Semua Bab When the Wards Broke: Bab 1 - Bab 10

The rain began before dusk.Eleanor heard it first against the greenhouse glass—soft at first, then harder, until the storm swallowed the entire forest in a steady hiss. The old house settled around her with familiar groans, timber creaking like tired bones beneath the weight of wind.Blackwood House hated storms.Or perhaps it simply remembered them.She stood at the kitchen counter crushing dried lavender with a mortar and pestle while candlelight flickered gold across the stone walls. Bundles of herbs hung from the ceiling beams above her head, swaying gently in the draft. Rosemary. Mugwort. Yarrow. Belladonna tied separately with black thread.The protective wards carved into the windows glowed faintly silver in the dark.Still holding.For now.Eleanor glanced toward the clock.Nearly midnight.Her husband should have returned hours ago.A familiar knot tightened beneath her ribs.She hated when he traveled.Not because she feared loneliness. Solitude had never frightened her. Sh

Eleanor forced herself not to run.Fear fed things like this.Panic made them stronger.That lesson had been carved into her bones long before she ever met Alaric.Still, every instinct screamed at her to flee as another heavy footstep sounded overhead.Slow.Dragging.Like something learning how to walk inside unfamiliar skin.The storm outside intensified, thunder rattling the windows hard enough to shake dust from the ceiling beams. Lightning flashed silver through the manor halls, illuminating portraits of long-dead witches whose painted eyes seemed to follow her through the dark.Another step overhead.Then silence.Eleanor tightened her grip around the athame and forced herself to breathe steadily.Think.The wards were weakening, not broken entirely. That meant the spirit had entered imperfectly. It was forcing itself through cracks instead of walking freely.Which meant she still had time.Maybe.She backed carefully into the kitchen, never taking her eyes off the staircase at

The scream came from below them.Not human.Not spirit.Something older.The sound ripped through the manor floorboards like a living thing, low and enormous, vibrating through Eleanor’s ribs hard enough to steal her breath. Dust rained from the ceiling beams while every window in the kitchen burst outward at once.Cold air flooded the house.Alaric pulled Eleanor against his chest immediately.“Do not leave my side.”The command came sharp enough to cut.Eleanor had heard that tone only twice before.Once when a man threatened her in a crowded market.And once when Alaric returned home covered in blood she knew wasn’t his.The shadows around him had changed now.Before, they obeyed him.Now they seemed agitated.Hungry.The silver wards spinning around them flickered violently as another impact echoed from beneath the house.Boom.The floor trembled.The creature Alaric had restrained was gone entirely. Not destroyed.Escaped.Which frightened Eleanor more.Because spirits did not fl

The forest glowed orange beyond the trees.Dozens of lights moved between the rain-soaked pines like a trail of fireflies descending the mountain. Except fireflies did not carry iron weapons and prayers whispered through clenched teeth.Eleanor stepped toward the broken kitchen window slowly.Villagers.Hunters.Men from the nearby settlements.At least twenty of them.Maybe more.Her stomach dropped.“No…”Alaric’s expression hardened into something unreadable.“They should not be here.”The words sounded calm.Too calm.That frightened her immediately.Another flash of lightning illuminated the woods, revealing faces beneath dripping hoods and wide-brimmed hats. Some carried lanterns. Others carried axes. One man clutched a charm of woven rowan branches so tightly his knuckles looked bloodless.And leading them—Father Matthias.Eleanor recognized the old priest instantly even through the storm.He raised something in his hand.A relic.Silver and bone.The wards surrounding Blackwo

The mountain split open.Not fully.Just enough.A crack of black light tore through the earth beneath Blackwood Manor, and every living thing in the forest screamed at once.Birds erupted from the trees in frantic swarms.The horses beyond the standing stones collapsed foaming at the mouth.Several villagers fell to their knees clutching their ears as the ancient song beneath the mountain grew louder.Eleanor nearly did the same.The sound did not belong in a human mind.It crawled through her thoughts like claws.Alaric caught her before she hit the floor.“Do not listen to it.”His arm wrapped tightly around her waist while silver runes flared across his skin in violent pulses. Blood dripped slowly from his nose now.The seal beneath the manor was hurting him.No.Feeding on him.Eleanor realized it with sudden horror.The thing beneath Blackwood Hous