All Chapters of His Doll: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

I woke to the sound of glass breaking somewhere above us. Ethan was already moving before I'd fully processed the sound, rolling off the bed in one fluid motion, alert in a way that told me whatever training kept him alive all these years had never fully switched off, even in sleep. "Stay down," he said, low, already reaching for the blade he kept near the headboard, something I hadn't noticed until that exact moment. More sounds followed, footsteps, muffled shouting, the unmistakable clash of metal against metal somewhere in the halls above us. My heart slammed against my ribs as I scrambled upright despite his order, refusing to simply lie there while chaos unfolded somewhere close enough to hear. "Ethan, what's happening—" "Darius." He was already at the door, listening, his whole body coiled tight. "He said he'd come back sooner. I didn't think he meant tonight." The door burst open before either of us could react further, Andy stumbling through it, a shallow cut bleeding al

Greta had done what she could for Tally by the time we reached the healer's quarters, the worst of the bleeding finally slowed, her breathing steadier though still shallow, still frightening in how fragile it sounded in the quiet room."She'll live," Greta said, wiping her hands on a cloth already stained beyond saving. "If she rests. If nothing else happens to her tonight.""Watch her carefully," Ethan said. "Whoever did this might try again if they learn she's still breathing."Greta nodded grimly, already moving to bar the door behind us as we left, and I felt a small measure of relief knowing at least one person in this chaos was being properly protected.Tally's quarters were smaller than I expected, tucked into a modest corner of the compound far from the grandeur of the main halls, everything about the room speaking to a life lived in careful, quiet service rather than luxury. A narrow bed. A single chest. A window overlooking the eastern g

Nobody spoke about Alistair's death openly, not at first. Ethan gave orders quietly, calmly, having his body removed, the cell sealed off, guards doubled at every entrance to the underground halls, but the calm never reached his eyes. I recognized that particular stillness now, the same controlled fury he'd carried standing over Tally's wounded body only hours before.By the time the sun rose fully over the compound, word had spread through the household regardless, whispered between guards changing shifts, murmured in the kitchens where Andy found me picking at food I had no appetite for."You should eat something," he said, settling into the seat across from me, his own plate untouched. "You look like you haven't slept.""I haven't," I admitted. "Every time I close my eyes I see that dart hit him. The way he just, stopped, mid sentence."Andy's jaw tightened. "Whoever did it must have been watching the cell. Or listening somehow. There's no othe

I told myself, all through the following day, that I hadn't actually decided anything yet.I helped Greta change Tally's bandages. I sat with Ethan while he and Matthias pored over maps of the surrounding territory, searching for any sign of where the Warden's people might be operating from. I ate meals I didn't taste and answered questions with half my attention, the letter's words looping endlessly through my mind beneath everything else. *I think it's time you finally understood exactly what she was protecting you from.*By the time evening fell, I understood I'd already decided the moment I first read those words at the garden bench, and every hour since had simply been the slow, reluctant process of admitting it to myself.Ethan fell asleep before I did, exhaustion finally claiming him after days without proper rest, his arm draped loosely across my waist, his breathing deep and even. I lay there a long while, watching the rise and fall of his chest,

The walk back to the compound felt longer than the walk out had, every step weighed down by everything Mira had told me, my mind circling the same doubts over and over without landing anywhere solid. By the time the compound's outer walls came into view, dawn had begun creeping pale along the horizon, and I understood, with a sinking certainty, exactly how long I'd been gone.I slipped through the same gap in the guards' rounds I'd used to leave, though luck alone couldn't carry me the rest of the way. Ethan was standing in the courtyard when I rounded the final corner, still dressed in the same clothes from the night before, his expression carved from something between fury and devastation."Selene."My name came out of him rough, broken, and before I could explain, before I could offer even the beginning of an excuse, he crossed the distance between us and pulled me hard against his chest, his arms wrapping around me with a desperation that stole the bre