006

Elowen sat at the edge of the bed, her shoulders still shaking faintly as she tried to steady her breathing.

The softness beneath her felt foreign, almost wrong, like her body didn’t belong in something this comfortable.

Her hands trembled in her lap, and she pressed her lips together hard, trying to force the tears back down, trying to regain control before she completely unraveled again.

A box of tissues appeared in front of her.

She blinked, her vision still slightly blurred, and looked up.

Ellion stood there, his expression quiet, careful. Not pitying—just… aware.

“Here,” he said gently.

She hesitated for a second before taking one, her fingers brushing against his briefly. The contact made her stiffen, but she quickly pulled back, pressing the tissue to her face as she wiped at her tears.

“I’m fine,” she muttered, though her voice betrayed her immediately.

Ellion didn’t argue. He didn’t call her out on it either. He simply sat down beside her, leaving just enough space between them that it didn’t feel suffocating.

“It’s okay to cry,” he said after a moment, his voice low and steady. “You don’t have to pretend right now.”

Elowen let out a short, humorless breath. “That’s easy for you to say.”

“Maybe,” he admitted. “But I can imagine how overwhelming this must be.”

Her grip tightened slightly around the tissue as she dabbed at her face again, more out of habit than necessity now. The tears had slowed, but the weight in her chest hadn’t gone anywhere.

“And for the record,” Ellion added quietly, glancing at her, “I believe you.”

That made her look at him. Properly this time.

“What?” she asked, her brows pulling together slightly.

“About Sorrian,” he said. “I believe you.”

Elowen studied him, searching for something—anything—that would give him away.

“Why?” she asked carefully.

Ellion shrugged faintly. “Because I know him. I can tell when he’s lying.”

She held his gaze for a second longer, her expression unreadable, then looked away again.

‘Don’t be stupid.’ That voice in her head came back immediately, sharp and clear. ‘They’re all the same.’

Good cop, bad cop. That’s all this was. A game. A strategy. She wasn’t going to fall for it just because one of them spoke softly and handed her tissues.

Still… there was something about him. Something that didn’t fit with the rest.

That made it worse.

Because it made it easier to forget what he really was.

Elowen swallowed, forcing her thoughts into something more controlled, more useful.

“Tell me about your family,” she said, her tone steadier now.

Ellion blinked slightly at the shift, then leaned back a little, considering her. “You want the truth?” he asked.

She gave him a dry look. “Do I look like I want another lie?”

He exhaled quietly, nodding. “Fair enough.”

For a moment, he didn’t speak, like he was deciding how much to say.

Then he did.

“Before the war,” he began, “before everything changed… we weren’t strong enough to win on our own. Not against humans. You had ammunition, machines and devices. All we had were our claws.”

Elowen’s jaw tightened at that, but she didn’t interrupt.

“So,” he continued, “our family did what desperate people do. We asked for help.”

“From who?” she asked.

“Lunaris Deity,” he said. “The Moon Goddess.”

Elowen’s fingers stilled slightly in her lap.

Isn't that a myth or something?

“She answered,” Ellion went on. “Gave our bloodline abilities. Power. Enough to turn the tide of the war. And in return,” Ellion’s expression shifted.

Just slightly.

“A prophecy,” he said.

The word lingered between them.

Elowen frowned. “What kind of prophecy?”

Ellion shook his head almost immediately. “I can’t tell you that.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Why not?”

“Because it’s against the rules,” he replied. “We’ve already lost enough because of it.”

That made her pause.

Lost?

Her mind tried to piece it together, but there wasn’t enough information. Just fragments.

She leaned back slightly, her thoughts turning inward as she processed what he had said. A war fueled by divine power. A prophecy binding them. Loss tied to something he wouldn’t explain.

It didn’t sit right.

Nothing about this did.

“Are your brothers… nice?” she asked after a moment, the question coming out more uncertain than she intended.

Ellion let out a small breath, almost like he expected that. “If you want to survive in this house,” he said carefully, “you should avoid Kaelen, Draven, and Sorrian.”

