Chapter 28
Cristian
Iknelt.
The stone floor beneath me thrummed with old power etched by hands that believed themselves divine.
The runes glowed as the magic crawled up my skin like roots claiming new soil.
Ambrosia and Hammond had performed this ritual dozens of times in this very room, the evidence of which stood around us in black cloaks.
I did not flinch.
Ambrosia paced before me, robes shimmering like fresh blood. Hammond stood behind her, hands lifted, chanting in a language older than civilization. And in the corners stood the others. The bonded ones. Silent, hooded, faceless beings.
A warning of what awaited me.
“Hold him,” Ambrosia murmured.
“Already done,” Hammond replied.
The spell tightened—chains made of energy, threading through bone and muscle. My limbs trembled despite my will. My jaw locked. The first pull of the ritual hit like a blade driven into the center of my chest. The siphoning was slow and cruel.
My vision flickered at the edges.
Forgive me, Nadia, my love.
Ambrosia crouched before me, her eyes bright with triumph. “So noble,” she purred. “So foolish.”
I glared at her through the haze. “Spare me your theatrics.”
“Oh, come now. You could have ruled beside us all this time.” Her fingers traced my jaw, and I jerked away. She laughed. “All this sacrifice, for a fragile little human.” Her lips curled. “How despicable you’ve become.”
Hammond’s chanting deepened, vibrating through the floor, into my ribs. The siphon continued—draining, draining, draining—stealing the energy I had hoarded over centuries.
My spine bowed under the weight.
“When we bind you,” Hammond said, “we will help you give your little human her freedom.”
I had no choice but to believe that they would keep their word even though they had a history of betrayal. They were not trustworthy, and yet, trusting them was my only hope.
I gritted my teeth until they ached. “If any harm comes to her—”
Ambrosia’s expression morphed into mock-sympathy. “My dear Cristian. You are in no state to protest.”
The room tilted, and my pulse slowed as the world dulled around me.
I had expected pain. I had not expected her absence. The bond, stretched thin across distance, sputtered like a wick drowning in its own wax.
Nadia, I thought, as another wave of the spell tore through me. I am doing this for you. Live. Please.
Darkness swarmed my vision.
Suddenly, the door slammed open, and light flooded the chamber. A figure stood silhouetted in the doorway—breathless, shaking, eyes wide with fear.
“Nadia.” Her name tore from my throat. A warning. A plea.
She stepped inside. She looked devastated, but determined. Like she’d run through fire to reach me.
“No,” I choked, struggling against the ritual bonds until my muscles screamed. “No. Go back. Get out.”
Ambrosia clasped her hands together in glee. “How touching. She came to watch you burn.”
Hammond’s chanting never faltered.
The siphoning doubled.
My vision blurred, then sharpened painfully on Nadia—on her trembling hands, her pale face, the fury and fear etched into every line.
“Don’t,” I begged as she moved closer. “You shouldn’t be here.”
She shook her head, voice breaking. “I’m not leaving you.”
My breath stalled. The woman was stubborn beyond reason.
Something tore inside me. “Please, Nadia,” I rasped, “listen to me—”
Ambrosia circled her like a shark, eyes gleaming with triumph. “Look at her,” she cooed. “She thinks she matters here.”
Rage cut through my weakness like a blade.
“Touch her,” I said, voice low and guttural, “and I will tear out your—”
The spell snapped down my spine again. My strength bled out onto the floor. I tasted copper, and suddenly I saw two of everything.
“Nadia, go.” My throat was raw. “Run.”
Her eyes softened. And to my horror, she smiled sadly.
“I told you,” she whispered, “I’m not leaving you.”
Something broke in me then.
I bowed my head, breath heaving out of me. I had survived war, betrayal, centuries in a void.
But this was the first time I knew true despair.
She would die for me. The woman I loved would die for me, and I could not move.
Every instinct I possessed roared. Every part of me strained against the ritual.
And that was when a glimmer of magic rippled across Nadia’s skin. My heart lurched.
Nadia doesn’t glimmer.
My head lifted even though the spell dragged my muscles down. Her skin rippled again with that sharp shimmer. It was wrong. Ambrosia did not notice. Hammond did not notice. But the bond inside me did. It strained in panic. It told me nothing familiar stood in front of me.
