Chapter 25
Phoenix
Icouldn’t believe I was back in my room again, the one I never wanted to return to.
It was still empty, my endless bag filled with all my possessions left at the academy under my bed.
My childhood bedroom felt more like a prison than ever.
Except this time, it was barren, like a real cell.
And my hands were bound with a magical rope that suppressed my abilities and was impossible to break free of.
I sat on the edge of my mattress, staring at the rope binding my wrists.
The magical fibers seemed to pulse with their own malevolent energy, drinking in my power and leaving me feeling hollow.
Every time I tried to summon even a spark of flame, the rope tightened, sending sharp jolts of pain up my arms.
The door creaked open, and I looked up to see Thomas standing in the doorway with the most satisfied smirk I’d ever seen on his face. My stomach dropped as pieces of a horrible puzzle began clicking into place. I’d been right all along. He’d been watching me.
“Well, well,” he drawled, leaning against the doorframe like he owned the place. “Look who’s finally back where he belongs.”
“Thomas?” My voice came out as barely a whisper. “What are you doing here?”
He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him with deliberate slowness. “Your parents invited me, of course. They were so grateful when I told them about your... extracurricular activities.”
The blood drained from my face. “So, it was you told them about Karrick.”
“About the disgusting beast you’ve been spreading your legs for? Oh yes, I told them everything.” His eyes gleamed with malicious satisfaction. “Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? All those nights you’d sneak back into our dorm, reeking of his animal musk.”
I tried to stand, but the rope’s magic made me dizzy and weak. Maybe I could appeal to his better nature. “You don’t understand—”
“I understand perfectly,” Thomas snapped, his facade of politeness finally cracking. “You’re a disgrace to our kind. Rolling around in the dirt with some half-breed monster when you should be preserving the purity of your bloodline.”
My hands clenched into fists despite the rope’s painful constriction. “He’s not a monster. He’s worth ten of you.”
Thomas laughed, a cold, bitter sound. “Is that what you tell yourself? That your perverted little romance is somehow noble?” He moved closer, and I could see the disgust written plainly on his face. “Your parents are going to fix you, Phoenix. They’re going to make you normal again.”
“There’s nothing wrong with me!” The words tore from my throat, raw with desperation and fury.
“We’ll see about that.” Thomas turned toward the door, then paused.
“Oh, and don’t bother trying to reach out to your precious beast through whatever sick connection you think you have.
I made sure to throw him off your trail before your parents collected you.
He’s probably still running around campus like a lost dog, wondering where his favorite chew toy went. ”
“Why are you doing this?!” I called after him. “What’s in it for you?”
Thomas glanced back, smiling. “The Emberwoods are a powerful family. One that I want to be connected to.”
My gut twisted. “What does that mean?”
“It means,” he said, stepping forward and grabbing me by the chin. “That once your parents have wiped your memory again, they’re going to owe me for what I’ve helped them protect.” He turned my head side to side, his smile growing almost manic. “And then I’m going to claim my prize.”
I furrowed my brows, my teeth clenching.
“That’s right,” he nodded. “You.”
I yanked my face away from his grip, disgust and terror warring inside me. “My parents would never agree to something like that.”
“You’d be surprised what they’re willing to do to keep their precious bloodline pure,” Thomas smirked. “They’d rather see you with me than that beast.”
“I’ll die before I end up with you,” I growled, snapping at Thomas’s hand in a desperate attempt to get him away from me.
White hot pain exploded across my face an instant later, the sound of skin on skin not reaching my ears until it had faded. I grimaced, looking up at him as the heat spread over my cheek.
“That beast has corrupted you,” Thomas hissed, holding the hand he’d slapped me with.
“But no matter. Once your parents have modified your memories, that’ll go away.
” He leaned down close once more, keeping just enough distance so I couldn’t try to bite him again.
“And once your mine, I’ll make sure to do my own adjustments to make you docile and subservient.
” He looked me up and down, licking his teeth.
“Let’s just hope that Beastkin hasn’t ruined your body yet.
Because I’m definitely gonna take my time with that. ”
I couldn’t stop myself from spitting in his face.
Thomas recoiled, wiping his cheek with disgust. “You little—”
“Get out!” I shouted, my voice breaking as I struggled against my bindings. Despite their power, the sheets under me began to smolder as my magic tried to break through. “Get out!”
He narrowed his eyes, voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “I’m going to enjoy breaking that fire in you.” Then he turned and stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
I collapsed back onto the mattress, my heart hammering in my chest. The rope burned against my skin, a constant reminder of my captivity.
I tried to reach for my magic again, but it was like grasping at smoke.
The more I tried, the more it slipped away, leaving me empty and hollowed out.
My little show of power had been nothing more than a fluke.
Worse than the physical pain was the silence in my mind where Karrick’s presence should have been. I closed my eyes, desperately reaching for our bond, but the magical rope seemed to block that too. All I could feel was a vast emptiness where his warmth should be.
Was he still looking for me? The thought of him searching the campus while I was trapped here made my chest ache with a pain far sharper than anything the rope could inflict. How would he ever find me?
