The world around Lena was spinning. The weight of her memories pressed down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. She gripped the fabric of Adrian’s shirt, her body trembling in his arms.“I was his,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.Adrian’s grip tightened around her, his breath hot against her temple. “You are not his.”But the truth was undeniable now. She had stood in a grand hall, had pledged herself to Lucien, and had belonged to him in ways she didn’t yet understand.The realization made her stomach churn.She pulled back, searching Adrian’s face. His jaw was clenched so tight it looked like it might shatter. His golden eyes burned with something raw—something dangerous.“I should have known,” he muttered. “The way he’s drawn to you, the way he claims you.” His fingers curled into fists. “He isn’t just hunting you. He’s reclaiming you.”Lena shook her head. “No. No, I don’t—”The air around them thickened.A cold, suffocating presence slithered into the room. The can
The silence after Lucien’s departure was thick, suffocating. Lena could still feel his presence lingering, like ghostly fingers trailing down her spine. The way he had spoken, the way his voice had seeped into her bones, left her rattled in a way she couldn't shake.She pressed her hands to her temples, her heart pounding.“We can’t keep running,” she whispered.Adrian turned to her, his golden eyes burning with barely contained rage. “You’re not running. I am keeping you safe.”Lena let out a bitter laugh. “Safe? You saw what just happened, Adrian. He’s playing with us. He could have taken me if he wanted to.”Adrian’s jaw clenched. “He won’t.”Something inside her snapped. “How do you know that? How do you know he won’t just rip me away the next time?”His silence was answer enough.Lena exhaled shakily and took a step forward. “Tell me the truth. Everything. No more half-truths. No more protecting me from what I should know. What am I to him?”Adrian looked at her for a long moment
Lena’s world tilted on its axis.Lucien had claimed her before—body, soul, and blood. And if what Adrian said was true, he wasn’t done with her yet.The weight of that realization crushed her, filling her lungs with something cold and heavy.She paced the length of the room, her thoughts colliding like a storm. The vision Adrian had shown her replayed in her head over and over again. The way Lucien had looked at her—like she was his lifeline, his obsession, his undoing—was burned into her memory.It wasn’t just possession. It was devotion.A terrifying, consuming devotion.Adrian stood stiffly near the door, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. He was watching her, his golden eyes dark with something unreadable.“This changes everything,” she muttered, raking her fingers through her hair. “I was his mate. That means—”“It means he thinks he still owns you,” Adrian said, his voice edged with something dangerous.Lena turned sharply. “But why take my memories?”Adrian hesitated.
The wind roared through the night like a beast set loose from its cage.Lena felt it first—the shift in the air, the sudden pressure in her chest. It wasn’t just the cold seeping in through the cracked window. It was him.Lucien was coming.Adrian must have felt it too because his grip on her arm tightened. “We need to move. Now.”But Lena couldn’t move.Her body swayed as if she were weightless, untethered. A strange emptiness clawed at her insides, like something had been ripped away. And it had.The bond between her and Lucien was gone.But in its place was a terrible, aching void.The connection had been a chain, yes—but it had also been a tether, something familiar. Now, she felt exposed. Incomplete.Her stomach churned, a wave of nausea hitting her as Adrian pulled her forward. “Lena, we have to—”BANG!The door to the cabin exploded inward, shards of wood flying in all directions.Adrian moved fast, yanking Lena behind him, but the blast of power that followed sent them both sp
The ruined cabin felt smaller, suffocating under the weight of the presence that had just entered. Shadows clung to the corners, stretching unnaturally, as if drawn to the power Selene carried.Lena's breath hitched as the woman's dark gaze swept over her. The air around them shifted—thick with something ancient and suffocating. The power was different from Lucien’s raw, consuming energy. This was something colder, more insidious. More dangerous.Lucien tensed, his broad frame moving subtly in front of Lena, shielding her from Selene’s scrutiny.Adrian groaned as he pushed himself upright. Blood trickled from a cut on his temple, but his eyes burned with recognition—and anger."You," Adrian muttered. His fists clenched at his sides, shoulders rigid with tension. "What the hell are you doing here?"Selene’s lips curved into an amused smile. "Adrian. Always so charming." She tilted her head, studying him like a cat watching a wounded bird. "You look terrible."Adrian didn’t react. His g
Lena’s heart pounded, the weight of Selene’s words crashing over her like a tidal wave.You belong to me.No.No, that couldn’t be true.She yanked her wrist away from Selene’s cold touch, stumbling back. “You’re lying.”Selene only smiled, a slow, patient curve of her lips that sent a shiver down Lena’s spine. “Oh, sweetheart, I don’t need to lie.” She glanced at Lucien. “You can ask him yourself.”Lena’s gaze snapped to Lucien. Her chest tightened at the way his jaw tensed, at the dark, unreadable look in his silver eyes.He didn’t deny it.Lucien never stayed silent unless it was the truth.Her stomach twisted violently. “Tell me she’s wrong,” she demanded, voice barely above a whisper. “Tell me you didn’t—”Lucien’s throat worked as he swallowed hard. “I didn’t have a choice.”The words struck her like a slap.“No choice?” Lena repeated, her voice rising. “You gave me away, Lucien!”“I saved your life,” he snapped, his control fracturing. “You don’t understand—”“Then make me unde
