Page 123 of The Bound Blood
I’ll stand beside her.
I open my eyes. “If the council—” Another sentence I can’t voice because giving voice to it gives it power.
“I’ll know,” Dorian says, answering my unspoken words. “And so will you.”
We resume walking, steps falling back into sync. But nothing about the night feels routine anymore. Because now I know what’s really at stake.
And for the first time since this began, I’m not sure whether keeping her safe means keeping herhere—or letting her remember where she came from.
FORTY-THREE
LINDSAY
It’s late,but I’m restless.
The last few months feel like they’re finally catching up to me, like the shock is wearing off all at once. I sort of just… accepted everything at first. Like I’d stepped into one of the books I loved as a teen and decided to roll with it.
But this is real.
The danger. The magic. The secrets. The classes about curses and hexes and things that can’t be undone once they start. None of it is theoretical. None of it is pretend.
And neither is the connection to my guys.
They’re my guys. Call me greedy. Call me reckless. Call me whatever you want. I don’t care. I’m keeping them all—if they’re willing.
I pace the empty hallway, boots whispering softly against stone. The torches along the walls have burned low, casting long shadows that stretch and sway with my movement. Somewhere deeper in the academy, a door closes. Footsteps echo, then fade.
I’m waiting for Kael.
There’s a lump in my throat that won’t go away.
I’ve never been the girl who throws herself at anyone. I don’t chase. I don’t demand. But with the ritual over and the Veilstable—at least for now—even patrols feel less dangerous. The council has grown lax, too. Fewer rules about walking alone after dark. Fewer watchful eyes.
Probably because no more students have gone missing or because they think the worst is over.
I stop pacing when the air shifts. It’s subtle. Not a sound. Not even a shadow at first. Just a pressure, like the hallway inhales and releases the breath as though it’s relaxing.
Then Kael steps into view at the far end, emerging from the shadows, and my breath catches. Something about him is different. The space between us feels charged the second his eyes land on me. He hesitates slightly before striding forward.
The shadows cling closer to him tonight, curling low around his boots instead of reaching outward. His coat smells faintly of cold air and stone and something darker as he comes to a stop in front of me—something that hums along my skin when his gaze lifts and locks onto mine.
He doesn’t speak.
The intensity in his light blue eyes hits me like a physical thing, stealing the air from my lungs and drying up any words I was about to say. When he reaches out and brushes his thumb along my cheek, slow and deliberate, my heart stumbles hard enough that I’m sure he feels it through our bond.
“Kael,” I whisper. My voice sounds steadier than I feel. “I’m done pretending I don’t notice when you pull away,” I say, the words tumbling out now that I’ve started. “I feel it. Every time you do it. And I don’t know what you’re carrying, or why you think you have to carry it alone—but I need you to stop deciding for me.”
His thumb stills. The shadows shift, curling around me, reacting before he does.
“I’m not fragile,” I continue, stepping closer until there’s barely space between us. I can feel the heat of him now, the quietrestraint vibrating just under his skin. “And I’m not something you have to protect from yourself.”
His jaw tightens, a muscle jumping once.
“You look at me like you’re already pulling away again,” I say softly, and that’s the truth I’ve been circling for days. “As though you’re bracing for something that hasn’t happened yet. And I can’t—” I swallow. “I can’t keep standing on this side of you, wondering if you are just going to disappear into the shadows again.”
His breath is uneven now. I feel it ghost across my lips.
“Say something,” I whisper, pressing my hands to his chest.
