“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 sit across from the host — Will Wilson, a famous local talk show personality — and try my best to keep my expression polite and put-together. I’m thankful for the fact the bright lights make it so I can’t make out the faces of the audience members without really squinting. I brace myself for ano
Adrenaline pumps through my system as all eyes in the room are glued to me. My ears are ringing – even I can’t believe my own bravery. The audience gasps, but they otherwise remain silent. Daniel’s expression is frozen in shock. My heart is thundering in my chest. Despite my mounting nervousness,
Terrified and disoriented, I immediately try to scream. The sound is muffled as a large, callous hand presses over my mouth. I struggle as violently as I can, kicking and punching in the darkness wildly. I can hear my attacker grunt, but his grip on me doesn’t waiver. Fear and adrenaline course th
In the wake of the attack, Aiden’s already protective nature has kicked into overdrive. I hardly spend a moment where Aiden isn’t by my side. He watches over me with a vigilant eye. It serves to settle my nerves somewhat. Aidens protectiveness has bled over into her private life, as well. Anytime
The next match approaches even more quickly than the last did. The feverish energy that picks up around games is upon us once again like a raging storm. This time, instead of being buried in real estate, I find myself deeply involved with the team. Most of the time, Coach Henry runs practice. He d
The game reaches its inevitable conclusion. As the final buzzer sounds, the audience erupts into joyous applause. The Freeze has won again, and the match wasn’t very close. The team makes their signature lap around the rink, soaking in the applause, before zipping into their locker room. I head do
The realization strikes me like lightning. It all suddenly seems so clear. I turn to Aiden, feeling a need to help mend our misunderstanding. “I don’t think they’ve been slacking off, Aiden,” I say softly. I gesture toward Aiden’s teammates. “They’re nervous.” Aiden blinks at me. He follows my g
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