My chest tightened. That is not her.
Ambrosia stepped closer to the figure wearing Nadia’s shape. She reached out to touch her cheek. The fake flinched. A small, clever flinch.
Cassian.
Ambrosia frowned. “Why are you—”
“Nadia” moved first, catching Ambrosia’s wrist and twisting, then slammed Ambrosia against the stone hearth with all his force.
Ambrosia gasped. The sound cracked through the chamber.
Hammond stumbled in shock. The energy around me stuttered.
The siphoning faltered just long enough for me to lift my head more.
Ambrosia’s expression flamed with fury. “You little rat. You dare—”
“Nadia” landed a solid blow to Ambrosia’s ribs. Ambrosia spat something guttural and slammed her palm into the fake’s shoulder. The force sent both of them stumbling across the floor.
Their movements blurred in a violent rush. Ambrosia grabbed the fake’s hair. The fake grabbed Ambrosia’s jaw. Hammond yelled, but he could not stop chanting without breaking the ritual. His panic fed the power and fed the room.
I pushed against the spell until my muscles tore. “Cassian. Stop. She will kill you.”
He did not stop. He shoved Ambrosia into the altar. Her head snapped forward. Hissing, she lunged at him. They crashed into the center circle of the ritual and the power warped. The chamber rippled. The burning stole another piece of my strength. My hips buckled. My hands scraped against the stone.
Ambrosia clawed at Cassian’s glamoured throat. “You think Cristian will save you.”
He spat blood at her feet. “He doesn’t need to.” His glamoured face twisted with effort. “I only need a second.” He caught her by the wrist. The glamour shook. Ambrosia’s nail cut into his cheek. Red spilled over Nadia’s borrowed skin.
I shook my head hard. “Cassian. Move. Fall back.”
He did not listen. He never listened. Pulling a silver blade from his coat, he drove it into Ambrosia’s heart.
Her lips parted. Confusion cut through her fury. She stared down at the hilt, like she could not understand her own mortality. The spell pulsed hard enough to rattle the walls. Hammond’s chanting ceased.
Ambrosia fell to her knees. A harsh sound tore from her. She reached out to Cassian. He pushed her hand away with the last ounce of strength he had.
She collapsed on her side, unmoving.
The black figures around the room all fell to their demise simultaneously.
Cassian sagged forward, his glamor dissolving with a flickering shimmer. Nadia’s image dropped away and left him pale on the stone. He pressed a hand to the blood spreading over his own ribs. His breath shook hard as he hit the ground.
Hammond cried out. “Ambrosia. No. Get up. Please.”
I crawled toward Cassian. The ritual chains struggled to pull me back, but Ambrosia’s death had broken their stability. I fought them until my palms tore open.
Cassian lifted his head. His skin had lost all color. His lashes trembled. He tried to smile. “You look terrible.”
“Why,” I rasped. “Why would you do that?”
He swallowed, which seemed a difficult feat. “I owed you. And her. I am tired. This is a good end.”
“No,” I whispered. “You do not decide that.”
He gave a weak laugh. “I just did.”
The door burst open, and Nadia came running. Her chest heaved as she stopped beside me and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. “Cristian. I’m here. I’m here.”
I leaned into her. My strength was ash but she grounded me. I held her wrist tight against me.
Ezra sprinted in behind her, laptop under his arm. He skidded on the stone when he saw the ritual circle still surging. “Cristian. I found the frequency they anchored you to. I can try to break it. I think I can reverse it, but I need a second.”
Lena rushed to Cassian’s side and dropped to her knees. “Oh my god. Look at me.” She pressed her hands to his wound. “Stop trying to die. It’s rude.”
Cassian blinked up at her. He tried to smirk. “Hello, sweetheart. You look lovely.”
“Shut up. You’re bleeding on me.”
“I am honored.”
Hammond crawled toward Ambrosia’s body. His hands shook hard as he pulled her into his lap. He sobbed without control. “She is gone. She is gone. This was not how it was supposed to go.” He lifted his head toward us. His face twisted. “You ruined everything. All of it.”
Ezra ignored him as he hammered commands into his laptop. His fingers moved with purpose. “Cristian. Hold on. I can sever the pull.”
