All Chapters of Bloodlines & Hearts: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

The thing that caught Lydia’s attention first was the chill in the air. It wasn’t a mild chill; it got right to your skin and hugged your bones. Her teeth were already chattering before she was even fully awake The second thing was the smell. Damp earth, like wet dirt before the storm, mixed with something else...something foul. It smelled like rot. Like something long dead that had been left too long underground Her eyes fluttered open, but she couldn’t see anything. Just pitch black. She tried to moved and that is when the panic kicked in. Her wrists were tied, the rope rough and biting into her skin. Same for her ankles. She was bound to a cold, metal chair “Help,” she screamed. “Somebody help me!”Her voice bounced off the walls. Stone walls, by the sound of it. She was underground “Please!” She shouted again, tears sliding down her cheeks. “I do not know what this is! Please let me go!”The sound of a heavy door creaking open made her freeze. Light spilled in from somewhere b

Ethan pressed his bloody hand to the ground, dragging in a sharp breath. Everything hurt—his ribs, his back, his legs. He was running on nothing but sheer will now. But he couldn’t pass out. Not yet. His forced his eyes open, blinking sweat and blood out of his lashes. Somewhere out there, somewhere close, Riley was waiting. With Elvis. And the guards their mother had sent. It was a small act of rebellion, finally choosing her children over silence. She’d promised she’d deal with the consequences later.Bringing backup had been the smartest thing Ethan had done.His hands scraped across the floor, fingers catching on a small, loose stone. Not heavy, just enough.He closed his eyes, shutting everything else out. The pain. Shadowbreeds circling. The curse Mason wouldn’t shut up about. All he focused on was the rhythm. The pattern they’d made up when they were kids. The one only two people in the world knew. Tap. Tap. Tap...pause...Tap. Tap.It was barely a sound, more of a whisper ec

Alexander Moreau had stopped going to class days ago. She wasn’t sure which day it was or if it even mattered. Her whole room was dim, curtain drawn, air stale. The world tilted slightly every time she sat up but that could have been from the pills she took earlier. Or the ones from yesterday. She had stopped keeping tracks.She opened her nightstand drawer and pulled out the small bag of pills she'd been collecting. White ones, blue ones, some she'd stolen from the infirmary, others she'd bought from students who had legitimate prescriptions. It didn't matter what they were for. They all did the same thing—made everything quiet.Her hands shook as she poured them into her palm. More than usual. Way more than usual. But usual wasn't working anymore. Usual still left her thinking about Ethan's face when he looked at Lydia. Usual still left her hearing the whispers in the hallways.She dry-swallowed half the pills, then the rest. Her throat burned, but she didn't care. She just wanted i

It had become Lydia’s nightly ritual— spending a few quiet hours with Ethan before bed just to say goodnight She sat beside him now, her fingers wrapped gently around his. They continued in this manner for hours. Her thumb moved gently over him, tracing the same pattern again and again, maybe hoping his palm would tell her the answer as to when he would come back to her. His skin was warm. The doctor said that was a good sign, but it did not feel right. It did not feel like him. It felt like touching a memory—close but not quite real. "You are scaring me," she said almost in a whisper, as the room was quiet. I know you can not hear me, but know that you are really scaring me, Ethan.She ran her thumb gently in circles on the back of his hand, a habit she now did automatically."I keep thinking about everything,” she continued. "How you used to act like you could not be touched. Like no girl could ever get under your skin. One night, that is all it ever was to you.”She gave a shaky

“Okay,” Lydia said, stepping fully into the room. Her voice shaky, but her eyes were locked in Rebecca. “Where’s the camera? Y’all can come out now. Is this supposed to be a joke or something?“Rebecca stood up from the couch slowly. “Lydia...”“Mom.” Her voice cracked and the second the word left her mouth, her eyes filled with tears. “Please... just tell me it’s not true.”Rebecca’s mouth trembled as she took a step closer. “I’m so sorry, baby,” she whispered, crying too. “You weren’t supposed to find out like this. I should have told you long ago.”Lydia shook her head like she was trying to knock the truth out of her ears. “So what...my whole life has just been one big lie?” Her voice cracked. “You told me my dad died before I was born. You looked me in the eye and said that like it was gospel. And now you’re telling me I belonged to someone else this whole time?”She dragged her sleeve across her face, wiping tears that kept falling anyway.Rebecca’s hand were shaking. “I was try