Page 38 of Bound In Shadow

I push the final sheet away, exhaling. “That’s it, then. Our best chance.”

Xelith nods, collecting the pages. He glances at me, a flicker of concern in his eyes. “You should rest. Tomorrow will test us both.”

I swallow, rising from the chair. My muscles protest, stiff from hours hunched over maps. “What about Nyrus?”

He sets the documents aside, tension returning to his posture. “I made discreet inquiries. He’s wandering the fortress in a daze, muttering about ‘forgotten tasks.’ He might pass it off as exhaustion or a minor hex. With luck, he won’t recall you enthralling him.”

Relief mingles with guilt.I twisted his mind.But I push the thought aside. “At least that’s one crisis averted.”

He crosses to the door with me, pausing as the wards glimmer. I brace for him to open it, but he hesitates. We standclose, the flicker of lampfire dancing over our faces. My breath catches at the sudden awareness thrumming between us again.Why does it always come back to this magnetic tension?

Xelith’s voice dips. “Lysandra… if the council meeting goes awry?—”

“Don’t,” I whisper, heart pounding. “We can’t dwell on that. We have to succeed.”

He exhales, gaze roving over my face. “You’re right.”

Silence stretches, charged and dizzying. Slowly, he lifts a hand as though to touch my cheek, then retracts it. A swirl of disappointment and relief war in my chest.This is madness—he’s my captor, I’m sirenborn, everything is on the brink of disaster.Yet a raw part of me yearns for something I can’t name.

He clears his throat, the moment fracturing. “Good night, Lysandra.”

I nod, forcing a steady breath. “Good night, Xelith.”

He opens the door, letting me slip into the corridor. The guards outside stiffen. My heart still pounds with leftover adrenaline, but I manage to keep my head high as they escort me back to my chamber. The looming knowledge of tomorrow’s meeting weighs heavily on my shoulders.One misstep, and the council will devour me and my kind.

Inside my room, the door locks behind me with a faint click, wards sealing me in. I pace to the window, planing a plam on the cool glass. Night envelopes Pyrthos, the city lights glimmering in neat lines along the streets. Far beyond, the farmland sleeps under a starlit sky, oblivious to the fate that hangs on tomorrow’s decisions.

My reflection in the glass stares back: a woman with bruised cheekbones, hair braided haphazardly, and eyes that flicker with unspoken power.Sirenblood. It’s real. I enthralled Nyrus.I swallow the surge of panic. If I can enthrall him, I can enthrallothers, maybe even entire squads. The potential both thrills and terrifies me.

“Who am I?” I whisper to the empty room, voice trembling. The glass doesn’t answer. Only my own eyes, haunted by the revelation.I spent years believing I was just a human rebel with more stubbornness than sense. Now I’m something else entirely—something extinct, hunted, lethal.

And Xelith knows. He hasn’t cast me to the council. Instead, he’s forging a conspiracy with me to manipulate them. A surge of conflicting emotions boils in my chest—gratitude, caution, maybe a flicker of deeper feeling. I recall the warmth of his hand on mine, the way his voice softened when he realized my terror.

A shudder racks me. If we succeed, I might protect my rebels from a purge. But I’ll remain trapped in this fortress, sirenblood a secret I dare not reveal.Unless…

A defiant spark flares in my heart.Unless I find a way to harness it fully. If I enthrall enough key figures, I could topple the entire system.My reflection’s eyes widen at the monstrous thought. But is it monstrous if it frees humans from centuries of oppression?

Shaken, I force myself to step back. I won’t make that choice lightly. Right now, I must survive tomorrow’s council session, appear docile, and pray the farmland is spared. Then I can figure out what to do with this newfound power.

I slump onto the bed, mind churning with visions of enthralled nobles and illusions swirling around me. Sleep seems impossible. My lungs feel tight, memories of Nyrus’s dazed obedience swirling in my head.So easy to break a mind if I will it.The thought sends chills through me.

Eventually, exhaustion claims me. My eyes drift shut, the fortress’s hush enveloping me. In the darkness behind my lids, I see a swirl of violet light, hear an echo of my own voice layered with unearthly resonance. My last conscious thought is thattomorrow, everything changes. I can’t remain just a rebel leader haunted by past failures. I am something more, something dangerous. And once the council meets, I’ll be one step closer to discovering the true extent of my sirenborn heritage.

I hope we’re ready for the storm that revelation brings.

10

XELITH

Istand at the top of a narrow stairway, hands braced on the carved stone banister. Below, a group of Dark Elf nobles mills around the fortress’s side courtyard, their murmured voices echoing against the walls. They wear arrogance like armor, each posture stiff with suspicion. I catch flashes of disapproval in their eyes whenever they glance my way. The sense of precariousness I’ve labored under these past days intensifies.

I’ve just finished meeting with a handful of lesser council members, all of whom demanded fresh assurances about Lysandra’s “cooperation.” They’re ravenous for progress. They want to see my plan to subdue the farmland enclaves executed without delay—and they’ve grown impatient with my appeals for caution.If they knew Lysandra is sirenborn…The mere thought twists my stomach. That revelation would upend everything, fueling a fervor for her immediate destruction.

I turn to Rhazien, my second-in-command, who’s waiting at the top of the steps. He holds a folded parchment in one hand, jaw set in a tight line. “The nobles are restless,” he says quietly, as though stating the obvious. “They gossip that you’re stalling.There’s even talk of hiring assassins to remove your human captive if you refuse to deliver her soon.”

A spike of anger flares, but I retain my expression, controlling it. “Let them try. She’s under my protection, and any direct attempt on her life in my domain is an insult I won’t tolerate.” My voice echoes a little too loudly in the stairwell.

Rhazien nods once. “Just be careful. Some among the nobility might see that as a challenge.”

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