Chapter 41 BOUND BY BLOOD AND BONE

Chapter 41 BOUND BY BLOOD AND BONE

BOUND BY BLOOD AND BONE

KAELIA'S POV

I dragged Ezekiel through the sky with one hand, my claws curled around what was left of his shoulder. He was lighter than any dragon and very easy to carry, but far more annoying.

He groaned every few breaths, and every time he groaned I was tempted to drop him just to watch him bounce off the sharp rocks below.

By the time we landed at the mouth of the old cave, the witch was already waiting.

Her figure was thin as a shadow, covered in a cloak that hurt the eyes if you stared too long. Her voice slithered through the cave before her body even moved.

“You brought him,” she said with a slow smile, her gaze sliding to Ezekiel like he was prey she had been waiting years to taste. “Good. He will serve you well once the spell takes root.”

Ezekiel, shaking and half-conscious, still had enough pride left to growl, “I’m not serving anyone. Let me heal and I’ll walk out of here. You can’t hold me.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. “Heal? Oh my sweet wolf, you’re not healing anything. You lost more than your arm. You lost every chance of choosing your own fate the moment you raised that blade against me.”

“You forced the fight,” he snapped weakly. “I didn’t even know…”

I tightened my grip on his shoulder and he winced. “You didn’t know who I was, and yet you thought you could kill me. That is so amusing. But you’re done talking now.”

The witch stepped forward, hovering her pale fingers over Ezekiel’s ruined arm. “The ritual cannot be performed here,” she said. “The binding circle must be drawn in the Deepwood. The forest remembers blood, It echoes the power you want and it will answer your call.”

“I know the place,” I said, turning my wings slightly so the cave’s torchlight glinted off my scales. “I’ve done half my rituals there.”

“Then I will meet you when the moon touches its highest point,” the witch said, and her body dissolved into smoke, disappearing into the cracks of the cave wall.

Ezekiel stared at the place where she vanished. “You’re insane,” he muttered. “Both of you.”

“And you,” I said sweetly, lifting him again, “are mine.”

I launched from the ground, beating my wings hard. Ezekiel writhed. “You’re hurting me!”

“Stop complaining,” I said sharply. “Or I’ll finish what I started.”

“I can’t feel my arm…” Before he finished the sentence, I angled downward and slammed him onto a ledge. He hit the ground with a painful grunt, and before he could breathe another word, I stepped on his chest.

“Listen carefully,” I hissed. “You don’t get to complain, demand or speak to me like you’re equal to anything that breathes in the sky. If you ever disrespect me again, I’ll rip off whatever limbs you have left and feed them to the ravens.”

His breathing quickened from pain and fear. “Fine,” he whispered. “Just… don’t do that again.”

Satisfied, I lifted him again and flew the rest of the way.

The Deepwood rose beneath us like a wall of darkness. No moonlight touched the ground there, only scattered beams slipping through the branches.

I landed near a clearing where the earth dipped inward like a bowl. The witch was already kneeling in its center, tracing symbols into the soil with her long nails.

“You’re late,” she said without looking up.

“I brought what you asked for,” I replied, dropping Ezekiel beside her.

He groaned and curled into himself. The witch lifted his chin with one finger. “This one is stubborn. The binding will hurt him.”

“That’s fine,” I said.

She smiled. “Yes. I thought you would say that.”

The ritual began and the witch started drawing circles around Ezekiel, whispering words that made the air tremble. A green like substance appeared under the ground beneath Ezekiel, spreading like veins through the soil. He tried to pull away but his body wouldn’t move.

“Kaelia,” he said with panic in his voice. “Whatever this is, don’t do it, please. You want Azrath gone, fine. But this is too much.”

I knelt beside him and brushed a strand of hair from his forehead. “You still don’t understand. This isn’t a bargain. You don’t get to refuse me.”

The witch sliced her palm and let her blood drip onto his chest. Ezekiel arched and screamed out so loudly that the trees shook and the birds fled into the air. Even the soil trembled like it was afraid.

The witch chanted louder, her voice rose in a strange rhythm that made the sky darken. The green like light wrapped itself around Ezekiel, crawling up his throat, it went down his legs, and over the stump of his missing arm.

His veins glowed while his eyes rolled back with sweat streaming down his face.

His voice broke. “Please, stop.”

“You belong to me now,” I whispered. “You will go where I say, fight who I command, and strike when I choose. You will never lift a hand against me. You will never betray me. You exist because I allow it.”

He shook uncontrollably as the magic burned into him.

The witch’s voice rose one last time: “Bound by blood, sealed by pain, tied in spirit, slave in name.”

The green glow then vanished, it pulled into Ezekiel’s body like a breath sucked out of the world.

He collapsed but his body continued to tremble.

The witch stood and wiped her hands. “It is done. He will obey you. There is no escaping the bond now.”

I crouched beside him again. His skin was pale and drenched in sweat, while his eyes were glassy with shock.

“Your first order,” I said quietly, “is simple.”

He blinked at me, exhausted. “What… what do you want?”

I smiled slowly, enjoying the way fear replaced every ounce of defiance.

“You will serve me,” I said. “In every way I desire. You will obey every command without question. Starting now.”

His throat bobbed as he swallowed, unable to refuse.