Page 42 of The Bound Blood
He’s still crouched near the shattered edge of the altar, arms braced against his knees, chest heaving. Blood streaks down one side of his neck where a claw grazed him earlier, but his eyes are locked on her.
He nods once, jaw clenched, like seeing her awake is the only thing keeping him upright.
She turns more, weakly, and her gaze lands on Nolan next.
“Nolan…” She seems to soften in my arms, as though seeing him is a comfort for her. A slight jealousy for him tries to bloom inside my chest, but I snuff it out.
He’s pressed against the scorched remains of a pillar, his golden shield spell still flickering faintly across his shoulder. His glasses are cracked, one arm is cradling the other, and his clothes are smeared with soot—but he gives her a small, aching smile.
“You scared the hell out of us,” he says, voice hoarse. “Again.”
Her lips part, emotion crowding behind her eyes. She doesn’t speak—just stares at the three of us, the silence between us full of everything she can’t say yet.
Her gaze returns to mine. And even with the magic still shimmering faintly under her skin, even with the bond burning between us like an open wound—I know.
She’s still Lindsay.
Stillours.
EIGHTEEN
LINDSAY
Kael’s armstays wrapped around me, anchoring me while magic still sparks off my skin in sharp, stinging bursts. It doesn’t touch him. Or if it does, he doesn’t flinch. Nolan and Raiden keep their distance.
Raiden inches closer, gaze locked on me—but the magic lashes out, cracking the floor at his feet. He freezes. Nolan tries to reach for me, a hand outstretched, but a tendril of energy snaps at him like a live wire, and he pulls back with a wince.
I don’t mean to do it. I know I’m not doing it. But something inside me is.
“Kael?” My voice is raw and unsteady.
“I’ve got you,” he murmurs again, that same impossible steadiness in his voice, even as the world unravels. His hand shifts slightly, cradling my ribs, keeping me close, keeping me grounded.
I lean into him—and that’s when I see it.
The crack in the Veil. Still there and open.
It’s not pouring creatures anymore. Or bleeding shadow. But it pulses in the air like a wound that hasn’t closed, like it’s waiting for something. And I know. Deep down, in a place no one taught me to look. Iknowwhat it needs.
My feet move before I can stop them.
“Lindsay—wait!” Nolan’s voice cracks behind me.
Raiden reaches forward. “Don’t?—”
But Kael doesn’t stop me. He lets me go, doesn’t release contact but doesn’t restrain me either. His touch lingers as I stand on shaky legs, as I step barefoot across the scorched stone, my body aching, my soul somehow heavier and lighter all at once.
The Veil pulses again. I can feel it inside my chest like a second heartbeat. Something in me is connected to that place.
“I’m not going in,” I whisper, not sure who I’m speaking to, because part of me wants to go in and face whatever is searching for me. “I’m sealing it.”
Raiden’s breath hitches. Nolan says something I don’t hear.
My hand lifts.
The air stills.
Magic surges to meet me—my own, yes, but something else too. Somethingolder. Something vast. Something waiting.
