Chapter Nine: Bound by Blood and Flame
POV: Lira Velasquez
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The world didn’t quiet after the blood moon ritual. If anything, it stirred awake—like some ancient beast had been roused from centuries of slumber. The very air felt heavier. The shadows thicker. And I could feel it—something inside me changing, shifting, growing.
Kael had warned me the Oath would come with a price. What he didn’t say was that the price would be sanity.
For three nights after the ritual, I couldn't sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I felt fire clawing at the edges of my thoughts. I heard whispers that didn’t belong to any voice I recognized. I saw eyes—hundreds of them—in the darkness behind my lids.
I kept it all to myself.
Because if I told Kael, he’d only blame himself.
And if I told Mira, she’d c
