All Chapters of Rise of the Phoenix: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

If anyone ever told her that day would come when her own father, her own flesh and blood would come to hold her at gunpoint, Sarah wouldn’t believe it. But here she was.Her heart was beating faster than ever before in her life, but she wasn’t scared, no. Not of the gun, at least. That piece of metal was silly compared to what Luke was capable of, and she had no doubt her man could protect her from every bullet in the world. What terrified her was the truth she was about to discover because she knew that truth would either set her free or set her in a whole new prison. And she wanted to be free.It is both amazing and appalling how the past can shackle us and hold us back for so long without us even realizing how strong and restricting those same shackles are. Only when we come to face them, we recognize their heaviness we never noticed before.For so long, Sarah thought she outgrew it, that she was at peace with what happened

When Luke got shot in the chest, Sarah almost lost her mind. For a moment, she forgot no weapon man ever made could hurt him. The bloodstain on his shirt that spread too quickly was not making her feel any better.People that were in the barns preparing for what was supposed to be the start of their ultimate mission, alarmed by the gunshot, started coming out and surrounding them, though Sarah paid no attention to them. She couldn’t see anything but Luke, as she was focused solely on him.But then his facial expression changed, and he clenched his chest with both hands. Less than a second later, Luke lost his balance and fell to the ground first on his knees, but soon he bent over and touched the grass with his forehead.Sarah was beside him, calling his name like crazy. If she ever thought she knew fear in its purest and most basic forms, she just realized how wrong she was. Oh, boy, she was so wrong… fear of losing Luke, los

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

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

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&