DEADALUS author of AETHERBORN

VAMPIRE LORD - CHAPTER 15

Treasure, Trauma, and a Tiny Grid 

Alistair leaned against the tree and let himself breathe. 

The clearing still stank of blood and scorched mist. The Naiad’s corpse lay crumpled near the stream, a blackened outline of what used to be water and grac...

CHAPTER 206

The chamber of binding had fallen into a tense silence. The echo of Mornak Windlow’s failure lingered like a ghost, reminding everyone how thin the line was between success and exile. 

Thorne could feel the shadows of doubt creeping through the crowd. Students shifted their weight, their faces a patchwork ...

CHAPTER 205

The chamber of binding buzzed with the electric hum of nervous energy. The crowd of prospective students pressed close, the air filled with whispers and soft exclamations as they looked around, drinking in the ancient architecture and the tapestry of light and shadow woven by the flickering aetheric torches. 

CHAPTER 204

A reverent hush had fallen over the carriage. 

Every set of eyes was glued to the window, the awe and wonder hanging so thick in the air that even breathing felt like it would shatter the moment. 

Thorne sat very still, his fingers curled tightly around the velvet edge of his seat. He wasn’t sur...

CHAPTER 203

The Spellbinding Ritual. 

That was a grand name if Thorne had ever heard one. 

He leaned back slightly, arms folded, his white-blue eyes gleaming with intrigue as he turned the phrase over in his mind. 

It sounded ceremonial, important, dangerous in its ambiguity. 

He let his...

CHAPTER 202

Thorne stood at the threshold, hesitating. 

The open door of the carriage yawned before him, revealing a warm, golden interior. He could hear the others inside. Excited voices, hushed laughter, the occasional murmur of admiration. 

Only the Aetherhold representative remained by his side, silent bu...

VAMPIRE LORD - CHAPTER 14

Not a Damsel, Definitely Distressed 

Alistair crouched by the base of a mossy tree, panting softly. His hands trembled, not from fear, not exactly. Just… sheer exhaustion. Between the poison, the dagger barrage, and the high elf who healed through being stabbed, he’d earned this b...

VAMPIRE LORD - CHAPTER 13

The Four Medallions 

Lying on his back, Alistair stared at the sky. 

It was quiet now. 

Too quiet. 

The kind of silence that made your skin itch. 

His chest rose and fell slowly, each breath a smoky blend of blood, ozone, and the fain...

CHAPTER 201

The moment Thorne stepped through the portal, the world shifted violently. 

For an instant, there was nothing. No light, no sound, no sense of weight or direction. Just the raw pull of magic wrapping around his very being, twisting and stretching his existence across space. 

Then... 

Co...

CHAPTER 200

The scent of salt and brine clung to the air as Thorne followed Kerke down the narrow corridor, the dim lanterns lining the wooden walls swaying gently with the ship’s rhythm.  

The space was tight, barely enough for the two of them to pass side by side, forcing him to keep close, his senses sharp, his ste...

CHAPTER 199

Thorne ran a hand down his face, exhaling sharply as he forced himself to school his expression. Of all the wretched luck. 

Of course, it had to be her. 

Because the dead gods hadn’t punished him enough. Because surviving Alvar’s destruction, escaping Uncle’s madness, and barely cheating dea...

CHAPTER 198

Darkness. 

A slow, rhythmic creaking filled his ears, the sensation of swaying making his stomach twist. His body ached, every inch of him a dull, throbbing pain, but none of it compared to the disoriented panic clawing its way into his chest. 

Where was he? 

The last thing he remembere...

CHAPTER 197

Thorne gritted his teeth, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. The man's appearance, marred by the battle, should have shown weakness, deep burns scorched his face and limbs, his clothes reduced to tatters. Yet his armor gleamed defiantly, unmarred and immaculate, proof of its extraordinary craftsmanship. He m...

VAMPIRE LORD - CHAPTER 12

So Anyway, I Killed Them All 

The high elf turned toward him, faster than Alistair expected. 

Not a dramatic gasp, not a curse, just a flick of the eyes and a surge of mana. 

Instinct met instinct. 

Alistair thre...

VAMPIRE LORD - CHAPTER 11

Invisibility, Idiots, and Idiotic Plans 

Pain greeted him first. 

Not the sharp, sudden kind but the slow, grinding ache of a body that’s been thrown, crushed, and partially cooked, then told to walk it off. 

Alistair’s ey...

CHAPTER 196

Thorne ran, his boots slamming against the cobblestone streets. His heart hammered in his chest, not from exertion, but from the oppressive weight of certainty.  

They had escaped.  

The two men, the mysterious figure from the capital and the red-robed mage were free, and they were hunting him.&nb...

CHAPTER 195

Thorne turned around, his body still shaking from the exertion of the battle, and his mouth grew dry as ash.  

The man from the capital was here.  

Stalking forward with a wolfish smile that didn’t reach his cold, calculating eyes, the man exuded triumph, as though Thorne’s shattered world wer...

CHAPTER 194

Thorne stood amidst the ruins of the reception hall, his body a blinding beacon of power. The aether coursing through him was alive, surging like a tempest barely contained within his mortal frame. His eyes glowed an intense, otherworldly silver, brighter than the moonlight pouring through the broken roof. Aether arcs ...

CHAPTER 193

Thorne rose from the rubble, his body mending with an almost ethereal glow as the moonlight kissed his battered frame. His breath was steady now, the Lunar Regeneration weaving together torn flesh and broken bones. He flexed his fingers, the trembling that had once betrayed his fear gone. He wasn't that scared...

CHAPTER 192

I am free. 

The thought repeated in Thorne’s mind, echoing like a triumphant drumbeat. He had tasted victory, sweet, intoxicating, and like nothing he had ever felt before. The weight he had carried for years, the shadow that loomed over every moment of his life, had been lifted.  

For a brief, ...

VAMPIRE LORD - CHAPTER 10

Finally Powerful, Still Pathetic 

Alistair stared at the glowing pool, inches from its shimmering surface, the system window floating gently in his vision. 

He leaned in closer, breath fogging faintly against the fountain’s s...

VAMPIRE LORD - CHAPTER 9

The Gods Giveth, the Corpses Taketh Away

Alistair crouched behind the bush, thorns digging into his back like nature’s little middle fingers. 

His stamina had taken a drain, and he felt weak. His cloak was torn, boots caked in mud, and the entire left side o...

CHAPTER 191

Thorne didn’t remember crossing the distance between the Ravencourt lands and Alvar. The journey was a haze of pounding footsteps, burning muscles, and a heart that felt like it might tear itself apart with each thundering beat. His body was screaming in protest; his stamina had long since dwindled into nothing, yet ...

CHAPTER 190

Skill Level Up: Burst of Speed. 

Skill Level Up: Aether Surge. 

Skill Level Up: Burst of Speed. 

Thorne sprinted across the countryside, the world around him a blur. His breaths came in harsh gasps, chest heaving with exertion, but his ...

CHAPTER 189

The ride back to the governing building was steeped in silence. The only sounds were the rhythmic clattering of the wheels over uneven cobblestones and the creaking of the carriage frame.  

No one spoke, not even Jory when he stirred, blinking groggily awake and instinctively glancing between Sid and Thorne....

CHAPTER 188

Thorne descended the steps of Uncle’s estate, the heavy embroidered coat hanging from his shoulders a constant reminder of the role he had been forced to play. The black fabric with its golden flame-like spirals was not simply attire, it was a message, loud and clear. 

Uncle’s heir. The face of the L...