A Warrior's Second Chance (Faye and Alexander) novel Chapter 444

Chapter 444

THIRD POV

Faye’s fingers tightened around Alexander’s hand as another wave of energy rushed through her body.

Her breath caught sharply.

Silver light flashed beneath her eyes, strong enough to make Alexander tense instinctively as he watched her.

The air around them pulsed heavily.

Faye’s heartbeat no longer felt steady.

It felt pulled.

Dragged toward something unseen.

Helen continued the invocation without stopping, her voice firm and measured as she watched the reaction carefully.

The symbols beneath her feet glowed brighter in response to the surge moving through her body, while the pressure in the room steadily increased.

Faye inhaled shakily.

Her eyes squeezed shut briefly as another pulse tore through her chest.

At the same time, Helen’s attention shifted toward Alexander.

And her expression tightened slightly.

Nothing was happening.

Not properly.

As the anchor, Alexander should have been reacting too by now…. More than Faye.

The connection should have begun stabilizing through him already.

Instead-

There was almost nothing.

No surge.

No visible resonance.

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No pull.

It was as if the energy was just hovering around Faye alone.

“Alexander,” she said sharply. “Focus.”

Alexander’s jaw tightened slightly.

He already was focused. Where else could his mind be right now?

But he obeyed anyway.

His grip around Faye’s hand strengthened as he concentrated harder on the ritual itself.

On the connection Helen was trying to establish.

For one brief second, light flickered beneath his eyes.

Faint.

Weak.

Then it vanished immediately.

Helen frowned.

No.

That wasn’t right.

Alexander felt it too.

Or rather-

He felt the absence of it.

He could see what was happening to Faye.

Could feel the energy pressing heavily through the room.

But none of it was reaching him.

And somehow, that unsettled him more with every passing second.

He tried again.

The muscles along his jaw tightened as he forced himself deeper into concentration.

Again-

A weak flicker beneath his eyes.

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Then nothing.

Faye’s breathing became uneven.

The silver glow beneath her eyes brightened violently, while tension spread visibly through her entire body.

Helen slowed her chanting slightly now.

Something was wrong.

The ritual itself was responding.

Faye was responding.

But the most important thing… the anchor connection wasn’t stabilizing properly.

That made no sense to her.

None.

As she finished the incantation, Faye began to settle, her breathing slowing.

Then her knees gave out completely.

Alexander caught her before she hit the floor hard.

“Faye!”

The panic in his voice came instantly.

He lowered with her quickly, holding her against him as her body went limp in his arms.

The pressure in the room faded almost at once.

Alexander looked up sharply.

“What happened to her?”

Helen stepped toward them calmly despite the tension now visible beneath her composure.

“She’s exhausted,” Helen explained. “The ritual took a lot out of her.”

Alexander looked unconvinced.

His hand moved gently against Faye’s face.

A few seconds passed before she finally stirred faintly against him.

Then slowly, her eyes opened again.

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The silver glow was gone now.

Only exhaustion remained.

Faye blinked weakly before her gaze shifted toward Helen.

And immediately, she noticed it.

The confusion.

Helen looked disturbed… deeply unsettled.

Faye frowned slightly.

“Did it work?” she asked quietly.

Helen didn’t answer right away.

And that silence alone immediately made Alexander look toward her sharply.

*25 Paints

Helen stared ahead for several seconds, clearly thinking through something rapidly in her head.

Then finally, she spoke softly.

“It was supposed to.”

Faye’s brows pulled together faintly.

Helen shook her head slowly, almost to herself now.

“It should have worked.”

Alexander’s expression hardened slightly.

Helen looked genuinely confused now.

Not uncertain about the ritual itself.

Confused about the outcome.

“I did everything correctly,” she murmured. “This isn’t my first binding magic.”

Her gaze shifted slowly toward Faye.

“You reacted.”

Faye frowned faintly.

“What does that mean?”

“It means the ritual accepted you,” Helen explained quietly. “Your reaction was confirmation.”

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Alexander immediately looked toward her again.

“Then how is that possible?”

Helen looked at him fully now.

Alexander’s brows creased slightly as he continued.

“What happened to me?”

His voice had lowered dangerously now.

“Why didn’t I feel anything?”

Silence.

Helen stared at him for a long moment.

“I… I don’t know. You’re the anchor. You’re supposed to react to it….”

Then slowly-

Something changed in her expression.

Confusion gave way to something else.

Her eyes widened suddenly.

And when she finally spoke again, her voice sounded almost horrified.

“Unless…”

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