[Xanthea] I watched the Aile castle become clearer and clearer in the side-view mirror of Nesryn’s car the farther we drove away from it. Yet its sprawling grandness couldn’t be captured in one frame. The royal castle was the perfection of Baroque architecture, rising majestically to the extreme
We entered the precinct of the Pheles palace, which was named after Raven’s demon wolf’s name — Pheles. It was yet another wonder of architecture standing in the middle of blooming gardens, glowing greenhouses and dark woods. A dense mist hung heavily around the palace and the woods. Flora and faun
[Xanthea] Nesryn called someone while I stayed in the foyer. Standing by the intricately designed arched window, I peered outside. My brain identified as many plants and herbs as it could, matching the details and sketches I had seen in my mother’s books and diaries. But there were still a lot mor
I had left behind all the impossible dreams like being free in the Earthly realm. I no longer had a dream I yearned to pursue, not even freedom. Maybe there was only one thing I looked forward to and feared at the same time — death. He stepped closer. “I can help you get out—” “Beta Draknor!” Nesr
[Raven] I looked at my phone screen as I drove into the private driveway to my palace. Through a spare guardian butterfly, I had been monitoring the omega while she interacted with Draknor and Nesryn. I knew Nesryn had a history with Draknor, but she had just met the omega. Why the hell was she b
She reached out to snap the vines off her ankles that had started sprawling up her legs like dendritic veins. There you go. My months of hard work going down the drain just like that! I swear this omega is going to pay for every damage she does to my X23. The blueness crept up her legs with the vi
[Xanthea] An icy sensation crawled up my leg. The din of my breaths and my heartbeats faltered in my ears as the sound of rustling grass, as if a serpent hastily slithered through them. I stood barefoot on the dewy grass, aware of every stir in the surrounding underbrush. Cold fog condensed on my
Silence hung in the room, and for a while, even Mavka stopped rubbing the ice on my leg. Gulping hard, I fidgeted with my fingers, still feeling the burn from the poison in my leg. “Like you said, the plant was important to Alpha Raven. He loves his plants like his child. He cares about them more t
“Dragons, especially dead dragons, don’t make mistakes, Raven,” Asher said firmly, holding my gaze. “There is no greater healer than a dragon, and they chose you. They responded to the purity of your heart and blessed you. So that night, when you felt nothing but helpless, you unknowingly came up wi
[Raven]Asher peered at me, his gaze lingering longer than usual, before turning toward the distant walls with a heavy sigh.“I can’t believe you are saying this,” Asher said.I lowered my eyes.“Me too,” I admitted, my voice quiet. “I can’t believe I want those people near Ezra again, but… my knowl
It took him a few minutes to fully return to reality. He squinted his eyes, his hand pressing to his forehead as if trying to orient himself.“Raven?” He mumbled.I stared at him, panting. Licking the dryness from my lips, I forced myself to calm down, trying to hide the frenzied worry that had cons
A dense forest now sprawled across the grounds where the FA facility once stood. Beyond the woods loomed the accursed walls, cloaked in vines and creeping vegetation, still as tall and foreboding as ever.My blood boiled with uncontainable rage every time I saw this place. Why Asher hadn’t torn down
[Raven]“The sutures are stable, Alpha, but… Alpha Ezra’s wounds aren’t healing.”“No potion, in any dose, is effective.”“It’s almost as though something is blocking his recovery.”I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to pacify the throbbing headache as I went through the scrolls of medical not
“Asher…” I whimpered, unsure if I wanted him to stop his steps or words.“I am used to being invisible to everyone around me, but not you. Please, not you,” he begged, his voice raw as he fought to keep his composure.I shut my eyes, covering my face with my hands, hoping to gather myself, but I end
The distance between us was nothing, yet I kept my head low. Not because his aura had turned heavier, nor because I could feel his gaze searing into my soul, but because I was terrified. Terrified that this time, when I looked into his eyes, I would see the love I had only dreamt of.After a long mo
Electric sparks ignited beneath my skin at his touch, as though my body were the black, blank night sky and he was the moon, the stars, the clouds and everything cosmic.When his lips finally met mine, a weak smile quivered on my face as tears traced warm paths down my cheeks, every inch of my body
[Xanthea]A shroud of darkness enveloped me as his wings wrapped around us in an embrace that had never felt so hollow and full at the same time.My entire existence had abruptly been reduced to a body.My body felt alien. A hollow shell that carried my mother’s sins in every fiber. I wanted to rip