Novels by Dep Flair

Sleep didn't last.Draven woke before dawn, restless. The estate was still dark. Still quiet. Everyone else asleep.He dressed and slipped out of his room. Needed air. Needed space. Needed to be anywhere but inside these walls.The grounds were empty at this hour. Just guards at their posts, barely glancing at him as he passed. The disappointment wandering around. Nothing to worry about.Draven walked without direction. Past the training grounds. Past the gardens. Past the stables.He ended up at the edge of the property. A section he'd never explored as a child. Dense trees blocking the view.A path led through them. Overgrown but visible.Draven followed it.The trees opened into a clearing he didn't recognize. Old stone markers rose from the ground. Dozens of them. Rows and rows stretching into the morning mist.A burial ground.Draven stopped at the entrance. Read the inscription on the nearest marker.Corporal Aldwin Marsh. Died in service to the crown. Third Battalion.The next

Draven couldn't sleep.The cuts from Daniel's daggers had stopped bleeding, but they still throbbed. Small reminders of the public humiliation.He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, mind drifting back.Back to who he used to be.The estate was quiet. Middle of the night. Nothing but his own thoughts for company.And his thoughts were cruel.He remembered being seven years old. Standing in this same training ground where Daniel had just cut him apart. Holding a wooden sword that felt too heavy. Watching his brothers swing theirs with ease.Garrett had been fifteen then. Already better than most adults. Fire magic came to him like breathing.Marcus was thirteen. Lightning crackling at his fingertips. Natural talent that made instructors shake their heads in disbelief.Thomas was eleven. Moving earth before he could properly read.And Draven? Seven years old with shaking hands and no magic at all."Try again," their father had said. Cold. Disappointed already.Draven had tried. Reached

Lunch was worse than breakfast.The family gathered in the main dining hall. Well, not entire. Father was still occupied with whatever military matters consumed his time. But everyone else was there.Thomas sat at one end. Marcus at the other. And across from Draven, Daniel had arrived.Fourth brother. Wind mage. Number two on the Wall of Recognition.He looked every bit the prodigy. Sharp eyes. Confident posture. The kind of presence that drew attention without trying."So you're the famous disappointment," Daniel said, not even waiting for introductions. "I've heard stories.""I'm sure you have.""Thomas says you've grown a spine. Marcus says you're still slow." Daniel smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "I want to see for myself.""Not interested.""Wasn't asking." Daniel set down his fork. "After lunch. The main training ground. You and me. Let's see what two years at the academy taught you.""I already sparred with Marcus this morning.""Marcus went easy on you. I won't."Draven lo

Morning came with the sound of horses.Draven woke to hooves on cobblestone, voices in the courtyard below. He crossed to the window and looked down.A military convoy had arrived. Wagons loaded with equipment. Soldiers in engineer corps uniforms. And at the front, dismounting from a grey stallion, was Thomas.Third brother. Earth mage. Military engineer.He looked exactly as Draven remembered. Broad shoulders. Practical clothes. Hair cropped short. Everything about him screamed efficiency.Thomas barked orders at the soldiers, directing them where to store the equipment. His voice carried up to the window. Sharp. Commanding.Then he looked up.Their eyes met.Thomas's expression didn't change. Just a flat acknowledgment. Then he turned away and continued directing his men.No wave. No smile. Nothing.Expected.Draven dressed and headed downstairs. Might as well get this over with.The main hall was busy with servants preparing for the gathering. More decorations had gone up overnight

Draven walked most of the journey. Could've hired a carriage, but he wanted the time. Time to think. Time to prepare. Time to remember who he was before he stepped back into the place he'd left behind.His team had gone ahead to a town nearby. Close enough to reach if things went wrong. Far enough to stay out of sight.The journey was uneventful. No fairies in ancient forests. No mercenaries on the road. Just quiet travel through farmland and villages.Normal.Almost boring.By the third afternoon, the estate appeared on the horizon.The Ashworth manor sat on a hill, surrounded by stone walls and guard towers. The family banner flew above the main gate. Even from a distance, the place looked impressive.And cold.Draven stopped at the base of the hill. Looked up at the walls he'd grown up behind.Nothing had changed. Same stone. Same towers. Same feeling of being watched before you even entered.He started walking.The guards at the gate recognized him immediately. Straightened. Salut

The healers insisted Draven stay in bed for the rest of the day.He didn't argue.After the assembly announcement about Commander Ashworth's visit, Master Vex had personally escorted him to the infirmary. No debate. No discussion."Two days unconscious isn't normal," Vex said. "You rest. That's an order."So Draven rested.The infirmary was quiet. Clean white walls. Soft beds. The smell of herbs and healing magic. A few other students occupied beds across the room, but they were either sleeping or too focused on their own recovery to pay attention to him.Draven lay back and stared at the ceiling.His body felt weak. Heavy. Like he really had been training with weights for weeks instead of dreaming about it.The prophetic vision had drained him. Pulled him so deep into the future that his mind and body needed time to recover.A healer checked on him every hour. Asked questions. Examined him with diagnostic spells. Each time, she frowned slightly but said nothing was physically wrong.

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

Michael's phone buzzed with an urgent text as he was leaving the Crawford board meeting. The message was from Kylie, and the fear in her words made his blood run cold: "I think someone's following me. Same car for three days. Help?"He immediately called her, his enhanced intuition picking up genuine anxiety in her voice even before she spoke."Kylie, where are you right now?""The university library," she replied, trying to sound calm but failing. "There's a man in a dark suit who's been sitting across from me for two hours, pretending to read but watching everything I do."Michael's jaw tightened. Eric's investigation had clearly expanded beyond targeting Michael directly to include family members who might provide leverage."Stay exactly where you are," he instructed. "I'm twenty minutes away."As he drove toward the university, Michael called Olivia on his secure line. "I need a team at the university library immediately. Kylie's being surveilled, and it's not friendly.""Corporat

Michael stood in the Buzzer Tech conference room, surrounded by screens displaying global market data that would have been impossible to imagine just months earlier. Olivia was coordinating with manufacturing partners across three continents while Megan reviewed distribution agreements that spanned twelve countries."The Asian rollout exceeded every projection," Olivia announced, pulling up sales figures that made Michael's head spin. "Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are reporting demand that's literally crashing retailer websites.""European pre-orders are similar," Megan added. "London, Paris, Berlin—every major fashion capital wants exclusive launch events for So Black."Michael felt a mix of pride and anxiety as he watched their revolutionary technology spreading across the globe. The therapeutic applications Louise had developed were genuinely helping people manage mental health challenges, but the success was creating visibility that made his double life increasingly precarious.

The Crawford family dining room hadn't hosted a dinner like this in years. Richard sat at the head of the table, still pale from his recent cardiac episode but determined to project strength. Eric and Katherine flanked one side, while Michael sat alone on the other, the seating arrangement making the family divisions physically obvious."I thought we should celebrate," Richard announced, raising his wine glass with deliberate ceremony. "Michael's Project New Day has received preliminary approval from the Department of Energy. Federal recognition of our renewable energy initiative."Michael's enhanced intuition immediately picked up the complex emotional currents around the table. Richard's pride was genuine, but mixed with concern about something he wasn't sharing. Eric's congratulatory smile masked fury and calculation. Katherine's supportive expression hid deep anxiety about something specific."Congratulations, brother," Eric said, his voice perfectly calibrated for family harmony.