All Chapters of The Healer's Bond : Chapter 171 - Chapter 177

The silence between them stretched out like a drawn blade. Emma couldn't stop staring at the woman across the desk. Her mother. Her Luna. Her traitor. “You were supposed to protect me,” Emma whispered, though her voice still carried the weight of command. “You were supposed to be better than this.” Priscilla's eyes didn't waver. “And you were supposed to accept your destiny, Emma. But you’ve been running from it your whole life.” Steve’s voice broke the tension. “This isn’t destiny. This is manipulation and power disguised as fate.” Priscilla stood slowly, her hands pressed against the desk. “Spoken like a true outsider.” “I’m not an outsider,” Steve snapped "I bled for Sterling Creek and Emma.” Emma turned her gaze to her mother again. “Why now? Why tell me all of this?” “Because you’ve passed the threshold,” Priscilla answered.

Emma ran like hell itself was snapping at her heels.The stale air of the underground valley burned in her lungs, each breath harder than the last. The passage twisted and turned, the walls alive with dampness and decay. Her boots slapped against the uneven floor, echoing off the stone, and somewhere behind them, shadows slithered like serpents.Steve was just ahead, his shoulders tense and broad, moving with the purpose of a soldier and the desperation of a man with something to protect. He glanced back at her, eyes scanning her face for signs of injury, fear, or both.“Emma, stay with me,” he said, his voice gruff but steady.“I’m trying,” she choked out.She was terrified. Not of the dark or the claustrophobic walls that pressed in around them—but of the growing realization that Moon Valley had become something far worse than a graveyard. It was a trap. A tomb with a beating heart.And something inside it was waking.Steve’s voice cut through the tension. “I won’t let any of them t

Emma walked in silence, her boots crunching softly over the coarse terrain of Moon Valley's outskirts. The moon above was thin, its silver light casting stretched shadows between the gnarled trees and jagged rocks that stood like forgotten sentinels of an old, cruel history. Her shoulders were heavy, and her chest ached with a guilt that had festered long before tonight. The Banished moved around her in silence, some exchanging low words among themselves, others glancing at her with unreadable expressions. But none of them showed anger. None of them blamed her. And that only made it worse. These were the followers of the man she had killed. And yet, they were helping her. Her fists clenched at her sides as she felt the suffocating irony press down on her like a weight. It should’ve been her carrying their resentment, their vengeance. Instead, they walked beside her. Protecting her. Guiding her. "You're hurting yourself with that guilt," Nyla said quietly, glancing at Emma from t