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48|Chaos of Sounds
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2024-10-29 19:42:56~Rory~
Paul and I decided to pay Lloyd Zwick a visit in the afternoon. He wanted to do it the next day, but I was eager not to waste more time. If he was Maestro, then I need to know.
How? I have no clue. This would be a lot easier if I were with Nolani or Jace. They could quickly tell if someone is a supernatural being with their heightened sense of smell and sight.
Since it was still working hours, our first stop was his workplace. Unlucky for us, though, our person of interest called in sick.
“He’s as healthy as a horse,” Prof. Dover, one of Zwick’s colleagues, said when we inquired about the nature of Zwick’s ill health. “Now that you asked me,” the elderly five foot four professor scratched his gray beard, thinking deeply be
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Hellbound: The Last Tribute 50|Destiny or Sacrifice
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Hellbound: The Last Tribute 51|A Better Story
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Hellbound: The Last Tribute 52|Can We Still Cuddle?
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Hellbound: The Last Tribute 53|Pleasant Shift
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Hellbound: The Last Tribute 55|Poking The Beast
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Hellbound: The Last Tribute 56|Second Phase
~Rory~Crickets. Thousands of them singing inside my head.Of all the possible conclusions of this prophecy, me being a sacrificial lamb has never crossed my mind.“Fuck,” Elijah rubbed his hand over his face, looking at me with clouded emotions.“I...” I swallowed hard, groping blindly for the back of the chair within my reach, grabbing onto it; the marbled floor beneath my feet turned to puddles. It makes sense now. The gruesome deaths, the six-pointed star carving on each victim’s forehead, the missing hearts... It’s a sacrificial ritual. “Your soul,” I murmured, each puzzle piece slotting together now. “I am your twin flame, and my death will complete your soul.”
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Hellbound: The Last Tribute 101|A Lost Hero
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Hellbound: The Last Tribute 100|Epilogue 2
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Hellbound: The Last Tribute 99|Epilogue 1
~Rory~For weeks, I’ve been dreaming of a boy with gray eyes, dark brown curls, and a snooty smirk. He was playing on the beach, sitting on the sand. His trousers were wet from the waves hitting his leg on the side, hands and toes were covered in sand... his cheeks too. He kept rubbing the back of his hands on his cheeks, leaving traces of wet sand there.He looked up and met my eyes, smiling brightly. Those gray eyes twinkled as his eyes narrowed to slits. He dropped the shells he was playing with and raised those tiny hands, opening and closing, asking to be picked up. When I didn’t, his lips quivered, eyes widened as a saucer, clouded with tears. His cry was so loud that I woke up from my sleep, discovering I was alone in our bed.Looking on Elijah’s side, a red rose lay on his pillow, weighing down a paper folded in half.The sun hasn’t risen yet, but he told me he’d be out the entire day to check the western border of Sapiro, accompanied by Henry.I reached for the rose, sniffing
Hellbound: The Last Tribute 98|Endgame
~Rory~ I refused to live in the castle. It was aesthetically beautiful but a constant reminder of what I lost when I stepped inside its vicinity. The council disagreed with my choice, but Elijah was adamant about giving me what I wanted. We compromised on building our home close to the castle. Surrounded by trees in the clearing ten minutes away from the citadel, they turned it into a keep, a fortress, yet I got to design how our house would look like. It was inspired by Elijah’s estate in Salvatore hills. The place where Elijah and I had been the happiest. I am happy to be with him, truly, and I could never ask for more. But life as royalty was not as glamorous as I thought it would be. As the crowned princess, responsibilities weighed upon my shoulder even in my sleep. It’s different from working a nine-to-five job where day-offs and holidays are offered. In fact, rest has become a foreign word in this household. Elijah was always out. He spends more time with his council, meeting
Hellbound: The Last Tribute 97|Rest In Peace
