DEADALUS author of AETHERBORN

CHAPTER 81

The next morning, Thorne was quietly making his bed, his movements methodical as he tried to clear his mind of the lingering tension from the previous days. Beside him, Rielle was tying her hair into a ponytail, her fingers deftly working through the strands. Thorne’s eyes drifted to her hair again and again, finding the simple act oddly soothing. It was a stark contrast ...

CHAPTER 80

Thorne spent another day in the infirmary, his body still healing from the brutal trial. The woman acting as the healer—stoic and efficient—tended to his wounds with a cold detachment. She didn’t speak much, simply ensuring he was stable before allowing him to leave. When she finally escorted him out, Thorne couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease. The infirmary wa...

CHAPTER 79

Sid entered quietly, his usual confident stride replaced with a more subdued, careful step. 

"You're awake," Sid said, his voice soft but tinged with relief. He pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down, his expression serious. 

Thorne tried to push himself up, but his muscles protested with sharp jolts of pain. He settled for a slight nod. "What happened?" he croaked, his throat raw from days of screaming. 

Sid sighed, rub...

CHAPTER 78

"That is enough!" 

The voice sliced through the darkness like a knife, startling Thorne out of the haze of pain and confusion that had consumed him. The words were familiar, but his mind, battered and broken, struggled to connect them to anything real.  

He felt a sudden, violent tugging at his feet and hands, and then, without warning, he was free. Th...

CHAPTER 77

Thorne walked through the narrow, blood-stained streets of the Butcher Quarter, the sun dipping low on the horizon, casting long shadows that crept across the cobblestones. The air was thick with the familiar smell of blood and raw meat, but today it didn’t bother him as much. His steps were lighter, the single day of freedom with his friends having lifted a burden from h...

CHAPTER 76

Thorne followed Arletta for only a few feet before his patience snapped. Without a word, he turned abruptly and started walking toward the front door, his boots echoing ominously on the marble floor. 

"Where do you think you’re going?" Arletta’s voice was sharp as she quickened her pace to catch up with him. 

"I’m going to visit my friends," Thor...

CHAPTER 75

The grand dining room echoed with the soft click of the door as the servants departed, leaving Thorne alone with Uncle. The room, which had felt so suffocating moments ago, now seemed even more oppressive in its silence. Thorne’s heart pounded, a familiar dread clawing at his insides.  

The sudden solitude with Uncle felt like being trapped in a cage with a beast, the tension in the air thick enough to choke on. His body wanted to twitch, to ...

CHAPTER 74

Thorne’s faint smile evaporated the moment he stood before the gilded double doors. The heavy atmosphere of Uncle’s manor pressed down on him, each step closer feeling like a descent into a well-practiced nightmare. The doors, with their gaudy gilding and intricate carvings, were a perfect symbol of Uncle’s world: excessive, opulent, and suffocating. 

Two servants, stif...

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CHAPTER 73

Thorne followed Arletta through the Butcher Quarter, the sharp, metallic scent of blood hanging heavy in the air, mixed with the stench of raw meat. The shopkeepers were closing down their stalls, their weary faces reflected in the dim light of the few remaining lanterns. Some threw pitchers of water across the cobblestones, the streams tinted red as they washed away the day...

CHAPTER 72

Thorne and Rielle searched through the shadowy corridors of the base, their mission clear: to find and memorize hidden messages scattered throughout the labyrinthine structure. Talon had emphasized the importance of this task. Each recruit was supposed to search alone, but Thorne and Rielle had decided to team up. It wasn’t the first time they’d bent the rules in their ...

CHAPTER 71

Thorne was heaving, his breaths coming in hard, fast gasps as he plunged his daggers into the neck of the zombie before him. The desiccated face, once belonging to a male recruit, twisted in a grotesque mask of death. With a savage twist of his wrists, Thorne made a scissoring motion that severed the creature’s head from its body.  

The sudden loss of resistance nearly...

CHAPTER 70

“Get ready!” Thorne screamed, his voice slicing through the suffocating darkness as he circled the small island, his eyes darting from one tunnel to another, searching the shadows for movement. His heart hammered in his chest, the icy grip of fear tightening around him. 

Devon and Cassandra looked at him in confusion, their faces pale in the dim light. “Wha...

CHAPTER 69

The attack came without warning. Whatever it was, it moved with a terrifying silence, its presence unknown until it was upon them. Cassandra was the first to feel it—a cold, slimy grip that wrapped around her leg and dragged her down into the foul water. She screamed, flailing wildly as she tried to free herself from the unseen assailant. 

Thorne’s heart leap...

CHAPTER 68

Thorne, Vance, and Rielle lounged in a small room they had discovered weeks ago, a hidden nook tucked away in the labyrinthine corridors of the base. The space was clearly once the secret lair of older recruits, as evidenced by the faded scribbles on the walls and the worn furniture scattered about—a few loungers, a table, and some chairs.  

It had become ...

