All Chapters of Beyond Redemption: Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Kora’s POVThe night after the forest ambush was one of the longest of my life. We’d barely made it back to the compound before dawn, dragging Mara’s wounded warriors with us. The courtyard smelled of smoke and iron, the walls splattered with ash. Every sound felt sharper—boots crunching gravel, the low growl of patrol wolves, the faint hiss of dying embers from the flames I had unleashed.I should have been exhausted, but I couldn’t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Aaron’s shadow in the fire, his voice wrapping around my mind like a snake. I’m in your blood. Those words looped like a curse, gnawing at me.I sat on the balcony of Edward’s quarters, knees drawn to my chest, cloak wrapped tight. Below me, the packhouse was quiet except for the faint shuffle of guards changing shifts. Edward was inside, speaking with Mara and the elders about the anchor mark we’d found. I didn’t want to be in that room. Not when the memory of my fire still lingered in everyone’s eyes.The door o

Kora’s POVThe air inside the seer’s cavern grew heavy after she spoke, thick enough to choke on. Edward’s grip on my hand was the only thing keeping me anchored. The fire beneath my skin stirred, responding to her words like it recognized some deep, forbidden truth.Lysandra stood silent, her gaze locked on us as though she’d seen this moment a thousand times already. The glow from her candles painted strange symbols on the walls — runes that seemed to move when I wasn’t looking directly at them.“Your bond,” she repeated, voice calm, almost kind. “It’s the tether between your human heart and the fire that would otherwise consume you. You can’t destroy the fire’s master while you’re still bound to another.”Edward’s jaw tightened. “You’re saying she has to sever our bond just to fight him?”Lysandra inclined her head. “Yes.”“That’s not an option.”The seer’s lips curved into a faint smile. “You sound so certain. Yet you came to me because you’ve run out of certainty.”Edward took a

Kora’s POVThe journey north was relentless. The trees grew denser, the paths narrower, and the air colder the farther we climbed. The forest whispered around us, and I couldn’t tell whether it was the wind or something older watching from the shadows.For three days, we didn’t rest long enough to feel human. Edward was all sharp focus and tension, his eyes scanning every ridge and hollow as if danger would step out of the mist at any moment. He barely slept, and when he did, it was with one hand always near his blade.The fire in me had grown quieter—no longer wild and angry, but simmering, patient, as if waiting for a cue. I could feel it under my skin, tracing patterns through my veins, pulsing in rhythm with the earth beneath my feet.I hated it.Every flicker of warmth felt like a whisper from Aaron, like he was breathing against the back of my neck.By the time we reached the foothills of the northern range, my body was trembling with exhaustion. The mountains loomed before us—t

Kora’s POVI didn’t sleep that night.The fire inside me wouldn’t let me. It pulsed, steady and alive, like another heartbeat under my skin. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw flashes of that red sky again—the ruins, the cries, the flames that had once belonged to me.I tried to drown it out, listening to the faint crackle of the dying embers around the camp. Everyone was asleep except Edward. He sat a few feet away, facing the mouth of the cave, his back straight, his hands clasped so tight his knuckles were white.When I shifted slightly, the sound made him turn. His eyes met mine instantly, glowing faintly in the dim light.“You should rest,” he said quietly.“So should you,” I whispered back.He gave a humorless laugh. “Can’t.”“Because of me?”He didn’t answer right away. Then, in that low, rough voice of his, he said, “Because I almost lost you. Again.”The words made something twist in my chest. I pushed myself up to sit beside him. For a long time, neither of us said anything.

Kora’s POVThe storm cleared by morning, leaving the forest drenched and glistening under a pale, broken sun. The air was heavy with the scent of wet earth and pine, but beneath it was something sharper—like iron and smoke. The scent of danger.We moved again before the ground could dry, our boots squelching through mud. Edward led the way, his expression carved in stone, every movement controlled but tense. He hadn’t said much since the night before, but I could feel the worry radiating from him.I didn’t blame him. I was worried too.Something in me had changed during the storm. The fire wasn’t just warmth anymore—it had rhythm. It pulsed in time with something ancient, alive. And when I breathed too deeply, I swore I could taste ashes.The others noticed, even if they said nothing. Mara kept glancing at me from the corner of her eye, and two of the younger warriors subtly kept their distance. I couldn’t blame them. If I were them, I’d stay away from me too.By noon, the path wound