I heard voices in the hallway, and a moment later the door opened again. My parents stepped in, their faces a mixture of disappointment and determination that made my stomach twist.
“Phoenix,” my mother said, her voice gentle in that way that always preceded her cruelest actions. “We’re so glad to have you home where you belong.”
“This isn’t my home,” I said, forcing myself to meet her gaze. “And I don’t belong here.”
My father stepped forward, his tall frame blocking the light from the doorway. “That beast has poisoned your mind, son. But we’re going to fix everything.”
“His name is Karrick,” I said, my voice growing stronger with anger. “And he hasn’t poisoned anything. He loves me. And I love him. We’re mates!”
My mother flinched as if I’d struck her. “You don’t know what you’re saying. It’s unnatural.”
“What’s unnatural is kidnapping your own son and binding his magic. Or what about stealing his memories and tethering him with blood magic?” I shot back, holding up my bound wrists. “What kind of parents do that?”
“The kind who want to protect their child,” my father said sternly. “We’ve seen what happens when our kind mixes with... them. Nothing good comes of it.”
I laughed bitterly. “You haven’t seen anything. You’ve just been told stories by other bigots who are afraid of what they don’t understand.”
My mother sat beside me on the bed, and I shifted away from her touch. “Phoenix, please try to understand. We only want what’s best for you. A proper life, with a proper witch—”
“Like Thomas?” I spat. “Is that your idea of what’s best for me? He just told me your little plan to marry me off to him the moment you wipe my mind.” I looked up at my father, fire in my eyes. “So much for your precious bloodline.”
He didn’t even flinch. “An approved surrogate witch has already been selected. Once the two of you are married, you will have a child that shares your ancestry. That is part of the deal. You must produce an heir. Several if possible. They will be raised in accordance with our beliefs.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Not only was I going to have my mind wiped, but then I would be forced to marry Thomas and forced to have children to carry on the hate my father so desperately clung to.
“You’re sick,” I growled. “The both of you.”
“Phoenix!” my mother baulked. “You don’t mean that!”
“Yes, I do,” I shot back. “And if I never break free of your magic for the rest of my life, I want you to remember this moment.” I looked between the pair of them.
“I despise you both with every fiber of my being. I hate what you stand for, who you are, and what you’ve done to me.
I am your son, and you treat me like a piece of livestock to be bought, sold, and bred.
” I turned my gaze to my father, glaring at him with all my might, magic burning in my belly.
Though my hands were bound, I ground my thumbnail into my palm until it drew blood.
“And I curse you, for all eternity. Never again will the Emberwood family have another pure-blooded heir.”
My father’s face went white as the words left my mouth, and I felt a strange surge of power despite the rope’s constraints.
Somehow, the curse had taken hold, I could feel it settling into the very air around us like a weight.
But it was tenuous and weak thanks to my binding. It could still be broken.
“You don’t know what you’ve done,” my father whispered, his voice shaking.
“I know exactly what I’ve done,” I said, meeting his horrified gaze without flinching. “And I meant every word.”
My mother stood abruptly, her hands trembling. “Marcus, we need to perform the memory modification tonight. Before he does any more damage.”
“Yes,” my father said, still staring at me with something that might have been fear. “Call the Purity Front. We need to contain the curse first before we do anything else.”
“There’s nothing to contain,” I said, surprised by how calm my voice sounded. “It’s already done. The Emberwood line dies with me, and there’s nothing you can do to change that.”
My mother whirled on me, her composure finally cracking. “You ungrateful little—”
“Enough!” My father’s voice cracked like a whip. “No more bickering. I need to think.”
Thomas, who had been lurking in the hallway, poked his head in. “Is everything alright? I heard shouting.”
“Everything is fine,” my father said tightly. “Phoenix is just... adjusting to being home.”
I watched Thomas’s face fall as he took in my parents’ expressions. Whatever he’d been expecting, it wasn’t this. Good. Let him worry about whether his precious deal was falling apart.
As they filed out, my mother paused at the door. “We’re trying to save you, Phoenix. Why can’t you see that?”
“Because there’s nothing to save me from,” I said quietly. “Karrick is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. And you took him away. I will never forgive you for that.”
She flinched and closed the door, leaving me alone with the weight of what I’d just done. The curse still hummed in my bones, a fierce satisfaction that the rope couldn’t quite suppress. Whatever happened to me, at least I’d struck back.
But as the adrenaline faded, the reality of my situation crashed over me again.
I was trapped, powerless, and now exhausted from trying to overcome the binding magic.
And I was so far from Karrick that our bond felt like nothing more than a distant echo.
The rope burned against my wrists, a constant reminder that I was completely at their mercy.
I closed my eyes and tried once more to reach for him across the void, pouring every ounce of love and desperation I had left into that connection.
Please find me, I thought desperately. Please don’t give up. I love you more than anything, Karrick.
It felt desperate and stupid as I sunk down on the bed, tears filling my eyes.
Nobody was going to save me. My parents had taken me away once without leaving a trace and I had no doubt they could do it again.
I just hoped, when the time came, that I wouldn’t remember anything about my life at Widdershins Academy.
I wasn’t sure I’d survive the pain if I did.