All Chapters of BLOOD BOUND: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

It was easier to find Rowan than I thought it would be. He was in his room, staring at a wall. Sera had never seen him look so down. "Rowan," she said softly. "I need to talk to you." I don't want to hear it if it's about Vivienne. I've said all I can say with the information I have. "His voice was flat and without emotion." She tricked me for 15 years.I have nothing else to offer.""She called me. Wants to meet." That got his attention. He looked at her, something flickering in his dead eyes. "When?" "Two hours now. The botanical gardens. She says she has information about the mole. Says she wants to help." "It's a trap." "Obviously. But she also said—" Sera hesitated. "She said you're dying.That the bond betrayal is killing you. Is that true?" Rowan was quiet for a long moment. "Maybe. I don't know. Feels like dying. Like something vital has been ripped out. The bond is still there, but it's wrong now, poisoned.I remember that everything was a lie every time I felt her through it

The palace was in lockdown. Everyone who knew Elara was being questioned, every choice she'd made was being looked at, and every security protocol she'd worked on was being thrown away and rebuilt.Sera was in a meeting room with the main team, which included Matthias, Lucien, Rowan, Vivienne, Margot, and the human representatives. Everyone looked like they had just seen a ghost."Status," Matthias said, his voice heavy.An aide stepped forward. "We've arrested six of Elara's team members who were actively working with the conspiracy. Another fourteen are under investigation. Her personal files contained detailed plans for the signing attack—suicide bombers, positioned snipers, even contaminated food. Multiple redundant attacks designed to kill maximum leadership from all three species.""And the security we were planning to use?""Completely compromised. She designed it specifically to have vulnerabilities. Following her plan would have been a massacre." The aide looked ill. "We're

Day three before signing. Sera woke to urgent knocking."Up," Rowan's voice came through the door. "We have a situation."She dressed quickly, ribs protesting, and found Rowan in the hallway with Vivienne. Both looked grim."What happened?""Sophie's school received a bomb threat overnight. Evacuated safely, but they found this." Rowan held up a photo on his phone—a note written in old script. "It's dated 1624. Same paper as Silas's original letters."Sera's blood ran cold. "The conspiracy has been planning this for four centuries. They prepared for every contingency, including this exact moment.""Gets worse. The note contains details about the signing—specifics only inner circle knows. Time, location, guest list. Either we still have a leak or—""Or the conspiracy's been watching us so closely they don't need a leak," Vivienne finished. "Surveillance, planted devices, magical scrying. They could be monitoring everything."They convened emergency meeting in a warded room that Vivienn

The dawn was clear and cool. Sera got up early since she couldn't sleep past five, even though she was tired. Lucien was already awake next to her, looking up at the ceiling. "Couldn't sleep either?" she asked. "I kept thinking of different scenarios." Every potential way an assault could happen, every backup plan. He looked at her. "We've done all we can.Ready for everything that could happen. But I can't get the notion that we're missing something. That's fear speaking. We've been very thorough, more than thorough. "Even paranoid." Paranoia has kept us alive this long.They got up and put on formal clothes. Serena will be wearing a simple yet pretty dress in a deep green.She knew it was witch colors, yet she chose it without thinking. Lucien wore full black garments with silver trim, like a vampire. They looked like what they were: two different kinds of animals trying to perform the impossible.The palace was already full of people. Security teams are completing last-minute check

The vest was carefully removed by bomb specialists, both human and supernatural, working together. Dietrich remained motionless and did not object to the disarmament. A collective exhale echoed across the theatre when they finally deemed it safe.However, the respite was only momentary. The signing of the treaty had been on the verge of being a mass casualty event; hundreds of people had been evacuated, and dread had been genuine and unadulterated. "We need fifteen minutes," Secretary Chen stated, her voice tremulous despite her attempt at professionalism. The question was not whether to continue; Matthias had already made that decision, but rather if anyone could truly focus after what they had just survived. "To settle, to breathe, to process. Then we sign." Matthias nodded. "Fifteen minutes. Medical teams, check everyone for shock or injuries. Security, sweep one more time. And someone find out how an eight-year-old got past our perimeter." Marcus carried Sophie out, her parent