Once Betrayed Never Forgotten

Chapter 86: Bound in Blood

Bloodbang eyes hold a new intensity as we prepare for the ritual that will bind him to me and free him from Tatiana’s control. The air in the dim stone trefer feels charged, heavy with the weight of impending change. I’m nervous, the reality of what I’m about to do settling in. I never imagined I’d wield such power, nor did I ever aspire to have someone bound to me in such an archaic sense.

1 mean, he’s basically asking me to make him my slave. But what choice do I have?

A part of me still struggles to fully comprehend the whirlwind of changes that have swept through my life in the span of mere minutes. I’ve transformed from a human into something else. A hybrid, as Bloodbane put it. Something between a human and a Bloodwraith. A freak.

It’s like my brain is racing on a treadmill, constantly trying to catch up with the reality that’s rushing by at breakneck speed. There’s no time to stop, no time to freak out about the sheer magnitude of the life–changing events that have unfolded. One moment I was a human, and now I’m part of a world that includes binding rituals and blood magic.

Am I even mortal anymore? I can feel my heart beat, strong and clear, so I know I’m not undead. But what am I now, really? What does the future hold for someone like me? Can I ever live a normal life again?

A wave of anxiety washes over me as

over me as I think about Aleksandr. What will he think when he finds out about my transformation? Despite the powers I’ve seemingly gained, a part of me fears his reaction, Could Tatiana be right? Is there some reason that he wouldn’t accept me as I am now?

No, I can’t let Tatiana’s manipulations cloud my judgment. I know the strength of what Aleksandr and I share. She won’t break us apart. We’ll overcome this, like we’ve overcome everything else- together.

My musings are abruptly interrupted by Bloodbane’s voice. His words snap me back to the present.

“Are you ready to learn how to command your own blood? Bloodbane asks, his voice steady but encouraging.

I nod, trying to steady my nerves. “How do we start?”

He smiles slightly, the seriousness of his expression softening. “First, you must learn to visualize the flow of your blood. Close your eyes, Arianna. Feel its rhythm, its life coursing through you. Your blood is more than you ever imagined; it’s a river of life, connecting every part of your being.”

I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. In the darkness behind my lids, I try to focus on my heartbeat, the throb echoing through my veins. I imagine it, the blood flowing from my heart, branching out through arteries, capillaries, feeding every cell in a steady rhythm.

“Good,” Bloodbane murmurs, as if he can sense my focus. “Now, extend your senses. See your blood, not just as a life force, but as a tool, something you can shape and direct. Your blood is your servant, to command and manipulate as you see fit

I concentrate, picturing the blood as a malleable bright red thread I can weave. But it’s clusive, slippery. I frown, my concentration breaking with the frustration of not being able to grasp it.

“It’s not working.” I admit, opening my eyes to find Bloodbane watching me patiently.

“It takes practice,” he assures me. “Visualize again, but this time, listen to it, feel its warmth, its power. Your will is its command.”

I close my eyes once more, trying to merge my consciousness with the flow I imagine. Slowly, a warmth grows within me, a sensation of buzzing energy that feels alive. I focus on that warmth, willing it to grow, to sharpen. The sound of my own heart beating deep within my chest grows louder and louder in my ears, until it’s a thunderous waterfall of energy surging through my entire being, raging to the surface.

“Now, imagine sharpening a part of that flow into a point,” Bloodbane instructs. A point so sharp and fine it can pierce through skin. Picture it – picture the blade.”

His words paint a vivid picture, and I mentally forge my blood into a sharp point. But the imagined blade is blunt, ineffective. I try again, frustration mounting with each failed attempt.

Bloodbane voice cuts

voice cuts through my growing

* irritation. “You are the mistress of your blood. Command it.”

Encruraged by his confidence, I draw upon a surge of determination. I visualize the sharp point again, this time feeling the heat of it, the potential. With a mental push, I feel a sudden, sharp pain in my palm. I gasp, my eyes flying open to see a fine line of blood welling up from the center of my hand. The skin has split, a clean, precise cut, just as I had imagined. It’s hard to get my mind around the fact that I’ve literally just cut my own skin, from the inside, with my own blood.

Chapter 86: Bound in Blood

“You’ve done it Bloodbane says, a note of respect in his voice.

The sight of my own blood, controlled by my own will, is both terrifying and exhilarating. I can’t help but feel a rush of power, an intoxicating rush that sends a shiver through me even as the trickle of blood pools in my palm, then trickles down my wrist.

“Now, let us perform the binding ceremony,” Bloodbane says, extending his own hand, a similar cut appearing on his palm without any visible weapon. His mastery over his blood is effortless, a reminder of the power he wields and now shares with me.

His hand is large but elegant, and strong, tattooed with swirling red symbols. They look like the hands of a normal human, but for the first time I notice that his fingernails are more like talons, long and wickedly sharp. My own nails look like they’ve grown about an inch since my transformation, but they’re not freakishly long razor sharp talons.

Maybe it’s because I’m… what did he call me again… a hybrid?

Still, I wonder if anything else about my appearance has changed. I sort of wish I had a mirror right now, but another part of me is glad that I don’t. I’m not sure I could handle seeing a red–eyed, crimson haired stranger staring back at me in the mirror’s reflection.

“There’s no time to waste,” Bloodbane says, pulling me out of my thoughts, “We must perform the ritual. Give me your hand.”

I do as he says. We clasp our bleeding hands together, and Bloodbane begins the incantation, his voice deep and resonant:

“By the crimson flow that life bestows.

In binding blood, a pact we compose.

From past bonds, this servant’s freed,

To this new mistress, I pledge my creed.

Through veins our fates are now

entwined,

In blood and spirit, in heart and mind.”

A warmth spreads through our clasped hands, tingling like a soft electric current, not unpleasant but strange, a confirmation of the bond now forged.

“It’s done,” Bloodbane announces, pulling his hand away. His eyes meet mine, a glint of freedom within them. “I am now yours to command until we reach the Blood Scribe, who can release me fully.”

I hesitate, the reality of his words sinking in. “Would you… would you really do anything? Even jump off a cliff if I asked?” I ask, half curious, half-

dreadful of the answer.

He smiles, a sad twist of the lips. “Yes, but I trust you won’t ask that of me.”

“Never,” I reply quickly, the idea repulsive to me.

“The only thing you cannot command me to do, is to kill myself, or any other Bloudwraith,” he says somberly. “That is why was able to ignore Tatiana’s earlier command to kill you after you transformed. The rules of the enslavement spell cannot override that most powerful, most unbendable fact – the rule that one Bloodwraith can never hurt another. I couldn’t hurt you now, even if I wanted to.”

“And vice versa,” I murmur, thinking out aloud.

“Exactly. And now that I am freed from Tatiana’s control, I can move freely in this realm,” he explains. “And I will take you to the Blood Scribe, as promised.”

I nod, the weight of responsibility settling on my shoulders.

“Let’s go, then,” I murmur.

I watch as Bloodbane’s tall body dissolves into a fine red mist, his long crimson hair swaying like tendrils of blood before becoming bright red vapour that drifts towards the tower’s narrow window, and then through it.

I will myself to dissolve into the same ethereal mist, and I follow.

Our journey has begun, and I am may seer prosp

get back to Aleksandr.

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