Sophia was torn when she arrived home. She didn’t know whether to be angry, hunt her teammates down in a rage and tear them apart, or completely break down and cry.
The apartment she had grown up in was destroyed. She wondered if this was why Major Dylan had bought a new black dress for her. Even if he had come here to collect her own, he would have been unable to do so. Sophia felt she could have handled that if her parents weren’t gone too.
‘How could they not have told me this?’ Sophia was mentally exhausted at this point. The High Knight selection exam, the invasion, the Head of Knight Association’s funeral, and now this. She had no clue what she was supposed to do, so she just stood, rooted to the spot, outside what had been her home for twenty-one years, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. All she could think about was that her teammates had not told her, not even her best friend Caiden, that her parents were dead the moment she went missing in the
‘What a troublesome event.’ Caiden knew he couldn’t bring home a girl to his mother, much less a random girl he’s never spoken to her of, without some sort of reaction. But fainting was not one of the possibilities he had even thought his annoying bossy mother was capable of. It baffled him because he honestly expected for her to start yelling at the top of her lungs like she usually did whenever he and his lackadaisical attitude was concerned. What was even more troublesome was the reaction his mother’s fainting caused. The thump when she hit the wooden floor brought his father slinking into the entry room. Andre Mournflame’s eyes quickly took in the scene, from his unconscious mother to the brown-haired girl on his back to the late hour and to the lack of groceries, which he had been sent out for. “Who’s the girl?” It was the only question his father needed to ask because she and his reason for bringing her to his home were the only unknowns in his
Sophia fidgeted uncomfortably under the stares of Zain’s father and older brother.They had been seated at a really fancy table. Brandon Anderson sat at the head and his wife was at the other end. Sophia had elected to sit on the Anderson matriarch’s right, and Zain was beside her. Directly across from her was Leon. Kai, as family heir, was sitting at his father’s right hand.Sophia had picked to sit next to Mandy Anderson because, one, she was the only other female at the table, and two – and most importantly – because both Zain’s father and older brother intimidated her just by standing in the same room as her. She was sure if she sat next to either of them, she would end up acting like a scared little girl unable to speak.But that seemed to be the case anyway because both Brandon and Kai were staring at her with dark onyx eyes and impassive faces that were making her twitchy.“So, Sophia,” Zain’s m
“What the hell are you frowning at, Caid?” Zac asked his teammate as they walked back home from another mission. Caiden didn’t respond. He was frustrated. It wasn’t a state of being he found himself in often seeing as he did everything under the sun possible to avoid anything that was the least bit troublesome and or frustrating. But, every time he found himself truly frustrated with the situation at hand, it only served to annoy him, something else he was not often and disliked being. “It had been a month since she stepped out of the compound,” Caiden finally said with a sigh. “Who?” Jennifer asked. “Sophia.” He then glanced at his female teammate to catch her reaction. Jennifer had been studying her nails as she walked and the moment he mentioned Sophia she froze. “Sophia?” “Yes,” Caiden drawled. “And she’s in your compound?” Zac asked in the most dumbfounded face he could muster. “In our house.” Jenni
The world had tipped on its ear since the last time Sophia had stepped off Mournflame property a month ago. Team Dylan was currently off active duty due to Leon being on a one month mission with another team. The team leader was a High Knight called Charles and they were in a classified top confidential mission. He wouldn’t be back for another week, so in the meantime, Team Dylan had no missions. She had nearly lost her position at the infirmary. The nurses had informed the Head Healer of her approach before she even set foot inside the infirmary front doors, and the man had promptly dragged her by the arm to his office. Once inside, he started to pace and throw his hands in the air. “I’m so disappointed on you, Miss Marshall,” he lectured, “You’ve been negl
Sophia did not attend training with Asher’s team as Jackson had demanded the day before. But it was okay because Jackson didn’t, either. Both of them had been called to the Head of Knight Association’s office first thing in the morning, a.k.a even earlier than Asher Jean had them up and running laps. It turned out that Leon and his team had returned to the village yesterday afternoon with Helena and her assistant. Helena had been named the new Head of Knight Association, the reason that Leon was sulking before he declared that he would take that hat from her in a few years, and her first order of business was dealing with the High Knight selection exams promotion. She tried not to appear nervous as the newly appointed Head of Knight Association sat at her desk with steeple fingers and stared long and hard at all six Knight assembled. Sophia took the time to observe the woman that was revered as the greatest healer in Laera Kingdom. Despite knowing that the Healing Kn
Sophia had a celebration of her promotion with her team. It is a dinner actually paid for by her mentor who usually skipped out and left them to foot the bills. She also had a formal congratulatory dinner with the Andersons, which had her beyond confused. Why would they prepare a fancy dinner for her when their own son didn’t receive a promotion and had spent the last three days trying to kill her just by glaring at her? And lastly, she was treated to a reasonably priced congratulations lunch with Caiden and his family. It was the best party in her opinion, having them with her in her accomplishment. She had managed to moderately surprise Helena during their first training session. Helena, as she demanded the brown haired High Knight call her, explained the importance of dodging as a skill for all healers to know. A healer would be of no use to the team if they were taken down. It was the healer’s responsibility to stay out of the way and provide support. Unl
Life took on a pattern. She was training day in and day out all day every day, except for when she went on missions. The majority of her missions were with Jackson and Caiden, but about ten percent of them occurred with other High Knights and sometimes from the Palace Knights. The only thing odd about her new routine was her missions with Caiden and Jackson. High Knight teams were fixed like amateur Knight teams. Members for a mission were decided on what skills were needed to complete. Often times you found yourself working with someone you don’t know. But that wasn’t the case with Sophia, Jackson, and Caiden. Ninety percent of their missions were done together. Her training with Helena had increased by an insane degree. She was learning how to think on her feet and could successfully avoid most of her supervisor’s attacks. And just when she thought she had reached the end and it couldn’t get any harder, Helena increased the power behind her attacks, her speed, and
Sophia sat at the dinner table next to Caiden. Normally, she had no problems eating with the Mournflames. However, tonight each one of them was fidgeting. While typical for Altea, the woman was incapable of staying still, displays of nervousness and unease were unheard for Caiden and Andre. It made her uncomfortable and she wanted nothing more than to flee to her room and meditate for a couple more hours. Altea spoke first. “Sophia dear, you know Andre and I consider you to be our own daughter. I’ve always wanted one.” Sophia nodded, uncertain where Caiden’s mother was going with this daughter talk. It made Sophia wonder why she had agreed to marry someone as lazy as Andre who was just as bad if not worse than Caiden. “Well, Andre and I have been discussing, Caiden too, it was his idea,” she added as her son cleared his throat pointedly, “we would like to make it official.” The brunette looked at each Mournflame in turn. Even though she had heard what