#51: Tell Him

Endless abuse was the secret to getting supernatural powers, it seemed.The herbal drink had gone cold in my hands, but I kept my fingers wrapped around the cup anyway. It gave me something solid to hold while I pondered on everything Iris just shared with me.I stared at the floor for a long moment, then looked up at her.“There is more,” I finally let out, hoping it gave me some sort of direction because at the moment I saw none.Iris’s now cold eyes didn’t shift, but I saw the shift in her posture. The grieving woman receded. The strategist had returned.I told her everything.The way Dorian had appeared in Lewison’s chambers after Frank dragged him away. The cold that came with him. The silent words I had read on his lips. Trip. Danger. The slicing motion across his throat. Frank. And the final piece that had destroyed the little bond Lewison and I had managed to grow.“If he refuses, mention his mother. That was the last thing he told me.”Iris listened without interrupting. When

#52: What Only Dorian Knew

Perhaps I had truly gone mad, because one of the things my body refused to acclimatize to was seeing Lewison’s face fracture before me.On pure instinct, I took a step back, not knowing if a mini war was going to break out next.He simply stood there, mouth slightly open, jaw working as if trying to form words that refused to come. The heavy shelves rose around us like silent judges. The air smelled of old parchment and wax.Lewison did not explode contrary to how I played this out in my head. He did not demand explanations or call anyone mad. He simply stood there as though he were trying to find a way to put his mask back on. My eyes refused to leave him and in some ways I was beginning to feel like I learned to read him in the same way he could read me. The fractional tightening at the corner of his eye. The way his fingers stayed perfectly motionless at his sides as though moving might betray him. This was not the usual statuesque Lewison. And it terrified me in a way Frank’s th

#53: The Trips

The silence after Dorian faded felt heavier than the ghost himself.I watched the last traces of unnatural cold leave the back of my neck. The air normalized against my arms. He had delivered what was needed and left like always.Lewison kept staring at the empty space where his brother had stood. His hands remained clenched into hard fists, knuckles pale. The proof of Dorian’s presence had hit him squarely, cracking the mask wide enough for me to see the fracture underneath. Iris watched him with lightly squinted eyes and a chin pointed upwards.No one spoke for several long heartbeats. I could hear my own pulse in my ears.Lewison’s mouth moved. Once. Twice. His gaze stayed fixed on that empty shelf as if willing his brother back into existence.“Dorian…” The name came out rough, almost broken. “If you can hear me… the things I never got to say—”The unfinished sentence hung in the air, raw and heavy with years of unsaid words. All directed at nothing but empty air and old books.I

#54: Evening With the Predator

The more I stayed in monster world, the more it felt like I was adapting to its ways and its people.Perhaps I had gone mad.I woke to the familiar weight of Lewison’s bed and the absence of his body beside me. The sheets on his side were still warm, the indentation where he had lain still visible. I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, noticing the small aches in my body without letting myself examine why they felt different this morning. Dare I even say, safer or more familiar.Sitting up, I found the tonic Iris had given me earlier along with a small note.Hope it helped.-AubreyMy finger went up to my forehead involuntarily. I could still feel the oil from the tonic. He must have put it on me while I slept. A blush crept up to my cheeks before I could stop it.This means nothing. I am only his breeder. I repeated the words in my head again and again until I heard the door budge.Immediately, I hid the letter.Maids filed in shortly after carrying that undercurrent of e

#55: Paying Debts

My heart wouldn’t stop hammering.It slammed against my ribs like it wanted to crack them open and spill everything ugly inside me onto the cold stone floor. Ophelia. Ophelia. Ophelia. The name kept repeating like a vicious loop that wouldn’t let go. No matter how much she hurt me by betraying me and running and leaving me to rot in this monster’s den, the bond between us still existed. She was my only sister and the only person in my family that at least tried to treat me like family.I could hate her for abandoning me to this monster world and Frank’s madness, but I could not — would not — let her fall into his hands.Because I knew what that meant.It would be worse than death.I couldn’t breathe properly. My nightgown clung to my skin, damp with cold sweat born of pure terror. My bare feet slapped against the stone as I ran, platinum hair wild and tangled down my back. I looked like a madwoman. I felt like one. But I kept moving, lungs burning, legs shaking, heart screaming her

#56: Stay Calm

My hands trembled around the edge of the table even though I tried to keep them steady.Breakfast was more tense than usual.This morning the air felt thicker than usual, charged with the lie Iris was about to tell and the truth I was terrified Frank would see through. My shoulders curved inward as I lowered myself into my chair, hoping I portrayed the very picture of a frail Feywin carrying a precious bloodline. Every movement I made, I thought twice about. I felt Frank’s eyes on me from the moment I entered the dining room. They were heavy, assessing and hungry. I did not dare look at him. One glance and I knew I could shatter the fragile performance we had built the night before.The chair scraped against the floor as I sat. The sound was too loud in my ears. My hand drifted to my stomach as if the weight of what I carried already exhausted me. I kept my eyes down, focusing on the bread in front of me. Then I coughed a single, controlled cough into my napkin, slightly wet, slightly