Free Web NovelChapter 208: Chapter 208
Riley’s POV
Once the last door slammed shut and the guards took their positions, I turned back to Emberkin without wasting another second.
I stepped toward him, ready to grab him again, but this time he reacted faster. His hand shot up and shoved me hard in the chest.
I staggered half a step back.
That was enough. My hand moved before I even thought about it and I gave him a heavy slap.
The slap landed hard across his face, the sound sharp and clean as it echoed through the hall. His head snapped to the side, and for a moment he just stayed there, stunned.
"That’s for forcing that unwanted pleasure out of me the other day," I said.
My voice came out steady even though my chest was tight.
Before he could recover, I hit him again. Another sharp slap.
"That’s for kidnapping me."
His body shifted under the impact, his balance barely holding. I didn’t give him space to breathe.
A third slap followed immediately, harder than the last.
"That’s for hypnotizing me."
He tried to lift his hand this time, maybe to block, maybe to push me again but he was too slow.
I pulled my arm back one more time.
This one last slap was different.
I felt it before it landed. Something surged through my arm, straight from my chest to my hand, stronger than before. I didn’t stop it.
My palm connected with his face, and the force sent him flying backward. His body crashed hard against the ground, sliding a short distance before coming to a stop.
The impact echoed through the hall.
"That’s for hurting Gunnar," I said, my voice colder now. "With these bastards."
He didn’t get up immediately this time.
For a second, he just lay there, trying to breathe through it. His hand pressed against the floor, fingers tightening as he struggled to push himself up.
I didn’t wait. I moved straight to him.
I dropped to a crouch behind him and grabbed his shoulder, forcing him onto his stomach. He resisted, but he was already weakened, and it didn’t take much to hold him down.
"Stay still," I said.
He let out a strained laugh, though it sounded forced now. "Or what?"
I didn’t answer him. My focus had already shifted. My eyes moved to the back of his neck.
For a moment, I didn’t see anything then I leaned closer.
There it was.
A mark, faint at first, but clear once I focused. A crescent shape, slightly raised against his skin, sitting right at the nape of his neck.
So this was it. This was what tied him to me.
My grip tightened on the knife.
"You don’t have to do this," he said quickly.
His voice had changed. The confidence from earlier was gone.
"This bond gives you power. It connects us. You’re throwing that away."
I pressed my knee harder into his back to keep him still.
"I don’t want anything that came from you," I replied.
"That’s not true," he shot back immediately. "You felt it. You enjoyed it. You-"
I didn’t let him finish before I drove the knife in, straight into the mark.
His scream tore through the hall, loud and raw, cutting through everything else. His body jerked violently under me, but I held him down.
"Stay still," I repeated again, my voice low but firm.
Blood started to spread immediately, dark and thick as it ran down from the wound. My hand didn’t stop.
I dragged the blade deeper.
He struggled harder now, his hands clawing at the ground, his body twisting in pain as he tried to get away.
"You mad woman-stop-" he choked out.
I didn’t.
I pressed the blade in again, carving into the skin around the mark. His blood ran faster now, soaking into his clothes, dripping down his back and onto the floor beneath him.
The smell filled the air.
He screamed again, louder this time, his voice breaking under the pain.
"Please-!"
I ignored him. My focus stayed locked on the mark.
I cut around it carefully, making sure I didn’t miss any part of it. The crescent shape became clearer as the surrounding skin split open.
My grip on the knife stayed steady. Behind me, I could feel everyone watching.
No one moved.
No one spoke. Even the guards stayed still.
The only sound in the hall was Emberkin’s voice as it broke again and again, and the faint sound of blood hitting the floor.
"You’re going to kill me," he gasped.
"That’s not the point," I said.
I pushed the blade deeper one last time. His body jerked again, then stilled for a second as the pain hit him all at once.
That was when I finished it. I dug the knife under the marked skin and pulled.
The piece of skin came free.
