3\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Be potent princess\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
Be patient, princess\u00a0<\/p>\n
Violet\u00a0<\/p>\n
Before we even reached the exit, he shifted me slightly in his arms, as if I weighed nothing. With one hand holding me, the other slid out of his tailored jacket.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I blinked up at him, confused. \u201cWhat are you-?\u201d I started but before I could finish, he draped it over my head.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The heavy fabric fell around me, his scent filled my nose instantly. Whatever words I\u2019d been about to say vanished on my tongue. My lips parted, but nothing came out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He leaned in, lips grazing my ear, his voice a low command. \u201cBe patient, princess. It\u2019s for your own good.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I bit my lip, hard, holding back the thousand things I wanted to say.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The doors opened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Flashes of light went off instantly as cameras snapped him. Even through the fabric draped over me, the brightness burned my eyes, forcing them shut. I squeezed my eyes shut, instinctively pressing my face into his\u00a0<\/p>\n
chest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He lowered me closer, pressing my face against him as though he had expected it all along. His chest was warm, and firm beneath my cheek, and each steady thud of his heartbeat made the frantic pace of mine all the more unbearable.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My body stiffened.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stop.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stop it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Damn it, stop it!\u00a0<\/p>\n
My stupid heart wouldn\u2019t listen. It kept running wild, beating harder the longer I stayed pressed against him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I squeezed my eyes shut, panic flooding through me. Why was I reacting like this? Why did my body betray me every single time he was near? Could I-?\u00a0<\/p>\n
No. No, absolutely not.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I clenched my fists into the fabric of his shirt, my breathing uneven, I should\u2019ve been disgusted, and ashamed of being this close to him after everything I had just learned. Instead, I wanted him to hold me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I knew I was falling into something I couldn\u2019t climb out of.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Hades Sinclair! Please, a word!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the sound of his name, I jolted, my heart leaping to my throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hades Sinclair.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hearing it out loud like that sent a chill down my spine.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They could\u2019ve said his full name earlier, and I would\u2019ve known. I could\u2019ve run before any of this started. But no, of course not. Fate was cruel enough to let me fall straight into his arms before handing me the truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Hades, who is this woman? Is she your fianc\u00e9e? Are you two close?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Be patient, princess\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhich family is she from? The Reeds? The Kings? The Scotts?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I froze. Those names weren\u2019t random, they belonged to some of the most powerful, and well\u2013known families in the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
How was I supposed to tell them I was none of that? The only wake\u2013up call waiting for them was that I was just a broke college student who couldn\u2019t even afford rent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My lips parted, but no words came. Instead, a tired sigh slipped out as I sank deeper into his hold.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was so confused.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hades\u2026what do you even want from me? The thought lingered, as I shut my eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t sure, but I could\u2019ve sworn I heard him chuckle, just before everything faded into darkness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
***\u00a0<\/p>\n
I always had this dream.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the dream, I was dying, just like my mother, father, and elder brother\u00a0<\/p>\n
The wreckage of the car pressed in on us. My mother\u2019s cold hand rested in mine, still protective even in her last moments. My father\u2019s frightened face turned toward us one last time, and in his eyes I saw that he knew there was nothing he could do to save us. And Skylar was smiling at me even as his blood soaked into the seats.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was dying too. I knew that. My chest was so heavy, my pulse so faint I could barely feel it. I knew this was death, and my life was slipping away.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The dream always felt too real. I could feel the cold in my bones. I could feel the silence crawling in as my heart slowed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I remembered asking my father once what happened after death. Did people go straight to heaven or hell depending on their deeds? He would always smile at me and give a different answer each time. But it always came back to the same truth, once a person dies, they leave\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the dream, I thought maybe that wasn\u2019t so bad. At least if I left, I would leave with my family. But then I thought of Sebastian. He wasn\u2019t with us. If we all left, wouldn\u2019t he be lonely without us?\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t want to die. I was terrified. I wanted to cry, but even my tears wouldn\u2019t come. My body was too weak. I could only stare, waiting for the end.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Beside me, my mother\u2019s lips moved, her voice too faint to catch, but I knew she was praying for a miracle, and for someone or something to save us.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I thought it was impossible. Nobody could save us. I was about to close my eyes and surrender to fate when I heard footsteps.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With effort, I turned my head toward the sound.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A man stood there. I couldn\u2019t see his face, it was too dark, but I could see one thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The curl of his lips.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cH\u2013help..\u201d My mother whimpered in pain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He leaned closer, tilting his head, his voice cold and amused. \u201cYou beg for a miracle, but you know your family is already dead.\u201d His gaze found me, pinning me in place, and he chuckled low.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2\/3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Be potent princess\u00a0<\/p>\n
+25 Bonus\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAh\u2026 one person seems to be alive.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
I heard my mother beside me, her voice trembling as she whispered again, \u201cSave her. Please\u2026\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSave her?\u201d He echoed, a trace of mockery in his tone. \u201cAnd why would I do that? I\u2019m not a nice person.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cP\u2013please\u2026..I will do anything.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man tilted his head, as if considering.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cHm. Alright. She\u2019s got a unique scent,\u201d he said lazily, as if the scene in front of him meant nothing. \u201cLet\u2019s make a deal. You\u2019ll give me your daughter in return for her life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
What kind of crazy thought was that? I wanted to slap him and tell him to piss off. I was dying, and the bastard was talking rubbish.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t hear anything else after that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
My vision blurred, the darkness closing in, my heartbeat fading. But before I lost consciousness, I saw those impossibly deep blue eyes staring at me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His lips curved again. \u201cYou\u2019re mine.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nights Burn With Regret \u2014 by Nathan Perez 64 3\/3\u00a0 Be potent princess\u00a0 +25 Bonus\u00a0 Be patient, princess\u00a0 Violet\u00a0 Before […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[83],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-craving-the-guardian-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27980\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}