CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
Knox and I exchange grave looks at Lina's words. Whatever she's just revealed has left us both unsettled, the implications heavy in the air between us.
"Do you know more?" Knox asks urgently. "Anything else that might help us understand what we're facing?"
Lina shakes her head with visible regret. "Unfortunately, I don't. The visions I receive are fragments—glimpses of what's to come, not complete pictures. I wish I could offer you more guidance."
Knox's frustration is palpable, his jaw clenching as he processes this limitation. But Lina's attention shifts to me, her ancient eyes growing sharp with concern.
"The most urgent matter now is breaking your blood oath," she declares, moving to examine me more closely. "The magical pressure has been building for—"
I interrupt her with a gasp, my hand flying to my throat. The familiar tightness that's constricted my breathing for months, the invisible collar of Jax's control that's been a constant reminder of my bondage—it's gone. Completely vanished.
"Lina," I whisper, my fingers exploring my neck in wonder. "I can't feel it anymore. The blood oath... the tightness around my throat has disappeared."
Her weathered hands immediately reach toward me, ancient magic flowing from her fingertips as she examines the space around my neck. Knox leans forward, his green eyes intense with hope and concern.
After several moments, Lina's hands fall away. Her expression is grave but certain. "The binding has been severed completely. There's no trace of the blood oath's magic remaining in your system."
"How is that possible?" Knox asks, reaching for my hand instinctively.
But I already know. The truth hits me like a physical blow, stealing the breath from my lungs. There's only one way a blood oath can be broken so completely, so suddenly.
"Jax is dead," I breathe, the words barely audible.
Lina nods solemnly. "When the caster of a blood oath dies, the binding dissolves immediately. The magic was tied to his life force."
I'm momentarily stunned into silence. Despite all the wrongs Jax had committed—the manipulation, the torture, the murders—I had never actually imagined he would die. He'd seemed so powerful, so untouchable. The man who saved me, who gave me purpose even as he twisted it into something dark.
My wolf, however, stirs with something that feels remarkably like satisfaction.
"Good, she whispers in my mind. The monster can't hurt us anymore. Can't hurt anyone anymore."
The conflicting emotions crash through me—grief for the man who once showed kindness to a broken child, relief that his cruelty has finally ended, and a confusing sense of emptiness where his constant presence in my mind used to be.
Knox seems to sense my emotional turmoil. His large hand envelops mine, thumb tracing gentle circles across my knuckles. The simple gesture grounds me, reminds me that whatever complex feelings I have about Jax's death, I'm not alone in processing them.
I look up to meet Knox's concerned gaze, and something shifts inside me. The weight I've been carrying—guilt over my deception, fear about my past, uncertainty about my worth—begins to lift like morning fog.
I'm finally free. Not just from the blood oath, but from the shadow Jax cast over every choice I made. The tightness that's been constricting my chest for months eases, allowing me to take my first truly full breath in longer than I can remember.
I have people who truly love me now. Knox, whose eyes hold nothing but genuine concern and affection. Friends who've accepted me despite my mistakes. A future that doesn't require me to sacrifice pieces of myself to earn approval.
Why should I waste time mourning an enemy from my past when I could be grateful for the love surrounding me now?
Knox's grip on my hand tightens slightly, as if he can sense the shift in my emotional state. "Are you alright?"
I squeeze his fingers in return, offering him a small but genuine smile. "I think I'm finally going to be."
He searches my face carefully, and I can see the exact moment relief floods his features. Whatever storm he saw brewing in my expression has passed, replaced by something that looks remarkably like peace.
"There's something I need to tell you," Knox says, his voice taking on a nervous quality I rarely hear from him. "Something important. I've been waiting for the right moment, but with everything that's happened..."
He trails off, running his free hand through his dark hair in a gesture I've learned signals his uncertainty.
"I guess now is as good a time as any."