He let out a broken scream, his voice cracking completely this time as his body collapsed under me.
Blood poured down his back, heavier now, dripping steadily onto the ground.
I threw the piece aside without looking at it and shoved him forward.
His body hit the floor, weak and unsteady, his breathing rough and ragged.
"Done," I said.
The word had barely left my mouth when it hit me. It felt like something snapped inside me.
A sharp bolt shot through my entire body, sudden and intense. My breath caught instantly as the pain spread from my chest outward, fast and overwhelming.
I staggered back, my legs almost giving out under me.
My hand went to my chest without thinking.
It hurt. Badly.
It felt like something was being pulled out of me, piece by piece.
My vision blurred for a second, and I nearly lost my balance.
"Riley!"
Summer’s voice reached me just as she grabbed my arm, steadying me before I could fall. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
I tried to stay upright, but my body felt unstable, like it didn’t fully belong to me anymore.
"It’s breaking," she said quickly.
I clenched my teeth as another wave of pain hit me.
It ran through my chest, down my spine, and into my limbs, making it hard to even breathe properly.
"How long?" I managed to ask.
"A few minutes," she replied.
It didn’t feel like minutes. Every second dragged.
My grip tightened on her arm as I forced myself to stay standing. I refused to fall, not here, not in front of all of them.
The pain came in waves.
Each one sharp enough to make my body tense. Each one pulling something out of me.
Then slowly...
It started to fade. The pressure in my chest eased first. Then my breathing steadied.
The tension in my body loosened, little by little, until I could stand without support again.
I took a deep breath.
It felt... different. Lighter. Like something heavy had been sitting inside me and was suddenly gone.
I straightened fully, pulling away from Summer as I tested my balance.
The pain was gone. Completely.
I rolled my shoulders slightly, then looked down at my hands.
Summer stepped in front of me, a small smile forming on her face.
"It’s done," she said.
I nodded once. I could feel it. Whatever had been tying me to him was gone.
No pull anymore, no pressure. Nothing.
I turned my head slowly. Emberkin was still on the ground.
He was struggling to move now, his body weaker than before. One hand pressed against the floor, the other clutching at his neck as he tried to push himself up. I wondered if this was the vampire lord that was rumoured to be ruthless and powerful.
Blood still covered his back. His breathing was rough.
Good.
I took a step toward him again. Then another.
Summer’s voice came from behind me. "Riley..."
I didn’t stop. "I’m not done yet," I said.
My voice was calm, but there was no hesitation in it.
I stopped a short distance from him and looked down at him.
"This bastard had Ethan stab Gunnar," I continued.
He looked up at me slowly, his eyes no longer confident.
There was something else there now.
Fear.
"You already got what you wanted," he said, his voice strained. "The bond is broken."
I tilted my head slightly."And?"
He swallowed, trying to push himself back, but his body didn’t respond the way he wanted it to.
"You don’t need to do anything else," he added.
I crouched slightly, bringing myself closer to his level.
"You’re right," I said.
His expression shifted just a little, like he thought I might actually stop.
Then I continued. "I don’t need to."
His face tightened again.
"But I want to." freewebnøvel.com
Silence fell again.
Behind me, I could feel the tension in the room rise.
No one moved. No one tried to say anything. Of course they wouldn’t dare.
I lifted the knife slightly, letting him see it clearly.
His eyes followed the movement.
"You had Ethan stab Gunnar," I said.
My grip on the handle tightened."You stood there and watched him bleed."
He shook his head weakly. "That’s not-"
"It is," I cut in.
My voice dropped."You don’t get to explain anything now, Emberkin."
I stood up straight again, looking down at him. "They usually say an eye for an eye," I said.
I took a slow step closer. "But in this case..."
I paused. My gaze locked onto his. "An eye for three eyes," I continued.
I lifted the knife slightly higher. "And a stab..."
My voice lowered further. "For three stabs."
