Alle Kapitel von Lucian's Undoing : Kapitel 41 – Kapitel 50

CHAPTER 41They had just stepped out of the basement when Dorian suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.“Wait,” he muttered, his brows furrowing. “He said… he’s bound within the bulb.”Lucian turned to him. “What about it?”Dorian didn’t answer. His hands snapped into motion, fingers tracing glowing sigils mid-air. A soft crackle of magic responded as a book shimmered into existence and dropped into his waiting hand.Kai blinked. “Did you just summon a book?”“I marked it weeks ago,” Dorian said, flipping through the thick, worn pages. “It’s rare. Older than most libraries even remember. I didn’t think much of it then, but now…”He flipped rapidly until he stopped, eyes locked onto a page. His breath hitched. “No. No way.”“What?” Elias asked, still pale from the ordeal.Dorian read the passage aloud, voice steady but shaken. “‘When the vessel of light bears the mark of the condemned flame, the bulb shall awaken. Within its fragile shell, the sins of the old shall reside, until the day

CHAPTER 43The slithering sound was louder now.A sharp hiss followed.And then—"Move!" Lucian shoved Elias just as a streak of black darted from the shadows, glinting like polished obsidian in the dim lights.The cobra struck.Lucian didn’t flinch. The snake’s fangs sank into his arm, a flash of venom glistening before the creature reared its head back to strike again.But it never got the chance.Lucian’s eyes went pitch black.His lips moved—no sound, no chant. Just will.With a crack, the cobra’s neck twisted grotesquely in mid-air, snapping like a twig without Lucian ever lifting a finger. The body dropped to the floor with a sickening thud, unmoving.Lucian stumbled.“Lucian?” Elias whispered, rushing forward.Lucian opened his mouth as if to say something—then collapsed.“Shit—shit!” Kai knelt beside him, already pressing glowing fingers to the bite. “No, no, no—don’t you dare pass out, you asshole. Come on—come on.”Dorian dropped beside him. “He’s not breathing normally. His

CHAPTER 45The sanctum stank of burnt bone and rusted blood.Thick smoke curled from the obsidian brazier in the center of the room, casting eerie shadows across the ritual marks etched into the stone floor. Sigils pulsed, twitching in slow, molten red. The fire at the center was not natural—it crackled without wood or fuel, dancing in shades of green, violet, and deep, churning black.Isadora stood in the center, barefoot, blood-streaked, and trembling with fury.“Ungrateful little wretch,” she hissed, tossing a curled lock of hair into the fire. It hissed, sparked, and filled the room with the smell of scorched rosemary and rot.“He looks at me like I’m some thing, like I didn’t cradle his soul in my palm before he was even born.” She paced around the circle, her hands stained with fresh blood. “I visited him. I warned him. In his dreams, I whispered of the great and terrible things to come. Did he listen? Did he bend?” She stopped, eyes flashing. “No. He clung to them. To the weak,

CHAPTER 47Gabriel leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees. “There’s something else.”Everyone looked at him.Gabriel’s brows furrowed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. “The snake wasn’t meant for Lucian.”Elias froze. “What?”Gabriel glanced up. “It was meant for you, Elias.”The words were a punch to the gut. Elias felt all the air leave his lungs. Lucian immediately straightened beside him, eyes darkening.“What do you mean?” Lucian asked, voice low.“I tracked the serpent’s movement,” Gabriel said. “It followed Elias’s magical trail through the mansion. It was waiting near his room.”Kai swore under his breath.“But Lucian passed through the hall first, while we were looking for the source of the slithering” Gabriel continued. “He intercepted it by accident. The snake struck at the nearest source of power when it got confused.”Elias swallowed hard. “If I’d been there…”Lucian grabbed his hand tightly. “Then you would’ve been the one poisoned. Don’t even finish that t

CHAPTER 49The scent of spiced tea drifted through the morning air, curling around the stone halls of the manor like a comforting fog.Gabriel was already seated on the armrest of a chair, cradling a mug of tea in one hand and adjusting the cuffs of his coat with the other.Elias came down the stairs first, his damp hair clinging to his forehead, and his shirt still slightly wrinkled from being pulled on in a rush. He rubbed his temple and stepped into the living room.Lucian and Dorian entered next, voices low as they spoke between themselves.“You’re up early,” Lucian said as he glanced at Gabriel. “Planning to disappear without saying goodbye?”Gabriel smiled faintly over the rim of his mug. “Perish the thought. I have a call to answer. A village summoned me. They've got a sickness that their local healer couldn’t manage.”“A sickness?” Dorian raised an eyebrow. “What kind?”Gabriel shrugged. “No idea until I see it. But if it was simple, they wouldn’t have needed me.”Kai padded i