All Chapters of Bound by Blood and Betrayal : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Paige's POVThe darkness pressed in around me, thick and suffocating, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath. I jolted awake, my chest rising and falling in sharp, uneven breaths. My skin was clammy, my sheets tangled around my legs as though they had tried to restrain me while I slept, my heart pounded wildly, the remnants of my dream clinging stubbornly to my mind like smoke refusing to dissipate.Raymond’s voice echoed in my head, the words he had spoken earlier still fresh and raw. “You are not ordinary, Paige. You are more than you realize.”The way he had looked at me when he said it had unsettled me more than the words themselves. It wasn’t just what he said, but what he didn’t, his eyes had held secrets, shadows lurking beneath their depths, and I had felt, for the first time, as though the ground beneath me wasn’t solid.Now, as I sat in the dark, those words clawed at me. My body trembled, my breath catching in my throat, and I hugged my knees tightly to my che

Paige's POVMy body ached from exhaustion, my head heavy with everything Raymond had said, or rather, what he hadn’t said, his words still clung to the air like smoke, bitter and suffocating. Protecting me… or protecting yourself? I hadn’t meant to say it, but the moment it slipped past my lips, I knew there was no taking it back.When he left me alone, his expression unreadable, I sat frozen on the edge of the bed, too restless to sleep, too shaken to move, the silence of the room wrapped around me like a shroud, broken only by the faint crackle of the dying fire in the hearth, my hands trembled in my lap, my throat felt tight, as if every unspoken question was clawing to get free.Eventually, my stomach twisted with hunger, pulling me out of the storm of my thoughts. I hadn’t eaten since morning. A knock never came, but when I finally rose and turned toward the door, I noticed a silver tray sitting on the small table near the window. Steam curled from the bowl, a fragrant scent fill

Paige's POVSleep had become a fragile thing for me, a trembling thread I clung to each night, praying it would grant me peace. Tonight, it felt more like a descent into another kind of battlefield, my body was still weak from the poison Diana had sent into my veins, my thoughts splintered and raw after Raymond’s stormy departure to face the Council. I had lain awake for what felt like hours, staring at the ceiling, replaying every word he had ever spoken to me, every whisper of danger that now seemed to draw closer with each passing moment.But exhaustion had finally claimed me, dragging me under.And there it was again.The fire.It started softly, like a single candle flickering in the distance. Then it grew, spreading until I was surrounded by a sea of flames. They danced and curled, consuming the ground beneath my bare feet, yet somehow, they didn’t burn me. Instead, their heat seemed to sink into my skin, pulsing through my veins li

Raymond's POVThe room was too small to contain the storm raging inside me.Papers scattered across the floor like fallen leaves, each one a memory I had tried so desperately to bury, names, faces, lives I had ended for the sake of the realm, for the sake of balance. And now, Paige stood among them, her chest heaving, her wide, terrified eyes fixed on me as though I were the monster she’d always suspected I was.I saw the exact moment her fear shifted into something sharper, betrayal.Before she could move, I crossed the room in a heartbeat, my boots pounding against the stone floor, the shadows seemed to recoil as I advanced, the candlelight stretching wild and jagged across the walls, my hand shot forward, snatching the folder from where it lay near her feet.The sound of tearing paper echoed as I gripped it too tightly. “What were you doing in here?” My voice was low, guttural, threaded with the beast barely contained beneath my s

Paige's POVThe silence of the mansion pressed in on me like a suffocating shroud. Even the shadows seemed heavier tonight, stretching long and cold against the ornate walls of my room. I sat on the edge of the bed, my breath shallow, my pulse an erratic drumbeat in my ears, the argument with Raymond from earlier still rang through my mind, cutting into me like jagged glass. His fury, his harsh words, the way his eyes glowed when he called me Avina… it all replayed on a loop, each memory feeding my growing dread.I couldn’t stay here. Not another second.My hands trembled as I clutched the thin blanket around me. Somewhere deep in my chest, beneath the fear and confusion, was a voice whispering insistently, urging me to move, to run, to escape before it was too late. It was the same voice I’d heard in my dreams, soft but commanding, warm and terrifying all at once."Go, my vessel, you are not safe here."The words echoed like a phantom touch across my skin, and for a brief, breathless