All Chapters of Ashbound Moon : Chapter 51 - Chapter 58

CHAPTER 51 The corridor walls didn’t slam shut.They *decided* to close—slowly, patiently—like a mouth savoring what it had caught.Rune light crawled along the stone in thin, bruise-colored lines, tightening the space around us inch by inch. The air grew warmer, then colder, as if the throat corridor couldn’t decide whether to freeze us or cook us.Dax stood behind me with silver eyes and that wrong calm smile. His hand rested on my shoulder like a claim. Like he’d caught me and expected gratitude.Kieran’s arms were still wrapped around me from behind, locked tight, coal-bright eyes gleaming as he pressed my back into his chest. The mate bond pulsed viciously—sick relief mixed with panic—because my body still recognized him even when he wasn’t safe.Between the two of them, I couldn’t breathe.“Let go,” I rasped, trying to pry Kieran’s arm off my ribs.His coal voice purred into my hair. “No.”Dax’s

CHAPTER 53 I didn’t have time to move.Mara’s arm was already swinging, the bowl tilted, black water poised to pour like ink across my scalp.Dax lunged first—silver-eyed, calm turning sharp—and his hand shot up to intercept.Kieran lunged too—coal-bright, hungry—but not to save me.To claim me before Mara could.Two bodies converged.The corridor’s rune light flared in panic, uncertain which law to obey now that I’d spoken a new one.I lifted my hands instinctively, ash sluggish but present.“MINE,” Mara whispered.The word wasn’t loud.It was ancient.The black water obeyed instantly—surging sideways, dodging Dax’s hand, splashing in a heavy sheet toward my face.I flinched.Too late.It hit.Cold like death.It seeped into my hair, my eyebrows, my eyelashes, dripping into my eyes with a sting that felt like being written on from

CHAPTER 55 The pressure at my throat eased just enough for me to breathe.But the rune light stayed—coiled around my neck like a collar it hadn’t decided to tighten yet.Dax—blank-eyed, smiling wrong—stood up with slow grace.The smile wasn’t kind.It was *certain*.Kieran took a step between us instinctively, coal-bright gaze sharp. “That’s not him,” he snarled.Dax’s head tilted, amused. “Define ‘him.’”My blood went cold.Mara’s eyes gleamed like she’d just won a prize. “Good,” she murmured. “Now we all see how fast she learns.”I swallowed hard, forcing my voice steady despite the collar. “Give him back.”Dax’s wrong smile widened. “I can’t,” he said softly. “You traded.”“I didn’t trade,” I snapped.“You rewrote,” he corrected gently. “And rewriting always costs blood.”The seam-eye blinked, slow and pleased.The corridor pulsed again.

CHAPTER 57 —The door didn’t look threatening.That was the problem.It wasn’t jagged or bleeding rune-light or screaming like the other seams. It was clean. Smooth. Pale stone etched with a single, familiar symbol—the split crescent I’d seen my entire life without ever being taught its meaning.Home.My copy’s voice drifted through it again, soft and coaxing. “You don’t have to fight anymore.”The corridor behind us quieted, as if it were holding its breath to see whether I’d walk forward.Mara wiped black water from her cheek, breathing hard, eyes bright with victory she hadn’t fully earned yet. Kieran stood just behind me, coal-bright gaze locked on the door, the mate bond tugging with a slow, steady pull like gravity changing direction. Dax—blank-eyed, wrong—watched me with calm expectation.I felt hollow.My mother was gone again.Not dead—I could feel that much, a faint ache like a bruise