Novels by Dep Flair

The crowd parted as Lucas led Draven toward the exhibition area.Every gala had one. A space set aside for demonstrations. For challenges. For young heirs to prove themselves while their families watched.Tonight, that space would become a stage.Nobles followed, sensing entertainment. The music faded. Conversations died. All attention focused on the two young men walking toward the center of the hall.Draven felt his brothers watching.Edmund with barely concealed anticipation. Hoping for failure.Thomas with something like concern. Maybe remembering who'd saved his life.Daniel with calculating interest. Always analyzing.And Garrett. That knowing smile. Those sharp eyes missing nothing.Father stood on the elevated platform beside Count Nervia. Both men expressionless. Both watching their sons with the detachment of generals observing a battle.Lucas reached the exhibition circle first. Turned to face Draven."Standard rules," Lucas announced, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Fir

The day of the gala arrived.Draven stood before the mirror in his room, adjusting his formal attire. Dark fabric with silver trim. The Ashworth crest embroidered on his chest. Every inch the noble son he was supposed to be.He barely recognized himself.A knock at the door."It's time." Thomas's voice. Neutral. Professional.Draven opened the door. His brother stood in the hallway, dressed similarly. They looked at each other for a moment.Things had changed between them since the gathering. Not friendship—that would take more than one life-saving moment. But something like respect."Ready?" Thomas asked."As I'll ever be."They walked together toward the main hall. The manor had been transformed overnight. Flowers everywhere. Chandeliers blazing with magical light. Servants in pristine uniforms moving with practiced efficiency.The Ashworth estate had become a palace.They reached the gathering point where the brothers were supposed to assemble before the formal entrance. Edmund was

Three weeks passed faster than Draven expected.He spent every day training. Not hiding anymore. Not holding back.His team watched with wide eyes as he moved through combat forms at full speed. Techniques from ancient warriors flowing through him like water. Fire magic burning hotter and brighter than any second-year should be capable of."How long have you been able to do this?" Jin asked after one session."A while.""And you just... didn't?""I had reasons."Jin shook his head. "You're terrifying. You know that, right?"Draven didn't respond. Just kept training.The academy noticed the change. Students who'd dismissed him now watched from a distance. Masters who'd overlooked him started paying attention.Master Vex observed several of his training sessions. Said nothing. Just watched with those calculating eyes.Word spread.The disappointment wasn't a disappointment anymore.Two days before the gala, Draven packed his things and said goodbye to his team."Be careful," Lyra said.

The carriage rolled to a stop at the edge of town.Draven stepped out into the afternoon sun. The Ashworth estate was behind him now. Miles away. But its weight still pressed on his shoulders.Everything had changed.He wasn't the disappointment anymore. Wasn't invisible. His father knew about the pendant. His brothers knew he'd been hiding. The entire noble gathering had watched him move faster than Edmund's killing strike.No going back."Draven!"He turned. Jin was running toward him from the town square, Lyra and Sera close behind. His team. His friends. The people who'd waited for days while he faced his family alone.Jin reached him first, grabbing his shoulders. "You're alive!""Were you expecting otherwise?""With your family? Honestly, yes."Lyra arrived next, slightly out of breath. "What happened? We heard rumors. Something about a fight? About you saving someone?""Rumors travel fast.""Noble gatherings are gossip factories." Sera studied him with those sharp eyes. "You lo

Suddenly, morning came. Draven hadn't slept. Had spent the night sitting by his window, watching the stars fade and the sun rise over the Ashworth estate.Thinking.Father's offer played in his mind on repeat. Recognition. Power. Finally being seen as a true Ashworth.All he had to do was become a weapon.A knock at the door."Come in."Elena entered with breakfast. She set the tray down and looked at him with knowing eyes."You look terrible.""Thanks.""Big decision ahead?""You heard what happened.""Everyone heard." Elena sat on the edge of his desk. "The disappointment saving his brother. Moving faster than lightning. The whole estate is buzzing with it.""Great.""It is great. For years, I watched this family treat you like dirt. Now they know the truth. Now they have to deal with who you really are."Draven looked at her. "And who am I really?""That's for you to decide." Elena stood. "But whatever you choose, don't let them make you into something you're not. You're not a weap

The great hall remained frozen.Draven stood between his brothers, heart pounding. The pendant still burned against his chest. The power he'd kept hidden for so long now exposed for everyone to see.No going back.Edmund was the first to move. He stepped away from Draven, sword still in hand, lightning still crackling. But his eyes held something new.Fear."How?" Edmund's voice was barely a whisper. "You're the disappointment. The failure. You can't—""Clearly he can." Garrett walked forward, positioning himself near Draven. Not threatening. Protective, almost. "The question is how long he's been hiding it."Thomas struggled to his feet. His earth magic had faded, shock replacing rage. He stared at Draven like he'd never seen him before."You saved me," Thomas said. "You actually saved me.""Don't read too much into it.""You could have let him kill me. No one would have blamed you. I've been terrible to you for years.""I know.""Then why?"Draven didn't have an answer. Not one that

