Lupus

Unfortunately, there are still plenty of villains left.😬 Thanks for the comment.😊

@chrstphrl Thanks for the lovely comment.😊 The holiday went really well; I travelled through several countries in Central Europe. Bartos has clearly found his confidence along with Might. He’ll no doubt be a great help in the fight against the Darkness. Mocvann got the ending she deserved. I doubt anyone will miss her. Ivas is fine, no worries.☺️

Mocvann Torn apart. Empty. Shredded to rags. But still alive. Her lower body burned and stung, even after the draughts Bendac had given her. Nausea rolled through her, making her almost vomit. She felt so weak she could barely lift a finger. Yet triumph bubbled inside her. She had done it — she had survived as the victor. A tired smile crept across Mocvann's parched face, and for a moment she no longer heard the creature screaming in the background. The servants wiped her with coo

@Seraph28 @chrstphrl Thank you for the comments — very insightful observations from both of you.🙂 The dream at least shows that Josel has had a lot on his mind lately, and now his thoughts are trying to sort all that confusion into something that makes sense. Whether it means anything for him and Zdain, only time will tell. It’s also true that Josel has been forced to grow a great deal, and he’s no longer in every way the same boy who fled Paidos in the spring. Hmm. Could Ivas be leading Bartos into a trap? It would go against his gentle nature, but on the other hand, he is a Gravenhild. We’ll find out soon enough.🤞 In the next chapter, we return to the same characters again. There will be action and dangerous situations ahead.

I hope you found this chapter interesting. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to publish the next one next week, as I’ll be on a holiday trip. So you’ll have to wait two weeks for the next update.😕

Josel Vendum, Grand Duchy of Malkania There was no Josel Sandkan — no such person had ever existed. It was as if he'd been erased from the world. Idalae Sandkan had never been his mother, only an actress Zal Fizol had hired to play the part of a wife to Josel's father. And Dad hadn't been some Paidos-born writer, but a nobleman from Naldau in Malkania. Which meant that Josel's entire life so far had been built on a lie. Mocvann Gravenhild had explained all of this to him, in such det

Patience.😅😁 At some point in this book, but not quite yet.

Good reflections. Even though the story is already quite far along, I’m still shaping the plot with future events in mind. The ending of this fourth book isn’t in sight yet, but the plot is slowly starting to move forward. In the next chapter, we’ll meet Josel again after a long time.

@drsawzall Ade clearly suspected the same. What’s interesting here is that Zal, too, received a letter asking him to come to the abandoned dyehouse.🧐 @Seraph28 @chrstphrl You’re very perceptive. This is exactly the direction I was trying to show in the shift between Ade and Zdain. They’ve been apart for a long time, and both of them have changed during that time. After something like that, it’s not easy to come back together and continue as if everything were the same as before. Thank you as well for the feedback — I’m glad to hear you enjoyed the chapter.😊

Zdain Movement around him slowed, and the sounds faded into a dull blur in his ears. Zdain looked into Ade's dark eyes and, for a moment, saw nothing else. He had dreamed of this reunion countless times, but none of those imaginings came close to reality. Not even his most fevered fantasies had been able to conjure a feeling like this. "Ade," Zdain almost groaned. His mouth was dry, and his eyes filled helplessly with tears. He couldn't — he couldn't bear it. It was all too much,

I know!😅 I’m trying to keep the readers hooked on the story.😉

@Seraph28 You’re probably right. Most likely Ade despises Dareis and Elyssa so much that he’s willing to scheme behind Tac’s back in this matter. @drsawzall That's true — each of them has their own agenda, and many of those motives are downright selfish. It’s no wonder this group struggles to find any real common ground. The role of the republican rebels has grown quite large in this story, especially considering that Tac Temogam didn’t even appear in books 1 and 2.

In my view, it’s more a matter of Ade trying to balance his loyalties. On one hand, he wants to be obedient to Vargan, who helped him and Plink when they were young; on the other hand, he believes in the ideals of the Republic and therefore feels it’s important to follow Tac Temogam.😎

Do you mean Ade as well?😲

Adenolei The meeting had been convened in haste. Ade sat beside Isendar Vargan in the cramped back room they used for their discussions — a space barely large enough for a long table with a few chairs. Tac Temogam had taken his place opposite them and looked deeply pensive. The sudden appearance of the deputy leader of the Shadow Cross in the republicans' headquarters had understandably been quite a shock even for a rebel commander who had weathered more than most. Ade suspected Tac wo