least, that was the version he presented to the Lords and officials. If he had told them the truth—that I had marked him first—he might have sent half the council into cardiac arrest. They would have called it a disgrace to the monarchy, or worse.Naturally, many were displeased with my ascension. They resented the fact that I would wield actual power, something few queens in Hescor’s history had ever done—especially after my supposed punishment as a traitor. They also despised that my family’s name had been cleared and that my father had been reinstated to his former status.But all those objections amounted to nothing more than a few grumbles. The main attention remained fixed on the shocking revelation of Marcel Fox’s treason and rebellion. Solid evidence proved that he had been smuggling precious stones and stealing minerals from Windsburn—not to m
EVELYNWe shared kisses in the darkness. My mind was blurred by the lingering dizziness of my long unconsciousness and the feverish heat of my body.I felt overheated and out of control. I felt as though I was going to evaporate into the air, like morning dew dissolving beneath the warmth of the rising sun.“Evelyn…” Cole mumbled when my hand moved down his abs, toward the hardened part of him. He caught my fingers, lacing them with his own, stopping me. Then he pulled away slightly.I stared at him, still dazed, subconsciously yearning to close the distance again. He looked mortified, and I could see the flush on his face, but his eyes shone with a sharp spike of desire.“I should call a healer to check on you,” he said.“Why?” I murmured, titling my head almost mischievously. “Can’t you check for yourself?”I guided his hand beneath the thin fabric of my night garment, gliding his touch along the curves of my breasts. His gaze darkened, the fire within it flaring.His breath hitched
EVELYNMaybe I should have told you more about how everything ended—how Augus’s corpse dissipated on the wind, how the puppets regained their sanity, horrified to found themselves scattered in the dark forest with no memory of how they’d gotten there, and how we left that place and returned to Halian.I wish I could tell you everything, but I couldn’t. After killing Augus and breaking his spell, I fell into a deep coma for three days. All I can share are the fragments of what I experienced in my unconscious state.Three days of floating in a beautiful paradise beneath a perfect, round full moon. T hree days surrounded by flowers in full bloom and bathed in warm sunlight. Pups frolicked around me, laughing and playing with mischievous grins, their faces full of innocent joy. Though they didn’t seem to notice me—as if I were invisible—I shared in their carefree happiness.For a time, I almost forgot where I came from, and I wished I could stay there forever.But on the last day, I met h