Our lips connect in a passionate kiss as our tryst comes to a desperate end. My arms wrap around Aiden’s body and we slowly recover. Both of our chests heave with exertion as we enjoy the feeling of skin against skin for a long moment. I eventually have to ruefully break our embrace. “We have to g
Carol’s POV “Someone’s following us?” I ask, my voice hushed. My heart pounds in my chest as I look around. We’re near the car now, but that has left us on a more shadowy side-street. There’s no one else around, as far as I can tell. “How do you know?” “I heard something,” Aiden murmurs. “I’ve b
Carol’s POV Returning to work after the whirlwind of travels with Aiden, I step into my bustling office building. Even in this once familiar space, I find my mind caught in the echo of everything that had transpired that weekend. The air, filled with the familiar hum of typing and the murmur of co
Carol’s POV The sleek car glides through the city streets as we move toward the big event. My boss sits in the seat beside me as a private driver transports us. A strange tension hangs in the air. Neither my boss nor the driver have said a word, and there isn’t even any music playing to ease the s
Carol’s POV After the chaotic whirlwind of the live interview and promotion event, there is no one in the world I want to see more than Fiona. Luckily, we had already planned to grab lunch today to catch up on the events of the weekend. We hug tightly before settling down at a cozy cafe near my wo
Carol’s POV The day drags by at an agonizing pace. My mind is ripped away from the file I’m reading by the sound of a familiar text tone. I quickly open up my phone to see the message Aiden has sent me. ‘Of course, love. I would love nothing more.’ I let out a sigh of relief. It doesn’t seem l
Carol’s POV I can feel my heart racing as I make my way up the stairs. Despite Aiden’s encouragement to offer up my skill set, I can’t help but feel nervous. I’m just thankful I hadn’t yet changed out of my work clothes. I step into the dining room. Aiden immediately greets me at the door. The c
“I’m not sure how this is going to help with our meeting,” the sponsor says dismissively. “Look, I’m a very busy man. Can we just wrap this up? I’ve said everything that I need to say.” I had expected the sponsor to do something like this. It’s typical for men to make power moves like this during
I chuckled as I held back tears.“Sorry,” I murmured, trying to pull back, but she held me tighter.“I’ve missed you like crazy,” she breathed. “How’s life in the empire? I’ve been keeping tabs on you in the media. Seems you are kicking ass as the queen.”Since the inauguration ceremony last year, I
She flinched away for a moment, afraid that the darkness might hurt him, but I had faith that it wouldn’t because it was under her control now and the light in her wouldn’t be dim for the darkness.“It’s okay,” I assured her, bringing Caleb even closer into her view. She stared at him with admiratio
EpilogueAiden’s POV“She still won’t come out of her room?” Fiona asked, staring at the closed suite door with a frown. “It’s been a week since she killed her sister…”“She’s scared,” I told her, cradling Caleb in my arms. “Raelyn’s darkness is inside of her and she’s worried that she’s going to do
She was quiet for a moment while the Queen continued to bark orders in the background. The dark tendrils only seemed to grow more agitated with each passing moment.“Please, call the tendrils off and—”“I can’t,” she said quickly. “They don’t listen to me anymore… they listen to her more than they l
I wanted to believe that there was still good in Raelyn. That the darkness hadn’t taken over completely. I grabbed her arm, and I brought my gaze to meet hers; I wasn’t sure if my powers would work on her, but I had to try. I channeled her mind and when I found a connection, I realized it was weak,
Carol’s POVI used my powers to fight off the guards, using my mind manipulation to make them fight one another and using some of the spells I was taught to ward them off. I’ve practiced with mind manipulation a lot so I was able to do it quickly. I soon had some of them at least turning against the
“It’s not personal darling,” she said, waving off his concern. “It’s strictly business.”“Was any of it real?” He asked, shaking his head with disgust written all over his face. “Did you ever love me?”She let out a bitter laugh.“Love?” She scoffed. “Please… There’s no room for love when I have a n
My entire body went cold when I saw what they were running from. Clouds of darkness snaked through the ground, slithering like snakes. I could feel the cold darkness and the chilling aura that penetrated it.In the distance, I squinted at the figures standing in the center of the town.The Queen.St
Carol’s POV“You promised you’d help me buy a ring for Fiona,” Oliver said as he leaned against the doorframe of my suite. I had just finished changing Caleb’s dirty typer for the 5(th) time this hour when Oliver decided to bless me with his visit.Collectively, we’ve been in the Empire for 2 months