POV: Alexei The pain was gone. That should have been a relief, but it terrified me instead. For days, the poison had burned through my veins like liquid fire. Every breath was agony. Every heartbeat felt like it might be my last. The bond with Maya, severed but still trying to reconnect, had been a constant ache in my chest. Now there was nothing. Just emptiness where the pain used to be. I pushed myself up from the floor of my cell, testing my limbs. They worked. No weakness, no trembling. The poison should have killed me by now, or at least left me crippled. But I felt fine. Better than fine, actually. Strong. Something was wrong. I pressed my hand against my chest, searching for the bond. It had been severed during the ritual to save us both, cut clean to prevent the poison from using it as a bridge. But bonds didn't just disappear. They left scars, phantom sensations, echoes of what had been. This was different. I could feel something trying to form. The bond reaches out, se
Last Updated : 2026-01-16 Read more