[Asher]Deception was one of the most fundamental strategies of warfare. In fact, deception was warfare where one used camouflage, misled the enemy, and manipulated the situation to bend the victory on their side with the least potential conflict.A part of deception was feigning weakness to make th
âScrew off! Just get rid of that boy before Ezra shows up.â He entered the bathroom, shutting the door behind him with his tail..I think we were already too late for that because Ezra had already shown up. He had arrived in the Aile castle minutes after Xanthea did, but he had been monitoring her t
âNothing I did was impulsive. I knew exactly what I was getting myself into, but I couldnât just unsee the obvious and ignore their cries. I know my actions have put everything at risk and itâs not just my life, but I am willing to take them, anyway.ââWhy?â I asked.She bit her lower lip, pausing f
[Asher]Taken aback by her unexpected question, Raven froze in his place, his grip loosening on her.Ezra opened his eyes wide.âOnce they are born, will my kids have the right to live? Will they live? Or will they suffer?â Her words shuddered out of her lips.Her eyes skimmed from Raven to me.So t
Ezra clenched his jaws while his expression flickered â anguish broke through the hardened lines of his face. His eyes, pained and bleary, betrayed all his senses.Unable to summon words or reason, Ezra stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.âI canâtâŠâ His voice cracked, unguarded. âPlease, d
Ezra staggered backward. His gaze flickered toward her one last time before we lost him.The next few minutes felt to have slowed and stretched into hours.With every shuffle of feet and the soldierâs attempt to minimize damage, chaos rose like doom.I glanced towards the door, opening it up. Nesryn
[Xanthea]âMay you find my guilt at the right time and may it save you from your own. May you find answers to all your questions in my memories and I hope you hate me a little less.âA womanâs voice echoed in the back of my mind, weaving through the symphony of shattering glass when my eyes locked w
Even so, I could neither wake up nor save myself. I had been buried in a grave of my motherâs memories in the middle of nowhere. Some of them were so horrifying, for a second I thought I was losing my mind.I couldnât breathe. I couldnât understand. I was suffocating, but I knew that even death woul
âDragons, especially dead dragons, donât make mistakes, Raven,â Asher said firmly, holding my gaze. âThere 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.âI canât believe you are saying this,â Asher said.I lowered my eyes.âMe too,â I admitted, my voice quiet. âI canât 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.âRaven?â 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 hadnât torn down
[Raven]âThe sutures are stable, Alpha, but⊠Alpha Ezraâs wounds arenât healing.ââNo potion, in any dose, is effective.ââItâs almost as though something is blocking his recovery.âI ran my fingers through my hair, trying to pacify the throbbing headache as I went through the scrolls of medical not
âAsherâŠâ I whimpered, unsure if I wanted him to stop his steps or words.âI am used to being invisible to everyone around me, but not you. Please, not you,â 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 motherâs sins in every fiber. I wanted to rip