MasukAzrealMom and I exchanged glances before I spoke. “But the Treasure Mountain Clan was wiped out a long time ago,” I said. “There were no survivors.”Fiona slowly shook her head. “I doubt that's true,” she said. “Your mother told me about the footprints discovered along your borders. Your warriors found evidence that someone had been there, yet no one saw them enter the kingdom. The guards at the prison were never attacked, yet someone still managed to set the prison on fire.” She paused before continuing. “That level of magic... that's Treasure Mountain witchcraft.”I frowned as I thought about Marcus' confession. “But Marcus claimed Athena was from Treasure Mountain,” I said. “He said her father is Rowan Blackthorn, although I don't believe a single word that fool says.” I rubbed my jaw as I tried to make sense of everything. “Even if, for the sake of argument, he's telling the truth... why would they want to kill one of their own?”The more I thought about it, the less it made sens
Azrael“So, if Marcus hadn't been on the verge of dying, we would never have found out that Athena was the key to Treasure Mountain Clan?” Gabriel said, shaking his head in disbelief. “What a selfish man. If he had told us the truth from the beginning, everything could have turned out differently.”I only gave him a small nod. I wasn't in the mood to talk. I didn't have the strength for another conversation. All I wanted was to be left alone with my thoughts.I hadn't stepped out of my apartment for days. Every document that needed my attention was brought to me by Gabriel. Most of the time, he didn't even bother waiting for my approval anymore. He simply handled the work himself because he knew I wasn't mentally present.Marcus and his family had been thrown into the dungeon that same day. Their punishment was a slow death, left to starve while the freezing cold slowly consumed them.These days, alcohol had become my only companion. From morning until night, I drowned myself in bottl
Athena"I... I couldn't tell you," Patricia said, her voice trembling. "The king already had his eyes on you, and his mother realized he had become obsessed with you. She asked us to arrange that trip with you, hoping that once he slept with you, he would get you out of his system."I stared at her in disbelief. "You spent days with me before we returned to the kingdom," I said. "You had plenty of opportunities to tell me the truth." My voice grew colder with every word. "Was all of that part of your plan? To push me closer to the king? To use me to steal the scroll? None of this makes any sense." I shook my head and glanced at Kael. "And I don't believe he's my mate. I don't feel anything. Absolutely nothing when I look at him."Patricia took a careful step toward me. "Athena, if you will just calm down and listen to me..."I turned my face away before she could come any closer, I didn't know why my emotions were so out of control. Maybe it was because Kael was nothing like the mate
AthenaThe door opened, and Kael walked into the room, the moment I saw him, I froze. Everything that had happened over the past few days came crashing back into my mind at once. Being dragged out of the Central Kingdom, finding out that the life I had known was built on lies, discovering people I had never met, claiming to be my family, if was all too much to process.Before I could think twice, I shot to my feet and ran toward him. Kael opened his arms, probably expecting me to hug him. Instead, I shoved my fist straight into his face with every bit of strength I had left.The impact sent him stumbling backward, but the force also drained what little energy remained in my body. My legs gave out beneath me, and I collapsed onto the floor.Kael landed on the ground as well, holding his face. "What was that for?" he shouted, glaring at me.The red-haired woman hurried over and knelt beside me. "Told you never to trust an angry Blackthorn," she said before helping me back onto my feet
AthenaI slowly opened my eyes as consciousness returned. It felt like I had been asleep for a very long time. My body was heavy, and every muscle ached as I blinked several times, trying to focus on my surroundings.I looked around the room, confused. I didn't recognize the place. I couldn't remember how I had gotten there, and I was certain I had never been in a room like this before.I forced myself to think back, searching my memory for the last thing I could remember. Then it all came rushing back. I remembered being dragged out of my prison cell. Before I could even struggle, someone had cast a spell on me. My vision had gone dark almost instantly, and I had lost consciousness.I immediately tried to sit up, but I barely moved before I felt a sharp tug, I looked down. Both my wrists and ankles were chained tightly to the bed. Panic rushed through me.I pulled against the chains with all the strength I had left, hoping one of them would break. Instead, the metal dug painfully int
Azrael"That's a big fat lie." Everyone turned toward the voice, Talia slowly stepped forward from the crowd. Her eyes were swollen from crying, and her voice had become hoarse from everything she had been through. It looked like she had not stopped crying since Athena's death.She glared at Marcus with nothing but anger. "Athena told me that the person you sent to kill her was one of your trusted men. His name is Thomas." Marcus's face immediately stiffened. "She said you called to ask for her location, and right after Thomas found her, he called you on the phone. You asked him to finish her and dump her body."A heavy silence fell over everyone, the crowd looked back and forth between Marcus and Talia, waiting for someone to deny the accusation.I slowly loosened my grip, Aurora fell to the ground with a loud thud. She immediately grabbed her neck, coughing and gasping desperately for air. Her entire body trembled as she struggled to breathe. After catching a few breaths, she quickl
AzrealI scoffed in irritation “I wasted my time coming here,” I said coldly. “I thought you would actually help me, but all you have done is plant more confusion in my head.”Fiona watched me calmly, completely unbothered by my reaction. “I can bet that deep down, you already know the answer,” sh
AthenaZoey kept pacing back and forth in front of me, her steps quick and restless, like she was trying to burn off her frustration. She ran a hand through her hair and stopped abruptly.“Why exactly should I be the one doing your job?” she asked, her voice sharp. “If the general gave this task to
AzrealI leaned in, pressing my lips against her neck as I pulled her closer, holding her firmly against my body. Then a sudden knock on the door broke the moment. We pulled apart instantly.I let out a frustrated groan, running a hand through my hair as I took a step back. Why was it so hard to g
AzraelWe broke apart immediately. Athena stepped away from me at once, picking up her cleaning supplies like nothing had happened. She moved to the other side of the office and began working, her movements controlled, but I could tell she was trying to steady herself.I walked back to my desk and







