The abyss reckons
The violet storm had not relented. If anything, it had grown hungrier. Sparks danced across the fractured floors like living serpents, sizzling against shards of stone and debris, filling the estate with a sharp, acrid smell. Dust choked the air, swirling in violent eddies around the chaotic energy that pulsed from the fissure in the northern wall. Alina’s hands ached, her fingers trembling violently around the ring, yet she refused to release it. Her heartbeat echoed in her ears, synchronized with the thrumming pulse of the ring, a rhythm that was almost alive, almost sentient. The power within it wanted control, wanted her surrender—but Alina had learned that yielding meant loss: loss of herself, and possibly the lives of everyone she loved. Lucien pressed against her back, his palm wa
- Writer
