Page 239 of Bound By Crimson
Her whole body exhaled.
Relief washed over her like warm water for the first time in months.
This could actually happen.
She could get out.
After months of isolation, manipulation, and poison masked as kindness—
There was finally a way out.
She had imagined this a thousand times.
But this—this was the first time it felt possible.
Chapter Eighty-Nine
Not Now
Lyric slipped back into the house.
The door was heavier than usual. The hallway darker.
When Lyric opened her bedroom door, she knew something was wrong.
Sitting in the chair across from her bed.
A smile too sharp to be kind.
Waiting—Editha Thornwick.
Hands folded. Legs crossed. Perfect posture.
She looked like a cat toying with her prey.
“Well, well,” she said, voice smooth and mocking. “Look what we have here.”
Her gaze raked over Lyric.
“You look quite healthy… for someone who should be—”
She let the word hang, then smiled.
“—dead.”
Lyric’s heart jumped, but she forced herself still.
“What were you expecting?” she said coldly, stepping inside. “Turns out I’m not a fan of soup. Or poison.”
Editha’s smile tightened, but didn’t falter.
“To be honest,” she said, rising slowly, “I was starting to wonder if the dosage was too low.”
She stepped closer, casually circling halfway around the bed.
“I heard Malachai came to see you,” she added. “That must’ve really stung. A dagger in your heart.”
“He’s nothing to me,” Lyric said, her voice sharper than she expected. “Just like you.”
