Chapter 249 CHAPTER 249

Chapter 249 CHAPTER 249
Liam lay against the ground, one hand pressed into the dirt as he pushed himself up just enough to keep his head lifted. The impact still echoed through his body, his breath uneven, his chest tight from the strain he had already forced himself through. Across from him, Seraphine stood with her hand raised, her fingers slightly curved as if the next motion had already been decided.

She took a step closer.

“You should have stayed where you belonged,” she said calmly. “You came too far to end like this.”

Liam didn’t answer immediately.

His shoulders shifted slightly, a breath leaving him as something quieter rose instead.

He let out a small laugh, low and steady, the sound slipping into the space between them and shifting it just enough to be felt. It carried a quiet certainty, calm and deliberate, as if something had already turned in his favor.

Seraphine paused.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. “What is so amusing?” she asked.

Liam lifted his gaze to her, the corner of his mouth still faintly curved. “You miscalculated,” he said.

Seraphine’s expression didn’t change. “You’re in no position to speak of calculations.”

Liam let out another breath, steadying himself. “You thought your reach stopped at these walls,” he continued. “You didn’t think anyone could touch you here.”

A faint pause.

Seraphine tilted her head. “And yet here you are,” she said. “On the ground.”

Liam’s gaze shifted slightly, not away from her, but beyond her.

“You’re not looking in the right direction,” he said.

Then, without raising his voice, he called out, “Isabel.”

The name didn’t echo.

But it carried.

A shift moved through the edge of the clearing.

Isabel stepped forward, guided into the open space by Nolan and Lisa just behind her. Her steps were steady, not rushed, her gaze fixed ahead as if she had already chosen where to stand.

Seraphine’s eyes flickered toward her.

Something unreadable passed through them.

“You brought her here?” she asked softly.

Liam didn’t answer.

Isabel stepped fully into the clearing, her presence quiet but certain, and after a brief pause, she lifted her hand. 

The air shifted around them, smooth and complete, as if something unseen had aligned at her command.

The witches moved first—small movements, subtle at first, then sharper as their bodies reacted to something unseen pressing against them. A ripple spread through them, as if whatever held them steady had been pulled away.

One by one, they dropped.

Even Sara, who had been standing just behind Seraphine, fell to her knees, her hands pressing into the ground as her breath broke unevenly.

Silence followed.

Seraphine didn’t move.

Then her hand lifted quickly to the necklace at her neck, her fingers tightening around it as she pulled it free from beneath her garment.

“Enough,” she said sharply, her voice shifting for the first time.

She closed her eyes briefly, her lips moving as if calling on something.

Nothing came.

Her eyes opened again.

She tried again.

Still nothing.

Her fingers tightened further around the pendant, her breathing no longer as controlled.

“This isn’t possible,” she muttered.

Isabel watched her.

“You’re looking for something that isn’t there,” she said quietly.

Seraphine’s gaze snapped to her. “What did you do?”

Isabel didn’t move. “Nothing,” she replied. “You did this to yourself.”

Seraphine’s grip tightened again. “This holds Jocelyn’s power. I took it myself.”

“No,” Isabel said, her voice steady. “You took what you thought was power.”

A flicker of uncertainty passed across Seraphine’s face, quickly replaced by something sharper.

Liam pushed himself up further, his movements slower now but steady enough.

“You walked right into our trap,” he said.

Seraphine didn’t look at him.

“You needed something real to believe in,” Liam continued. “Something to anchor what you were doing. So we gave you one.”

Her gaze shifted then.

Slowly.

A quiet stretch followed.

“You knew,” Seraphine said, her voice lower now.

“I knew she wasn’t the one,” Liam said, nodding slightly toward Isabel. “From the beginning.”

Isabel didn’t look at him.

Her gaze stayed on Seraphine.

“I let you think you had control,” Liam continued.

Seraphine’s eyes narrowed. 

Liam exhaled lightly. “We knew you had a spy feeding you information,” he said. “You kept her there to feed you information, so we planted a fake necklace and made sure Jocelyn mentioned it in her presence.”

There was a pause.

“When Jocelyn told us where her power had been sealed, someone broke into that apartment.”

Seraphine’s fingers tightened again around the pendant.

“You took the bait,” Liam added.

Her gaze flickered.

“Ella,” he said.

The name settled between them.

Seraphine didn’t respond immediately.

“She was close enough to listen,” Liam continued. “Close enough to carry everything back to you.”

A faint silence stretched.

“And you never questioned why things came too easily,” he finished.

Seraphine’s grip on the necklace loosened just slightly.

Then tightened again.

Behind her, Sara shifted weakly, her hand pressing against the ground as she tried to push herself up.

“Mother…” she said, her voice strained.

Seraphine didn’t turn.

Sara shook her head faintly, her breath uneven. “Please stop…”

Seraphine’s hand curled.

Isabel stepped forward slightly.

“It’s over, listen to your daughter.” she said.

Seraphine’s eyes snapped to her.

“You don’t get to decide that,” she said.

A pause.

Then Seraphine’s expression shifted, something softer trying to form beneath the sharpness.

“You don’t understand,” she said, her voice lowering. “I did all of this for us. For our kind.”

Seraphine’s eyes flickered.

“I am your aunt,” she said.

Isabel’s expression didn’t change. “That doesn’t make this right.”

Sara let out a shaky breath behind her. “She’s right,” she said.

Seraphine turned slightly then, her gaze landing on her daughter.

“You will not turn against me now,” she said.

Sara met her eyes, her voice steadier this time. “I already did.”

A small silence followed.

“I’m tired,” Sara added. “I’m tired of pretending this is something it isn’t.”

Seraphine’s jaw tightened. “Everything I’ve done…”

“Was for you,” Sara cut in quietly.

The words landed heavier than expected.

“I won’t follow you anymore,” she said.

She shifted slightly, forcing herself upright just enough as guards moved in around her.

“I’d rather be locked away,” she added, “than stand beside you again.”

Seraphine stared at her.

Didn’t move.

Didn’t speak.

The guards stepped forward, placing the cuffs around Sarah’s wrists, the faint glow of magic sealing them in place.

Sara didn’t resist.

Her gaze dropped briefly, then lifted again, not toward her mother, but toward the ground ahead.

“I’m done,” she said quietly.

Seraphine stood still.

The necklace hung loosely in her hand now, no longer held with certainty.