Thornhill Academy (By Sheridan Hartin) novel Chapter 230

I do not give them a second to rethink their decision. They can thank me for that later. Hesitation is how beasts escape cages, and Allison

is already far past the point where mercy would save her. The battlefield lies gutted around us, bodies broken, magic scorched into the

earth, the air still vibrating with the echo of her scream. There is nothing left to kill. Which means she is about to choose something else.

So I move. Kael never sees it coming. I grab him by the hair and wrench his head to the side in one smooth motion, exposing his neck

before his mouth can form another joke. His instincts snap sharp and feral, but he doesn’t fight me. He trusts me enough for that. My

teeth sink into his skin, and his scream tears out of him instantly, raw and startled, pain ripping through his body as demonic authority

floods his blood. The mark burns white-hot, spreading fast, veins of shadow branching outward from the bite like cracks in glass. Tiny

threads of darkness peel away from me and sink into him, not enough to claim him, not enough to change what he is, but enough to

make the Shadow Realm recognise him as mine.Kael stumbles, knees buckling, hands clawing at the ground as the burn races through

him.

“Fuuuck,” he gasps hoarsely, breath shuddering. “I don’t like that.”

“You will survive it,” I tell him. “Stand.”

Evander is already turning toward me when I face him. He cocks his head slightly to the side and closes his eyes, jaw set, breath slow and

controlled. Dragon discipline. No fear. No hesitation. I bite. The mark settles into him differently, shadow weaving with dragonfire instead

of fighting it. His body tenses, a low sound escaping his throat, but he does not cry out. When I pull back, his eyes snap open, briefly

glowing with an unfamiliar darkness before the fire burns it back into balance.

He exhales once. “Do Cassian,” he says quietly.

Cassian is already braced. I step behind him and he tilts his head just enough to give me access, never breaking his focus on Allison.

Blood runs freely from his nose now, his hands shaking as he holds onto her mind by sheer force of will. I am as gentle as I can be. Which

is to say, not very. My teeth pierce his neck, and his body goes rigid, a soundless cry tearing through him as the mark takes hold. The

binding sinks deep, deeper than the others, latching onto a mind already strained to breaking. Shadows flare and recoil, testing him,

before settling. Cassian gasps, knees nearly giving out, but he does not let go of her.

“Stay with me,” he murmurs into the chaos, voice breaking. “Allison, stay.”

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