บททั้งหมดของ The Unexpected Trio: บทที่ 11 - บทที่ 16

Cassian’s POV The second the final barrier fell, I didn’t wait for permission. I shattered the doorway with a blast of fire-laced shadow, the walls cracking under the force of my rage and relief. She was there—kneeling, breathless, glowing like something divine. Her skin was damp with sweat, her lips trembling, her body marked in shimmering runes of siren magic and raw power. I didn’t care if the Council watched. I didn’t care if the gods watched. I dropped to my knees and pulled her into my arms like I’d never let go again. “You did it,” I whispered against her temple. “You did it, Althea.” Her breath hitched, and I felt her crumble—just a little—into me. Then Xanden was there, kneeling on her other side, brushing her hair from her face with a tenderness that made something in me ache. “You’re not alone,” he said softly. “Not now. Not ever.” She looked up at both of us, her voice rough with exhaustion and emotion. “I thought I lost you. I thought I’d drown in it.” “You ar

The air in the sanctum was heavy with age-old magic. The walls pulsed softly with a bluish hue, the ancient runes carved into the stone flickering to life as Althea stepped forward, Cassian and Xanden flanking her. Their bond shimmered between them—visible now, like a thread of starlight braided with their energies.But just as her foot crossed the inner threshold of the deeper chamber, the magic stuttered.The runes flared—then died.All three froze.From behind them, a deafening clack echoed as the sanctum doors slammed shut on their own. Seals flared across the entrance, ancient and binding. They were locked in.Cassian drew his blade instinctively. “That wasn’t supposed to happen.”Althea turned slowly, eyes narrowed. “This chamber was designed to test the blood of the first lines. Only the worthy are meant to pass.”Xanden stepped forward, brows drawn. “Unless someone… rewrote the rules.”And that’s when they heard it—a low hiss, like a serpent slithering across marble.From the

The night stretched long, cloaked in silence and thick with the smell of blood and burned magic. Althea knelt beside Xanden’s motionless body, her palms glowing faintly with healing light. The warmth barely touched his skin anymore. Cassian hovered nearby, his own power spent and fractured, eyes rimmed red from exhaustion and fear.“He’s not responding,” she whispered, her voice hollow. “I don’t understand… I should be able to—”Cassian ran a hand through his hair, pacing. “You’re pouring too much into him. He’s not rejecting the healing—he’s… hiding. Or something in him is.”Althea turned toward him, her face streaked with tears and fury. “You think he wants to be like this?”“No,” Cassian said, kneeling beside her again. “I think something won’t let him wake up. Something old. Something we unleashed.”They had tried everything. Spells ancient and forbidden. Potions, runes, chants. But Xanden remained still, his face pale, breath slow and strained. The light in him flickered like a c