Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Rhea.
I couldn't believe my ears. No, scratch that. I didn't want to. It was probably delusional of me to even think that I had somehow heard wrongly in the first place, but right, I was clinging to every hope I could get, whether false or not, that the words that had just flashed in front of me, were false.

For the next couple of seconds, I didn't breathe. I couldn't think because my brain was frazzled and no matter how hard I tried to jerk it back to life, it didn't work.

Oh, fuck me.

The world around me tilted, just for a fraction, but it legit felt like I was tethering on the edge of going crazy or believing this was my reality. I pressed my eyes shut for a single second, and all I could see were the words I'd just read from that cursed book, staring back at me like it was making fun of my current predicament.

The bond.
Bound by blood and breath.
Bound by will and curse.
Neither shall drift beyond the other’s reach.
To sever the distance is to court ruin.
To break the tether is to invite death.

“No.” The word tore from my throat before I even realized it was there. “No, no, no.” My fingers clenched around the book, knuckles white, and my heart hammering so loud it drowned out the crackle of the fire.

“This is bullshit.” I snapped the book shut, pulling it forcefully into my grip as the sound echoed like a slap. My breath came ragged, uneven and I honestly thought I was going to pass out again. “You made this up. You wrote this. You are the one behind this. I'm sure…”

Alaric didn’t even blink. That infuriating calm draped across him like a cloak, his arms folded loosely at his sides as if none of this mattered.

“I forged it?” His voice was a dangerous purr, one that sent a shiver down my spine, despite the things at stake here. “You think I’ve spent centuries scrawling in blood just to amuse myself with you?”

“Yes!” My voice cracked, but I didn’t care. A more sane version of me would be delirious with laughter that I was crashing out so bad right now, but I didn't care. “Because you’re sick. Because you like control, because you're an animal who just can't see people happy, because you're….”

“If I wanted to play a prank on you, trust me it wouldn't be this.” He cut me off, his voice low and icy cold. “I have better things to do than meddle in things I have no control over.”

Rage burned hotter than my fear, and without thinking, I did the first thing that came to mind. I hurled the book across the room, and it landed with a loud thunk into the burning fireplace. A wave of satisfaction swelled up in my belly, and as I slowly spread to my entire being, I didn't miss the hint of a small grin making its way to my face.

If only I'd known what would happen next, then maybe I wouldn't have rejoiced so soon. One minute the fire seemed to be doing its job and licking it up, and the next, it flew right out of the fire, before landing against the ground with a heavy thud, pages flaring open only for the words to shimmer. The words glowed a fiery red ,as though mocking me for one last time, and in the blink of an eye, I watched the book stitch itself back together before my eyes.

“No. No, this isn’t real.” I staggered back, bile climbing my throat. I was ideally claustrophobic and while I shouldn't feel that way now because Alaric's room was more of a mini field than anything else, I had no idea what was happening . Did heartbreak and betrayal suddenly hurt more than they used to mow? “You’re not doing this to me. You’re not….”

“What do you want me to do? He asked, his tone snarky, but I didn't miss the affection in his eyes, which was strangely out of the question for me since he absolutely hated my guts.

“Prove it.” The words tumbled past my lips faster than I could catch them. They tasted good on my lips, but the moment he whispered the word “good” underneath his bed, I just knew I was down for something I didn't sign up for.

He moved too fast and in one blink he was gone from in front of me, disappearing from the room entirely. My breath caught in my throat, as I jumped back started and scared for my dear life.

I pushed myself from the edge of the bookshelf, before walking towards one of the windows. I'd barely gotten there when something caught my eyes. No, not something. Alaric.

It was dark, but I could see him standing a little bit past the distance where I stood before I passed out. He was shrouded in darkness, but for some strange reason, I could feel his eyes on me and trailing down my face. I had no idea what he was doing, until it struck me like a knife.

Pain flared through my chest, white hot and suffocating. My knees buckled as I clawed at the air. My lungs refused to work, my vision fractured, spots of black crowding the edges. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn't think, couldn’t do anything but crumple….

I didn't get to finish the statement before he appeared again. He was just in front of me, his hands, iron strong on my arms, steadying me, and dragging me back from the brink. The moment he touched me, the pain broke, shattering like glass.

I gasped, shaking, with sweat dampening my hairline. His own chest rose and fell in harsh, uneven pulls, and his face shadowed with strain. For once, the calm cracked, and I saw it. The hurt, the bond chewing into him the same way it had chewed into me.

“You felt it too?” My voice was a whisper, and even as I spoke, my gaze didn't wander from his chest. It looked like something that was this close to exploding if I stopped.

He didn't speak, but something in the air shifted and that was how I knew it was real.

The truth sliced through me with more brutality than the pain itself.

“What the hell is this?” My voice came out raw, broken. “Why me? Why the fuck am I bound to you?”

His silence was heavier than the firelit air, so I did the only reasonable thing I could think of. I shoved at his chest, desperate, furious, and unraveling. “Answer me!”

He caught my wrists again, slamming me back against the wall this time. The impact rattled the shelves, dust raining down. His body caged mine, solid and merciless, and his eyes burned like they’d been set aflame.

“You think I wanted this?” His voice was low, guttural, scraping at something primal. He leaned closer, so close the tips of his fangs grazed the shell of my ear. My breath hitched, traitorous, as the heat of him curled around me.

“It wasn’t me who sealed the bond, little flame.” His words ghosted over my skin, each one sharp enough to carve. “It was you.”

My heart stopped, or maybe it only felt that way, because the world tilted, the weight of his truth pressing down until I could hardly stand.

Before I could speak, before I could claw the words back, he released me. Just like that. His absence was worse than his hold, cold air rushing in where his body had caged mine.

And then he walked away, leaving me trembling, breathless, and staring after him with a thousand questions that burned hotter than fire.

Oh, shit. What exactly had I done?