Novels by Ayebaifiemi

SHADOWSThe garden outside the mansion was cloaked in darkness, but it was not empty.Aidan could feel them—like a whisper through the golden pulse beneath his ribs. The air carried the scent of intent, heavy and sharp, threaded with hunger. Shadows moved just beyond the tree line, silent, deliberate.“They’ve come,” the stranger murmured behind him, voice low and calm, though every muscle in his body tensed. “Not scouts this time. Hunters. And they know where to find you.”Aidan’s jaw tightened. The warning was clear. They had tested him tonight, now they would strike for real.He glanced at Liana, who had followed him to the terrace. Her eyes reflected the pale moonlight, wide and unafraid—yet she trembled ever so slightly.“I… I should go inside,” she whispered, voice quivering. “You shouldn’t… fight alone.”Aidan shook his head slowly, the faintest smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “Tonight, you stay. You don’t leave.”Her heart skipped. Not from fear. Not entirely. Somethi

SHADOWS AND RECKONINGSThe hallway seemed impossibly still after the intruders vanished. The echo of footsteps faded into nothing, leaving only a tense silence that pressed against Aidan’s chest like a physical weight.He could still feel it—the ripple in the air, the disturbance in the golden pulse beneath his skin. His muscles stayed taut, every sense alert, every heartbeat measured. One wrong move now, and the consequences could reach far beyond this mansion.The stranger remained behind him, silent, almost spectral. His sharp eyes scanned every corner, every shadow, as though the room itself might conceal another threat.Aidan exhaled slowly, trying to let the tension leave his shoulders. He wanted to think, to plan, but Liana’s words lingered in his mind, a fragile echo:“…I don’t think I can look at you the same anymore.”It was not fear. Not anger. Not pity. Something entirely more dangerous—curiosity, fascination, the kind that drew people closer, even when they should have fl

THE ENEMY AT THE GATEAidan didn’t move.Couldn’t.The echo of the boom outside the mansion gates still vibrated through the hallway walls, like the entire Frost estate had exhaled in fear.Liana stood frozen in front of him, one hand clamped over her mouth, her eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and dread.“Aidan… what’s… what’s happening outside?” she whispered.Her voice trembled. Not from fear of the sound— but from fear of what she felt inside herself.That warm pulse she sensed earlier. The one she kept instinctively connecting to him.And now, the moment danger arrived… She felt it again.Stronger.Aidan didn’t answer. He kept his head low, shoulders tense, as the stranger’s presence sharpened behind him.“Aidan,” the stranger murmured, “your enemies will not wait politely. They have come because they sensed the change in you. They want confirmation.”Aidan’s brows drew tightly together.“Confirmation of what?”“That the Dragon King lives.”Aidan inhaled sharply.He didn’t

THE NIGHT THE MASKS CRACKEDThe golden pulse faded back into Aidan’s skin, quiet and obedient. He let it settle, lowering his head as he blended again into the flow of waitstaff moving between glittering guests.But something was different now.Not around him—within him.For the first time since awakening his hidden power, the fear he used to carry like a second skin… was gone.Replaced by something steady. Something sharp.Something that whispered:You are no longer prey.The stranger’s earlier words still echoed behind his ear.“Tomorrow… you will command fear.”Aidan inhaled slowly, centering himself.He had done what he came to do—create the first cracks.But tonight wasn’t over.And he could already sense it.A shift in the air… like the tightening of a thread, pulling him toward something inevitable.Something waiting.---UNEASY FACES, UNSTEADY HEARTSFrom across the ballroom, Aidan watched the Frost family regroup, attempting to compose themselves after the strange tension tha

SHADOWS IN THE GALAAidan crouched in the alley across from the Frost mansion, the golden glow within him simmering like molten fire beneath his skin. From here, the gala looked like a glittering kingdom of arrogance and vanity. Crystal chandeliers sparkled, champagne flutes clinked, and the city’s elite laughed as if the world owed them their blissful ignorance.But he knew the truth now. He was not the weak, humiliated man who served at their whim. He was the Dragon King—hidden, restrained, and preparing to awaken. And tonight, the Frosts would see even a fraction of what that meant.The stranger who had trained him in the clearing remained by his side, cloaked in shadows. “Remember,” he said quietly, voice barely audible over the muffled music, “subtlety first. Let them feel it, not see it. Humiliation is most effective when it creeps in unnoticed. Tonight, they will taste fear… unknowingly.”Aidan’s chest heaved. The heartbeat within him pulsed golden, low and steady, a warning an

THE DRAGON’S FIRST ROARThe shards of marble under Aidan’s fists sparkled faintly in the dim light of the kitchen. Each crack seemed to hum with energy, as if the house itself was alive and trembling under his awakening. His chest heaved, golden flecks glinting in his eyes, and the strange heat that had consumed him moments ago refused to subside.The stranger stood silently, watching, a faint smile playing on his lips. “Do you feel it?” he asked. “The power you’ve carried all your life, shackled by fear and humiliation. Now… it’s awake.”Aidan’s jaw tightened. “It… it’s too much. I can’t control it!” His voice was hoarse, raw from shouting, from the surge of something ancient trying to claim his body. “What if I destroy everything? What if I—”The stranger crouched closer. “Then you learn. You are stronger than you know. And tonight, you will see just how much the world underestimates you.”Aidan blinked at him. “Tonight…? The Frost family’s gala is tonight. How… how could I—”“You w