Chapter 82 Roots Beneath the Stone

~Aether’s POV~

The new wall rose higher every day, I sat on a stack of cut stone and watched the builders lift another heavy block into place. The eastern gap was already half closed. Fresh mortar smelled sharp and wet. Dragons rested on the unfinished sections, their long tails hanging over the ed...

Chapters

1. Chapter 1 Betrayal

2. Chapter 2 Stepping Into The Unknown

3. Chapter 3 I Met A god

4. Chapter 4 Hungry Eyes and Filthy Promises

5. Chapter 5 Eyes That Burned Gold

6. Chapter 6 The moment I stepped back behind the bar, Mara’s eyes widened dramatically. “Well?” she demanded instantly. “Why do you look like you just witnessed the gates of hell open?” I grabbed the counter for support, still trying to steady my breathing. “I…” My voice came out weak. “I think there’s something seriously wrong with Cassian Sinclair.” Lila raised an eyebrow while arranging bottles. “Sweetheart, everyone already knows that.” “No,” I whispered, shaking my head slowly. “You don’t understand.” Because how exactly was I supposed to explain what had just happened in that restroom hallway, how could I tell them his eyes had glowed like molten gold in the dark, that heat had wrapped around my body every time he stepped closer, that he had looked at me like something inside him wanted to consume me whole? My stomach tightened violently at the memory, Mara frowned now, immediately noticing the fear on my face. “Anna,” she said softer this time. “What happened?” Before I could answer, my eyes instinctively lifted toward the private VIP floor upstairs, toward the dark balcony where Cassian had been sitting earlier, it was empty, my heartbeat stumbled strangely, gone, I wasn’t sure why disappointment hit me so quickly after everything that had happened downstairs, maybe because some reckless part of me still wanted to see him again tonight despite how terrified he had made me feel, Lila noticed immediately and smirked knowingly. “You just missed them.” I blinked. “What?” “Sinclair and his people left like a minute ago,” she explained while wiping the counter. “Apparently the woman with them got drunk and started causing chaos upstairs.” Mara snorted loudly. “Not chaos.” “Oh, absolutely chaos,” Lila laughed. “Screaming at security, throwing a champagne glass, threatening somebody in Italian, honestly it was impressive.” I frowned slightly, I had forgotten about the woman, something uncomfortable twisted unexpectedly inside my chest. “That woman was with Cassian?” I asked before I could stop myself. Mara immediately gasped dramatically. “Oh my God,” she whispered loudly. “Was that jealousy I just heard?” “It was not jealousy.” Lila gave me a look that said she absolutely did not believe me, the strange tightness in my chest worsened, which was ridiculous, Cassian Sinclair was nothing to me just a mysterious billionaire with glowing eyes and a possible mental illness involving dragons, that should have been enough to erase any attraction immediately, Instead, my stupid brain kept replaying the way he had looked at me in the hallway. My dragon wants you, God, even remembering the words made heat creep across my skin again. “You’re pale,” Mara said suddenly. “I’m fine.” “You look like you’re about to pass out.” Before I could answer, Lila suddenly reached beneath the counter and dropped something thick in front of me, my eyes widened instantly, Cash, stacks of it, I stared at the money in complete shock. “What is this?” Mara burst out laughing immediately. “Oh my God.” Lila leaned casually against the bar. “Your billionaire left it.” I looked at her sharply. “Don’t call him that.” “Why? Is mysterious hot billionaire with glowing eyes too long?” My heart nearly stopped. “You saw his eyes?” “What?” Lila frowned. Relief hit me instantly. “No— nothing.” God, I needed sleep or therapy or both. Lila pushed the money closer toward me. “Sinclair told us it was for you.” I stared at the thick stacks nervously. “There’s no way I can take this.” “Anna,” Mara deadpanned, “that pile probably costs less than one of that man’s watches.” “That’s not the point.” “Then what is the point?” Lila asked. “Because if some hot billionaire wanted to throw money at me, I’d already be halfway to the bank.” I ignored her, still staring uneasily at the cash, it was too much, far too much and somehow that scared me, because nothing about Cassian Sinclair felt simple, not his attention, not his words not even the way he looked at me like he already knew something I didn’t. “You should keep it,” Mara said gently this time. I looked at her. “You told me your mom's landlord’s have been threatening your mom again.” Pain twisted quietly in my chest, right, home, the tiny house back in Maplewood, the overdue rent notices, My mother pretending everything was okay even when I caught her crying at night, Lily trying to smile through everything despite being only thirteen, guilt hit me immediately, because while I had been here obsessing over a dangerous man, my family was still struggling back home, I slowly looked back down at the money, this amount could help them breathe again at least temporarily. “We don’t even know why he gave me this,” I whispered uneasily. Mara folded her arms. “Trust me, rich men don’t drop stacks of cash unless they’re interested.” “That’s supposed to make me feel better?” “Honestly? No.” Lila laughed loudly, I exhaled shakily before carefully picking up the money, my hands trembled slightly not from excitement but from fear, because accepting this somehow felt bigger than money, it was like stepping unknowingly into something dangerous, something that would change my life whether I wanted it to or not, and deep down I already knew it had started the moment Cassian Sinclair looked at me. “You should send some home tomorrow,” Mara said quietly now. I nodded immediately. “Yes.” Emotion tightened my throat unexpectedly. “My mom’s been struggling to pay for Lily’s school supplies,” I admitted softly. “And rent is already late.” Mara’s expression softened. “Then stop feeling guilty.” I swallowed hard, blinking away sudden emotion, for the first time in weeks, maybe I could actually help them, maybe my mother wouldn’t have to pretend everything was fine anymore, maybe Lily could finally have something good happen after losing Dad, the thought alone made my chest ache painfully. “I’ll transfer most of it in the morning,” I whispered. Lila whistled softly while eyeing the cash again. “Sweetheart, with the amount he left, you might accidentally buy your entire hometown.” I almost laughed but something still unsettled me deeply, because men like Cassian Sinclair did not do things without reason and somehow… I had the terrifying feeling this wasn’t generosity. It was the beginning of something. Something dark. Something consuming. Something I was already falling too deeply into to escape. Far upstairs in the empty shadows of Inferno Club, I could still feel his presence lingering around me like invisible fire. And no matter how hard I tried pretending otherwise… A part of me was already waiting for him to come back.

