Chapter 9: Bloodlines Collide
360 Words
Jaxon’s POV
I felt the exact moment the chamber released her.
Alina stumbled out, eyes wide with the kind of fear that doesn’t fade — the kind that marks you. I caught her just before she fell, and for a moment, I didn’t care who was watching.
Not the Council.
Not the shadows.
Not even the ghost of my father who once stood here, bloodied and broken after his trial.
Only her.
“You did it,” I whispered.
“One down,” she murmured, “two to go.”
But before I could speak again, the ground beneath us shook.
Not the trial room this time. The earth above.
The Council snapped to attention. The runes across the chamber flickered.
Then came the howl — not a warning.
A challenge.
We surfaced into chaos.
Warriors were circling the perimeter of the old forest, weapons drawn. Cloaked figures darted between trees, and the scent of magic burned the air.
A second howl rose — deeper, colder.
House Draven.
They’d arrived without invitation.
A figure stepped through the mist. Tall. Bare-chested. Black ink spiraling down his spine and silver rings on his claws. His eyes were obsidian — no whites, no soul.
“Jaxon Thorne,” he drawled. “Still playing protector, I see.”
“Darius,” I growled. “This isn’t your territory.”
He smirked. “Didn’t come for territory. Came for her.”
Alina stiffened beside me.
The mark on her wrist flared as Darius’s eyes landed on it. He inhaled — slow, sharp — like the scent of her blood was a drug.
“Impossible,” he whispered. “That bond hasn’t existed since—”
“She’s mine,” I snarled, stepping in front of her.
Darius laughed darkly. “You sure? The First’s power doesn’t belong to just one bloodline. Maybe the girl’s destiny isn’t you, Thorne. Maybe it’s me.”
The air cracked. Power surged between us like lightning.
And somewhere behind us, a Council elder whispered to another:
“If both houses lay claim… there will be war.”
Darius extended a hand toward Alina.
And for a terrifying second…
She hesitated.
- Writer
