A soft knock on her door made Valentina look up from her notes.
"Come in," she said quietly.
Innogen slipped through the door, carrying a small linen-wrapped parcel in her hands.
"I thought you might need this." She sat down on Valentina's narrow bed and handed her the package. "My father sent it to me, but I want you to have it."
Valentina carefully unwrapped the linen cloth. It was a beautifully bound journal, the cover made of the finest leather, the pages of cream-...
2025-10-30 18:12:01 +0000 UTC
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The Valley Health Clinic was so inconspicuous that Chloe walked right past it at first. The sign above the door was very discreet, just "Health Clinic" in simple white letters on a blue background. No neon lights, no flashy advertising, very unusual for Valley City.
Chloe pushed open the glass door and stepped inside, letting out a sigh of relief as the air-conditioned air cooled her down. ...
2025-10-30 06:12:01 +0000 UTC
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Chloe turned off the alarm clock at 9 a.m. after it rang only once and practically jumped out of bed onto her yoga mat. She went through her morning routine with some nervous energy this time, compressing the usual twenty minutes into ten before getting in the shower.
Under the shower she let the lukewarm water run over her while she mentally went through the next steps. Ben Ziegler. She wa...
2025-10-29 18:12:00 +0000 UTC
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Back at the apartment, Chloe dropped the shopping bags next to the door. The cheap high heels landed with a thud on the stained carpet.
She took her laptop out of her bag and opened it on the sagging bed. It was old, a hand-me-down from Samantha, but it worked, and that was the main thing.
She leaned against the bare wall and waited for the old box to boot up. Her browser had lots of ...
2025-10-29 06:12:02 +0000 UTC
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The bus spat Chloe out into a cloud of heat and exhaust fumes.
The Valley City bus station was a sea of cracked asphalt and noise. Pigeons pecked among overflowing trash cans. A loudspeaker crackled and croaked announcements that no one understood. People pushed past each other in a loud and foul-smelling stream. Businesspeople with briefcases, tourists with cameras, homeless people with sh...
2025-10-28 18:12:01 +0000 UTC
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Chloe's hand hovered over the newspaper clipping for a moment, unsure whether to take it with her. Then she withdrew her hand.
No. There was nothing in it that she didn't already know. She had read it again and again in the almost three years since Samantha died. Burning it into her memory.
The large, worn sports bag lay open on her bed. She stuffed another T-shirt into it, then a pa...
2025-10-28 06:12:01 +0000 UTC
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Hello my dear supporters!
Over the last few months, whenever I had some spare time, I have written another story. It first began as a passion project and I wasn't sure I was going to actually share this story, but now that I've gotten into it a bit, I decided I want to have some eyes on it. And obviously you are the people I'd like to see it first.
Over the next few days I'll put a few chapters on here. I'm not quite sure yet about what the schedule will be. And of course I ...
2025-10-28 01:14:28 +0000 UTC
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The next few days were a heyday for rumors and all the gossips in town were having the time of their lives. Valentina sat silently in the corner of the Burning Quill, sipping her ale as she amplified the hastily whispered conversations around her with her Essence Listening.
"I swear by the flame of the Martyr," a market woman hissed to her neighbor, "my brother-in-law saw him. In Golden Fields! The young Boarfend galloped right past his cart, his hair wild in the wind."
"It's ...
2025-10-26 18:12:01 +0000 UTC
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Faustus' cell was at the other end of the corridor. Valentina had to take out two more guards with her pattern before she reached the heavy iron door.
The door swung open with a soft creak. Faustus crouched on a narrow cot, his expensive nightgown torn and bloodstained. His face was marked by blows, but nowhere near as badly battered as Gladder. The Illumination had held back on him – probably because they thought the spoiled nobleman would break faster.
When he looked up and sa...
2025-10-23 17:12:00 +0000 UTC
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When it got dark, Valentina wrapped her darkest cloak around her and pulled the hood low over her face. She had bought the cloak at the market a few months ago to get incognito to Violet Delights – a simple but well-made piece without any conspicuous features. Perfect for not standing out at night.
"A few extra precautions can't hurt," Vyxara muttered in her head. "The Emberwardens may think they've caught their evildoers, but never underestimate the vigilance of fanatics...
2025-10-19 17:12:01 +0000 UTC
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A black… thing… shot out of the shadows, so fast that it was barely more than a dark streak in the air. Valentina felt the back of her neck tense – she knew this cat, but not like this. Not in this form.