The silence that followed Selene’s declaration was suffocating.Lena’s pulse pounded in her ears, her breath shallow. She searched Lucien’s face, desperate for a sign that this was some cruel trick—that Selene was lying.But Lucien didn’t deny it.His silver eyes were unreadable, his face impassive. The only sign of his inner turmoil was the clenching of his fists, the faint tremor in his fingers.Lena felt the ground beneath her slip away.“You… you traded me?” Her voice came out in a whisper, barely audible over the howling wind that rushed through the broken cabin.Lucien inhaled sharply. “It wasn’t like that.”Selene let out a soft, amused laugh. “Oh, but it was.”Lena’s stomach twisted. “You erased my memories. You made me think I was free—when all this time, I was just… a debt waiting to be collected?”Lucien’s jaw tightened. “I did what was necessary to save you.”Lena shook her head, stepping back. “Save me? Or save yourself?”Lucien flinched, just barely, but she caught it.S
Lena’s pulse pounded as she forced herself to stay upright, her legs shaky beneath her. The room around her was massive—cold and unfamiliar, yet somehow hauntingly beautiful. The black stone walls shimmered with the faint glow of the carved constellations, and the air was thick with something old, something powerful.She was trapped.Selene watched her with an infuriatingly calm expression, lounging near the onyx throne as if she had all the time in the world. “You don’t look pleased,” she mused.Lena swallowed, her throat dry. “You kidnapped me.”Selene chuckled. “Did I?” She stepped forward, the soft rustling of her gown the only sound in the vast chamber. “I merely took what was already mine.”Lena’s stomach twisted. “I don’t belong to you.”Selene tilted her head. “No?” She lifted her hand, and suddenly Lena’s wrist burned.Pain lanced through her arm, white-hot and searing. She gasped, clutching at it, only to freeze when she saw the mark forming there—glowing faintly against her
The cavern felt wrong.Even though the Riftgate had disappeared, something lingered in the air—an unnatural stillness, thick with expectation. The Riftfire still simmered inside Lena, coiled like a beast waiting for permission to strike. But it wasn’t just hers anymore.It belonged to her.And she belonged to it.A cold shiver crawled up her spine, but she forced her body to move. One step. Then another.Behind her, Cassian exhaled sharply, shaking his head as he slid his daggers back into their holsters. “Alright. I have questions. Many, many questions.” His voice was light, but his eyes were sharp as they flicked toward her. “Starting with what the hell just happened?”Lena flexed her fingers, watching the faint traces of violet fire dance along her skin before flickering out. The Riftfire wasn’t resisting her anymore. It wasn’t raging. It was waiting.The realization made her stomach twist.“I don’t know,” she admitted, her voice quieter than she meant it to be. “I—I felt it. The R
Lena’s pulse roared in her ears. You were meant to open it. The King’s words curled around her mind like smoke, insidious and inescapable. She wanted to deny them, to cast them away like a lie. But the Riftfire inside her didn’t reject them. It recognized them. She staggered back, breath ragged. “You’re wrong.” The King only watched her, his golden eyes steady, unreadable. “Am I?” Lena clenched her fists, nails biting into her palms. “I came to close this gate, not—” A sharp pulse of power cut through her words. The Rift trembled. And suddenly, she wasn’t alone. Not just with the King. But with the echoes of something long buried. The vision struck like a lightning bolt to the skull. A battlefield. The air thick with Riftfire, burning violet against the endless night. Creatures—monstrosities—crawling from the gate, their shrieks tearing through the void. And at the center of it all— Her. Or rather— The woman who wasn’t her. The woman who was. A w
The pull tightened around Lena like invisible chains, wrapping around her ribs, her spine, her mind. It wasn’t violent. It wasn’t forceful. It was patient. A silent whisper, a presence at the edges of her thoughts, waiting. "Lena?" Ronan’s voice cut through the haze, grounding her. She blinked. The tunnel stretched before her, Cassian and Ronan already a few steps ahead, both watching her now—Cassian with wary confusion, Ronan with something closer to understanding. She forced herself to move. One step, then another, until the pull loosened its grip. It didn’t leave. But it let her go. For now. She exhaled slowly and followed them into the narrowing passageway. The tunnel walls pressed in, rough stone scraping against her arms. The air smelled of damp earth and something older—something untouched by time. Their footsteps echoed, the sound swallowed too quickly, as if the Rift itself was listening. No one spoke. Cassian led the way, navigating the uneven terrain wi
