After his confrontation with Lucian that night, Marcus now found himself unable to sleep. He now stood on the edge of a rooftop that was overlooking the supernatural district, the wind now biting cold against his skin. The amulet on his chest now burned so faintly against him; there was a constant reminder of the truth all revealed and the lies still shrouded around him.'Brother,' his mind kept repeating. The word "now" just echoed in his mind, all hollow and so heavy. Chronos had really hidden a lot from him, and it seemed to be done deliberately. Why? Was it for protection? Or was it manipulation?The Shadowbane now rested at his side, its runes all faintly pulsing as if it were restless. Even the blade now seemed to have sensed the shift in destiny.Below, the city now thrummed with so much life. Supernatural vendors have now reopened their shops, all wards are repaired, and neon sigils are all humming again. To an untrained eye, it all looked as though nothing had changed. But Ma

The night sky all over the city of Manhattan churned with so many restless clouds, through with the veins of silvsilver of lightning. From the rooftop of the big Sterling Tower, stood Marcus with the big Shadowbane strapped all across his back, the amulet now pulsing faintly against his chest. The city now felt so alive beneath him, all whispering its secrets through all the neon-lit streets, and for the first time in so many weeks, he sensed there was shifa shiftingance of the power.The war was coming! Diana decided to be jjoin her presence all steady despite the raging storm raging above. Her dark hairhair was whipped up in the wind, and her sharp eyes now tracked the city low below. “They’re moving a little faster than we all expected,” she said, her voice a little taut but calm.Marcus didn’t need to ask the question who.“who.”e Moons?”“Yes. Moon has made a lot of allialliances.idn’t think its it waslly possible. He’s reaching into the bloodlines that should’ve stayed all fract

The rain had not taken a stop since the battle. The city wore its unease like a wet shroud as the streets glistened under those broken streetlamps, all the sirens still whispering through the alleys, ths citizens all moving as though they were chased by unseen eyes.But inside the Sterling Tower, the war council were all gathered. The vast boardroom, now usually reserved for the global strategy of meetings, had been so repurposed into a big fortress of all the crystal wards and the silver-etched maps.Diana just stood at the head of the table, her poise so unshaken though the big storm outside now rattled through the windows. Marcus just sat to her right, his arms all folded, the Shadowbane now leaning against the wall behind him like a great sentinel. Sarah occupied the chair near the end, and watched him closely by Sterling guards who didn’t even trust her for even a moment.On the big holographic map they projected across the now polished table, the crimson markers all bled across

The night in New York was so restless. Above the great skyline, the Tower just gleamed like a monolith of so much pride, but inside, on its eighth and highest floor, the unease brewed. Diana stood by the wide glass of windows, her arms all crossed, her reflection just merging with that of the city lights. Every decision she had made since Steele’s arrival now weighed on her shoulders—and every denial, every sight of defiance, every little effort to shield that Sterling name and yet, deep down inside, she could not even silence the memory of that parchment with her grandfather’s great seal, nor the force of Marcus’s unshakable will.Behind her, in the boardroom it buzzed with voices.The Sterling Industries’ directors, all dressed in their sleek suits, now argued in such hushed but very urgent tones. Words like “some hostile takeover”, “the illegitimate claim”, and “the Moon Enterprises” kept floating across the table. Richard Sterling just presided at the head, his face all stern but

The night after Xavier’s departure was such a restless night as Marcus now sat by the window, just staring all down at the city lights. The glow of the city of Manhattan, New York looked so deceptively calm—as the towering skyscrapers, and the endless traffic, and so many people stumbling out of their weekend nightclubs, all of them so unaware that Olympus itself had began to stir. Diana had just fallen asleep in her bedroom, though Marcus had doubted her rest was even as peaceful as she slept. Her sharp defiance and the mocking laughter had given way to quiet all the tremors before she had even shut the door.Marcus now could hear her all her faint movements deep in the dark the restless pacing, all the muttered fragments of the thought she had. She was definitely fighting against sometjing or even everything: the contract that bound them, her family’s legacy she saw, and most of all the truth that he embodied.Marcus had closed his eyes, reaching right deep into himself, into a