ARIAI woke up on the hospital bed. I would rather wake up in the arms of my mate, but the state of my awareness didn't give me much strength to complain. The sound of drops falling down the drip was as annoying as ever, and judging by the way my hand was swollen around the cannula, I guessed that it wasn't the first drip I had been given while lying here. My condition must have been worse than I assumed.As I turned my head to the side, I saw Tyrion sitting in a chair by my bed. He was sleeping with his head tilted to one side and his arms crossed over his chest. My eyes uncontrollably took in his bulging biceps, but then I noticed a band-aid in the crook of his bent elbow. Had something happened to him? Was he getting some treatment? I must have been worrying about him too intensely since he suddenly opened his eyes and looked at me."Good morning," he said hoarsely, an instant smile brightening his face."Good morning," I replied and slightly motioned my chin, pointing to his elbow
TYRIONI watched Aria turn pale while I was on the verge of exploding. "Do you know what awaits those who insult the royal family?" I squeezed through my teeth.Cybele's expression didn't change. She merely stopped pointing at my mate and turned her attention to me. "I acknowledge your laws, wolf king, yet you need to respect ours. Within our coven, the mixed-bloods are executed. I am only demanding your impure mate to leave and spare me her presence." Her eyes shifted back to Aria, who now rose from her throne."Explain! What right do you have to question my lineage?!" Her hands fisted, whitening her knuckles.A cold huff escaped Cybele's throat. "Your mother was half-blood, but it wasn't only that; she was the daughter of a warlock who was known to practice dark magic. I can still sense bits of his magic within you." She gave Aria another measuring gaze, which made my wolf dangerously scratch the surface. "You even resemble that cursed warlock.""How dare you, witch!" I snarled, slo
ARIAMy hands were shaking. My legs could barely move forward. I felt sick, as if my whole body protested against what I had just heard from the witch. I used to believe that all my strength had come from the Moon Goddess's blessing, but now the witch claimed that my power might have come from wicked magic that accumulated within me...I refused to believe her, but could I genuinely deny everything she said? The more I thought about it, the more I realized that my entire knowledge of the Seymour family's blessed features came from what I had heard from my father. It was said that the features were supposed to give strength and immunity to silver, but what if the truth was different? Thinking about it now, I had never regarded my father as someone with outstanding strength. I had no proof that he had been immune to silver, either. What if the so-called immunity to silver had come from the fact that my grandfather created a drug using silver? And what if the amazing strength that the Se
ARIAI sat on the bed and felt my wolf stir inside me. She was angry; she even snarled at me as if she was trying to prove that she wasn't weak.‘I don't think you are weak,’ I said to her. ‘You were always my strength, even if I didn't have my own. I would never say that you are weak.’I meant every word. That was one of many reasons I didn't want to believe Cybele, but what if she was right? What if I was going to die if I didn't get rid of this unknown part of me? The truth was that I knew nothing about magic, and it was better to ask someone who practiced magic on a daily basis. That was why I called Nova as soon as Cybele left, and we decided to meet at the familiar coffee shop near Grand Lunaville's hospital.As we sat down and took the first few sips of liquid caffeine, I told her everything that happened during the official meeting and about the conversation I had with Cybele afterward."Cybele really is a bitch!" Nova growled once I finished my story. "I used to be afraid of
TYRIONAria was sleeping soundly in my arms. Her breath and the touch of her delicate fingers on my burning skin constantly teased my nerves. I did not doubt that she was made for me, just like I didn't have any doubts that my feelings for her wouldn't change if she became weak and fragile. Yet, I could understand why she hated to lose the strength that helped her save herself and many innocents. Now I had to prove that if she lost the ability to protect her people, then I would protect them.I moved my mate's head onto the pillow and reluctantly lifted myself from the bed. I missed her touch already, and I could tell she felt the same since she frowned in her sleep. I chuckled and covered her with sheets, but then leaned down and kissed her sweet lips, just to steal another second of closeness."You're leaving," she murmured sleepily when I was getting dressed.I turned around to watch her stretching on the bed. The sole sight of her body arching and her head tilted back made me hard
ARIAThe last twenty-four hours felt odd. Once Tyrion left the room in the morning, some unknown force began to pressure my insides and fill me with anxiety. At first, I told myself I was overreacting, but each hour that passed only made me feel more crumbled on the inside. The squeeze in my chest became worse when I went to Tyrion's office to eat lunch with him. He took me to the patio where our dishes were served, but the air around us felt anything but pleasant. I caught Tyrion's gaze once or twice, and each time I sensed an unknown coldness in his eyes. I asked him if he was mad at me for some reason, but he denied it, awkwardly turning his severe expression into a tense smile. Things became even stranger when I asked him about his meeting with Aziz, and he avoided answering my question. I tried to ignore it once more, telling myself that perhaps he was tired, but why did it feel like a sudden lack of trust?Once our awkward lunch was over, Tyrion announced that he had to inspect
TYRIONA few hours earlierThe second Aria left, I couldn't get rid of the feeling that I had made a grave mistake. At first, I told myself that my uncertainty came from guilt. I had been trying to avoid Aria the entire day before she left. If there truly was a connection between Aria and the witch, I could only make things worse. The precautions I took now felt heavy in my heart because I knew that I wasn't there for Aria when she needed me.Now she was on the way to the coven's headquarters, and all the doubts I had concerning the ritual had doubled. As long as I can remember, the witches in the coven had always despised our race. The more I was surprised when their official delegation decided to show up at my palace after we informed them of finding a few dead witches close to our territory. They offered no help in finding the murderous witch, but they were greatly concerned about Aria and the magic she inherited from her warlock grandfather. Even if everything they said sounded ge
ARIA My head was pounding so painfully that I struggled to lift my eyelids. Then I felt my body moving… or rather I was being moved. Once I partially regained my focus, I saw two male guards holding me by my arms with my bare feet dragging across the floor. They were taking me somewhere while I could do nothing to stop them or protest. I looked at my clothes; I still had my shirt and jeans on, but had they taken my star-shaped talisman? I hoped they hadn't... I tried to summon my strength, but I couldn't. I tried reaching out to Aziz through the mind link, but that only caused another wave of pain to pierce through my skull. I was even unable to hold my head in one, steady position, which made me frantically wonder what the hell was in the water I had drunk?! The guards didn't seem to notice that I regained consciousness. Not that it mattered since I wasn't strong enough to kill a fly—or move my limbs at all—let alone fight two bulky human magic practitioners. As I managed to lift m