Elowen frowned. “Avoid them how? I’m literally tied to all of you.”

“I know,” he said. “But still… keep your distance where you can.”

“That doesn’t explain anything.”

Ellion tilted his head slightly, then decided to be more direct. “Kaelen hates humans. Not just casually. Deeply. He doesn’t trust them, doesn’t tolerate them. And honestly… he doesn’t like most people in general.”

Elowen let out a quiet, bitter sound. “Yeah, I noticed.”

“Draven,” Ellion continued, “isn’t much better. He’s… intense. Competitive. He doesn’t like losing, and he doesn’t like things he can’t control. He has a short temper, and he doesn’t hide it.”

“That one also checks out,” she muttered.

Ellion almost smiled, but it faded quickly. “And Sorrian…” he hesitated slightly, then sighed. “He’s… complicated.”

Elowen scoffed. “That’s one way to put it.”

“He’s manipulative,” Ellion said more bluntly this time. “He knows how to say the right things. Make people feel what he wants them to feel.”

“A liar,” Elowen corrected flatly.

Ellion didn’t argue that. “And a whore,” he added under his breath.

Elowen shook her head, leaning back slightly. “Figures.”

There was a brief pause before she asked, “What about Zevrian?”

Ellion considered that one more carefully. “He’s… fair,” he said finally. “Disciplined. He doesn’t act on impulse like the others. But he’s not exactly easy either. He sees everything as strategy. Responsibility. He doesn’t… relax.”

“Sounds exhausting,” Elowen muttered.

“It is,” Ellion admitted. “He’s like the father of the house.”

“And you?” she asked, glancing at him.

He gave a small, self-aware smile. “I’m more like the son nobody takes seriously.”

Elowen raised a brow slightly. “Really?”

“Yes,” he said lightly. “Most of the time, anyway. The only one who sometimes listens to me is Kaelen.”

That caught her attention.

“Kaelen?” she repeated, surprised. “Out of all of them?”

Ellion nodded. “Yeah.”

Elowen studied him for a second, thinking back to earlier. The way Ellion had been the only one genuinely happy to see him. The way Kaelen had told him it was okay to put the bracelet on.

That wasn’t just random. There might be some kind of bond there.

“That’s… surprising,” she admitted.

Ellion shrugged. “He’s not what people think he is. Not completely.”

Elowen didn’t respond to that. She wasn’t ready to believe anything about Kaelen that didn’t involve him trying to kill her.

Ellion seemed to sense the shift in her thoughts and changed the subject. “Do you like the room?” he asked.

Elowen looked around again, taking in the size, the detail, the wealth of it all.

“It’s big,” she said slowly. “And expensive.”

He smiled faintly. “That’s a first.”

“What is?”

“You’re the first woman to walk into this room and say that.”

Elowen frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”

Ellion hesitated and then he answered, “There have been others.”

Her stomach tightened. “Others?”

“Previous potentials,” he said. “Women who were brought here… like you.”

Her fingers curled slightly. “And?”

“They matched,” he said carefully. “With some of us. But not all.”

Elowen’s throat felt dry. “Not all five?”

Ellion nodded. “Mostly Kaelen,” he added quietly.

A chill ran through her. “Where are they now?” she asked.

The question hung in the air.

Ellion didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, something changed in his expression. The ease he had been carrying slipped, replaced by something tighter. Uncomfortable.

“Elowen…” he started.

But before he could finish, a knock came at the door.

Both of them looked up.

A maid stepped in, bowing her head slightly. “Sir Zevrian is here to see you, my lady.”

Ellion stood up too quickly. “Right,” he said, his tone shifting. “I should go.”

Elowen watched him, narrowing her eyes slightly. “You didn’t answer my question.”

He forced a small smile. “Good luck tonight.”

And just like that, he walked out and the door closed behind him.

Elowen sat there, staring at the space he had just vacated.

Her chest tightened slightly.

He had been afraid. She saw it.

Whatever happened to those women, it wasn’t good.

And now, she was next.