CHAPTER 67

Thorne, Vance, and Rielle were in the physical conditioning classroom, enduring the grueling exercises under the watchful eyes of Lock. The recruits had been running laps around the vast room for the past hour, and even Thorne was beginning to feel the strain. His stamina points were flashing dangerously, reminding him that even he had limits. All around him, recruits were collapsi...

CHAPTER 66

Thorne, Vance, and the rest of the recruits returned to their sleeping quarters, their footsteps echoing softly against the stone floor. The air was thick with the exhaustion that clung to each of them, a weight that seemed to grow heavier with every step. The stealth techniques assessment had taken its toll, both physically and mentally, and Thorne felt completely lost on what time it ...

CHAPTER 65

Thorne didn’t know how long he lay in the small, dark room. Time seemed to stretch and warp, the minutes bleeding into one another until they lost all meaning. The tremors that had wracked his body had finally subsided, leaving him feeling hollow and drained. His thoughts, once a chaotic storm, had turned eerily silent. He stared blankly at the opposite wall, his mind num...

CHAPTER 64

Thorne’s fury ignited like a wildfire, consuming him in a storm of unrestrained violence. Days of frustration, simmering anger, and the constant grind of survival had been building toward this moment, and now, it exploded in a relentless assault.

The boy’s grin barely had time to falter before Thorne’s fist connected with his jaw. The sound of impact—a dull, sickeni...

CHAPTER 63

Thorne stormed out of the training area with long, deliberate strides, his fury simmering just below the surface. Rafe’s words played on a loop in his mind, each one stoking the anger that burned hotter with every step. The glares from Rafe’s lackeys barely registered, nor did the murmurs of a few recruits lingering in the corridors. His focus was singular—move forward, stay in control. ...

CHAPTER 62

Thorne turned slowly, his bare feet scraping against the icy stone floor, the sound low and grating in the charged silence. He cracked his neck with deliberate nonchalance, letting out a soft sigh. Of course, it was him. He wasn’t surprised in the slightest to see Rafe standing there, that damn smirk plastered across his face like a badge of superiority. How many ti...

CHAPTER 61

Thorne and Vance navigated the twisting tunnels of the base, their eyes scanning every shadowed corner and recessed doorway for something—anything—to eat. The passageways all seemed to blend together, a never-ending labyrinth of rough stone and packed earth. They dared not venture too far, the fear of getting hopelessly lost gnawing at them almost as much as their...

CHAPTER 60

Thorne slipped into the back of the group, his entrance deliberate and quiet. He kept his posture relaxed, his movements casual, but his sharp eyes were anything but idle. He scanned the other recruits, noting the ones who looked eager, the ones who seemed terrified, and the ones who carried themselves with false bravado. He caught Lock glaring at him, the man's dark ...

CHAPTER 59

An uncomfortable silence descended on the small room. Thorne stared at Sid, his eyes wide with apprehension, trying to read the older man’s expression. Sid, in typical fashion, leaned back in his chair, plucking at an invisible speck of lint on his stained pants, breaking the moment. His casual demeanor contrasted sharply with the tension hanging in the air.

"Most of the c...

CHAPTER 58

Thorne woke to shouting, a groan escaping his lips. He had barely gotten any sleep all night, always having one eye open, afraid that someone would sneak attack him while he slept. The hard mattress did nothing to soothe his aching muscles, and the cold air seemed to seep into his bones.

During the night, he had heard muffled screams when some saw an opportunity...

CHAPTER 57

Thorne was herded toward the other recruits, his mind still spinning from everything that had just happened. The narrow path between the cage and the stands felt endless, and the weight of countless stares pressed down on him. It wasn’t just the recruits watching—it was the spectators, too, their silent judgment like a brand searing into his skin.

He felt ex...

CHAPTER 56

Thorne lay sprawled on the cold, hard floor, the icy stone sapping what little strength he had left. His body was racked with shudders, not just from the chill, but from the overwhelming despair that clung to him like a shroud. His mind was a tumultuous sea of anguish, and every attempt to draw a steady breath felt like a battle. 

He wrapped his arms around...

CHAPTER 55

Thorne barely caught a glimpse of her before the room began to shift. The pulsating glow of the walls grew brighter, its intensity becoming almost blinding as the air around him vibrated with an unearthly hum. It wasn’t just light; it was a presence, seeping into his very core, overwhelming his senses. His instincts screamed, a primal alarm he couldn’t ignore, but...

CHAPTER 54

The sentinels moved with an eerie precision, their glowing red eyes unwavering as they advanced. Thorne’s pulse quickened, but he forced himself to remain calm. The cold, mechanical menace of these constructs only sharpened his focus. 

"Terrifying? Sure," Thorne quipped, his voice steady despite the tension. "But I’ve faced worse. I think." 

...

CHAPTER 53

The flood of light was disorienting, piercing the darkness they had been trapped in. Thorne squinted, his hand instinctively rising to shield his eyes as they adjusted to the new brightness. The corridor that stretched before them was dimly lit by torches mounted on the walls, their flames casting flickering shadows that made the aged stone appear alive.

His attention shifted to the other three kids, now fully illuminated. They stood awkwardly, eac...