Chapter 3
After line deaily.
and drifted anuleady, trapped in a founder that deli anelle
sack into the living world, sanding her into a praling sa
The memory made for fara elevii la tigdaly, her naili hatingg into fier palins as her jos iet with cold determination
The deck İdark car rolled to a stop in front of a sprawling croutyand mamion, its grandeur weighed down by an eerie andbonis. The bogur sermol
“Malanı, Me
raiting for you upstairs,” the Loder, Doulan Hurley, said as lie stepped amido
nat at carated a spole tingenty
camarine pedicely fox dara to folker. His tone
Edalys dididi pripond the stepped
mpletely life.
and turn the courtyard, the ojgarssive allure prising down on her like a phrynur all weight
fully arrangest antipici in the living room
polished wood floor as she climbed the stain, each steporrverberating anothe fullness
At the rigy, the pumed. A tall ligen
ude Maranoin, lait back to her, framed by sundigelar filtering throngda flur miurlow The light scattered
She couldn’t see his face, lair lais prescrier was munistakable Commaneling snyjekling, and suffocating
sked, her wire steady, but bow anel
yes were cold, bottomless, and
The man furord slowly, delilerately. This eyes met hers, and for a moment, the world account to dareze. Those e completely detached, like booking jutu a frozen suid
He held her gave for a beat longer than necessary for four dating his eyes away, the indifference in das exporssion slurperangli moriat
heavy and tense, before he finally spee
This marriage? To just my grandfather’s dying wisd, he siel, bis soare deep and roughi, esery word larred with diolain. “Toqut waste your tour thinking it means anything. There won’t be a ceremony, no legal documents, nothing
The bluutness of his words cangla her off guard, bear she didn’t line la Mer jout starred at Jam, taking in the man who had been a shadow in the past.
Toctourly, she knew next prindhing alenat Percival Sarwani Beloer bertine træor Lühe had died before the marriage ever happened. All dard brand was theat for was twenty right, the beef of the Stewart family, and lying for some in tralale allness.
Bejood that he was a mystery–4 liguar hadden behind the impenetrable walls of abe Stewart dyranty.
He was like an innille king, rolling from the dudom, une hallenged but unerly alone
frame trembled slightly, and the sharp, metaller tang of blood
Before she could responel, aluri, vident cough broke the silence. Percheats filled the air, cutting through the faint scent of scented candle burning in the corner.
“Mrs. Mewart, perhaps jos but if you retire to your room, Dorian said, stepping forward quickly. His wier was polite, but the urgency in bas
Codalys didn’t move. Her sharp gave stayed locked on Percival, ignoring the butler entirely the took a step forward, her eyes narrowing as the scent
it was thick, suffocating, and impossilale to ignore.
Percival felt her approach and shot her a warning glare, his expression handenong. “Gochack to your room, le uid, his woser rough and
He turned abruptly, his stepa hurried and uneven as if trying fourscape lier scrittiny. But just as he missed past lier, Odalys reached out and grabbed
The four instantly, his body tensing under her touch. He made a move to pull away, but she was faster. Twisting her grip, she held him in place, then reached up and grabbed his collar without hesitation
The wind of fabric tearing cut tarongh the room like a slap. Percival’s shirt split open, revealing a chiest sculpted like store, his broture skin. catching the fractured sundidit preining in from the window.
The rum fell silent. Even the air seemed to hold in leath Dorian stood frozen, his jaw slack with shark, lis gaze dating between his mentor a
woman wher had just ripped his shirt like it was nothing.
Chapter 3
No one saw it coming Odalys, without hesitation, tore open Percival’s shirt with a single, fluid motion No one had ever dated to get this close to him before–let alone touch him. The speed and boldness of her actions left everyone in the roomi frozen, mantlis agapic
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Percival growled, his hand shooting up to clamp–around her wrist with an iron grip.
Her wrist was locked in his grasp, but Odalys didn’t so much as flinch. Her eyes stayel locked on his chest, uublinking, stalying his skiri with laser
focus
Beneath the smooth surface, something was moving–twitching, writhing, almost alive. It looked ready to tear through at any second. His veins bulged unnaturally, pushing against his flesh as though ready to explode. The air grew thick, the metalle Ling of blond sharp enough to taste.
