BOUND TO MY AWAKENING 의 모든 챕터: 챕터 11 - 챕터 20

Kaela's POV The heavy oak doors of the inner quarters split open, and I didn't even bother looking up from the edge of the bed."If you're here to lecture me about the energy barrier again, don't bother," I said, keeping my eyes fixed on the dark rug. "My hands are still stinging.""Get up," Draven said, his voice ringing through the high-ceilinged room.Behind him, three stylists marched in carrying a massive garment bag wrapped in protective velvet, flanked by two armed guards."What is this?" I asked, standing up slowly."Your ticket to surviving the night," Draven replied, gesturing toward the bag. "Unzip it."The head stylist pulled back the velvet, revealing a heavy floor-length gown of deep crimson silk. High along the collar and stitched across the bodice was an intricate, raised silver thread—the crest of the Ashen Ridge pack."I'm not wearing that," I said immediately. "That's your family crest.""It's my crest," Draven corrected, stepping into the room while the stylists s

Alarm cut through the Grand Ballroom, their crimson strobes washing over the crystal chandeliers. Panic erupted instant and total. Corporate elites shrieked, pushing past one another toward the emergency exits as heavy explosions rumbled deep beneath the floorboards."Vance, secure the perimeter doors!" Draven barked, his voice cutting through the alarms like a blade. "Divert the security grid to the lower gates!""They brought war-breakers, sir!" Vance shouted back over the deafening noise, drawing his sidearm. "The main entrance won't hold three minutes!"I pulled back against the marble pillar, wrapping my bleeding hand in the heavy crimson silk of my skirt. "Who are they?" I demanded, my voice raw as terror spiked through my chest. "Why are executioners tearing down your gates?"Draven didn't answer. He grabbed my wrist in a firm grip, yanking me out of the alcove and dragging me toward the executive service lift."Answer me!" I yelled, trying to dig my heels into the polished

Liam's POV The rain had turned the south pasture into a swamp of gray mud, but I couldn't stop digging.My arms burned, my chest heaved, and every time the shovel bit into the wet earth, the rain hit my face like cold glass. I had been out here since five in the morning, driving fence posts into the line until my knuckles were bloody inside my work gloves. It didn't matter. The exhaustion was the only thing keeping the quiet out of my head.I slammed the blade into the mud again, leaning my full weight against the shaft. Seven days. Seven straight days of staring up at those mountains, knowing she was behind those walls while I was down here digging holes in the dirt."Liam!"My mother’s voice carried across the field, sharp enough to cut through the sound of the rain. She was standing on the back porch, wrapped in a heavy wool shawl, waving me toward the house.I wiped the sweat and rain from my eyes with the back of my sleeve, left the shovel sticking out of the mud, and dragged my

Lyssandra 's POVI sat back in the deep armchair with my legs crossed, swirling the dark red liquid in my glass. My silver silk gown fell over my ankles in a soft, shimmering pool. I had been waiting for almost two hours, but patience was never a weakness of mine when I knew exactly what I wanted.The heavy oak door swung open with a low click, and Draven stepped inside. He looked exhausted, dragging a hand down his dark face, his collar already unbuttoned. "You look tired, Draven," I said softly, letting my voice trail through the quiet room like smoke.He stopped, his eyes meeting mine in the dim firelight. "I didn't hear you come in.""I used our passage," I said, setting my wine glass down with a delicate clink. I stood up, allowing the silk to slide against my skin, and walked toward him with slow, deliberate steps. "Your guards didn't mind. They wouldn't dare."I stopped right in front of him, close enough to feel the heat radiating off his body. I reached up, my manicured nail

The low training alcove at the base of the mountain smelled of scorched stone and dry herbs. Iron sconces mounted high on the walls cast long shadows across the empty floor, illuminating a heavy quartz slate sitting on a thick oak workbench.I stood in front of the stone with my palms hovering an inch above the polished surface, my breathing uneven as I tried to force the warmth in my chest to move."You are trying to muscle it like a wolf trying to break a chain," Madame Vespera said sharply, her spectacles glinting in the dim firelight as she leaned against a stone pillar."Stop squeezing your eyes shut. Magic isn't physical labor, Kaela. It is breath and focus."I let out a slow sigh, lowering my hands. "It feels like trying to hold liquid fire in a cracked cup.""Because you are still afraid of it," Vespera replied, her voice dropping into a dry, matter-of-fact tone as she walked toward me. “As long as you treat what is inside you as a monster, it will act like one.""It isn't eas