It was still a normal-sized cat, but any natural movement had given way to an abnormal smoothness. Its eyes glowed with an inner, hellish fire, and as it snarled with a hair-raising howl, it revealed several rows of needle-sharp teeth dripping with a corrosive venom.
The fir...
2025-10-16 17:12:01 +0000 UTC
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It wasn't that she was ignoring the noise outside, it was more that she was distracted. Because suddenly she remembered. Remembered the ritual gone wrong that had bound her and Vyxara together.
The crucial words of the ritual echoed through her head, crystal clear, as if she had just spoken them yesterday: "You must not communicate with hell."
The commotion outside grew louder – excited voices, hurried footsteps on the cobblestones – but Valentina stood frozen in the middle of...
2025-10-12 17:12:01 +0000 UTC
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Eastwald lay relaxed on the bed, his naked body half covered by a sheet, the skin of his back covered in scourge marks, but he really was a changed man – the stern, ascetic mask had given way to an almost boyish relaxation.
"More wine," he demanded, holding out his goblet to Valentina. She poured generously.
"And the dried fruit," he added. "The sweet ones – yes, exactly those."
Valentina took a candied fig and held it to his lips, giggling playfully. He bit into it with...
2025-10-09 17:12:01 +0000 UTC
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It was raining again. At least it was a little warmer now, which meant they were finally rid of the damn sleet that had plagued them all winter.
She hurried through the dusky streets of Bridgewater on her way to Violet Delights, her cloak pulled tightly around her shoulders. The narrow streets were almost deserted – in this weather, most people stayed indoors. Only a few late traders were hastily packing up their stalls.
She way still pondering the same questions she had already...
2025-10-05 17:12:01 +0000 UTC
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When Valentina came into the Red Room, she immediately saw that Faustus was in terrible shape. He was crouched on the edge of the bed, tapping his foot, his expensive doublet rumpled, his hair in disarray, as if he had been running his fingers through it nervously over and over again.
"Lily," he gasped and jumped up. His movements were erratic, uncoordinated. Was he drunk? "At last. I've been waiting for ages."
"He looks like a hunted animal," Vyxara remarked.
"What...
2025-10-02 17:12:01 +0000 UTC
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When Valentina arrived at the dining room the next morning, students stood in small groups, their heads together, nervously whispering.
"Val!" Crispin rushed towards her, his face pale with excitement. "They've found it!"
"What do you mean?" Valentina forced herself to calm down as her heart skipped a beat. What had happened now?
"Do you remember the break-in in the Essence storage last year, when we all thought nothing was stolen?" His voice almost cracked. "Well, something...
2025-09-28 17:12:01 +0000 UTC
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She sat astride him, his manhood deep inside her, her hands braced on his chest, and when she looked down into his face, she still caught herself thinking about how her life had actually come to this point.
"Say it," Faustus gasped beneath her. His hands gripped her hips, pulling her deeper onto him. "Say you're sorry."
Valentina bit her lip and tried to concentrate on her role. The scent of violets mingled with the smell of sex and sweat as she moved up and down on him.
"I'...
2025-09-25 17:12:01 +0000 UTC
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Valentina watched uncertainly as Faustus tried to regain his composure. His hands were still shaking slightly as he wiped the tears from his face.
"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I don't know what... that was just... very intense."
"Oh, that's delicious," Vyxara purred. "He's apologizing to you because he got emotional, not because he just took you brutally."
Valentina ignored the demon and handed Faustus a cloth from the small table next to the bed. "Was it the ...
2025-09-21 17:12:00 +0000 UTC
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"I didn't think that illusion stuff would work so well. You look exactly like her," Faustus said.
At first, Valentina thought she had misheard him. Faustus was still grinning in the doorway of the Red Room, his broad face beaming with triumph – but his words made no sense.
"Oh!" Vyxara's cackling laughter sounded through Valentina's head. "Now I understand – he gave Madame Dolorosa a strand of YOUR hair! He wanted a courtesan who looks like you! The stupid boy has...
2025-09-18 17:12:01 +0000 UTC
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The news spread like wildfire through the university one evening – the Illuminator had searched Professor Horne's private library again and found a hidden collection of erotic literature. Worse still were his handwritten fantasies about female students, which he had scribbled in the margins of the books.
"They found several notebooks," Crispin told Valentina scandalized. "Full of... details. About his female students."
Fear gripped Valentina. She knew exactly what – and about ...
2025-09-14 17:12:01 +0000 UTC
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Over the next few weeks, Valentina was constantly amazed at how quickly one got used to new circumstances – a deeply human trait, as Vyxara assured her.