Michael spent the next morning doing damage control. Conference calls with key board members. Reassurances to nervous investors. Carefully worded statements to the press about "internal governance reviews" that meant absolutely nothing and everything at once.By noon, he was exhausted. Not from the work, but from the constant performance. Every conversation required calibration. Every word needed to be measured against how it might be used against him later.His assistant buzzed. "Mr. Crawford? Kylie Crawford is here. She says it's urgent."Michael straightened. Kylie. His protégé, the brilliant Columbia senior he'd been mentoring since his father's birthday celebration. The kid who'd gone on national television and publicly credited him with inspiring her unconventional path."Send her in."Kylie walked in looking different from the poised student he'd seen in her TV interview. She wore jeans and a Columbia hoodie, but there was something harder in her expression. She carried her bat

The aftermath felt like walking through a bombed-out building. Everything looked the same from the outside, but the foundations had shifted in ways that would take months to fully understand.Michael stood in his office, watching through the window as Eric's Range Rover peeled out of the underground garage. His brother's departure wasn't graceful. Wasn't dignified. Just angry and desperate and completely ruined."He left his laptop," Olivia said from the doorway. "Security found it in the boardroom. Still logged in."Michael turned. "What's on it?""Everything we already knew about Thornton. But also..." She hesitated. "Draft communications he never sent. Plans that go way beyond what we exposed today.""Show me."They moved to Michael's private conference room. Olivia connected Eric's laptop to the display screen, and Michael felt his blood run cold.Eric hadn't just been planning to facilitate a Thornton acquisition. He'd been planning to systematically dismantle Crawford Enterprise

The war room in Michael's penthouse had taken on a life of its own. Coffee cups littered every surface. Olivia had commandeered the entire dining table, three monitors glowing in the pre-dawn darkness. Megan paced near the windows, phone pressed to her ear, speaking in rapid Chinese to someone halfway across the world.Michael hadn't slept in hours. Didn't need to. His Enhanced Intuition was running on pure adrenaline and righteous anger."Got him," Olivia said suddenly.Michael crossed to her station. "Got who?""The actor. The one in the photos Eric showed the board." She pulled up a headshot from a talent agency website. "Blend, twenty-eight, specializes in 'corporate training videos and educational content.' Based in Newark."Michael studied the face. Same guy from Eric's fabricated evidence, the one who'd supposedly been his "dealer" in the staged photographs."Can we reach him?""Already did." Megan ended her call and turned from the window. "He's willing to talk. For the right

The System message appeared in Michael's vision as he stood backstage, still breathing hard from his improvised runway performance: [Emergency Task Completed: Create something revolutionary from nothing. Reward: Enhanced Creativity - Level 3 Activated] Michael felt the enhancement take effect immediately. Ideas began flowing through his mind with unprecedented clarity and connection. The collaborative demonstration he'd just performed wasn't just a solution to sabotage—it was the foundation for an entirely new approach to neural-responsive technology. "Michael," Sophia called urgently, "the media wants statements about the collaborative presentation. They're calling it a breakthrough in interactive fashion technology." "Because it is," Michael replied, his Enhanced Creativity revealing possibilities he'd never considered before. "What we just demonstrated accidentally is more revolutionary than anything we planned deliberately." Louise approached, still glowing from the successfu

Michael watched in horror as Louise stepped onto the runway wearing the compromised prototype. His enhanced intuition was screaming warnings, but there was no way to stop her without creating an even bigger disaster in front of the international audience. "Systems failure in prototype six," Rebecca announced urgently from the technical station. "Neural interface is malfunctioning, color responses are erratic." "Can we fix it remotely?" Sophia asked, frantically working at her tablet. "Not without shutting down the entire outfit," Rebecca replied. "And that would leave Louise wearing a dead garment on live television." Michael felt his heart pounding as Louise reached the center of the runway. The prototype was supposed to demonstrate their most advanced emotional visualization technology, but instead it was flickering randomly between colors that had no connection to Louise's actual emotional state. The audience noticed immediately. Murmurs rippled through the venue as fashion ex

The atmosphere at Lincoln Center was electric with anticipation. Fashion Week had returned, and this time So Black wasn't the mysterious newcomer—they were the main event. Michael stood backstage wearing his Black Investor mask, watching final preparations for what the media was calling "the most anticipated fashion show of the decade.""Pre-orders are already at two million units," Sophia reported, checking her tablet. "And the show doesn't start for another hour."Louise approached, radiating the confidence that had become her signature since her breakthrough performance months earlier. She was no longer the struggling model taking desperate risks—she was the undisputed face of revolutionary fashion technology."The international press is incredible," Louise said, adjusting one of the new So Black prototypes. "Journalists from thirty countries, technology reporters, medical professionals. This isn't just a fashion show anymore."Michael nodded, feeling the weight of expectations tha