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22. Chapter

last update publish date: 2026-06-15 07:54:59

Zade

The silence in the room was so thick you could almost cut it. Only the sputtering of the candles and Eira's heavy, feverish breathing served as a reminder that she was still alive. I sat beside her, my hands trembling from exhaustion as I wiped her face with a cool cloth. Every single one of her features had burned itself into my mind over the past few days. The defiance that lingered at the corner of her mouth even in her fever dreams, and the vulnerability she only allowed to be seen now
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Anita E
Why didn't she stay in bed then?
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  • Shadow Of Noctis: In The Cruel Prince’s Grasp   28. Chapter

    EiraThe world blurred into a dense, dark mass. I couldn’t tell where my dream ended and reality began. My ears rang as if I had shoved my head into a beehive, and my eyelids felt as heavy as lead.I was dazed. The final, desperate wave of poison and exhaustion crashed over me. The last thing I remembered was Zade lifting me into his arms on the terrace. After that, reality shattered into scattered fragments inside my mind. I felt someone’s hands touching me. Not roughly. Firm, yet careful fingers peeled the tight black combat suit from my body, the fabric already glued to my skin with sweat.I wanted to move. I wanted to fight against the touch. My instincts had always told me to. But my muscles had turned to jelly. A soft, cool linen nightgown was slipped over my body. Then a scent drifted through the haze of half consciousness. Leather, ash, and pine. Zade. Or perhaps it was only his pillows carrying his scent. Either way, the mere illusion of his presence was enough to drive the p

  • Shadow Of Noctis: In The Cruel Prince’s Grasp   27. Chapter

    ZadeThe silence that fell after she was pinned to the wall didn't last long. Eira stepped back, lowered the dagger, and a wild, defiant light flashed in her eyes."Don't hold back," she said, and her voice wasn't a request, but a command. "If you spare me, I'll never learn to survive Caspian."I nodded. The morning air was still cold, but my blood was already boiling. I picked up my sword, and she twirled the two shadow steel daggers in her hands. Her movements in the black clothes were ghostly; the fabric absorbed the light, so only her face and hands flashed white in the grayness.Our first clash was sharp and fast. Eira didn't wait for me to make a move. She rushed at me with a speed I hadn't seen from her even before she was poisoned. The blades of the daggers clashed against my sword. Sparks flew as I parried a slash aimed at my neck, then stepped aside from a thrust directed at my stomach."You're faster," I grunted approvingly, trying to keep her at bay with a wide sweeping st

  • Shadow Of Noctis: In The Cruel Prince’s Grasp   26. Chapter

    Zade The dawn was still gray and relentless when I stepped out onto the private training terrace. The wind whistling from the mountains was ice-cold, but I did not feel it. The fire inside me, fueled by Noctis and my own restlessness, was enough to keep the chill at bay.I was swinging my customary heavy sword, but my thoughts were not on the arc of the strikes. The memory of the night haunted me. The moment I handed the weapons to her. The silence that followed. I did not know what to expect this morning. Would she come out? Or would she lock herself in her room and let the walls consume her again?Noctis was watching tensely from the depths of my consciousness. "She is coming," the dragon murmured, and I felt his anticipation, which ran through my spine like a shiver.The heavy, iron-bound wing of the terrace door creaked.I turned around. I was prepared for the defiant gaze, the baggy trousers, the thief's rags I had seen her in until now. I was prepared for the resentment.But no

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  • Shadow Of Noctis: In The Cruel Prince’s Grasp   18. Chapter

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    Eira My wrist throbbed from his grip. He dragged me across the dusty square as if I were livestock being hauled to slaughter, not a human being. I tried to plant my feet. I tried to shove away from him. But the prince was like an immovable wall of stone. With every jerk of his arm I felt the

  • Shadow Of Noctis: In The Cruel Prince’s Grasp   1. Chapter

    Zade The dragon smoke was suffocating, but I had learned long ago how to breathe in it. Leaning against the marble railing of the balcony, I watched the crowd swirling below and felt the urge to burn the whole place to the ground. The smell of cheap perfume and sweat drifted up to me, mixed wit

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