Novel Romance | Love Between Two Worlds

   Chapter 19 — The Hollow The Veil tore. Not slowly. Not like fabric pulled apart. It split with the violence of something alive being wounded — a line of black opening from floor to ceiling, and beyond it there was no sky, no stars, no Elarion, no Blackwood Manor. Only the Hollow. Hundreds of eyes stared through the widening tear. Some enormous, some barely visible, some blinking on their own rhythm, others opening and closing in perfect unison. It had no shape Amelia could name, and yet she could feel the suggestion of a body inside that darkness — something so vast the chamber could never have held all of it. "Queen." The First King's voice cracked through the chaos. "Help us." Amelia stared at him. Minutes ago he'd wanted the Crown for himself. He'd threatened Adrian. He'd spoken like both worlds already belonged to him. Now he looked terrified. She almost laughed. "You want me to save you?" "I want you to save everything." ...

   Chapter 18 — The Voice of the Future The light exploded. Amelia couldn't see anything. For one terrible second there was no chamber, no Crown, no First King, no Adrian. There was only white. Then pain — a sharp pressure tore through her chest, and somewhere impossibly far away she heard him shout her name. "Amelia!" She reached for him. Her fingers closed around nothing. Then the voice came back. The same one. Older. Terrified. Don't let him take the Crown. Amelia opened her eyes into a different place entirely — a corridor stretching endlessly in both directions, walls of black stone veined with pale gold, doors lining either side, each marked with a symbol she didn't recognize. Except one. A silver crescent surrounded by seven stars. Her ring. She turned. Adrian stood several steps behind her — but something was wrong. His clothes were darker, his hair longer, his face sharper. A thin scar crossed his throat. He looked older, not by years but by decades. ...

  Chapter 17 — The First King The crown rose higher, slowly, almost gently. Gold light spilled out from beneath it, illuminating the darkness without ever quite pushing it back — if anything, the shadows gathered closer to it, bending toward something older than themselves. Amelia couldn't breathe. Every creature in the chamber stayed on its knees. Adrian stood beside her, blade still burning in his hand, but even he had stopped looking at them. He was looking at the crown. "That's impossible," Caelan whispered again. "You've said that twice now," Amelia said. He didn't answer. "What is the First King?" Caelan's gold eyes stayed fixed on the dark. "The beginning." "That's not an answer." "It's the only one that matters." The first Hart stepped forward. "Caelan." He finally looked at her. "You knew he was coming." "No." "You knew he was still alive." His jaw ti...

   Chapter 16 — The Guardian's Choice Darkness swallowed them. Not the ordinary absence of light Amelia had grown used to inside the Veil, but something deeper — a darkness that erased distance, sound, even the sensation of having a body at all. She couldn't see Adrian. Couldn't see the first Hart. Couldn't see Caelan. She couldn't even feel the glass beneath her feet anymore. Then she heard one thing. His voice. "Amelia." She turned toward it. "Adrian?" "I'm here." Relief hit her hard enough that her knees nearly buckled. She reached out blindly, and her fingers found his — warm, solid, real. She held on like it was the only thing keeping her tethered to anything at all. Then the darkness spoke. Guardian. His hand tightened around hers. Choose. Amelia's heart slammed against her ribs. "Choose what?" No answer came. She looked toward him, though she could barely make out the shape of his face. "Choose me," sh...