2025-12-16 18:35:05
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A PRIZE OR A PERSON
Lieutenant Felix Finn’s smile stayed in place, but his eyes were sharp.He stood in the orphanage reception area like he belonged there, like the worn couches and children’s drawings on the wall were beneath him. Two armed men lingered near the door. Another watched the hallway that led deeper into the building. The insignia on their uniforms caught the light every time they shifted.Ethan kept his face calm, but his stomach tightened. This wasn’t a government unit. This was a private force with a chain of command that didn’t answer to law.Finn spoke again, smooth and casual. “I’m looking for a modest young woman. About eighteen. Pretty. Quiet. You know the type.” His eyes swept the room. “Perhaps you’ve seen her.”Ethan took one step forward and stopped at a polite distance. “I understand you think you earned something,” he said. “But the girl you’re talking about is a person. Not property.”Finn blinked once, like he couldn’t believe Ethan, a bloody civilian was trying to reason wi
WHEN WAR KNOCKS AT THE DOOR
Mama Ruth’s face had changed. A moment ago she was calm, speaking about war and power, but now her eyes were sharp and alert. Rosa stood in front of her, shaking like a leaf. The tension in the hallway pressed against everyone, and Ethan felt a cold weight settle on his chest. Whatever this trouble was, it had reached their doorstep.Mama Ruth guided Rosa into a small sitting room near the corridor. The room was quiet except for Rosa’s crying. Ethan stood near the window, his arms were folded, watching her. “Tell us what happened,” Mama Ruth said, her tone was firm. Rosa wiped her tears and tried to breathe. “Start from the beginning.”“I went to my uncle’s place,” Rosa said, her voice uneven. “He was promoted again. Three ranks in one month. Everyone came to celebrate. I helped with decorations and cooking. He told me he wanted me and my best friend to leave the orphanage and live with him because life would be better now.”Ethan exchanged a look with Mama Ruth. “And you believed h
FALSE PEACE, REAL DANGER
Mama Ruth’s smile was small, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “He was not wrong,” she said. “Within the next two decades, war in this country will be inevitable.”Ethan’s shoulders tensed. “War between who?”“Between people who want your fortunes, Xavier loyalists,” Mama Ruth said. “And people who want to turn everyone else into servants.”Ethan’s voice stayed controlled. “And me being on the Xavier throne keeps them in check.”“For now,” Mama Ruth replied. “Your authority creates a balance. But it is a false peace.”Ethan looked back at the Seraphine Bloom. “So you think the disease you warned about is part of this war.”Mama Ruth’s eyes narrowed, like she was about to answer with something dangerous. “Yes,” she began. “Because the cleanest wars don’t start with bombs. They start with—”A voice cut through the hallway outside the room.“Mama Ruth!”Another voice followed, louder, panicked. “Mama Ruth, please there is trouble!”Mama Ruth’s face changed instantly. The softness vanished. S
THE PALACE THAT LOST ITS SOUL
Mama Ruth didn’t flinch when Ethan asked the question, but her eyes went far away, like she was looking at a door she had locked a long time ago.“You think I chose this life because I was weak?” she asked quietly. “Because I was unlucky?”Ethan’s throat worked as he swallowed. “I think it doesn’t make sense,” he said. “Magnus Xavier’s wife living here, hiding medicine in a wardrobe, raising children who aren’t hers the depending on the Goodwill of others to survive is something I don't quite understand.”Mama Ruth folded her hands in front of her apron. “Magnus did not become a monster overnight,” she said. “He became one decision at a time.”Ethan stared at her. “My grandfather was respected across the continent.”“He was feared,” she corrected. “And fear can look like respect when you’re rich.”Ethan’s jaw tightened. “What changed him?”Mama Ruth turned her head slightly, like she was listening for footsteps even though the hall was quiet. “He started acting strange long before he
THE SECRET BEHIND THE ORPHANAGE DOOR
Mama Ruth’s eyes didn’t look old at that moment. They looked like they had been waiting for this exact second for years.Ethan stood in front of the glowing case, the blue light washing over his bruised knuckles and the cut near his lip.“You said it’s medicine,” Ethan said quietly. “Medicine for what?”Mama Ruth kept her voice low. “For what is coming.”Ethan let out a short breath, forcing patience. “What’s coming, Mama Ruth? A sickness? A war? You’re talking like you’ve already lived it.”“I have lived enough,” she answered. “And I have seen patterns that repeat when wicked people get greedy.”Ethan looked at the seven stalks again, glowing deep blue above the gold sand. “Seraphine Bloom,” he repeated, testing the name. “It’s beautiful. But beauty doesn’t stop death.”Mama Ruth nodded once, like she respected his doubt. “In some years from now, when I am not alive,” she said, “a disease will break out. It will spread across this continent like fire that won’t listen to prayer.”Eth
THE SERAPHINE BLOOM
The Bugatti rolled through the orphanage gate with a soft purr that didn’t match the chaos Ethan had left behind.He parked beside a cracked basketball pole and shut the engine off. For a moment, he just sat there with both hands on the wheel, breathing through the bruises under his shirt. A small boy spotted him first. His eyes widened, and he shouted like he had been waiting all day. “Uncle Ethan!”In seconds, the courtyard exploded with movement. Children ran from the steps, from the swing set, from the patchy grass where they’d been kicking a worn-out ball. Ethan had barely opened his door before two girls hugged his waist and a boy grabbed his sleeve, pulling like Ethan might disappear if they let go.“You came!” the boy said, breathless.Ethan crouched so he could look them in the eyes. His voice stayed calm, but it softened. “I said I would.”A girl tilted her head and stared at the small cut near his lip. “Did you fall?”Ethan smiled, almost amused by how sharp she was. “Som
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