บททั้งหมดของ Desires And Captivity: บทที่ 71 - บทที่ 80

The stairways leading from the depths of the Heart Chamber up toward the surface seemed endless, yet this time it was not the leaden weight of exhaustion pressing down on our legs. Instead, there was a strange, vibrating lightness to every step, as if the laws of gravity no longer fully applied to those of us who had just restarted the heart of an entire mountain. The air changed as we climbed. The sterile, ozone-heavy, electrically charged scent of the Heart Chamber slowly gave way to stone dust, the lingering smoke of ancient torches, and something faint but unmistakable: the fresh, cold breath of the outside world.Sadira walked a few steps ahead of me. The way she moved had changed. The hunched, defensive posture that had defined her years of flight was gone. Her steps were springy now, her spine straight, her head held high. The dark blue dress she had received from Abigail whispered softly around her legs, and in the dim stairwell I occasionally caught glimpses of the Core’s blu

AbigailMy reflection felt like a stranger.I had been avoiding looking at myself properly for days, but this morning it was unavoidable. The tension inside the Nest had become almost physical ever since Jake and Sadira’s signal went dark, and Nathan had ordered that we appear before the Council tonight.I ran my hand through my hair and shuddered.There they were. On both sides of my forehead, hidden among my strands. Two small, hard protrusions. No longer just bumps, but real, sharpening bone. They were black as obsidian, and they looked terrifyingly right against my pale, almost translucent skin.I had already made peace with my nails. Weeks ago they had turned into hard, black claws, sharp enough that I sometimes tore the bedsheets if I wasn’t careful.“You’re beautiful.”The voice was deep and rough, coming from directly behind me. I hadn’t heard him enter. Nathan never knocked in his own quarters, and lately his mo

The door to our quarters closed behind us with a heavy thud, sealing out the noise of the Nest, the Council’s schemes, and the looming shadow of war. The silence that fell was not empty. It was thick, vibrating, hot, as if invisible sparks were snapping in the air.Nathan didn’t move away from the door. He leaned back against the wood and watched me from there. His eyes, those bottomless black whirlpools, no longer hid the hunger raging inside them. The cold, commanding Hunter he had shown the Council slipped away, leaving the man proud of his mate and the demon who demanded what was his.I stood in the middle of the room, still wearing the black, armor-like gown that clung to me like a second skin. My heart was pounding in my throat, but not from fear. The adrenaline from facing the Elders had shifted into something else now. Something older. Something primal.“You said we were going hunting,” I said. My voice was deeper, rougher than I remembered. “But t

The gates of the Nest closed behind us, and the safe warmth of the mountain’s belly was instantly replaced by the frozen, merciless reality of the outside world. Night had swallowed everything. Thick clouds hid the moon, as if the sky itself knew something terrible was about to happen.Nathan moved in front. His motion was no longer human, but purely predatory, like a hunter who had already caught the scent of his prey. His wings were folded tight against his back, but through the Bond I felt how ready they were to explode open at any second. Behind him, Damian and Regnar formed the flanks, two dark shapes in the gloom, silent and lethal as they followed their leader.I stayed close to Nathan. My body still carried the echo of the past hours: the heat of his skin, the wild destruction of desire, and the new, steel-hard strength of the Bond between us. The dagger Damian had given me felt heavy on my belt. It was black, etched with runes, and it seemed to whisper to

The massive steel gates of the Nest opened before us with a deep, otherworldly rumble. The sulfurous warmth and familiar, vibrating energy spilling from the mountain’s belly washed over me like a long-awaited embrace. But this homecoming was nothing like I had imagined. There was no triumph, no celebration.Nathan led the way, his wings still half-spread, feathers bloodstained and ragged from battle. In his grip, he dragged Rodriguez as if the man were nothing more than a scrap of cloth. Behind them walked Jake, his gaze dark and exhausted, Sadira cradled in his arms. Her head lolled weakly against his shoulder, her skin so pale it seemed almost translucent in the blue crystal light of the Nest.I stayed close beside them. I felt the change in my own body—the pulsing pressure at my brow where my horns strained, the dust of the laboratory and the memory of combat still clinging beneath my nails.“Medic!” Nathan’s voice thundered as we entered the central ha