“It is too late,” I said quietly. “My energy is already bleeding into the bond. I feel it. I feel him tethering me to himself and my brother. They were all that was left.”
Nadia clutched the back of my neck.
Ezra shook his head. “No one is dying. I am not letting that happen.” He glared over his shoulder at Hammond. “You. Ugly one. I might be able to save your pathetic life and your power.” His tone sharpened. “Tell me how to break Cristian and Nadia’s bond. Now.”
Hammond sobbed harder. “You cannot break it. It is permanent. I lied to you.”
Ezra jumped to his feet. “Then tell me the loophole. There has to be a loophole.”
Hammond pressed his forehead to Ambrosia’s shoulder. “It has to be replaced. A new bond has to take the place of the old one. One that will not drain her. One that can withstand the power and not collapse.”
Ezra lit up like a lightbulb and spun back to his laptop with sudden purpose. “Perfect. Then I know what to do.”
“Ezra,” Nadia said. “What does that mean?”
Ezra typed faster. “It means Cristian and Cassian are not dying today.”
I raised my head toward him. “Ezra.”
He did not look up. “I need one minute. Hold on.”
Nadia’s grip tightened on me, and she pressed her forehead to mine. Her trembling hands slid to my jaw, and through her touch, I felt her heartbeat. It was slow, too slow. I felt each beat echo through the bond in a dull, unsteady rhythm that pushed fear into my ribs.
“I’m right here,” she whispered.
“And so am I,” I told her.
Her knees buckled first. I caught her as best I could, but the ritual drained my strength faster with every breath she took.
Ambrosia’s loss was like a vacuum, draining all the life-force that was being taken from me.
Nadia’s weight sagged into me. I lowered us both down until we were lying on the cold floor together, our bodies pressed close.
The stone pulsed under us with the dying remnants of the spell.
Nadia clung to my shirt with what little strength she had left.
“Cristian,” she murmured. Her lashes fluttered. “I don’t feel right.”
“I know.” I gathered her closer, even though my arms felt heavy. “It is the bond. It is taking from you because of me. I am so sorry.”
She shook her head and forced her eyes open again. “No. Don’t apologize. If we go, we go together. It’s not the worst thing.”
A sharp pain shot through my chest at her words. I cupped the back of her neck. Her skin felt too cool. “Nadia, look at me.”
She did.
“You deserved a full life,” I told her. “You deserved more than this. More than me.”
Her fingers curled weakly against my chest. “I wanted you. I chose you.”
I lowered my forehead to hers again. Both of us were shaking. The ritual kept pulling at my core, the bond at hers. Our breaths thinned out. Our pulses slowed in a matching pace that terrified me.
Her lips brushed my jaw. “I’m not scared.”
“I am,” I admitted. “Not of dying. Of losing you.”
She gave a small, tired smile. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. “You won’t lose me.”
I pulled her fully into my arms. The world narrowed to the two of us on the stone floor. Everything else blurred. Hammond’s crying faded. Cassian’s coughing quieted. Even Ezra’s frantic typing seemed far away.
Nadia’s body relaxed against mine. She rested her head on my shoulder. “Stay with me,” she whispered.
“I am here,” I said again. “I will go wherever you go.”
Her fingers slid into my palm. Our hands locked together.
The room darkened around the edges.
We lay there in silence, our foreheads touching, our breaths falling into the same slow pattern. Her pulse and mine drifted closer. Almost matched. Almost gone.
Ezra swore under his breath. “Don’t do this. Either of you. Hold on. I’m so fucking close.”
Nadia curled closer to me. “Cristian… I love you. I wanted to say it when it mattered.”
“It matters now,” I told her.
Her eyes softened. “Good. Then I’ll tell you again. I love you.”
I shut my eyes and held her hand against my chest. “I love you,” I said. “I always have.”
Her breathing slowed. My heartbeat stuttered. We sank together. We did not let go.
Ezra’s laptop gave a sharp ping. He sucked in a tight breath and sat back on his heels. “I found the override. Cristian. Nadia. Do not move.”
I held on.
Ezra pressed the command. The chamber inside the house roared.
The ritual snapped.
And the new bond began to pull.