Chapter : Blood Between Us

The photo stared at me like a curse.

Amara.

Standing next to Elowen.

Her face blank. Her body tense.

The image was grainy, timestamped just two hours ago. My chest tightened. I knew it wasn’t real—Amara hadn’t left my side all night. She’d been here, recovering, breathing in shallow sleep.

But the threat was loud and cruel.

“The heir is still mine.”

The words carved themselves across my brain. Lucien was already decoding the message's origin, fingers flying over his tablet, jaw clenched tight.

I watched Amara through the glass wall of the infirmary. Her face was bruised. Her shoulder stitched. But her breathing was...