His sincerity wraps around me like a warm embrace, and for a moment, I let myself lean into it. “That’s sweet, Niklaus. Really. I’ll keep that in mind.” There's no way in hell I'm admitting that I miss him, too. “Good,” he says, and I can hear the smile in his voice. “Because you might not realize
Niklaus I felt more at ease after Verena reached out to me, so at ease that I called Lucan to a meeting. Things will only escalate from here because we’ve both drawn blood, and honestly I’m not in the fucking mood for a war. Then again, who is? “You sure about this, Klaus?” Ares asks next to me.
Because if there’s one thing I know about wars, it’s that they don’t just end with a meeting. They end when one side can no longer fight, and I’ll be damned if it’s going to be mine. As we drive back, the silence in the car is thick, each of us lost in our own thoughts until Ares finally breaks it,
Verena My feet barely make a sound on the lush carpet as I wander back to my room, the earlier conversation with Axton echoing in my head. It’s unsettling, knowing that my tragedy, my very personal loss, was just a cosmic currency for powers I never asked for. I slump onto the bed, the soft cushi
*** Later, I stride into Axton’s lavish study, a blend of ancient elegance and modern chic, where he’s seated, surrounded by a myriad of ancient texts and digital screens—his way of keeping a foot in both worlds. He looks up, one eyebrow arching in mild surprise as I close the door behind me with a
Verena When Axton said a High Priestess would be visiting me today, I expected an older woman. Gray hair, wearing black robes, a permanent scowl on her face. I expected her to be strict, training me until I could no longer stand. To be honest, I pictured McGonagall from Harry Potter. So why is the
As Kris and I sink deeper into the plush cushions of the sunroom, the afternoon light casts a warm glow over the array of mystical paraphernalia she’s brought along. From crystals that shimmer with hidden depths to jars of herbs that smell like a wild forest, each item seems to pulse with an unseen
Niklaus The hum of the jet’s engines still echoes in my ears as I step out onto the tarmac, but it’s quickly drowned out by the sight that greets me. There she is—Verena, standing just beyond the restricted area, her smile as bright as the midday sun. Her eyes light up when she sees me and it’s a