7. Chapter 7 The Woman Who Wanted a King

8. Chapter 8 Monsters at the Door

9. Chapter 9 The Dragon King’s Wrath

10. Chapter 10 Nothing About Him Was Human

11. Chapter 11 The Safe House

12. Chapter 12 Mating heat

13. Chapter 13 Bound to the Beast

14. Chapter 14 Falling for the Monster

15. Chapter 15 Dressed for the Dragon King

16. Chapter 16 The Dragon King’s Party

17. Chapter 17 A Queen Among Monsters

18. Chapter 18 The Bloodline Secret

19. Chapter 19 The Beast Beneath the Crown

20. Chapter 20 Too Close to the Fire

21. Chapter 21 Morning After the Storm

22. Chapter 22 What the Dragon King Saw

23. Chapter 23 The Thing in the Cell

24. Chapter 24 Echoes in the Bond

25. Chapter 25 Under The Dragon King

26. Chapter 26 The Training Grounds

27. Chapter 27 The Awakening

28. Chapter 28 The Shadow Throne

29. Chapter 29 Shadow From The Past

30. Chapter 30 Midnight Flames

31. Chapter 31 Ashes Beneath the Crown

32. Chapter 32 The Marked Bond

33. Chapter 33 The Lost Kingdom Remembers

34. Chapter 34 The Voice Beneath the Seal

35. Chapter 35 The War Council

36. Chapter 36 The Gathering Storm

37. Chapter 37 The Dragon King's Promise

38. Chapter 38 The Gathering Storm II

39. Chapter 39 Secrets, Pancakes, and a Very Guilty Roman

40. Chapter 40 Voices From Home

41. Chapter 41 One Very Bad Idea

42. Chapter 42 Fire in the Streets

43. Chapter 43 The Dragon's Fury

44. Chapter 44 The Voice Between Us

45. Chapter 45 The Voice Between Us II

46. Chapter 46 Burning Dawn

47. Chapter 47 Secrets in the Fever

48. Chapter 48 Two Lines

49. Chapter 49 The Dragon's Heart

50. Chapter 50 New Life in the Storm

51. Chapter 51 Storm Within

52. Chapter 52 Dragon's Rage

53. Chapter 53 After the Blood

54. Chapter 54 The Fire Inside

55. Chapter 55 Blood And Fire

56. Chapter 56 Homesick Heart

57. Chapter 57 Homecoming

58. Chapter 58 Friend in the Fire

59. Chapter 59 The Weight of Tomorrow

60. Chapter 60 The Growing Flame

61. Chapter 61 The Birth of Fire

62. Chapter 62 The Final Flame

63. Chapter 63 Dawn After the Storm

64. Chapter 64 A New Beginning

65. Chapter 65 Years of Light

66. Chapter 66 Council of Blood

67. Chapter 67 Echoes of Tomorrow

68. Chapter 68 Promise Forged in Fire

69. Chapter 69 Wings of Tomorrow

70. Chapter 70 Wings and Whispers

71. Chapter 71 The Light That Endures

72. Chapter 72 Blood on the Horizon

73. Chapter 73 Healing Flames

74. Chapter 74 War Without End

75. Chapter 75 The King's Promise

76. Chapter 76 Voices of the Council

77. Chapter 77 Mountains of Fire

78. Chapter 78 Sudden Tempest

79. Chapter 79 Steel and Shadows**

80. Chapter 80 Cracks in the Stone

81. Chapter 81 The Missing Name

82. Chapter 82 Roots Beneath the Stone

83. Chapter 83 Embers and Quiet Light

84. Chapter 84 Night of Soft Fire

85. Chapter 85 Morning After Quiet

86. Chapter 86 Weight of the Coming Dark

87. Chapter 87 The Quiet Before the March

88. Chapter 88 The Hour of Leaving

89. Chapter 89 Days Without His Shadow

90. Chapter 90 Into the Green Dark

91. Chapter 91 Echoes Across the Miles

92. Chapter 92 The Valley’s Teeth

93. Chapter 93 Heartwood and Flame

94. Chapter 94 The Road Home

95. Chapter 95 Ashes and Morning Light

96. Chapter 96 Small Restorations

97. Chapter 97 Lessons in Stillness

98. Chapter 98 Beyond the Wall*

99. Chapter 99 Fractures in the Court

100. Chapter 100 First Flight Lessons

101. Chapter 101 Shared Skies

102. Chapter 102 Fracture Point

103. Chapter 103 Overload

104. Chapter 104 The Second Reach

105. Chapter 105 Reckoning

106. Chapter 106 Threads

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