Page 181 of The Soulbond and Her Beloved

Sinai’s eyes opened to darkness. The smell of scorched ash. The crackle of fire.

The incantation continued.

“Please don’t,” her voice was barely audible, helpless tears pooling in her eyes. “Don’t do this.”

More words. More fire. The runic circle already complete.

She didn’t have much time.

“I have gold,” she said quickly, hoarsely. “A whole sack. I’ll pay… every coin I own.”

The chanting paused.

“I’m afraid that won’t work,” the mage replied without emotion. “I do not replace a sacrifice with another. And I do not make deals with the dead.”

“I’mnotdead yet,” she croaked. “And if you do this… you’ll be complicit in somethingheorchestrated. He’s using you, too. You know that, don’t you?”

The mage’s head turned slightly, not speaking.

“Even when he was Grand Ruler, Zaiper would always offer blood over gold,” Sinai’s voice gained strength, fueled by the sheer will to survive. “You know why? Because gold is the one thing dark magiccan’treplicate—not without immense risk. He’s been stringing you along for centuries, offering favors, debts, secrets. But nevercoin.Because as long as you lack, he owns you.”

She took a shaky breath. “He knows your secret that you’re in hiding. That you can’t openly practice. That your dream is to escape—use your power to shed the markings, the signs, and disappear into another life. To live freely, without fear of your people hunting you down.”

The dark mage appeared... thoughtful? Sinai wasn’t sure, due to that damn cloak.

Still, she pressed on. “Yet henevergives you what you want because he needs you desperate. He needs youbound.What he did to me—what he’sdoingnow—should tell you everything. He sold me out. Threw me away like scrap. He’ll do the same to you when the day comes that you’re no longer useful.” Her voice shook, but she lifted her chin. “I have a fortune. Gold I’ve saved for over a thousand years. It’s everything I have—my life’s work. I’ll give it to you.”

The words tasted like ash, her stomach turning.

“My entire hoard, in exchange for my life.”

It shattered her soul to say it. That gold represented more than currency. It was her ambition. Her power. Her future. She’dfought to claim every coin—clawed her way through courts, lands, and shadows for it. She’d dreamed of owning the Crystal Waters and building far greater things with those coins.

Now she was bartering it all away, because Zaiper betrayed her.

You will regret this. I swear it on the gods.

She wiped her tears with the back of her hand. “What do you say?” she asked at last. “Your freedom… for my life.”

Chapter forty-two

THE ECLIPSE MOON NIGHT

Thebluish-redmoonglowedneon above the horizon. That was the beauty of an eclipse moon. It was mesmerizing, celestial… lethal.

Grand Lord Zaiper brought his mount to a halt atop the rise, staring boldly at the eerie sky as the moon cast its ominous light upon the towering gates of Ravenshadow.

“Ready!?” he bellowed.

A deafening chorus of hooves came to a halt behind him. Zaiper turned, eyes sweeping across the battalion amassed in the clearing. A grin stretched across his face.

What a deal he had struck.

Three hundred vampire warriors stood arrayed at his command. His reward for allying with the Vampire King of the South. Tonight, he would see his vengeance come to fruition.

“Tonight marks the beginning of a new era,” he shouted, raising his blade high. “An allegiance forged in blood and purpose. Vampires and Urekai, fighting together.”

A cheer rose before him.

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