Page 81 of Blood Freed

But I’m not just the hunter. Something else moves through the shadows, watching. Waiting. I can feel its attention like ice on my skin.

Where are you? Where the fuck are you?

I feel where he is before I see any sign of him. And then the vision comes to me. I pause midstride as I realize where he is.

Really, Lucien? Is this a joke?

Of all the places I’d expected to find him, this was not one of them. Maybe it should have been.

The church looms before me, a gothic monstrosity of crumbling stone and broken stained glass. My magic reacts to something inside, pulling me forward like a fish on a hook. Lightning illuminates the rose window, casting twisted shadows through its fractured patterns.

I push open the heavy wooden doors. They creak on ancient hinges as I step into the nave. Moonlight filters through holes in the roof, creating pools of silver on the dusty floor. Lucien stands at the altar, a dark figure against the remnants of a crucifix.

“Welcome, Mia.” His voice echoes off stone walls. “I’ve been expecting you.”

“Of course you have,” I scoff. “You’ve been calling me.” I look around us. “I thought your kind couldn’t come into places like this.”

He chuckles. “You shouldn’t believe all you read, Mia. I can’t go wherever I please.”

“You know why I’ve come, right?” I narrow my eyes on him.

“Because this is where I want you.” He smiles, all predator. “The dark magic made you so easy to manipulate. Simple as that—” He snaps his fingers.

My power surges, shadows writhing around my feet. “You don’t know what I’m capable of.”

“Oh, but I do.” He steps down from the altar, moving with liquid grace. “I’ve been planning this since the beginning. Your capture, your meeting with Soren, your descent into darkness.” His eyes gleam with satisfaction.

Understanding hits me. “You wanted me to turn to dark magic.”

“Smart girl.” He walks to me slowly. “The Blackwood bloodline is special. Powerful. But too pure, too…controlled. I needed you broken, desperate enough to embrace the darkness. And now look at you – you’re magnificent.”

“You’re insane.” I stare at him.

“Oh, but you played your part beautifully.” He spreads his arms wide. “Look at what you’ve become. The darkness flows through your veins now, tainting your family’s precious legacy.”

“You…you twisted fuck!” I yell, finally succumbing to the building fury. My magic responds to my rage, crackling through the air. Windows shatter, raining glass around us. But Lucien doesn’t flinch. Instead, his smile widens as ancient symbols suddenly flare to life beneath my feet, forming a circle of burning light.

I try to step back, but my feet won’t move. The trap holds me fast as Lucien approaches, triumph written across his face.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t be prepared for you?” he asks softly. “That I wouldn’t have a cage ready for my perfect weapon?”

The magic burns under my skin as I strain against the binding circle. Ancient runes pulse with sickly light, responding to my struggles. Lucien pulls an object from his coat – a gleaming sphere wrapped in tarnished silver. My stomach lurches as I recognize the corruption emanating from it.

“You’ve been studying,” I spit through clenched teeth.

“For centuries.” He holds up the sphere, and darkness writhes within it. “Your kind isn’t the only one who can harness blood magic. Though I must admit, watching you embrace it was…inspiring.”

I lash out with my power, shadows whipping through the air like razor blades. The stained-glass windows explode inward, shards spinning in a deadly tornado around us. But Lucien merely laughs, raising the object. My magic twists, turning back on me. Pain rips through my chest as my own power tears into me.

“More,” he commands. “Show me everything you can do.”

The darkness inside me responds to his words, surging up despite my attempts to control it. My vision blurs as power pours out of me in waves. The church’s stone walls crack. Pews splinter and fly apart. The air seems to burn.

I scream as the magic consumes me completely, turning my blood to fire. Black veins spread across my skin like an unholy map.

Through the haze of power, I see Lucien watching with satisfaction, and horrible understanding dawns.

This was his plan all along. He wanted me to lose control. Every burst of power, every use of dark magic, has been drawingme deeper into his trap. The binding circle isn’t containing my magic – it’s channeling it, feeding it into that corrupted sphere.

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