Pulchra_Aurum

Chapter three is now out!
          	
          	-
          	
          	It's supposed to be a glorified thing," Vaclav confessed, his voice a low rumble. "But they view you as a sacrifice."
          	
          	"I am no one's sacrifice," Vespera said, a small sneer forming on her face. It was the first thing she had spoken in hours.
          	
          	"No," Vaclav concurred, a grim smile touching his lips. "You are your mother's daughter."
          	
          	Vespera stared quietly, waiting for what was to follow.
          	
          	"Time to learn," Vaclav said, eyes glinting. "Time to turn their hope into an opportunity. To learn the source of their power, the location of their sacred sites, the fraction in their own Conclave. Make yourself indispensable to his survival, so that when the time comes, he cannot imagine a world without you in it."
          	
          	"You want me to act his protector?" she asked, a dangerous smile playing on her lips as her stomach tightened in anticipation. "To make the heir to the Luminae reliant on a shadow."
          	
          	"I want you to be what binds him," Vaclav corrected. "Make his survival reliant on you so that when the inevitable betrayal comes from their side, we're already victorious."
          	
          	"As you wish, Your Majesty," Vespera said, eyes curving into crescents with genuine happiness as she squeezed back at the cold grip in hers. "I shall make haste and get prepared."
          	
          	She slipped her grip from his and started for the doors. She'd already reached the double doors, hand on the knobs, when her father's voice, even lower now, stopped her.
          	
          	"Vespera."
          	
          	She paused, but didn't look back.
          	
          	"Do not underestimate them," he said. "And do not lose yourself in the role."
          	
          	Vespera turned. "It's a role, Father," she said, inclining her head in acknowledgement of the closest he'd ever come to verbally expressing concern. "Nothing more."
          	https://www.wattpad.com/story/402335216

sistergypsy

Oh this sounds amazing 
Reply

Mochi711

Congratulations on winning 2nd place in the Best Anthology/Collection Category of the Dream Glow Awards! Please don't forget to write up and submit your Spotlight piece! Details are in the inline comment next to your winning entry in the chapter.

Pulchra_Aurum

Chapter three is now out!
          
          -
          
          It's supposed to be a glorified thing," Vaclav confessed, his voice a low rumble. "But they view you as a sacrifice."
          
          "I am no one's sacrifice," Vespera said, a small sneer forming on her face. It was the first thing she had spoken in hours.
          
          "No," Vaclav concurred, a grim smile touching his lips. "You are your mother's daughter."
          
          Vespera stared quietly, waiting for what was to follow.
          
          "Time to learn," Vaclav said, eyes glinting. "Time to turn their hope into an opportunity. To learn the source of their power, the location of their sacred sites, the fraction in their own Conclave. Make yourself indispensable to his survival, so that when the time comes, he cannot imagine a world without you in it."
          
          "You want me to act his protector?" she asked, a dangerous smile playing on her lips as her stomach tightened in anticipation. "To make the heir to the Luminae reliant on a shadow."
          
          "I want you to be what binds him," Vaclav corrected. "Make his survival reliant on you so that when the inevitable betrayal comes from their side, we're already victorious."
          
          "As you wish, Your Majesty," Vespera said, eyes curving into crescents with genuine happiness as she squeezed back at the cold grip in hers. "I shall make haste and get prepared."
          
          She slipped her grip from his and started for the doors. She'd already reached the double doors, hand on the knobs, when her father's voice, even lower now, stopped her.
          
          "Vespera."
          
          She paused, but didn't look back.
          
          "Do not underestimate them," he said. "And do not lose yourself in the role."
          
          Vespera turned. "It's a role, Father," she said, inclining her head in acknowledgement of the closest he'd ever come to verbally expressing concern. "Nothing more."
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/402335216

sistergypsy

Oh this sounds amazing 
Reply

Pulchra_Aurum

Chapter two is now out! Don't forget to leave a vote and comment your thoughts <33
          
          -
          
          "What choice do I have, Ianthe?" he asked, a sliver of his frustration leaking into his voice he strove to keep lowered. "Shall I just watch my sister disappear? Watch our city dim, street by street, until we're all just whispers of light in eternal darkness?"
          
          "There is always a choice," she whispered, composure cracking for a moment. "There is always another way. We could have found it. Together."
          
          Sol saw the pain in her eyes, saw the shattered dream. He felt a surge of guilt, though he knew, logically, he'd made no promises. The world they lived in had made them for him.
          
          Ianthe said nothing for a minute, only focused on placing the last flower in the vase. The fan-shaped arrangement was perfect, achingly beautiful. A monument to a life that could have been.
          
          "Then I hope your mercy is not mistaken for weakness, my prince," she said, a clear wall sliding up between them with the use of his formal title. "And I hope. . ."
          
          Sol didn't interrupt, keeping eye contact in spite of the way the knot in his stomach multiplied at the fractured peace in her violet eyes.
          
          "I hope some part of you remembers what true light feels like," she finished.
          
          Sol's throat dried up but he said nothing, turning and walking away silently, leaving Ianthe standing alone in the scent of Dawn's Hope flowers that filled the air.
          
          A scent that was now reminiscent of loss.
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/402335216

Venator-TheThird

@Pulchra_Aurum YOU'RE UNBLOCKED YAYYY NOW YOU CAJ RETUEN TO THE BL- NAH I'M KIDDING I WONT FALK ABOUT IT
Reply

Anaya6945

Hi aurum i was just going through your book and it got me wondering if youd maybe be interested in getting illustrations for your work  or custom cover arts etc ? if so im a commission based artist and would love to get in touch ... leaving my details below for you feel free to check out if this interests you anayaillustrates.carrd.co

Venator-TheThird

@Anaya6945 the panda is busy gathering blood for the blood club, but I'm sure she'll be glad to once she's free 
Reply

Pulchra_Aurum

Just published chapter one! Don't forget to vote and share your thoughts ♥
          
          -
          
          "The Conclave meets in an hour, my lady," Sombra murmured from the door's threshold, eyes flitting between the two whose contact had been broken. "Your father has requested your presence."
          
          A flicker of irritation crossed her brows, an emotion she quickly squashed. "The Conclave can wait," she said, striding over in long steps. "The dying cannot."
          
          Vespera looked at the soft contours to the woman's face, reaching out with her fingertips, not to touch the woman's crystallizing skin, but to the woman's thin shadow that trembled on the bed. Her own shadow stretched out as she called on Veran, a tendril of darkness moving to comfort the woman where words could not.
          
          She began to hum a soothing melody, a low, resonant melody that was one of the first basic spells a shadow-wielder learnt. It wouldn't reverse the curse but it could slow it, ease the frigid pain that came with the crystallization.
          
          As she hummed, she wove through the shadows in their surroundings, fingers dancing nimbly in the air as the shadows responded, twisting into a complex, lacy pattern above the head of the woman. A small solace in the face of the pain that was sure to erode her bit by bit. The woman's breathing eased, eyes fluttering shut while the trembling of her shoulder slowly stilled.
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/402335216

Pulchra_Aurum

Shout our to The Celestine Blood Club @TheGemmeCommunity
          https://www.wattpad.com/story/316348344

Venator-TheThird

@Pulchra_Aurum Lawd will have mercy once you sacrifice the blood you're collecting of your victims 
Reply

Pulchra_Aurum

@Venator-TheThird :LawdHaveImmenseAmountsOfMercy:
Reply

Venator-TheThird

@Pulchra_Aurum and use my blood in the blood club? Nah find someone else :)
Reply