Page 34 of The Bound Blood
“Maybe it isn’t,” Tamsin agrees, her voice surprisingly soft. “But it’s a start. And if they try to bind her now, after this? It’ll look like what it is. Fear.”
I catch sight of Auron across the corridor, standing alone by the eastern archway. His arms are crossed, his expression unreadable—but he meets my eyes. And nods once.
I don’t know what he’s playing at. I don’t trust him. But whatever this is… he’s not stopping it.
Professor Thorne walks by and shoots me a dark look. The kind that saysI know exactly what you’re doing.But she keeps walking quickly out of the space.
More students arrive, and the crowd keeps growing. They will have to listen now.
FIFTEEN
RAIDEN
I sitwith my back against the far wall of Lindsay’s chamber, the rune line barely a whisper now. The glow of the protection runes has faded to a faint shimmer beneath our feet, and Lindsay has long since stopped pretending she isn’t exhausted. She sits cross-legged on the floor, tracing idle patterns along the lines of one of Marris’s sigils, her brow furrowed in quiet concentration. I haven’t left since this morning—not even to eat.
I won’t.
Not until she’s safe.
The sound of boots outside the chamber echoes down the hall. It sounds as though a whole army is approaching. I stand, putting myself in front of her.
“Raiden, what—” she says, breaking off as the door swings open. I hear her move behind me, but I keep my focus in front of me.
The chamber seems to hold its breath as Councilor Vemir enters, his long silver robes brushing the floor like mist. Behind him, two veil guards step inside, both ranked enforcers, cold-eyed and ready, normally used for actual criminals and not academy students. And then—he appears.
My father.
Commander Tsukino of the Kitsune tribe.
He doesn’t look at me at first. Just surveys the room, hands clasped behind his back. The weapons strapped to his belt aren’t ceremonial.
He’s here to make sure this happens.
“Raiden,” he says coolly, as if he hasn’t shown up to destroy the only thing I’ve ever wanted to protect. “Step aside.”
“No.” My voice doesn’t shake.
Councilor Vemir tsks softly, adjusting a thin crystal rod in his hand. Something pulses at the tip, and it pulls at the Veil-binding between Lindsay and myself. “The Council has decreed. Lindsay Blake is to be bound for the safety of the Academy.”
“She hasn’t done anything wrong,” I snap. “You’re using fear as an excuse to do this.”
The Councilor doesn’t flinch. “She is a danger to everyone around her. That’s not opinion, that’s observable fact. Your attachment compromises your judgment.”
“I’m not compromised,” I grit out. “I was there. Ifought beside her. She saved this Academy.”
My father finally looks at me. There’s something almost like regret in his expression. Almost.
“You’ve made your position clear,” he says, low and even. “But it is not your choice to make. The Council has voted.
Two more guards enter the chamber.
Lindsay moves slowly next to me, chin high despite the tremor in her limbs. She doesn’t beg or ask them to stop.
She just looks at me, fear shining inside her eyes. And that’s what breaks me.
I lunge forward when the guards advance, shifting mid-step. The air ripples as my body twists and elongates into half-beast form, claws bared, fangs flashing, my tails whipping angrily behind me. I don't think—Ireact. Because she ismineto protect.Not because of the Veilbond. Not because some ancient rule says I have to.
Because Ichooseher.
