2025-01-25 10:29:03
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THE INN OF WHISPERS
They left the ball beneath a sky that looked like spilled ink. Music and laughter still bled through the doors, but outside it was only stone, breath, and cold.Duke Humphrey stepped out with his cane and that tight smile he wore like perfume. “Leaving already?” he said, as if he owned the moon.Carlos didn’t smile. “My lady is not well,” he said, voice steady, soft, final.Humphrey’s eyes flicked to Janette, then back to Carlos. For a dangerous second he looked like he might protest, but something in Carlos’s gaze calm and deep and not entirely human scraped the words out of his throat. The duke stepped aside with a stiff bow. “Another night then.” “You have a lovely home,duke Humphrey “Janette bowedDuke Humphrey bowed” it is indeed my pleasure….lady” he hesitated trying to figure out her name“Janette”Janette said We will would take our leave “Carlos said and they went.The carriage rolled until the road decided to snap its own bones. Wood cracked. The wheel slumped. The driver c
SHADOWS
The violins had ceased their melody, leaving the air heavy with murmurs, clinking goblets, and the rustle of silks. Ariel moved swiftly, her hand clasping Janette’s, pulling her through the gilded crowd and into the marbled hallway beyond.Janette cast a nervous glance over her shoulder, her pulse quickening. He will not like this…“The King would not approve,” Janette whispered under her breath, her voice trembling.Ariel halted, turning to face her, eyes sharp with worry. “Why? Tell me, Janette. Is he hurting you?”The words struck like a dagger, cutting the air between them. Janette’s lips parted, her chest rising and falling fast. For a moment, the truth trembled on her tongue — the long nights, his watchful gaze, the way she felt like a bird in a gilded cage.But she swallowed it back. Her lashes lowered, and she shook her head. “No… I am fine.”Ariel did not believe her. She stepped closer, lowering her voice, fierce and tender all at once. “Then explain this to me. Your letter.
DUKE’S BALL
Carlos had chosen the gown himself — a sweeping emerald silk, its bodice drawn tight with whalebone stays, its skirts spilling like forest shadows. The corset bit cruelly, cinching Janette’s waist, and the maids pressed layer upon layer of petticoats beneath the gown. By the time they bound the final ribbons at her back, the mirror showed a woman unrecognizable to herself — regal, untouchable, her green eyes sharpened into fire by the gown’s hue.Janette touched the glass softly. “Why this dress?”Carlos stood in the doorway, his eyes fixed on her reflection. “Because it matches your eyes. And tonight… everyone will see you as I do.”Far from the palace, Ariel chased Andrew carriage on foot when Andrew heard his name he demanded the coach man to stop the carriage .And she caught up to the carriage while heaving for breath with her hands trembling in her lap.“Please,” she whispered. “Let me come with you to the duke’s ball. I will be no trouble, I swear it.”Andrew raised a brow. “W
The invitation
Janette did not sleep easily after Carlos left her chamber. She lay beneath the sheets, her eyes fixed on the dark canopy above, her heart refusing to settle.His words echoed again and again.“It’s been so long”Her hand touched the place on her cheek where his fingers had brushed her hair aside. The warmth of it lingered, leaving her chest heavy with questions.Where did I meet this man? And why does it feel as if he’s known me forever?Morning came, but it brought her no peace.By mid-day, there was a knock upon her chamber door.She expected perhaps one of the maids but it was Carlos himself who entered. He was dressed in a dark coat with silver embroidery, his boots polished, his hair tied back neatly. His presence filled the room as though the air thickened around him.“You should prepare yourself,” he said plainly.Janette blinked. “For what?”“For the ball.” His tone was steady, almost casual, but his eyes never left hers. “One of my duke ,duke Humphrey,has extended an invitat
THE ROAD TODECAROV(continued)
The last witch’s body hit the earth with a hollow thud. The fire circle flickered once… and died.For a moment, there was only the sound of the horses, still restless, their breaths misting in the cold air.Carlos wiped his blade on the cloak of the nearest fallen witch. His eyes didn’t leave the dark road ahead.“Back to the carriage. We need no wasting more time .”Helene swung into her saddle. “You’re welcome,” she muttered under her breath.Andrew grinned, already climbing onto the driver’s seat. “Well, that was shorter than I expected”Carlos smirked “all thanks to I, ““From the way you spoke I am quite sure you have not killed a witch this fast before ““That is if you have killed at all “ he said this under his breath Andrew heard this and was dumbfounded They set off again, wheels crunching over the frost-bitten dirt. The mist thinned as they pushed on, and the forest gave way to open land. No voices followed. No eyes watched. Only the long road to Decarov lay ahead.The s
THE ROAD TO DECAROV
The road to Dekarov was narrow, hemmed in by trees whose bare branches scraped the grey sky.The road was narrow, choked with mist. The trees leaned in like eavesdroppers, their black fingers clawing at the pale sky.Carlos rode ahead, his eyes fixed on the horizon.“We pass the old stone bridge by sunset,” he said to his coachman . “I have to be fast with this… so I could go back to my Janette.”he said inwardly The others nodded, but the road answered with silence. And then, it broke.From the fog, they came cloaked figures, their hands stained with ash and bone. Helene held her sword. “Witches.”They moved like shadows made flesh, their chants curling in the air. One stepped forward, her lips split by a smile.“Halfling,” she hissed. “We have waited for you.”Carlos’s blade was in his hand before she finished.“You should have kept waiting,” he said.The circle of fire erupted around them, snapping and twisting. The smell of burned earth filled the air. Carlos struck, his movement
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