The Ravenhood Series by Kate Stewart

Can you keep a secret? ⁣ I grew up sick.⁣ ⁣ Let me clarify.⁣ ⁣ I grew up believing that real love stories include a martyr or demand great sacrifice to be worthy.⁣ ⁣ Because of that, I believed it, because I made myself believe it, and I bred the most masochistic of romantic hearts, which resulted in my illness.⁣ ⁣ When I lived this story, my own twisted fairy tale, it was unbeknownst to me at the time because I was young and naïve... moreCan you keep a secret? ⁣ I grew up sick.⁣ ⁣ Let me clarify.⁣ ⁣ I grew up believing that real love stories include a martyr or demand great sacrifice to be worthy.⁣ ⁣ Because of that, I believed it, because I made myself believe it, and I bred the most masochistic of romantic hearts, which resulted in my illness.⁣ ⁣ When I lived this story, my own twisted fairy tale, it was unbeknownst to me at the time because I was young and naïve. I gave into temptation and fed the beating beast, which grew thirstier with every slash, every strike, every blow.⁣ ⁣ Triple Falls wasn’t at all what it seemed, nor were the men that swept me under their wing. But in order to keep them, I had to be in on their secrets.⁣ ⁣ Secrets that cost us everything to keep.⁣ ⁣ That’s the novelty of fiction versus reality. You can’t re-live your own love story, because by the time you’ve realized you’re living it, it’s over. At least that was the case for me and the men I trusted my foolish heart to.⁣ ⁣ Looking back, I’m convinced I willed my story into existence due to my illness.⁣ ⁣ And all were punished. less

Can you live a lie?It’s a ghost town, this place that haunts me, the one that made me.It’s clear to me that I’ll never outgrow Triple Falls or outlive the time I spenthere.I can still feel them all, my boys of summer.Even when I’d sensed the danger, I gave in.I didn’t heed a single warning. I let my sickness, my love, both rule and ruinme. I played my part, eyes wide open, tempting fate until it delivered.There was never going to be an escape.All of us are to blame for what happened... moreCan you live a lie?It’s a ghost town, this place that haunts me, the one that made me.It’s clear to me that I’ll never outgrow Triple Falls or outlive the time I spenthere.I can still feel them all, my boys of summer.Even when I’d sensed the danger, I gave in.I didn’t heed a single warning. I let my sickness, my love, both rule and ruinme. I played my part, eyes wide open, tempting fate until it delivered.There was never going to be an escape.All of us are to blame for what happened. All of us serving our ownsentences. We were careless and reckless, thinking our youth made usindestructible, exempt from our sins, and it cost us all.I’m done pretending I didn’t leave the largest part of me between thesehills and valleys, between the sea of trees that hold my secrets.It’s the reason I’m back. To make peace with my fate.And if I can’t grieve enough to cure myself in my time here, I’ll remain sick.That will be my curse.But it’s time to confess, to myself more so than any other, that I’d hinderedmy chances because of the way I was built, and because of the men who built me.At this point, I just want to make peace with who I am, no matter whatending I get.Because I can no longer live a lie. less

Secrets and Lies...I’ve lived the entirety of my life wrapped up in subterfuge for one purpose—revenge.Through the years, I lived more as an enigma than a man.For so long, I denied I had a beating heart of my own. Until her. Until she unearthed the starving vessel inside, forced me to acknowledge it, forced me to understand that I’m capable of bleeding the same as any other.For that, we paid. We're still paying... moreSecrets and Lies...I’ve lived the entirety of my life wrapped up in subterfuge for one purpose—revenge.Through the years, I lived more as an enigma than a man.For so long, I denied I had a beating heart of my own. Until her. Until she unearthed the starving vessel inside, forced me to acknowledge it, forced me to understand that I’m capable of bleeding the same as any other.For that, we paid. We're still paying.Yet, she demands it still, the useless heart of the ruthless thief and shameless villain she fell for. My fear is, I’m no longer that man.With the lies I’ve told, the life I’ve led, my mistakes are beginning to catch up with me, day by day, one by one. This is my last chance, and I have no intention of losing her again, but as the deception of my past starts to unravel and close in, shedding my humanity may be the only thing that can save us both. Maybe it’s already too late. less