Her days had settled into a new routine despite the oppression of normal university life by the Illuminator and his people. In the mornings she attended her lectures, in the afternoons she assisted Professor Whitehall with her healings and tried to learn what she could from her. On Monday and Thursday evenings she slipped through the ...
2025-09-11 17:12:01 +0000 UTC
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When Valentina entered the library the next morning, she immediately sensed that something had happened again. The already very subdued atmosphere was now full of nervous tension. Students whispered in the corners, but fell silent abruptly when someone walked past.
"Did you hear that?" A first-year student leaned across the table to his friends. "They arrested another two last night. Essence Weavers from the city."
"If he keeps this up, all the Essence Weavers will leave the city,...
2025-09-04 17:12:00 +0000 UTC
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Valentina stood outside an elegant townhouse in one of Bridgewater's better neighborhoods. The Violet Delights was very different from the usual brothels in the city – there were no glaring lanterns, no drunken men standing around outside the door or lurking in the shadows. Instead, the three-story building made of solid brick exuded a refined, discreet elegance. Well-crafted Essence patterns shimmered in the high windows, carefully woven defensive patterns that Valentina looked at with pro...
2025-08-31 17:12:01 +0000 UTC
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Valentina turned the precious vials in her hands. The Essence shimmered in them like liquid moonlight. Two vials – that might get her through the next two weeks if she used them sparingly. But then what?
"A worryingly low supply," Vyxara remarked. "Especially given the fact that your usual sources have dried up."
"I know," Valentina thought grimly. Barnaby was in the Illumination's dungeons, and even if he was still free – after their last encounter, she woul...
2025-08-28 17:12:00 +0000 UTC
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The following days blurred into a repetitive cycle of care, short breaks and constant worry. Valentina and Innogen shared the tasks – while one rested, the other watched over Crispin.
Valentina used all her knowledge from Dusktown. She had recreated the sterilizing effect of the modified Greystone Cascade on a smaller scale, a fine mesh of Essence patterns that purified the air and surfaces in the room. It cost her and Innogen much of their precious supply of Distilled Essence to keep...
2025-08-24 17:12:01 +0000 UTC
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Icy sleet drove the students into the buildings, where they huddled around fireplaces and stoves, freezing.
"Appropriate weather for these gloomy times," Vyxara murmured in Valentina's mind.
Valentina pulled her coat tighter around her as she hurried through the cold corridors. Everywhere, students huddled in small groups, seeking warmth in the community. Their muffled conversations echoed off the stone walls.
"Did you hear that?" a student whispered to her friend. ...
2025-08-21 17:12:02 +0000 UTC
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On the seventh day after Eastwald's arrival, Valentina found a parchment note on the outside of her door. With cool precision, the formal handwriting informed her that she was to report to the questioning room at noon. No explanation, no polite phrases – just a direct instruction, sealed with the stylized flame symbol of the Illumination.
"Ah, the time has finally come," Vyxara whispered. "It was bound to happen sooner or later."
Valentina stared at the parchme...
2025-08-17 17:12:18 +0000 UTC
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News of the room searches quickly spread through the university like wildfire. Valentina heard the first rumors at lunch – students whispering about Emberwardens ransacking rooms, slashing mattresses, confiscating books and destroying personal belongings.
"They took all of Oleanne's correspondence with her betrothed," a third-year student hissed, over her soup plate. "Private letters! Imagine what a scandal it could be if they read them."
Valentina exchanged a worried glance wit...
2025-08-14 17:12:00 +0000 UTC
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By midday, one of the auditoriums on the first floor, normally a place of lively debate about Essence Theory, had been transformed into what everyone assumed to be basically a torture chamber. The Emberwardens had pushed the benches and tables against the walls and turned the room into a makeshift interrogation room. Heavy curtains had been drawn in front of the high windows, allowing only a few strips of light to penetrate. The smell of incense and a bitter herb that was supposed to ward off...
2025-08-10 17:12:00 +0000 UTC
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They were in the middle of breakfast when a sudden commotion at the entrance interrupted them. The conversations in the dining room fell silent as heads turned towards the door. The normal breakfast chatter died away and was replaced by an unnatural silence.
The large door opened with deliberate slowness, the old hinges groaning in protest. Six figures stepped through – four Emberwardens in their characteristic burgundy robes and armor, moving with military precision and flanking a ta...
2025-08-07 17:12:01 +0000 UTC
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