Page 86 of The Bound Blood
Raiden doesn’t respond, but his jaw tightens.
Nolan clears his throat. “There’s more. The Rite strengthens the Veil, but… it also wakes everything near it.”
“Wakes it?” I echo.
“Yeah.” He flips to another page. “The original Rite caused dormant Veil creatures to stir. Some broke through.”
I swallow. “That sounds… great.”
“It’s controlled,” Nolan assures me quickly. “When done right.”
I stare at the elaborate diagram in front of me. Four circles. Sigils in looping patterns I don’t recognize. Words in two languages I can’t read.
“How am I supposed to do this? What if I screw it all up?” I whisper.
Raiden reaches across the table, fingertips brushing mine for a moment. “You won’t be doing it alone, we will be together.”
Nolan nods instantly. “We’ll be there for every step.”
Mira offers a tight but genuine smile. “You have more magic control than you think, Lindsay.”
I close the book slowly, heart thudding.
Great.
Patrols. Ancient rituals. Creatures waking up.
And my first patrol…is with Fae Prince Dorian Holt. Fantastic. Just what my nerves needed: a powerful, gorgeous, unreadable fae prince walking next to me in the dark.
I’m still staring at the ink on the page when a shadow ripples across the table.
Not metaphorically. Actually.
The lantern beside us dims for half a second.
Raiden’s hand pulls back from mine. Nolan stiffens. Mira’s head jerks up. And I feel him before I see him.
Kael.
He steps out of the dim corner of the dining hall as if he wasn’t there until the exact moment he wanted to be.His expression is unreadable, his posture controlled, shadows tucked close to his boots like obedient puppies.
His eyes meet mine for one heartbeat. Something flickers there—familiar, warm, kind—and then it’s gone. Just like that.
He turns the rest of the way toward us. “How’s preparation?” His voice is steady. Too steady. As though everything inside him has been locked behind a door he doesn’t intend to open.
My throat tightens. “We’re… trying to understand the Rite.”
Nolan lifts one of the books in demonstration. “It’s a lot. A lot, a lot.”
Kael nods once, but he doesn’t step closer or lean in. Doesn’t hover in the same way he usually does, as he did two nights ago when he didn’t want to let me go.
God, thatwasless than forty-eight hours ago. How is that even possible? He’s a rolling storm today. Quiet on the surface, lightning nowhere to be seen, just that telltale breeze that starts to pick up before it really hits.
“You’ll figure it out,” he says plainly.
There is no hint of the man who whispered against my cheek like he was terrified to lose me.
Raiden shifts in his chair, uncomfortable. Nolan pretends to read but absolutely is not reading.
