Chapter 233
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I uncorked the vial, dabbing the oil on my sleeves, my collar, the hem of my cloak. The sharp, medicinal scent made my eyes water.
“Wait twenty minutes,” I said quietly, pressing the vial into her palm. “Then follow the silverleaf scent. Bring Owen and as many warriors
as you can spare from the battle.”
“Twenty minutes?” Her voice cracked. “Eileen, he could kill you in five-”
“He won’t.” I hoped I sounded more confident than I felt. “He needs me alive for whatever he’s planning. But Nina and her mother are
expendable.” I gripped her shoulders. “Twenty minutes, Mira. Please.”
She stared at me for a long, agonizing moment. Then her jaw set, that familiar stubborn fire igniting in her eyes.
“If you don’t come back alive, I’ll hunt you down in the afterlife.”
Despite everything, I almost smiled. “Deal.”
I glanced one last time toward the battle–toward Regis’s silver–black form tearing through rogues with savage precision, his focus entirely on protecting his warriors. On protecting me, even from a distance.
I’m not breaking my promise, I thought, even though he couldn’t hear me through the bond. I’m coming back. I swear.
Then I turned southeast and ran.
The forest swallowed me whole.
I moved as quietly as I could, one hand pressed to my belly, the other clutching a silver dagger–the only weapon I had. The myrrh scent grew stronger with each step, undercut by something fouler.
My boots crunched over dead leaves. Every shadow looked like a threat, every distant crack of a branch like footsteps closing in.
Keep moving. Nina needs you. The baby needs you to survive this.
The ravine appeared suddenly–a deep gouge in the earth hidden by overgrown ferns. At the bottom, barely visible through the mist, sat a crude camp: animal hides stretched over wooden frames, a circle of stones blackened by fire.
And in the center, glowing with sickly purple light, a ritual circle carved into the dirt.
Two figures lay motionless at its edge, bound in silver chains.
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12:29 Tue, Apr 14 N
Chapter 233
Mira. Regis. Anyone.
But the bond was silent. The forest was silent.
And Cornelius’s smile widened as he pressed the dagger’s tip to my throat.
“Now then, he murmured. “Let’s begin.”
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Tai Jun is a dreamer and storyteller who believes the sky is never the limit. He spends most of his time with his friend Lian, chasing new horizons and crafting tales that soar beyond boundaries.

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