Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 61 - Chapitre 70

My father barked a bitter laugh, the sound grating and broken, shattered by the force of his fury. “You’ve lost your mind, Blackthorn,” he snarled, spittle flying from his lips. “She’s my blood, my child, and you’d let her pass judgment on me? She has no power, no authority—she’s nothing but a weak little girl who—”Kael cut him off with a single glance, so sharp and cold it sliced the words right out of his mouth. The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees, and even I felt the chill of that stare.“She has the only power that matters,” he said smoothly, his thumb still brushing against my bruised cheek as if to emphasize his point, as if to remind exactly who controlled what. “Because I give it to her.”The room spun around me, tilting on its axis until I had to fight to keep my footing. My knees trembled beneath my skirts, heat burning in my chest until

The door slammed shut with such force that the walls shuddered. My father’s footsteps faded down the corridor, but the echo of his voice—his venom, his accusations—still clung to my skin like smoke.Silence followed. Heavy, suffocating silence.I couldn’t move. My body was trembling, every muscle coiled tight, my pulse hammering in my throat. The metallic taste of blood lingered on my tongue from where I’d bitten it to keep from screaming. My cheek still stung where he had struck me, the heat of it spreading like spilled wine, and beneath that, a deeper ache where Kael’s hand had pinned my wrist, branding me with his control. I could still feel the phantom pressure of his fingers, the way they’d pressed just hard enough to leave their mark without breaking bone.And he was still here.I could feel him before I dared to look—Kael’s presence filling the room like a storm cloud, dark and s

Something snapped inside me like an overstretched wire. A tremor tore through me, but this time it wasn’t fear. It was rage—hot, bitter, uncontrollable rage that had been festering like an infected wound since the moment he threw me onto that bed the night of our wedding and told me he would make me live in hell. It bubbled up from somewhere deep and dark, spilling over like poison from a broken vessel.“No.” My voice came out hoarse, shaky, but I forced it louder. “No, Kael. My fear doesn’t belong to you. My fire doesn’t belong to you.”His eyes sharpened, narrowing like a predator that had just spotted weakness in its prey. His thumb brushed across my throat in a taunting circle, the touch maddeningly gentle. “Careful,” he murmured, low and dark as midnight. “Say that again, and I’ll make you choke on the truth.”The threat should have silenced me. It should have broken m

I was back in my room and it felt like a tomb after what had happened throughout the whole day. Mira had also left, leaving only the faint smell of herbs and the memory of her gentle hands against my bruised skin. Now it was just me, the dim fire, and the silence pressing in so thick it made my chest ache.The stone walls seemed to close in around me, gray and cold as the grave. Even with the fire burning, the chill seeped through my bones—not from the air, but from something deeper. From the hollow place inside me that had been carved out piece by piece, humiliation by humiliation.I sat there for what felt like hours, perched on the edge of the bed with my hands curled into fists in my lap. The firelight flickered, painting the walls with shadows that seemed to shift and breathe, as though mocking me. Every crackle of wood sounded too loud in the oppressive quiet, every breath too shallow, as if the room itself was suffocating me.My skin sti

Each word was a nail driven deeper into my chest. "I… I couldn't fight them. I was just a girl. I was weak, I was—""You were afraid." The interruption was gentle but implacable. "And I cannot live in a heart that chooses fear over fury. I cannot wake in a soul that values safety over strength."Silence fell between us, heavy and suffocating. The fire popped, sending up another shower of sparks, but I barely noticed. Her words echoed in my head, truth and accusation tangled together."And now?" Her voice came softer now, almost tender. "Are you still just a girl?"The question split me open like an axe through wood. I wanted to scream no—but wasn't I still trembling? Still crying? Still hiding in corners like the prey she accused me of being?"I don't know," I choked out, the admission ripping from my throat.The wolf's laughter was cruel and gleeful all at once, the sound of winter wind through bar