The Price of Her Obsession

an execution, not yet. Seraphina enjoyed her games too much for a swift ending. But perhaps, he tho

ction that supposedly erased one from existence, a true oblivion beyond even The Order' s reach. It was forb

egradation Seraphina had devised, one of The Order' s adjudicators

s existence, such as the rumored Path, know this: The Order has contingencies. Your essence would be bound, your suffering magnified a thousand

ation. They wouldn't have to warn him if they were s

ng. "An eternity as a mindless sentinel sounds like a vacation compa

ightened. He clearly h

n the Courtyard, Lucian smirking at her side. Th

silent courtyard. "Still so proud, even in chains. I he

r, his face a blank mask. He wouldn't g

her more than any outburst would have. "Perhaps

santness you supposedly orchestrated." Her gaze flicked to Ethan. "I believe it was lost in the wreckage of the old Cole ancestral home, the one in Mai

will sift through the ashes and the rubble. You will find my locket. It is...

rced to dig through its remains for a symbol of her love for Marcus... it

e?" Ethan asked

Then we explore Adjudicator Malachi's alternative arran

a gray sky. For days, he dug through charred wood, broken stone, and twisted metal, his hands raw and bleeding. The guards watched, impass

lar torment, he found it – a small, tarnished silver lo

to stand, his hands wrapped in bloodied rags. He

or torment, it seemed. There was an air of controlled panic. Lucian

ans, they say it' s a spiritual decay. The locket... it was suppo

s devotion clear. "Matri

s Marcus Thorne... his spiritual essence is unraveling. The trauma of his faked death, the subsequent illicit dealings that led to his true demise a

done?" Serap

on of your own life force, your own spiritual energy, must be willingly transferred to him. I

his bizarre drama. Seraphina, sacrifice

hesitation, Serap

rom Seraphina to a focal point where, presumably, Marcus' s spiritual essence was being held. He saw her visibly weaken, h

sagged, and Lucian r

e for a man who had deceived her, a man who was a sociopath. A man who h

truth about Marcus. And the realization of what you' ve done, who you' ve loved, who you'

e. It was simply a statement