Page 17 of The Bound Blood
A beat.
He doesn’t deny it.
“You’re letting them cut the bond,” I say, each word jagged ripping from deep inside of me. “The one that was made to keep me safe. But that doesn't matter, because you just follow orders, don't you? Whatever the council tells you to do, you do, without question.”
“This is the only way to keep you safe,” he replies, too calmly. Too carefully.
Safe. I nearly choke on the word. That’s not what this feels like. This feels like a cage. Like betrayal wrapped in soft words and soft eyes that won’t meet mine now.
“I didn’t ask to be bound to you,” I whisper.
“I didn’t ask for it either.”
I suck in a harsh breath at his words; they hurt. He looks away then—just for a second—and it’s enough. I see it. The tightness in his jaw. The way his hand curls slightly at his side. The breath he drags in like it physically hurts to say nothing more.
But he doesn’t take it back. Doesn’t reach for me. Doesn’t step into the circle.
I wrap my arms around myself again, the dress stiff and cold and clinging to a version of a night I can’t return to.
“They’re going to try to take away my magic,” I say numbly. “Erase me piece by piece. And you’re just going to stand there.”
“I’m doing what I can.”
“Then it’s not enough.”
The glow of the runes pulses between us—an echo of everything unspoken.
Raiden’s eyes flick to mine one last time. And in them, I think I see something—grief, guilt, pain—but it’s buried so fast I almost think I imagined it.
He turns toward the door. “I’ll send the headmaster in.”
The door shuts behind him with a quiet click.
And I am alone. Again.
EIGHT
LINDSAY
The door opens again,soft and slow this time. Not like Raiden’s retreat—this entrance is practiced. Deliberate.
Headmaster Veyne steps into the room, a long coat trailing behind him like a shadow stitched in silk. His presence is… heavy. Not aggressive, but solid and measured. As though every breath he takes is weighed and counted as necessary before it's spent.
“Miss Blake,” he says with a shallow nod. “I'm glad you’re awake.”
I don't answer. My arms are still folded tightly around myself, fingers digging into bare skin, nails biting down like they're the only defense I have left. The glowing runes at the edge of the circle pulse faintly beneath me.
He glances down at them. “You will feel pressure and pain if you try to cross the boundary. It's only a precaution.”
I laugh, brittle and sharp. “Right. Because locking me in a glowing cage with no comfort is justsoothing.”
He sighs softly. Not annoyed, but tired. The kind of tired that comes from carrying too many secrets.
“I know how this must feel.”
“I highly doubt that.” The words snap out of me before I can stop them. My magic follows, flaring to the surface like it'swaitingfor a reason. The air hums with sudden heat, light flickering across the runes like sparks leaping from a wire.
Headmaster Veyne doesn’t move. He doesn’t even flinch. The magic lashes at the boundary and stops just short of his feet, swallowed by the containment circle.
