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Chapter 22
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2024-10-29 19:42:56It was a quiet evening in Johnson’s family residence. Adaline and Richard were enjoying the moment of peace in their living room, resting on the sofa after a long, tiring day of running around after their adored grandkids. They were cuddled to each other, relishing in the feeling that having the promised one in their arms brought. After so many years of being together, it still felt the same. It was still like they just met and saw each other for the first time. That was the beauty of the love and the bond they shared. It never wavered.
They were of those lucky couples that found each other right on time, as soon as they were old enough, and they’ve been together ever since.
“Sarah hasn’t called yet?” Adaline asked, even though she knew the answer. Sarah stopped checking in a few days ago. She was a grown-up woman, and Adaline tried to give her the space she needed, but that didn’t make her worry any less.
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Although Sarah was quite sure Luke was just unconscious from exhaustion, she got down on the floor and gently checked the pulse on his neck. It was there, a little faint, but there and she signed in relief. Even though she was perfectly aware of what Luke was, she couldn’t help but be worried for him.Hoping he will regain his consciousness and strength as soon as he rests enough, Sarah grabbed him under his arms and, without much effort, managed to get him off the floor. She was never weak, but she felt a lot stronger now. Perhaps her change has already started…“Dad, would you mind?” she requested casually, pointing to Luke’s legs. She acted like it was every day she pops into the living room out from nowhere with an unconscious, half-naked man.Still not understanding what was happening, Richard obliged and grabbed the unknown man for the legs, lifting him up and following his daughter’s lead.
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 24
Fear.Fear was what Sarah saw in the eyes of her family. Pure fear… of Luke… of her… they were scared of her, and that realization broke her heart in pieces. Although, she never had a chance to dwell on it. Luke lost his balance and staggered, and she reacted the same second, catching him before he fell.“What kind of shield around this house do you have? It took me hours to break through it…” Luke mumbled, though no one had problems understanding him.“What?” Sarah was confused. “But we got here in a matter of seconds.”“That’s how you felt it.” Luke glanced around, and realizing there were sofas and armchairs nearby, and he motioned his head towards them.Without a word said, Sarah understood what he meant and helped him get to one that was not damp. Luke dropped himself heavily on the soft seat and pulled Sarah down with him. There was no cha
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 25
“Pass me the maple syrup,” Sarah nudged Luke, and he stretched his hand on to get the bottle she asked for.The morning after Sarah and Luke arrived, the entire family was gathered in the spacious dining room around the breakfast table. The atmosphere was cheerful, and there was no trace of gloominess from last night. They talked and ate the most delicious food Luke has ever tried, and now he completely understood why Sarah frowned at his diet habits.However, Luke had a hard time relaxing. This was the first time in the last hundred years or so that he had company during the morning meal, real company and not some business partners he was trying to get to agree on his terms… he couldn’t even remember when was the last time he had a proper meal with his own parents… come to think of it, he couldn’t clearly remember those that brought him to life, it was too long ago he even saw them last time. When was that?
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 26
‘Daughter of the dragon that’s not a dragon shall tame the fire,’ those words rang through Luke’s head over and over again until he could not think of anything else. No matter how much he tried to focus on something else, on anything else, he failed.Now it made sense… now he knew why Sarah reacted the way she did when he told her the name of his sailboat. Princess. Her own name had the exact meaning in Persian, and she knew that. She knew she was the one supposed to tame him, and she didn’t tell him. Wasn’t she the one playing the honesty card? Insisting on giving them a chance? Putting up with his attitude and rejections? For what? To get close? To tame him? Was that her plan all along? Was she that much of an actor?In a matter of few seconds, jumbled thoughts made a short circuit in his head, and he could do nothing but excuse himself briefly with Richard and storm out after Sarah. He had to calm dow
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 27
Sarah ran as fast as she could, her heart beating like crazy, trying to break away from her chest. For the second time in less than 10 days, she was in the same situation… running from an unknown danger scared shitless.‘This has to stop!’ she thought as she neared the mansion.“Dad!” she yelled from the top of her lungs. “Dad!”Before Sarah reached the mansion properly, Richard was outside, his body tense and ready to react at the first sign of danger. Adaline followed, worried as she heard her daughter yelling.“By the stream… Luke…” Richard needed no more; he was already running towards the spot Sarah vaguely described, knowing his wife will stay there as a last line of defense if needed.Sarah was breathing heavily, more scared than tired from running.“Your eyes,” she heard Adaline mutter, and that snapped her out of her jumbled-up th
