Semua Bab BOUND TO THE DEMON LORD: Bab 41 - Bab 50

🎀 CHAPTER FORTY🎀 Zayla had just sat on her bed when a knock at the door made her startle. She swallowed hard, trying to calm her racing heart. Slowly, she got up and approached the door. With a trembling hand, she opened it a crack. Kai stood there, straight and serious. “My lady… Lord Asher has returned. He wants you brought to him,” Kai said. Zayla blinked, surprise and worry flashing across her face. “He’s back already?” “This way,please” Kai said. Zayla’s face went pale. Her eyes were wide, and her lips trembled, she looked like a lamb that knew it was walking straight into a slaughterhouse. She swallowed hard. “Let me close the door,” she said, fumbling with the handle. Her hands shook as she struggled for almost a minute, even though the door wasn’t heavy or stuck. Kai stepped closer. “The longer you waste, the angrier he’ll get. Move quickly.” Zayla took a shaky breath and forced herself to push the door shut, her heart pounding in her chest. kai led h

🎀CHAPTER FORTY-TWO🎀 The moon was bright in the sky, hanging over the kingdom like a pale lamp. Nil moved through the streets quietly, keeping his hood low. The city was busy even at night. Shops were still open, guards walked in pairs, and people moved in and out of taverns, laughing and talking. Nil stopped the first man he saw. “Excuse me,” he said politely. “Can you please tell me where the palace of lord Asher is?” The man looked him up and down, frowned, and walked past without answering. Nil tried another woman. “The palace of Lord Asher,” he said again. “Which way?” She paused, stared at him like he had said something foolish, then shook her head and hurried away. Nil frowned. What’s wrong with these people? A pair of young men walked past. Nil asked them where the palace was. One laughed. “Who just walks around asking for the palace?” he said. The other whispered, “You’re either brave… or very stupid.” They walked off, still laughing. Nil sighed softly an

🎀CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR🎀 Nil stepped forward, boots biting into the blood-soaked snow. He looked down at Asher with an unreadable expression. “We’re done,” Nil said. “This ends here.” Asher coughed out a laugh, thick with blood. His golden eyes burned as they lifted. “You think you get to decide that?” he rasped. “After what you took from me?” Nil didn’t flinch. “You took her first,” he replied coldly. “You called her a payment. You treated her like coin.” His gaze shifted, just once, toward Zayla. “I’m taking her back.” Asher’s lips curved slowly. “Alright,” he said at last. He drew a rough breath, The burns crept further along his skin, and a low groan slipped from him before he could stop it. “Take her.” Nil stiffened. “But don’t be foolish enough to think this is freedom,” Asher went on, voice rough, eyes locked on him. “Run. Go somewhere you think I won’t find you.” A pause. His smile widened. “Hide her,” he added. “Very far.” Another wave of pain

🎀CHAPTER FORTY-SIX🎀 They didn’t know it. Someone else had been watching the whole time. Sera stood a little distance away, partly hidden behind the stalls. Lantern light brushed her face, then slipped away again. She had followed them the moment she saw them leave the inn. Quietly. She didn’t even know why she was still here. She could have turned back. She should have walked away. But her feet kept moving, and her eyes stayed on Nil. On the way he leaned toward Zayla. On the way his voice softened when he spoke to her. On the smile he never gave anyone else or even her. Her chest hurt. I love him, she admitted to herself. She always had. And love, in her mind, was not about letting go. It was not about stepping aside and watching another woman take what should have been hers. She watched Zayla laugh quietly. Watched Nil look at her like nothing else mattered. Something dark settled inside Sera. She didn’t know why she was putting herself through this pain. Wh

🎀CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT🎀 Moonlight spread across the celestial river, turning the water silver. The river rested at the peak of the mountain, high above the world, so close to the moon it felt unreal. The air was cold and thin, filled with a quiet power that pressed against the skin. Asher stepped forward. The moment his foot touched the water, his breath caught. It burned, yet soothed at the same time, like fire and ice moving together. He didn’t stop. Maera stood nearby, hands folded, watching him closely. The healer stayed a few steps back, whispering prayers under his breath. Kai and the guards remained at a distance. Asher walked deeper into the river. The water rose past his ankles, his knees, his thighs. Soft light spread with every step, as if the river was aware of him and pushing back. When the water reached his waist, he paused, breathing hard. Pain flared beneath his skin, then slowly began to fade. He let out a slow breath. Then he lowered himself co