Aiden’s POV Her trail went cold again. We had been out here for hours. We were about an hour away from the stadium. Her scent was everywhere for a while, but it gradually started to go away. Oliver had arrived 20 minutes ago with the werewolf police; they joined me in the search, picking up any cl
…. Carol’s POV Water soaked me and I coughed as it entered my mouth and went down my throat before I could stop it. My eyes flew open, and I saw one of the goons who took me standing in front of me with a bucket of water, laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world. I was freezing bec
Carol’s POV I stared at him, shocked. The man who shot him also looked shocked. Realizing that they were distracted, and nobody was holding me, I turned and started to run as fast as I could down the hallway, which wasn’t very fast considering I was still so weak. Then I heard the clicking of a
I needed to get back to Aiden. …. Aiden’s POV “Maybe we should go back and start from the beginning,” Oliver suggested. We were back in our human forms, and we’d been aimlessly wandering the forest for hours. It was the middle of the night, and I knew most were tired from their long search
Carol’s POV I heard his voice, but I couldn’t respond. I couldn’t even see. All I could see was darkness and all I felt was numb. I knew he was closer to me now because his voice was louder. He was hovering over me, possibly even touching me. I could hear the desperation in his voice and felt the
“None,” Oliver answered. “We don’t even know where she’s been kept. We found her here.” “Did she already have that bullet wound when you found her?” The woman asked. “Yes,” Oliver answered, sounding majorly annoyed. “Mr. Cruz, please help us get her onto the gurney,” the woman said as I heard
Aiden’s POV I paced the hospital, waiting for a single word about Carol’s state. I’m not sure how long we had been here, but my heart was hammering against my ribcage, and I was growing more impatient by the second. In the waiting room, I was joined by Oliver and Carol’s parents along with Fiona w
“And this maid didn’t give you a name?” They both shook their heads. “What did she look like?” I asked. “Honestly, I can’t really remember much about her,” her mother breathed as she got lost in thought. “It was so dark outside, and she purposely kept herself out of the light. But she was shor
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