“So, you’ve never introduced a boyfriend to your family before?” Aiden asks, his voice gentle. I hesitate for a long moment, my fingers fidgeting nervously in my lap. “I guess I haven’t had that many serious relationships,” I confess awkwardly. “Besides, when it comes to bringing boyfriends home t
Carol’s POV At last, Aiden and I arrive in my neighborhood. Humble yet homey houses dot every street. The entire neighborhood carries an air of community. Even people I’ve never seen before. We’ve had our car as we drive by. We pull into the driveway of my childhood home. It isn’t the biggest or
“Absolutely. Stay as long as you need,” my mother says. “Here, I’ll show you to your room.” My mother leads us to the guest room, a room that was once my childhood bedroom. Even without all of the features of my previous room, the space brings back warm memories. The decorations are inviting and e
Aiden moves quickly. He grabs onto the door handle, ripping it open. It’s unclear if the door was locked or if Aiden’s intensity was simply too strong, but either way, we have our targets. Aiden drags someone out of the drivers’ side door before they can begin driving away. The man is shorter and
The officer hums. “Well, they’re not particularly high offenses, but we’ll certainly look into them. We’ll see if there happens to be anything more sinister going on.” Aiden, who has been pensively silent, decides to speak up now. “This isn’t the first time we’ve seen people in unmarked cars with
Carol’s POV As we spend the night at my family's place, the weight of the recent events still lingers. My parents welcome us back into the house with nervous smiles. After we explain the results of our excursion, they thank us -- although some unease still remains. We try to push it aside, if only
Carol’s POV Soon enough, Aiden has fully reimmersed himself in the familiar routine of practice, skirmishes, and intense drilling. The team had no small amount of happiness, of course — their last game had been a resounding success. Still, beneath the surface, the pressure has begun to mount as pu
“Oh, please, don’t apologize. I’m glad you won’t be,” I half-joke. Although Aiden’s help has bolstered my confidence slightly, the attention was still nerve wracking. “Hey, don’t worry, okay?” He smiles at me softly and gives me a kiss on the forehead. “How about this — after your interview tonigh
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