All Chapters of Bloodbound: The legacy of Serelai : Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

The silence after the storm was a trap.It lasted only three heartbeats, long enough for Ash to get on his feet. His eyes scanned the square, sharp and alert like a man who knew peace could never last. They landed on the stirring hunters and then quickly snapped to Liora not with relief, but pure, raw panic.He didn’t help her up gently. He yanked her to her feet, gripping her arm tight and strong. “Move. Now.”The first scream split the dawn. It wasn’t fear, it was rage. A hunter, a big man with a broken nose and Gorven’s black wolf emblem on his jacket stumbled forward, clutching his head. His wild eyes were clearing from the Scourge’s hold. They locked on them: on Liora, still faintly glowing with power; on Ronan, carrying Kael’s unconscious body; on Elara, trying to stop the blood flowing from Ash’s shoulder.“Witches!” he spat the word like poison. “You poisoned our minds! You brought the darkness!”A rock whizzed past Ronan’s head, smashing against the burnt bakery ruin. Then an

The name Gideon hung heavy between them, a ghostly bait they had to take. The mill, a place filled with fresh pain. The Scourge fragment hadn’t just run away; it left a trail of suffering, leading them into deeper, more personal darkness.“They’re using us,” Kael said, leaning hard against an old oak. Cold sweat covered his face, and staying upright was costing him everything. “It’s not hiding. It’s farming. Leading us from one meal to the next, letting us clear the plate so it can feast on the next course.”The truth was chilling. They weren’t hunters; they were pest control, serving the very plague they fought.“We have no choice,” Liora said, her voice empty. The warmth she felt after cleansing the hairpin was gone, replaced by a deep, tired chill. “If we don’t go, the boy dies, and the seed grows. We play its game, or it wins.”Ash’s jaw tightened. He looked from Liora’s drained face to Kael’s weakening body. The protector in him fought the strategist. “It’s a trap. It’ll be expec

The silence in the cottage after the shadow left was heavier than any battle noise. It was the silence of a broken safe place, a dream picked up, looked at by cruel hands, then dropped and cracked forever. Dust floated in the weak light through the dirty window, but it didn’t feel peaceful anymore and it looked like dust from ash.Ash’s hold on Liora was the only thing real. He wasn’t just holding her, he was holding on like a drowning man, fingers gripping the back of her tunic tight. His breath was ragged, heart pounding fast against her ear where she held it to his chest. He was a "fierce protector," but here, he was the one who needed protecting, from the monster wearing his face.“It used my mother,” he finally said hoarsely, words from a deep, private pain. “It used her to get to me. To get to you.”Liora could only hold him tighter. The "forbidden romance" was this: a love so strong it became a weapon for their enemy. Their strength had been mapped and was now being used as a g

The silence after the Scourge disappeared was complete. It was the silence of a tomb, of holding breath for too long and Ash and Liora sat on the cold floor of the cottage, limbs tangled, hearts pounding against each other’s ribs. The only sign of the fight was the faint, silver scar now on the journal’s cover, a lasting mark of their desperate win.Liora’s fingers traced the scar and it was cool, humming with low, held-back energy. “It’s in there,” she whispered, her voice too loud in the quiet. “We didn’t destroy it. We... trapped it.”Ash looked at her, his arm still tight around her. “A box with a lock we don’t understand.” His hunter’s practicality returned, pushing down the fear. “What if the lock breaks?”Before anyone answered, a tired groan came from the loft. Kael leaned over the edge, face pale but alert. “Did it work? Is it gone?”“It’s trapped,” Ronan called from his place by the door, voice cautious. “For now.”Elara helped Kael down the ladder. He moved slowly, but the

The silence in the Calibration Room was alive and it was the quiet after a storm that had changed everything. Kael lay asleep but calm, the terrible green light finally gone from his veins. The journal rested on his chest, its cover a perfect, detailed pattern of silver scars pulsing with a soft, warm, steady light, it felt alive and complete.Elara let out a soft sob, hiding her face in Kael’s shoulder, Ronan leaned on a broken console, the weight of centuries lifting from him. Ash’s arms pulled Liora close, and she felt him kiss her hair, a silent, shaky breath of relief.For one long, fragile moment, they just breathed the peace they had fought for, then the journal grew warm, not the soft warmth from before, but a heat that soon felt too strong on Liora’s skin. She pulled it away from Kael’s chest, flinching.The silver scars brightened, changing from a gentle glow to a bright, blinding white, and a low hum filled the room, shaking the stone floor and their bones. It was the sam