Semua Bab The Healer's Bond : Bab 211 - Bab 220

The soft rustle of leaves in the wind belied the storm rising in Emma’s chest. She stood at the edge of the protective dome surrounding Sterling Creek, her eyes tracing the flickering shimmer of moonlight energy that danced across its invisible surface. It was supposed to be a shield. A sanctuary. But she felt none of that now.Her hands twitched by her sides, hot with the phantom memory of the black fire she’d wielded. The power had grown more erratic since her last encounter with her dark self. Ever since the vision in the Victorian house—the heart in her hands, Steve’s lifeless body beneath her—Emma had found it hard to focus. She knew the darkness inside her was changing, adapting, whispering.And she feared it was whispering back.She closed her eyes, grounding herself in the now. The scent of pine. The faint, distant laughter of children. The rustle of wolf paws through soft undergrowth. Sterling Creek was safe for now. But safety had never felt so fleeting."You're not sleeping

Grimkeeper felt something open inside of him. It was as if a part of him somewhere far away had awakened. He knew immediately that Emma, his defiant daughter had dared to do something she should not have.He had been walking through his Citadel using his power of invisibility to hide when he felt an old forgotten power stir in him.He chuckled lightly and shook his head at the audacity. "She is getting more braver than I expected," he rumbled and kept walking.He had been looking for Terra for a while now and her absence was making him suspicious. He could not get the Succubus out of his mind and kept wondering what she was doing that kept her away from him.He willed his power out like he was casting a net into a wide stormy sea.He felt her and called to her.Terra materialized in his front looking as alluring as ever. Grimkeeper knew that she was one of the few creatures that could still make him feel something even if it is mere lust."You have been up to something, dear Succubus,

The wind howled around them as Long soared through the skies, her massive wings slicing through layers of storm-stained clouds. Beneath Emma, the dragon’s body was warm and solid—a comforting pulse of life that reminded her that she had done the impossible.She had brought Long back from the brink of death.But at a cost.Emma could barely sit upright. Her muscles trembled beneath her armor. Her skin, though cool to the touch, felt like it was smoldering from the inside. Every breath was a tug-of-war between consciousness and the lure of collapse.Steve rode behind her, one arm wrapped tightly around her waist, the other gripping a spike between Long’s shoulders. His body was tense with worry. He hadn’t spoken much since the relic had nearly consumed her in the temple. Neither had Emma. Their silence wasn’t avoidance—it was grief, awe, fear… and something else neither of them wanted to name.Sterling Creek emerged on the horizon like a memory reclaimed. The pine forests framed the lan

 The path to the Ashwalkers wasn’t marked on any map. It didn’t exist in coordinates or trails or whispered rumors. It was something older—buried in instinct, fire, and bloodline. Emma had no compass for it, only the dull ache in her soul that tugged her forward and the flickering pulse of the Heart Ember inside her chest. Three days after returning to Sterling Creek, Emma stood at the southern ridge of the Blacktooth Range, staring at a gorge so deep it seemed to bleed shadow. Steve stood at her side, expression hard, while Marcus examined the old stone totems that jutted up from the earth like jagged fingers. “I’ve never seen these before,” Marcus said, running his palm across one of the carvings. “Definitely not from any of the old packs.” “They’re older than the packs,” Long said, emerging from the shadows behind them in her human form. Sh

Inside, the hallways bent and folded like ribbons. Some doors led to staircases that turned back on themselves. Others opened into rooms that shouldn’t exist. At one point, Emma and Steve stepped into a chamber that looked exactly like the inside of their cabin back in Sterling Creek.Down to the charred mug Emma had broken last winter.Steve stiffened. “Don’t trust it.”She touched the mug anyway.It turned to ash in her hand.They kept moving.Eventually, they reached a balcony that overlooked a central atrium—a vast, bottomless chasm filled with floating islands of light and memory. Above them, suspended by threads of liquid shadow, hung cages.And in one of them—Sarah.She was curled up, pale but breathing. Her notebook clutched in one hand.Emma’s heart leapt. “There she is.”Then came the voice.“So eager to bleed for someone else again.”It came from everywhere. From the walls, the floor, even the air in Emma’s lungs.“You’ve already sacrificed everything. And now, what? You t