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Monarch Chapter 60

Chapter 60 - Interlude

Fredrick stood on the wall with his hands resting on the wooden railing, fingers clenched tight enough that his knuckles ached.

The sun slowly sank below the hori...

Monarch Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Rayne stayed silent, waiting for Axel to admit that his words were just a joke. But nothing like that happened.

Axel simply poured himself a cup of something that smelled lik...

Monarch Chapter 58

Chapter 58

Rayne stared at Casper, unable to wipe the sweat still trailing down his cheek. His left arm buzzed faintly with lingering heat, the pathways he’d just opened pulsing like a seco...

Monarch Chapter 57

Chapter 57

Rayne had been seen as a ghost his first day in this world, and now he was being looked at the same way again by Commander Evans and the three captains gathered in the command ten...

Monarch Chapter 56

Chapter 56

Rayne’s boots struck the stone floor with steady, determined steps as he backtracked through the tunnel. The map felt unnaturally heavy in his pocket, as if the lines inked on i...

Monarch Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Rayne darted sideways as the beetle charged, its six legs hammering the ground hard enough to make the dirt jump. Its mandibles snapped shut where he’d been a second ago, biting ...

Monarch Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Rayne ducked—barely.

A rusted mace screamed past his ear and smashed into the stone wall, spraying chips across his face. He didn’t flinch. Another undead lunged from th...

Monarch Chapter 53

Chapter 53

The door creaked open with a slow, uneven groan.

Rayne kept his sword raised as he looked into the doorway, shoulders tense, bracing himself for seeing a big, ugly bug monst...

Monarch Chapter 52

Chapter 52

Jason’s boots slammed against the bridge, every plank rattling beneath his feet as he ran and cursed his luck. Dean’s limp body bounced on his shoulder with every stride, slow...

Monarch Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Blistering heat washed over all of them as soon as Jason opened the door. A fireball the size of a man’s torso hovered near the gate, flickering in front of a pair of hands.

Monarch Chapter 50

Chapter 50

Shawn’s hand tightened around the hilt of his sword, knuckles whitening. Rayne stood his ground, refusing to look away. The chamber seemed to shrink around them, every soldier pu...

Monarch Chapter 49

Chapter 49

For a moment, no one said a word.

Bran lay limp inside the half-cut cocoon, his skin pale and stretched thin, his white beard matted with dried saliva and strands of silk. H...

Monarch Chapter 48

Chapter 48

They checked three more rooms in quick succession but found no more corpses. All of them were filled with different sorts of bug monsters. The first room was filled with more rust ...

Monarch Chapter 47

Chapter 47

The world twisted and stilled.

Rayne felt his stomach lurch as the air folded around him, every sense blurring into a whirl of black and violet. For a heartbeat, it felt like...

Monarch Chapter 46

Chapter 46

The clang of steel rang across the campyard.

Rayne stepped back as Jason’s axe came down, splitting the dirt where he’d stood a heartbeat before. Dust kicked up around th...

Monarch Chapter 45

Chapter 45

The tent fell silent after Commander Evans’ words. The only sound came from the faint crackle of the brazier in the corner and the rustle of parchment under his hand.

Rayne...

Monarch Chapter 44

Chapter 44

The march to the frontlines took them five days despite minimal rest, and even when they passed Fort Algar, which only had a few men on its walls now, Rayne decided not to stay lon...

Monarch Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The aftermath of the battle was quick.

The fires had burned out hours after Marcus' death, leaving behind a scorched wasteland of ash and bone. The barns were nothing but bl...

Monarch Chapter 42

Chapter 42

The ground trembled as the roar got louder and louder.

All the fighting stopped in a matter of seconds, and everyone's gazes moved toward the treeline, above the flames and ...

Monarch Chapter 41

Chapter 41

Kesh crouched at the edge of the treeline, right behind a boulder, and peeked at the mouth of the cave that might or might not be his doom.

The whole quest had him gripping ...

Monarch Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Rayne knelt in the middle of the wheat field, breath fogging in the chill of the night. It was almost midnight, and the moon, obscured by thin clouds, was almost directly overhead,...

Monarch Chapter 39

Chapter 39

The room quietened at the mention of a spellsword. Rayne heard a gasp to his right but didn't turn to see who it was. He simply stared into Captain Baker's eyes and saw stark fear ...

Monarch Chapter 38

Chapter 38

All of them soon took their seats at the large table stacked with food and wine. Rayne sat right in front of Baker, and Jeff sat on the left of his captain. His own party members t...

Monarch Chapter 37

Chapter 37

Rayne moved through the narrow streets, boots clicking against uneven cobblestone. The afternoon sun caught on shuttered windows and crooked signs, while the air still smelled of a...

Monarch Chapter 36

Chapter 36

Even if Rayne asked more questions on the hanging corpses, Jeff stayed silent. He quickly collected the orders, gave them back to him, and stepped out from behind the desk, gesturi...

Monarch Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Rayne's anger mounted high. The air itself smelled foul, but he didn't turn his eyes away from the sight in front of him. He couldn't. On his left, Nate handled Kesh, who had falle...

Monarch Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Rayne stared ahead at the dirt road moving straight to the horizon. The forest closed on both sides of the road, towering trees blotting half of the sky. Shafts of sunlight pierced...

Monarch Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Rayne moved through the old library, looking through the titles of different books in each section of the room. Dust clung to his gloved hands with each title he pulled out. These ...

Monarch Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Gold was the best thing in the world.

That thought rang in Rayne's mind with each step he took to Captain Edran's office.

Eyes followed him at each corner, the patrolli...

Monarch Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Fredrick came so fast Rayne nearly forgot to snap up his shield in time. One moment, he smiled at him with the gaze of a predator, and the next, he lunged, blade aiming for his sho...