The cavern still hummed with the remnants of Lena’s power, the air thick with the scent of scorched flesh and magic. The Riftfire coiled around her fingers like a living thing—no longer wild, no longer resisting. It had chosen her. Lena’s breath came in ragged pulls, her heart hammering against her ribs. She wasn’t just standing in the aftermath of battle; she was standing at the edge of something irreversible. She could feel it. The Rift’s presence, no longer just a force that haunted her, but a part of her. Her. Cassian took a hesitant step forward, his daggers still in hand, though his grip had loosened. “Lena… what the hell was that?” Lena swallowed hard, but the words tangled in her throat. She didn’t know how to answer. Because she didn’t fully understand it herself. Ronan was watching her closely, his jaw clenched. His sword was sheathed, but his stance hadn’t relaxed. “Your fire—” He cut himself off, then exhaled sharply. “It’s different.” Lena flexed her fingers, st
The ground trembled beneath Lena’s feet. Not with violence, but with recognition. The Rift knew her now. And it wanted her back. Lena’s breath came in sharp, uneven pulls as the air around her thickened, reality bending at the edges. She could feel the Rift pulling, not with brute force, but with something far worse—familiarity. She was sinking into it. Becoming part of it. No. Lena clenched her fists, summoning every ounce of willpower to push back against the weight pressing on her chest. Riftfire surged at her fingertips, flickering wildly, caught between obedience and rebellion. The King watched her struggle, his burning gaze unreadable. “You still resist.” Lena swallowed against the rising panic. “I don’t belong to this place.” The King tilted his head slightly. “No,” he agreed. “But it belongs to you.” The words struck something deep inside her, something she wasn’t ready to face. Because part of her felt it. The Riftfire inside her wasn’t just reacting
The cavern trembled as the Rift’s energy expanded outward, swallowing the air, pressing against Lena’s skin with a force so dense it was almost suffocating.The King stepped forward.He wasn’t like the mindless creatures that had come before. He wasn’t grotesque or malformed.He was whole.His form was cloaked in shadows that moved like living smoke, shifting around him in slow, deliberate waves. Beneath the darkness, glimpses of something ancient and inhuman flickered—jagged obsidian armor, silvered veins pulsing with Rift energy, a face that was too sharp, too perfect, too unnatural to belong to anything mortal.His eyes—twin voids of fire and stars—settled on Lena, and the cavern dimmed, as if the very world was bracing for what came next.A voice, low and endless, rumbled through the chamber."You are the one."Lena’s pulse pounded in her ears. Her Riftfire reacted violently to his presence, rising in defense or recognition—she wasn’t sure which.But she forced herself to stand he
The world tilted.Lena’s breath caught in her throat as the weight of realization slammed into her. The Rift’s power thrummed beneath her skin, but it was nothing compared to the force radiating from the woman standing before her.Her mother.No. That couldn’t be right. Her mother had died when she was a child. She had no memories beyond fleeting warmth and a lullaby whispered in the dark.And yet—The woman’s presence felt familiar.Ronan shifted closer, tension coiled in his frame. “Lena…?”Cassian didn’t speak, but his fingers tightened around the hilt of his blade.Lena swallowed hard. “Who—who are you?”The woman smiled, stepping forward. The edges of her form flickered, like she existed between realms. “You already know, child. You’ve always known.”Lena’s pulse roared in her ears. “That’s not possible.”“And yet, here I stand.”The Riftfire in Lena’s veins surged, responding to the woman’s presence like a long-lost tether being pulled taut.“No.” Lena shook her head. “You can’t
Lena exhaled, steadying herself as the cavern pulsed with anticipation. The Herald stood motionless, hand still outstretched, its offer tangible in the air. The Rift’s power thrummed beneath her skin, no longer just a whisper but a steady, insistent call.This was the moment.She reached forward—then clenched her fist, drawing her hand back. “No,” she said, her voice stronger than she expected.The Herald’s expression didn’t falter, but the cavern trembled in response. “You refuse?” it asked, tilting its head.Ronan let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding, but his stance remained guarded. Cassian edged closer, his eyes never leaving the Herald.Lena swallowed hard. “I’m not a pawn in whatever game the Rift is playing.”The Herald regarded her with something that almost resembled amusement. “A pawn? No, Riftborn. You were never a mere piece. You were meant to be the one who shapes the board.”The cavern walls pulsed again, and the Rift’s energy surged forward like a wave.Le
Darkness swallowed them whole.Lena’s breath caught in her throat as the air rushed past her, cold and unrelenting. The abyss stretched endlessly below, an empty void that felt like falling through time itself.Ronan’s grip on her wrist was iron-tight. He refused to let go.Cassian was just ahead, his body twisting midair, trying to prepare for whatever awaited them below.But there was no ground.No end.Just falling.The Rift’s presence coiled around Lena’s mind, whispering in a voice that sounded so much like her own.You are home.You were never meant to run.The air shimmered.Lena gasped as reality split apart.For a single, horrifying second, she saw it—the Rift in its true form. A world between worlds. A chasm of shifting energy, pulsing with life and death, beginning and end.And at the center—a throne.A throne waiting for her.Her blood burned. The mark on her skin pulsed in time with the Rift’s heartbeat.It was trying to pull her in.No. No, I won’t—“Lena!”Ronan’s voice