Short, Light, Free - Chapter 87: The Value of Art II

“I was born as a princess in the most powerful lineage in the world… but that lineage is now on the verge of collapse.”In a kingdom where strength is everything, royal blood has long ceased to produce true powerhouses. Sects and clans are just waiting for our family to show weakness so they can tear us apart.But this lineage is not dead yet.He is still here.A being feared even by the strongest cultivators.The only reason this kingdom still stands.And me?If I want to survive in a world where only power matters… I must become a monster feared by all.

Gazing at the Starbucks café at the airports had become a ritual for her. A desperate attempt as she hoped against hope to see him again, probably get one more chance to kiss him again.

Looking at the store all lost, she walked ahead, but stumbled and bumped against someone.

The cup of coffee that he had in his hand spilled all over just like the first time when she had met him.

“Jesus Christ”, he muttered.

The moment she heard the voice she looked up and saw his face. It was the same face that had promised to stay next to her, till death did them apart.

Tears flooded her eyes and she could barely speak, “I knew you would come back for me Raymond”. She raised herself on her toes in an attempt to kiss him, but he blocked her lips with his palm.

“Whoa, whoa, Miss !!! I guess you have mistaken me for someone else.”

“What are you saying, Raymond? It's me, your Akira. The love of your life, your fiancée,” she said and stretched her hand showing the ring on her finger.

He stared at the ring for quite some time and then looked at her face apologetically and said,

“Miss please, I am already a married man.”

And then he silently walked away.

One hundred fifty-eight years have passed since humanity first spread beyond the bounds of Earth. It has been two years since we made first contact with an alien race. Two years since the war began. A war we are losing.We have been driven back to our last bastion, Earth. Our colonies lie in ruins, our fleets decimated. Our enemy is at our doorsteps, and soon our fortress may fall, but we have one last hope. A new ship that may change the tide of this war, and provide salvation for our race. That ship is humankind’s first ship capable of breaking the lightspeed barrier and bringing the fight to the enemy. Will that ship be able to save our race? Or is she doomed to fail?Note: This is a rewrite of my Earlier work Nomads of Sol.

Astrid dedicated her life to Leon, believing in their love, their pack, their future. But the devastating return of her sister, Clara, as Leon's destined mate, shatters Astrid's carefully constructed world. Betrayal cuts deep, leaving Astrid stripped bare and forced to confront a horrifying truth: her loyalty was misplaced, her sacrifices meaningless.Just as despair threatens to consume her, Kaeleen, a magnetic and rebellious Alpha from a rival pack, storms into her life, igniting a forbidden passion that challenges everything she thought she knew. He offers her a chance to escape the suffocating control of her past, to claim a life of her own, a life where she is the priority.But Leon won't relinquish his prize so easily. Obsessed and dangerously possessive, he unleashes a storm of violence and manipulation, determined to drag Astrid back into the darkness. Now, Astrid must make a desperate choice: succumb to the chains of her past, or embrace the dangerous allure of a love that could save her... or ignite a war that will consume them all.