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“I can’t stay here. I need to leave.” Sarah muttered.“What? No!” Adaline protested from beside her.“Yes, Mom. They are after me, and I cannot risk putting all of you in danger because…”“Don’t you even dare to finish that sentence! You know of the dangers we face as supernatural beings, and those are nothing compared to a bunch of humans foolish enough to go after one of our own. They cannot hurt us.” Adaline reached for Sarah and cupped her face with her hands. “And neither can they hurt you.”Sarah sighed in despair. This was all because of her. She was the reason that man was killed in Rome, and she was the reason someone disturbed her family’s peace. Thoughts swirled through her head like on a rollercoaster, thinking about what she should do, how she should handle this… it was madness, pure madness.No matter how hard she tried,
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 29
“Do I even have to say out loud how you broke my heart?” Sarah asked; her gaze did not waver from his eyes that were back to their usual green color.“No, you don’t have to. I can feel it.” Luke whispered, aware of the hurt he caused her. He deeply regretted jumping to conclusions like that, but it was stronger than him...Sarah watched him closely, and it was like she knew what he was thinking about. It’s like she could feel it, and she knew what it meant; the connection between them was strong to the point where they couldn’t be separated. The fact that she had no saying in it was… not pleasant. Sure, she was the one that insisted on them getting to know each other and giving themselves a chance to explore all the possibilities that this predestined to be together forever thing promised them. Yes, she was the one that said the L word first, which she didn’t mind because she said what she fe
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A couple more hours Sarah and Luke spent in her room just cuddling to each other and enjoying the time together, knowing that tomorrow something might happen again and they might not get the chance to be alone like this. Although, their cuddles have stayed as chaste as they could, as both of them silently agreeing on hating the idea of surrendering to their primal urges while Sarah’s parents were just down the stairs working tirelessly on figuring out a way to honor her wish not to spill any more blood while putting an end to this madness.They only snapped from their little bubble once a truck horn was heard from the outside. Guess Adaline wasn’t kidding when she said that new furniture would be delivered later that day. Luke offered to help to arrange things, so his physical strength was put to good use as he moved the massive couches and sofas all by himself until they were positioned to Adaline’s likings.That woman really changed her mind a lo
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Love. Because love refines your soul and will make you worthy of being loved. Forgive. Because we all make mistakes, and we all deserve second chances. Trust. Because life has a way of making things right even when everything seems like a dead-end. Don’t give up. Because you never know what good thing is waiting for you just around the corner. Thank you for sticking with me until the end of this journey and I if you enjoyed this story, consider leaving ratings and review. It would help the algorithm recognize it and share this novel with more people. Also, check my other books here that have been completed. Maybe you like them… I’ve been juggling with a certain idea in my head… Michael’s and Anna’s story is itching to get out since the majority of the story would be set in the 19th century and it would have a different tone than the previous novels. All the announcements will be posted on my social media,
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5 years laterSarah and Luke spent their days and years in the castle where he was born, and every new day seemed like a dream. They understood each other perfectly, knew what the other felt, wanted, and needed without words spoken aloud… but that didn’t stop them from fighting a couple of times. And when they did, oh boy, those quarrels were epic, and they all ended the same way… in their bedroom.After that first year when Sarah was learning to control fire, and when her family was not visiting, well… as soon as she was sure she wouldn’t accidentally hurt them, they came to visit every often. Sometimes all of them would come at once, which created chaos of shouting and laughing, talking at the same time and yelling at kids that didn’t listen to a word their parents told them, and sometimes Sarah and Luke would announce coming by for lunch to either Henry’s house in the mountain, Michael’s villa
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The past year has been challenging for Sarah. It was more complicated than she expected it to be. From the day she discovered she could invoke fire from nowhere, start it by her own free will, things went downhill. After everything that happened with her biological parents, the serene day they had was just the calm before the storm. Once the spark found its way out, there was no way back. Fiery energy wanted out, and she could do nothing about it. It didn’t help the fact that Sarah had a problem with controlling herself, controlling her emotions, and that caused a fire to burst everywhere at any given time… while they were walking through the forest, while having lunch in the kitchen, while making love… once she even set a curtain in the bedroom on fire in her sleep as she was dreaming of Luke… or when she unintentionally cremated the chicken she was stuffing for dinner. There were times when she felt like losing her shit over h
