All Chapters of Bound to the Death King: Chapter 1 - Chapter 3

The scent of copper and charred ozone hung heavy in the vaulted corridors of the Obsidian Citadel.Vespera pressed her spine against the freezing, soot-stained granite pillar, her heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs. She kept her chin tucked low, hiding her face beneath the oversized wool hood of her servant’s mantle. Her hands, enclosed in thick, double-lined leather gloves underneath heavy canvas sleeves, were clenched so tightly her fingernails bit into her palms.Do not breathe too loud. Do not look up. Be a ghost.To the guards sprinting past her with drawn iron broadswords, she was invisible. She was a Null, a bottom-feeder born without a single spark of magical aura, useful only for scrubbing chamber pots, carrying heavy coal sacks, and cleaning up the blood left behind by the high-born mages.Or so they believed."Form a perimeter around the grand dais!" a commander screamed, his voice cracking under sheer panic. "The King’s seal is fracturing! Fall back! Fall ba

The heavy mahogany door clicked shut behind the departing Captain of the Guard, leaving a silence in its wake that felt heavier than stone.Vespera stood frozen in the center of the royal bedchamber, her bare palm still pressed against the hard wall of Malakor’s chest. The residual hum of his shadow magic thrummed beneath her fingertips like a trapped heartbeat, radiating an intoxicating warmth that seeped straight into her bones.She wanted to pull away. Every logical instinct screamed at her to rip her hand back, to put distance between herself and the man who had ordered her father’s execution. But her limbs felt weighted down, trapped in the strange, narcotic haze that accompanied the energy transfer.Malakor didn't release her wrist. His fingers, calloused and impossibly warm, wrapped around her pulse point, anchoring her in place."You're trembling," he noted, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through the quiet room. His storm-gray eyes were locked on her face, tracking every