The Last Oracle’s Bride

Chapter 11 – Threads of Blood

The clash of steel and wood echoed like thunder through the chamber. Adrian’s staff spun in sharp arcs, striking with precision, but the hunter leader met every blow with effortless speed. His black eyes gleamed each time their weapons connected, as though he was feeding on the fight itself.

I stood frozen, gripping my own staff so tightly my hands ached. My wrist burned with every strike Adrian took, the pale ring glowing brighter, pulsing in time with his movements.

This wasn’t just echoes anymore. It was as if my body was tethered to his, dragged into every motion, every blow.

Marla’s voice cut sharp through the chaos. “He can’t hold forever!”

I snapped my head toward her. She was standing by the table, hands pressed to one of the failing sigils, her lips moving in a language that burned my ears. Sweat dripped down her temple, her eyes blazing with strain.

“What do I do?” I asked, my voice breaking.

She didn’t look at me. “Stay alive.”

Not helpful.

I turned back just as Adrian staggered under a blow that cracked the floor at his feet. My wrist seared hot, pain shooting up my arm as if the strike had landed on me instead. I gasped, dropping to one knee.

The hunter leader’s gaze snapped to me, his smile slow and cruel. “Ah. She feels it.”

Adrian snarled, silver eyes blazing. He lunged, but the man slipped aside, laughing as his blade whistled past Adrian’s throat by inches.

“You can’t win,” the hunter said softly, circling. “Every strike you take brings her closer to breaking. Shall I prove it?”

He feinted left, then slammed his palm against Adrian’s chest. The impact sent him crashing into the wall with a sickening crack.

The echo ripped through me. My chest exploded in pain, my lungs burning as if I’d been hit too. I collapsed, choking for air.

“Elena!” Adrian’s voice was ragged, but it cut through the haze. He staggered back to his feet, blood at the corner of his mouth, eyes blazing like liquid fire.

The hunter leader laughed. “How touching. But she won’t last the hour. When you fall, she falls.”

I pressed my palm to the floor, forcing myself upright. “No,” I gasped.

My mark flared, brighter than ever, light spilling out in pale rings across my wrist. The hum of the chamber deepened, vibrating through my bones. For the first time, I didn’t try to fight it. I let it in.

“Elena, no!” Adrian shouted.

But it was too late. The thread pulled. And I pulled back.

The hunter turned toward me, his smile faltering as light gathered around the staff in my hands. My pulse hammered in my ears, but my grip steadied, my stance settling like Adrian had taught me.

“Get away from him,” I whispered.

The man tilted his head. “Interesting. The thread awakens.”

He lunged toward me.

I swung.

The staff glowed as it cut through the air, striking his blade with a crack that sparked light across the chamber. The force jolted me back a step, but it sent him staggering too, his black eyes narrowing.

Adrian’s voice reached me, low and urgent. “Breathe. Center. Don’t follow the pull—control it.”

I gasped for breath, my arms trembling, but I held my ground. For the first time, I wasn’t just watching Adrian fight. I was fighting too.

And even though terror clawed at me, another feeling burned beneath it.

Fury.

Because if the bond was real—if my life was tied to his—then I refused to let him fall.

The chamber shook with the echo of my strike. For one brief, impossible second, the hunter leader actually staggered. His black eyes narrowed, no longer amused.

Adrian’s gaze snapped to me. His chest heaved, blood smeared at his lip, but his eyes—those molten silver eyes—burned with something fierce. “You’re connected,” he said hoarsely. “Use it.”

“I don’t know how!” I shouted back.

“Yes, you do. Trust it.”

The hunter growled, low and dangerous. “Oracle, you’ve let her awaken too soon. That will make breaking her so much sweeter.”

He surged forward, his blade flashing. I raised my staff, the hum in my wrist surging in time with my heartbeat. The impact rattled me, but I didn’t fall. Adrian was beside me in an instant, his staff intercepting the next blow.

For the first time, we moved together. His strikes flowed into mine, mine into his. I didn’t think, didn’t hesitate. The thread between us pulled and pushed, guiding my arms where his couldn’t reach, forcing my feet to move in perfect rhythm with his.

And somehow—it worked.

The hunter leader snarled as we drove him back, silver and light clashing against shadow. Sparks lit the chamber, sigils pulsing brighter with every strike.

Marla’s voice rang from across the room, sharp with shock. “Impossible…”

I swung again, the staff glowing faintly, and Adrian’s next strike landed true, cracking across the hunter’s shoulder. The man hissed, black eyes flashing with fury.

“You think this makes you strong?” he spat. “It makes you vulnerable. Two threads bound—two lives for the price of one. When I cut him down, you will unravel with him.”

His words sliced through my chest, but Adrian’s voice was steadier. “Ignore him.”

“How?” I gasped, blocking another strike.

His staff swept across, catching the enemy’s blade with a jarring crash. “Because he’s afraid. He wouldn’t waste breath on lies if he weren’t.”

The hunter leader’s expression twisted. “You mistake truth for weakness.” He shoved forward, strength like a wave, breaking our rhythm. My feet slid, the floor slick with dust and blood.

Adrian caught me before I fell. His hand burned hot on my arm, steadying me. “Breathe. Anchor. With me.”

The world narrowed to his eyes, silver fire locking me in place. My chest heaved, my body trembling, but the thread steadied. The hum beneath my skin matched his heartbeat, or maybe mine had simply given up and matched his.

Together, we struck again.

Light burst from the staff in my hands, spilling across the chamber. The hunters in the shadows recoiled, hissing, shielding their faces. The leader snarled, stumbling back a step, his blade shaking with the force of the glow.

I didn’t feel fear anymore. I felt the fire racing through my veins, the certainty that as long as Adrian stood, I stood too.

But then the leader smiled again. Slow. Cruel.

“Then let’s test your bond.”

Before Adrian could react, the hunter’s blade snapped sideways, slicing across his ribs.

Adrian grunted, staggering, blood blooming scarlet across his shirt.

And I screamed.

The pain tore through me as if the blade had cut me too, fire ripping across my side. My knees buckled. The staff nearly fell from my hands.

The hunter’s laugh filled the chamber. “Yes. Just as I thought. When he bleeds, you bleed. When he falls…” His black eyes gleamed as he raised his blade again. “You follow.”

Adrian was already moving, teeth gritted, staff raised despite the blood soaking his side. But I knew—we both knew—he was weakening.

And midnight was still ahead.