Percival’s body was a battleground, wracked with excruciating pais. It felt like shurds of glass were tearing through hian, beraking him apart piece by piece. His skin stretched taut, veins pulsating beneath it as if threatening to first, and every nerve in his body screamed for relict
“Shit” he lassed through gritted teeth, sweat dripping down his temples. His face had gone pode, his jaw tight as he tried to suppress the pain.
With great effort, he turned his icy glare on Doren, who was frozen in the doorway, and the bodyguards lingering raidy, too stunned to move “Take her back to her room,” he ordered, his voice rough but unwavering despite the agony gripping him.
“Yes, sir!” Dorian stammered, snapping into action and nishing towart Odalys, his face pale with Bear.
But before Dorian could reach her, Odalys made her move. She ignored the butter completely, her free hand lifting to press lightly against Percival chest.
The touch was almost playful her fingertips tracing slow, deliberate patterns on his skin. Then, without warning, she showed
Percival froze, his entire body locking up. The moment her hand made contact, it sent a shockwave through hun, like a current of electr surging through his veins.
The chaos beneath his skin–veins ready to rupture, blood cells fighting a violent war–suddenly stilled. The energy that had been raging inside lum recoiled, like a storm abruptly silenced.
His blood, moments away from tearing through his thesh, began to reverse its curve. Thickened, finzen, and pushed back as though retreating from an unseen force. His heart seized painfully in his chest.
“Ugh!” The sound ripped from his threat as dark blood spewed from his lips, splattering onto the floor.
The black, foul–smelling liquid dripped from the corner of his mouth, is acrid stench filling the room. He staggered back a step, his pupils blown wide, his body trembling like it was ready to break apart. And then, suddenly, everything stopped.
The agony gripping him moments ago faded to a dull ache. The sharp, relentless pressure vanished. His breathing steadied, his chest no longer heaving in pain.
Slowly, cautiously, he glanced down at his body, expecting to see the usual horrors: split skin, torn veins, blood pouring from open wounds.
But his skin was intact. No ruptures. No shredded flesh. No rivers of blood pooling at his feet. Aside from the dark blood he’d coughed up, he was fine. Whole.
The pain, the chaos, the destriction that had always followed these episodes—it was gone.
Percival’s eyes snapped back to Odalys, shock flickering across his normally stoic face.
She stepped back, her hand falling away as she regarded him with a calm, almost clinical detachment. Her gaze swept over him like she was piecing together a puzzle. “So the rumors are true,” she said, her tone flat and disinterested. “You really are knocking on death’s door”
As she spoke, she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and began wiping her fingers clean. “But since you already made it clear this marriage is just your grandfather’s idea to ward off bad luck, and you don’t actually want to marry me, that works out perfectly. I wasn’t planning on griting married anyway.”
She tilted her head slightly, her eyes sharp and calculating as they locked onto his “Let me guess. Your doctors told you you’ve got less than a month to live, didn’t they?”
Has lips pressed into a thin line, but he didn’t deny it. Odalys smirked faintly, the corner of her mouth curving upward in a way that was both confident and infuriating “So, here’s the deal. I’ll keep you alive for the next month. In return, you let me walk away when it’s over. No strings
Percival’s eyes narrowed, suspoon mingling with disbelief. “You’re saying you can keep me alive for a month”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” she replied, her tone as steady as her gaze.
2.42 PM
Chapter
She stepped closer, reaching out again. This time, her fingers brushed against the corner of his mouth, wiping away the blood that still lingered
there.
She brought her fingers to her nose, sniffing lightly before speaking again. “You’re not dying as fast as they think. You’re poisoned–badly–but it’s not terminal yet. I can stabilize you. Give you some time”
With that, she wiped her fingers clean on the handkerchief and tossed it into a nearby trash can, her movements smooth and deliberate, She met his gaze again, her expression unreadable but unshakable. “Clock’s ticking, Stewart. Your move.”
SE birth