~Rory~The moment my eyes fluttered open and saw the familiar gray ceiling of Elijah’s room, tears brimmed in my eyes.I feel the same old me, but not. The fear in my chest deepened as the seconds ticked by. I’m alive. Jace’s plan worked.I pushed myself from the bed, hearing footsteps echoing through the hallway. Not a second later, Elijah barged into his room, hair disheveled and eyes wide with worry and relief in equal measure.“Rory…” he breathed out, eyes clouding as he ran to my side.“Elijah…” I buried my face in his chest as he cradled my body, murmuring how grateful he was that I was alive, worried, and much he loved me.Words are not enough to voice out my happiness. My throat was tight, with emotions storming inside me.We are alive, Elijah and I. We survived the ritual and that damn prophecy.“Cara mia,” Elijah cupped my face, leaning to press his lips against mine.His kiss did it if his touch wasn’t enough to convince me how alive we were. The familiar taste of him. The
Hellbound: The Last Tribute 96|Silver Eyes
~Elijah~“Do you want to have children?” Rory asked, glancing up at me with those big brown eyes. Her cheeks were flushed from our previous coupling, hair wild from my tugging and pulling. The warmth of her naked body entangled with mine was heaven under the silk sheets.“Children?” I repeated my thumb, drawing circles on the small of her back. “Plural?”She hummed a yes, circling the crown of my nipple. She knew it was my tickle spot, but she loved tickling me. I caught her fingers and playfully bit them.“Yeah.” She giggled, squirming. “Being an only child is sometimes lonely.”I honestly wouldn’t know. I didn’t actually have a normal childhood. King Emilian was kind and did everything to give me what a child my age must have. But circumstances didn’t allow him to be a father like he did with Greco and Orme. He was forced to take me out of Lira to protect me.I relished the way she talked about the future. A glow in her eyes only appears when she doesn’t worry about the prophecy or
Hellbound: The Last Tribute 95|A Backup Plan
~Rory~Tayen and Jace were just leaving with reinforcements when we arrived at Salvatore Hills. After bringing them up-to-date on what happened with Elijah, we had to devise a new plan in under ten minutes.They were keeping Elijah on the estate’s west side ruins. It was the highest part of the land and the best spot to see the eclipse at its peak.Even if Henry, Tayen, and Nolani knew this place like the back of their hands, planning this attack was difficult. We cannot be overconfident with the advantage we have.Jace and Henry did a quick sweep of the area, taking details on the number of the enemies waiting for us to come. Meca was with them. She was Agata’s witch friend and Greco’s mistress. Our best guess is that she’s the reason Greco was able to survive the Lycan venom he attained two thousand years ago. She has grown stronger, is what Henry told us. She also cast the warding in Greco’s room; hence, the witch we have to unbind Elijah from.About thirty vampires were guarding t
Hellbound: The Last Tribute 94|It’s Ironic
~Rory~“What do you mean he was taken?” I threw my hands in the air.After Elijah vanished from my grasp, I called Henry, Nolani, and Ali into Greco’s room.I told Ali what had happened after he left. There wasn’t so much to tell, anyway. He literally just disappeared, as if he suddenly harnessed Ali’s disappearing act and did the trick on me.We’ve turned the room inside out. Nolani and Henry went to the other quarters to see if there was a witch’s hex bag or any clue that might lead us to where Elijah went but came out bereft of answers.“It’s the only explanation I have right now,” Ali murmured dejectedly. The three of them looked tired and shaken. They have been in the heart of the war, and Elijah’s disappearance clearly imposes a toll on their morale.“But how can someone as powerful as Elijah be taken with no trace?” I asked, desperate to know where he was.We’ve completed the mate bond, but I can’t feel him or reach him. Our bond was supposed to be stronger than ever, which mea
Hellbound: The Last Tribute 93|The Only Way
~Rory~Something is happening to me. There was an unfamiliar, simmering energy inside me.Like a spring suddenly appeared somewhere in my core, an endless energy flow blossoming into a beautiful sensation that enticed my body to wake up from a deep sleep.It was exhilarating.“Open your eyes, cara mia,” Elijah’s melodic voice floated in my thoughts. “Please… come back to me... I love you.”I searched for the will to do as he asked. His pain was excruciating. He was in agony, and I wanted to ease his torment away.Forcing my body to move, I squeezed my eyelids and obliged them to part. The bright light blinded me. The war’s outcry brought me back to where, how, and why I felt so much pain in my body. Greco. Recollection of what happened before I lost consciousness flooded my brain.Like an image that suddenly made sense, my pupils adjusted to focus on the man holding me.Elijah smiled down at me. His eyes were wild with a mixture of emotions, cheeks drenched with tears and crimson liqu
