Chapter 161

Aurelian sat in the dim light of his study, the forbidden book open before him. Its pages were brittle, its ink faded, its words written in a hand that had been dead for centuries. He had deciphered it. Not all of it—no one could decipher all of it—but enough. Enough to understand. Enough to act.The ritual required three things. A willing vessel. A blood link. A sacrifice of equal weight.He had the vessel. He would be the vessel. He had the blood link. His blood, poured in a bowl on his desk, dark and thick and waiting. He had the sacrifice. He would be the sacrifice.He had been preparing for weeks. Gathering the materials. Studying the texts. Steeling his resolve.Now he was ready.He stood. He walked to the center of the room. The candles were lit. The symbols were drawn. The air was cold.He raised his hands. He began to speak.The words were old, older than the kingdom, older than the curse, older than the Veil. They scraped against his throat, burned his tongue, stole his breat

Chapter 162

The dinner was the same as every night since Nathan's arrival. The table was set with fine plates and gleaming silver, the food was warm and plentiful, and Oakley said nothing. He sat in his usual place, his eyes fixed on his plate, his jaw tight, his silence louder than any words. Lord Marius and Lady Bayley were waiting when Nathan and Malone finally cleaned up and made their way to the dining hall. Marius sat at the head of the table, his hands resting on the arms of his chair, his face softer than it had been in weeks. Bayley sat to his right, her hands folded in her lap, her expression serene. They ate. The first course was soup—thick, hearty, warm. The second was meat—tender, flavorful, roasted with herbs. The third was bread—fresh from the oven, still steaming, still soft. Marius asked questions. About the terracing. About the fields. About the progress on the houses. Malone answered with an enthusiasm that made her sound like a little girl—her voice bright, her hands moving,

Chapter 163

The word spread like wildfire. Derron had barely reached the corridor when the first servant saw his face—pale, urgent, frightened—and asked what was wrong. He did not answer. He did not need to. The news traveled on its own, slipping through the estate like smoke, whispered from servant to servant, from guard to guard, until it reached the ears of Marius. Marius came first, his face grim, his boots loud on the stone. Bayley followed, her hands clasped, her eyes anxious. They stood in the doorway, looking at Nathan's still form, at Lenore kneeling beside the bed, at the open window and the cold room and the too-pale light. Malone came next, breathless, her hair loose, her book forgotten in the study. She pushed past her father, past her mother, and knelt on the other side of the bed. She did not speak. She simply looked at Nathan's face—flushed, feverish, too still—and placed her hand over Lenore's. The healer arrived within the hour. He was an old man, gray-haired, steady-handed,

Chapter 164

Rowan had been sitting by the open window for what felt like hours. The spring air was cool against his face, but it did nothing to ease the strange feeling coiling in his chest—a pull, a tug, an insistent whisper that he needed to be somewhere else. Needed to be with Damian. His body knew something was different. Something was off. And the only place where everything hurt less was by Damian's side. He stood. He walked. He rounded the corner. Guards stood in the corridor. Not near Damian's room—in the way. Blocking him. "The king is sleeping," one of them said, not meeting Rowan's eyes. "So?" The guard's throat bobbed. "He said he is not to be disturbed." Rowan's frown deepened. "Out of my way." The guard bowed. "My Lord, we will lose our jobs if not our heads. Please understand—" "I said out. Of. My. Way." The guards stepped aside. They had no choice. Rowan stormed toward Damian's room, his anger rising with every step. Damian had ordered the guards to keep him away. Like he

Chapter 165

The portal opened in the clearing outside Tarren Vale.Nathan stepped through, blinking against the afternoon light, his heart heavy with goodbye. He had expected delays. He had expected setbacks. He had expected the work to be behind schedule, the people to be frustrated, the progress to have stalled.Instead, he found roofs.Eight houses stood where there had been ruins. Eight families had moved in—smoke rising from their chimneys, children playing in their yards, laundry flapping in the breeze. And beside them, eight more houses, nearly complete, their walls rising, their windows waiting.Nathan stopped.Derron was the first to notice him. He set down his hammer, wiped his brow, and walked over. "You're back."Nathan could not speak.Lenore appeared beside him. "The workers didn't want to stop. They said—" She paused. "They said they wanted to make things easier for when you returned."The workers had kept working. The guards had kept guarding. The Holt mages had kept maging. Malon

Chapter 166

The next morning, Nathan woke well rested.He stretched, yawned, and climbed out of bed. His body still ached, but it was the good kind of ache—the kind that came from honest work, not from fever or exhaustion. He washed up, dressed quickly, and went straight to breakfast.Marius and Bayley were already sitting at the table. Bayley looked up when he entered, her eyes widening slightly."I thought you might want to rest a bit more, my lord," she said.Nathan shook his head. "I've rested enough. I'd rather finish the work as soon as possible and then go home."Marius nodded. "Understandable."Nathan sat. A servant poured tea. Another set a plate before him. He ate in silence—bread, cheese, a slice of cold meat. The food was simple, but it was warm, and it was enough.Malone joined them after a while, her hair still damp, her cheeks flushed from the morning chill. She smiled at Nathan, took her seat, and began to eat.Oakley was nowhere to be seen.Nathan did not ask where he was. He did

Alle Kapitel von Chains Of The Heart: Kapitel 161 – Kapitel 166

Chapter 161

Chapter 162

Chapter 163

Chapter 164

Chapter 165

Chapter 166