BLOOD BOUND

The basement of Ashwick City Archives smelled like forgotten things—old paper, leather bindings, and the musty odour of centuries of accumulated dust. Sera Thorne had long since stopped noticing the smell. She'd spent too many nights down here, alone among the stacks, for it to bother her anymore.The only sound other than the old building's sporadic settling groan was the buzzing of the fluorescent lights overhead. The main floors above her had been cleared out hours before. Sera had the entire archive to herself at almost midnight after the day workers had left at five and the evening researchers had started to leave by eight.Just the way she liked it.Coughing as dust blew into her face, she took another leather-bound book off the shelf. Only a year had passed since the murder that had condemned her people when the novel was written in 1625. The stamped date on the spine, worn smooth by time and innumerable hands, was traced by her fingers. How many of those hands had belonged to

The throne room felt colder than the night outside. Sera stood with the spelt chains weighing on her wrists, very aware of the guards positioned throughout the room, of Elara's hostile stare boring into her back, of Lucien standing rigid beside her.Most of all, she was aware of King Matthias studying her with those ancient eyes, calculating and cold. "Lucien," the king said finally. "Would you care to explain why you've brought a witch into my palace? Into my presence? At midnight?""Your Majesty—" Lucien started."And not just any witch, from what I'm sensing." With predatory grace, Matthias rose slowly from his throne and descended the steps. "One you've... bonded to?"The gathered guards felt astonishment as the words dropped like stones into quiet water.Sera heard whispers, gasps. Beside her, Lucien's shoulders tightened."Yes," he replied simply.Matthias paused a few feet away, glancing between Sera and his son. Sera sensed danger emanating from him like scorching heat, even i

Two days into the investigation, and Sera was ready to scream.The books Lucien brought were mostly useless—sanitized histories that painted vampires as noble victims and witches as treacherous villains. Nothing about Aldric's proposed reforms. Nothing about dissent in his council. Nothing contradicts the official story.She'd read the letter fragment so many times she had it memorized. The handwriting was old-fashioned, done with a quill. Whoever wrote it had education and status. But that described half the vampire nobility in 1624.A knock interrupted her thoughts. Lucien entered without waiting for an answer, carrying more books."Anything?" he asked."No. You?"He set the books down. "I accessed my family's private archives last night. Found correspondence between my grandfather and his father about Aldric. Most of it's just grief and rage after the murder. But there's one thing."Sera looked up. "What?""A letter from Aldric to his son, written two weeks before he died. He menti

Three days after identifying Silas Greythorne's handwriting, Sera woke to urgent knocking.Lucien burst in before she could answer, his eyes wild with fear. His voice was tight, almost cracking. "There's been a murder."She was out of bed immediately. "What? Where?""The Nocturne District. A vampire elder, found dead in his home last night." He handed her his phone. "Look at the positioning."Sera's blood ran cold, and a wave of nausea rose in her throat. The body was arranged on the floor, arms spread, throat slashed. Around him, ritual markings drawn in blood."It's the same," she whispered. "The exact same way Aldric was found.""Down to the symbols. The palace historians confirmed it—these match the crime scene descriptions from 1624." Lucien's jaw tightened. "Someone's recreating the murder.""Why? After four hundred years, why now?""I don't know. But there's more." He swiped to another photo. "This was found at the scene."A piece of paper, aged and yellowed, with writing that

King Matthias stared at the journal for a long time. The council chamber was silent, every member watching their king process information that could shatter four centuries of carefully maintained narrative."Where did you get this?" he asked finally."The Greythorne vault," Lucien said. "We... retrieved it.""You broke into a noble's private property.""Yes."Matthias's expression was unreadable. "You committed a crime to obtain this evidence.""To find the truth," Sera said. She stood beside Lucien, chains on her wrists, refusing to cower. "A truth that's been buried for four hundred years."Councilor Thaddeus stood, his face flushed with anger. "This is absurd. You break into a respected family's vault, steal their private documents, and expect us to believe—""The handwriting matches," Lucien interrupted. "We had experts verify it. These letters were written by Silas Greythorne. The dates align with Aldric's murder. The content explicitly describes planning the crime and framing Mo