Semua Bab Midnight Chains: a Dark Elf's Possessive Love: Bab 21 - Bab 30

Patrina's eyes snapped open in the darkness, her heart pounding with a sudden decision. She lay motionless in her bed, counting the heartbeats that marked time's passage as she waited for the house to fall silent. The opulent room, still hers despite days of servants’ labor, felt more like a taunt than a comfort. Moonlight spilled through parted curtains, casting silver paths across the floor that beckoned toward the door. She didn't need to see clearly to know that this might be her only chance. For five days she had scrubbed floors and polished silver while Nyxios watched with that infuriating patience. Tonight, she would prove him wrong. Tonight, she would escape.She slipped from beneath the silken covers, her feet touching the cool wooden floor. Her body ached from days of scrubbing floors and polishing furniture. Yet Nyxios continued to let her sleep in this chamber of luxury rather than relegating her to servants' quarters. The contradiction unsettled her. Was it kindness or mer

The Autumn Elm tavern sat nestled among the massive trees of the Greenways, its structure seeming to grow from the living wood rather than being built upon it. Inside, lanterns of amber glass cast a warm glow over clientele who were mostly wood elves, with a scattering of travelers from other lands.In a corner booth, partially hidden by a gnarled wooden pillar, Felag Stonedelve slumped over his third mug of elven mead, his once-neat beard now stained with amber droplets. His eyes bloodshot from a combination of alcohol and lingering anger that had followed him all the way from Limdrion. "All those silvers down the gutter. All gone because of one human woman. What I don't understand is how she managed to slip away. One moment she's secured in my wagon, drugged with sleeping tincture, the next she's vanished like morning mist. In a city of dark elves! How does a human woman hide in Limdrion?"The three dwarves sharing his table exchanged uncomfortable glances. They'd been listening to

Nyxios found Skotos leaning against the railing of the western boardwalk, his dark face staring into the water below with uncharacteristic solemnity. The usual spark of mischief was absent from his friend's eyes, replaced by something distant and troubled. He had canceled their weekly webstrike match without explanation, a rarity in their decades-long friendship. Something was clearly wrong, and Nyxios was determined to discover what shadow had fallen across his friend's typically carefree spirit."You know," Nyxios said, settling beside him at the railing, "some might consider it rude to abandon our standing engagement without so much as a messenger." He kept his tone light, though concern threaded through his words. "I had my webstrike attire laid out and everything."Skotos's lips quirked in a half-smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Forgive me. I find myself distracted today.""Distracted enough to miss the chance to trounce me thoroughly?" Nyxios nudged his friend's shoulder. "Now

Patrina stumbled through the forest, her lungs burning with each ragged breath. The torch in her hand cast wild, dancing shadows across the ancient trees, but did little to illuminate the path ahead. She'd been running for hours. The sack bounced against her back, containing the few provisions she'd managed to steal: bread, dried meat, a water skin, and a crude map drawn from memory.The ground beneath her feet grew softer, wetter. The dense forest thinned, revealing an expanse of marshland stretching into darkness. Patrina paused at the boundary, holding her torch higher. Mist curled around stunted trees and glimmering pools. Bioluminescent insects or perhaps something more magical, winked in the distance like false stars."This has to be the marsh the dwarves went through before Limdrion," she murmured to herself, recalling descriptions from the geography texts she'd studied.The collar at her throat seemed to tighten, a phantom sensation that made her fingers rise to touch the smoo

Zilska's scaled hands moved with surprising gentleness as she cleaned the marsh muck from Patrina's exhausted body. The bath water had turned a murky green-brown from the filth, yet the scalekin servant showed no disgust as she worked, humming a tune that seemed to float on the steam rising from the copper tub."You gave Master quite a fright," Zilska said, her amber eyes glinting in the lamplight. "Never seen him move so fast when he heard you'd gone. Nearly tore the door off its hinges."Patrina flinched as Ziska's claws gently scraped her scalp. "I didn't ask him to chase me."Ziska chuckled, her voice raspy. "No, but you called his name. He heard you in the darkness. He always will." She poured warm water over Patrina's head, rinsing away suds. "The bond between you grows stronger, whether you wish it or not."Patrina didn't respond. She sat numbly in the warm water, her mind still replaying the terror of the marsh—the plant that had tried to consume her, the massive lizard circli