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The first day upon arrival to their new home, Sarah wanted to explore but didn’t get the chance to see much as Luke showed her around, explaining things and sights until they arrived at the master bedroom. That’s where they stayed for the rest of the day and the following night.They even ordered dinner from the nearest restaurant; however, until it came, it was almost cold, but they didn’t really mind.“You’re the new owners everyone’s been talking about?” delivery guy was friendly and curious.“Yes. And we’ll be seeing each other more often from now on.” Luke answered and generously tipped the guy.Guess everybody in the surrounding villages and towns knew someone bought the Lone castle since Luke arranged it to be cleaned and stocked up from Maine. Perks of modern times and the internet, ha… over the years, he never failed to take care of the castle no matter wher
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It was long past midnight when Johnson’s mansion dove into silence. After guests left, they all worked together to clean up the mess left behind, and Luke had nothing against helping. On the contrary, he enjoyed every second. In the process, he figured the best way to thank Richard and Adaline for what they did for him, for his girl… for saving Sarah’s life… when he should’ve been the one to do that. But back then, he was still one hell of an unjustified proud jerk that wanted to stay away even though he felt Sarah’s deep distress.What amazed Luke the most is how little time he needed to feel like he was part of the family, that he was accepted… and he truly appreciated every second he spent with them. And it also brought a wave of sadness because he realized he would never have a chance to have the same with his own parents as they long ago ceased to exist. He will never have the chance to… anything&
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While Sarah was helping Adaline in the kitchen prepare desserts and salads for the upcoming barbecue, Luke was outside with Richard setting the tables in the backyard. Aside from the chairs, Luke volunteered to add table cloths and flower arrangements Sarah so carefully prepared.He was in some weird, hectic state of mind where he felt like he could fly, not literally, though. He even caught himself waiting for the twins to show up so he could tease them and make them giggle as he remembers them too. And the best thing of all, he didn’t have that feeling of not belonging, of being out of place… being here was the most natural thing for Luke.Every now and then, he would go inside to find his girl and kiss her longingly, which always made her smile and return the kiss with the same vigorousness.And seeing Luke like this, acting all-natural and relaxed in the place she loved the most on the planet, amongst her family, caused Sa
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Throughout the night, Sarah kept waking up. Her newfound peace was not enough to give her night calm, good night’s sleep because every time she would snap out of her dreamless state, she would feel Luke being awake beside her. The tiredness she felt made her involuntarily doze off, no matter how much she fought it to stay awake with Luke.Every time Sarah would wake up, Luke would kiss her temple and mumble something like ‘Go back to sleep, honey,’ or ‘Don’t worry so much,’ but she worried…When morning finally came, Sarah woke up to sleeping Luke that used her chest as a pillow while his arms were wrapped around her waist. Knowing that he had just recently managed to rest his mind and sail into a land of dreams, Sarah decided to stay still and not disturb him.As she was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling above her, Sarah used the opportunity to think about everything once again. This time arou
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Sarah was dumbfounded with everything Celia told them. After everything that happened in the last couple of days, this was a straw that broke the camel’s back, and Sarah gave up trying to stay sane.Nausea that started in her stomach quickly spread all over her body, clouding her mind and pulling her into the darkness. Sarah lost her consciousness and would have fallen down if there wasn’t for Luke that scooped her in his arms and carried her to the nearest two-seater, but she didn’t stay like that for too long. As soon as her back touched its leather surface, Sarah snapped and broke away from Luke’s hold.They all watched as she reached for the bottle of whiskey that was oh so conveniently left on the table. She grabbed the first glass she saw, not caring that it wasn’t unused because whoever of the present people drank from it was her family member, and she wasn’t about to be disgusted. She poured good two fi
Rise of the Phoenix Chapter 45
Why the hell couldn’t they have one peaceful night? Just one! Was that too much to ask? Sarah wondered while walking alongside Luke and her parents.They were all excited. Even Luke was taken by the atmosphere that Celia’s discovery brought. Only Sarah wore her frown with pride. She hated this; she hated it from the deepest pits of her soul, and she had no intention of pretending it was any different. She hated prophecies, and she hated that this was the second concerning her.“You were fast,” Richard commented once they all came into his library. “Your daughter had trouble with it, and she got only bits and pieces.” He had every right to be suspicious. In the end, it wasn’t every day they dealt with something like this.“Oh, my friend….” Celia couldn’t contain her excitement. “If you knew how much of my early years I spent studying ancient languages… anyway, K
