All Chapters of Bloodbound Destiny : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

Outrage proceeded to humiliation but then I felt the vibration of his silent laughing, and a heartbeat later his thumb began caressing the back of my scarred hand in little circles, kindling the heat in my core higher. “Stop.” His hand stilled. “Stop? Talking. I bit my lip.Stop asking me questions, was what I meant.” “Ah.” He resumed the little circles, sending a shudder through me even as I realized my demand wasn’t fair. Tristan had every reason to be wary of me. I’d blown hot and I’d blown cold, rode him like a monster obsessed by passion, just to yell at him to keep away from me. He should desire nothing to do with me because I was entangled and inconstant, yet he remained at my back. I might die today.” Tristan stiffened, then he asked gently, “Is that why you want me to stop asking questions? Because you dread death? The wind howled as Alpha Octavia’s snoring deepened. It was a marvel that all those surrounding us didn’t rouse. Yet no one stirred, which meant I ha

I’d seen more dead men than I could count, victims of raiders who’d come to plunder from my people. To slaughter my people. To kidnap my people and convert them into slaves.But this was different. This time I was the raider. My throat ached and I swallowed vomit even as I turned to Alpha Orion, ready to inform him that my feet were too wounded for me to battle. To buy time to seek out alternative means to seize this castle except by assault. But before I could answer, he replied, “The time for retreat is over. Now we fight. Send up the signal.”All around us, the warriors sloughed off the things they did not need, taking shields from their backs and drawing swords, the marks on their faces enormous and scary when a heartbeat before they’d been merely ashes and paint.Alpha Octavia pulled a pot from her luggage and approached me, lifting the lid to show blue paint. With her fingertips, she coated the area around my eyes, then traced little drops down my cheeks. “They say Freyja kisse

Do you know how many times you almost died,” he snarled. “How many men came at your back while you were lost to a bloodlust? How many times I cried your name and you never heard?I bared my fangs, still lost to the wrath. I didn’t want to find my way out, because if I did, I knew there would be a reckoning. So I turned away, yelling, “Where is Cassius? Where is your Alpha who brought blood and ash upon you rather than swear fealty to the Alpha king of Southern region?”Andronika! Tristan snarled, but I ignored him, advancing between the buildings. My voice had a weird singing tone as I crooned, “Come out, Cassius. Where are you? Vaguely, I was aware others had joined Tristan. I heard Alpha Orion begging that I hush myself, but I disregarded them all as I searched.Then a familiar guy with an axe appeared out between the buildings, a dozen blood-spattered warriors following him, all looking at me carefully.“There you are, Cassius.” I offered him a bloody smirk. I thought I was going

I stood looking at the slabs of wood for a bathed myself with water that a servant had brought at some time, then wore a clean outfit. I unfastened the knots on my braids, brushing my fingers through until my hair flowed long and loose down my back.The door creaked as I opened it and I winced, though I wasn’t completely clear why. Perhaps because I felt unclear about whether I truly wanted to reenter the world, required my initial steps to be taken without attention. Stepping out, I pushed the door shut, and then nearly jumped out of my skin as I glimpsed a person from the corner of my eye.“Tristan,” I muttered, my heart pounding. “Andronika .”Tristan was reclining against the wall, but at his feet was a neatly rolled cot and a half-empty water cup. I swallowed hard as the knowledge that he’d been outside my door filled me. “Please tell me that you haven’t been sleeping out here.”He raised one shoulder. “My father is concerned for your well-being.”My teeth bit firmly into my bott

A stage had been built in the middle of the square at the heart of the citadel, and it seemed every last man, woman, and child in Tendon had come to witness Philomela perform her ballad.Not that I was shocked. To hear a child of Bragi sing was more than entertainment; it was a luxury precious few would have the opportunity to experience in their lifetimes.Not only were the stories the Skalds recounted with their songs passed down from generation to generation, but so too was the pleasure of hearing the song directly from the Skald’s lips. Because one didn’t just hear, one saw.That was the section I was afraid of since seeing the tunnels going to Vadan had been horrible. This would be a lot worse.“You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Tristan stated from where he stood to my left. “I won’t fault you.”I’ll fault myself. I squared my shoulders.I lived it, which means that I can watch it.”I had to. Needed to see what everyone else had seen that had triggered this strange