Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 161 - Chapitre 170

LUCIANOI found Silas and Rhea in my office, going over border patrol changes. They both looked up when I walked in.“Haley has agreed to help,” I said without preamble. “But there's a problem. She has to go back alone to leave the message.”Rhea frowned. “Alone? That's a red flag! She could run and leave us stranded. She could warn them and then it will all be for naught.”“Maybe. Or maybe that's just how Kael set it up to avoid detection.”“Can't we follow her?” Silas asked.“No. She'll be watched. If we send anyone with her, Kael will smell them and disappear. The whole plan falls apart and we lose our only chance to capture him and Julie.”Silas shook his head. “This is too risky. We don't know if we can trust her.”“We don't have a choice.” I said through gritted teeth. “If we don't try, we lose everything anyway.” I ran a hand through my hair, the frustration building. “Jordan's deadline is ending in three days. Three days! If we don't move now, if we don't take the chance, I h

LUCIANOWhen there was nothing between us, he rolled me onto my back and looked down at me. The moonlight from the window painted silver lines across his face.“I'm in love with you,” he said, quietly. I smiled, “I'm in love with you too.”He lowered himself, kissing my neck, my collarbone, the space between my breasts. I arched into him, needing more.I reached down between us, gently guiding him into me. He was ready. I was ready.I sank down onto him slowly, both of us letting out soft gasps at the feeling of fullness. Of Completeness.Like this was exactly where I was meant to be.Like we had all the time in the world.He held my hips, guiding my movement as I rode him. Slow at first, then faster. The room filled with the sounds of our breathing, the soft creak of the bed, the slap of skin.I leaned forward, bracing my hands on his chest. His heart pounded under my palms. His eyes never left my face.“You're so beautiful,” he whispered. “So beautiful.”I didn't answer. I couldn't

HALEYI pushed the door open. It swung inward with a long, low creak. Darkness stretched out, thick and oppressing. The smell hit me first. Decay. Blood. Rot. It was dark inside. The windows were covered up with boards, letting in only thin strips of fading light. I could see shapes. A table. Some chairs. I reminded myself that I wouldn't go into that room. The room where it happened. I'd leave the message if Kael wasn’t there and get out fast. No need to linger more than necessary.I stepped inside, one foot over the threshold.Took another, then one more.Fast. Too fast.An arm wrapped around me from behind. Cold metal pressed against my throat. A knife.I froze. My breath stopped.“Well, well, well.” The familiar voice sang in my ear. “Look who decided to come back and pay dear old me a visit.” He mocked.Kael.I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. He pressed the knife harder against my throat, I hissed, feeling it nick the skin lightly.“Kael,” I said, his name calling out like a

PENIELThe gardens were really quiet these days.To be honest, I liked them like this. Peaceful. No servants rushing past. No warriors training nearby. Just the flowers and the bees and the warm sun on my face.I sat on a stone bench near the rose bushes, a book open in my lap that I wasn't really reading. My mind kept drifting, too full to comprehend the words on the page. But it gave me something to do with my hands.I thought about Luciano. The recent way he looked at me sometimes, like he was afraid I would disappear if he blinked.I thought about Haley, out there somewhere, playing a dangerous game. I thought about Preya, still in that bed, still not waking up.I thought about my father.The thought made me shiver even in the warm sun. Henry. Out there somewhere. Planning. Waiting.I pushed the thought away and tried to focus on the book.I heard the crunch of gravel as someone walked towards me but didn't look up.Until the shadow fell over me, blocking the sun. I raised my he

HALEYI turned to leave. My legs barely worked. They felt like they belonged to someone else. I managed to make it to the door, then stopped.“What about her?” I asked, not looking back at Olivia's body.“What about her?”“She deserves a burial. A proper grave at least.”Kael laughed again. “She deserves whatever I feel she deserves. Which is to rot. And she will. Right here. As a reminder.”I didn't say anything else. I just nodded and walked out of the room, down the hall, out the front door.Slow and steady, like I wasn't terrified out of my mind.Behind me, I heard the cabin door close.I kept walking.I breathed in the smell of clean, fresh air, stumbling away from the cabin, my feet moving on their own. The cold air hit my face and I sucked it in greedily, trying to scrub the smell of death from my lungs.I walked fast, not looking back, not stopping until I was deep in the forest. When I was far enough that I couldn't see the cabin anymore, I finally stopped and leaned agains