Chapter 47: kisses the cut deeper & - 48: The Poison Beneath Her Silence

Chapter 47: Chapter 47: kisses the cut deeper &Chapter 48: The Poison Beneath Her Silence Chapter 47 Kai hadn’t planned to run to Astra. But some part of him always did. She was the chaos he understood. The flames that burned bright before they betrayed him. When he reached her lookout point—an abandoned cathedral steeple overlooking the ruins—Astra was already waiting. Cross-legged on a ledge that would kill anyone sane. She didn’t look up from the glowing rune she was carving into her thigh with a dagger. "Seris finally cracked?" she asked. Kai blinked. "How did you—" "I felt it," Astra said. "Bond magic’s bleeding. You reek of it. Pain, confusion... guilt. Very sexy." She smirked without looking up, then added a final flourish to the rune, flinching as her skin sizzled under the magic. The smell of burnt flesh briefly overpowered the cold wind. He sat beside her, careful to avoid the blood smearing the stone. The wind bit hard up here, but Astra wore only a crimson cropped coat and thigh-high battle boots, more fashion than armor. "You really carved a bond rune into yourself just to—what, feel me break?" She tilted her head, finally facing him. Her pupils glowed for a second. "No, Kai. I carved it so I wouldn’t forget what you taste like when you’re heartbroken." He swallowed. [Affection Status – Astra Rin]: 59% Alignment: Chaotic Lust Special Trait: Pain Empath – Gains power when Kai is hurt emotionally ❤️ Hidden Perk Unlocked: "Whispers Before the Fall" ???? Affection Sync Rate: Accelerating Astra patted the stone beside her again. "Come closer. Or don’t. But know that the longer you wait, the more I want to break something inside you—something tender." Kai hesitated. Then he sat. He wasn’t sure which was more dangerous—being too close, or walking away. "Why do you stay?" he asked quietly. Astra didn’t hesitate this time. "Because I’m obsessed with you." He blinked. She grinned, wild and unapologetic. "But I’m also the only one who wants you broken." "That’s... comforting." "Don’t play moral with me, Kai. The others want you alive to fulfill a prophecy. I want you wrecked so you belong to me in pieces." Below, in the cathedral nave, someone listened. Liora, cloaked in a veil of invisibility, transcribed every word onto silver parchment. She whispered a curse of preservation. "These are the words that will damn him," she murmured. And left without a trace. Back above, Astra stretched like a cat and leaned toward him. "You want me to fix you tonight?" she asked. Kai stiffened. "What does that even mean?" "It means let me lie to you. Let me make you forget that Seris meant it. Let me kiss you until you can’t remember who held the knife first." He didn’t answer. She tilted his chin up, her fingers cold but familiar. "Say yes, and I’ll worship your scars like scripture. Say no... and I’ll do it anyway. But it’ll hurt more." He almost gave in. She always knew the right pressure points to touch—psychological and physical. Instead, he looked away. "You want control." Astra leaned closer, lips grazing his ear. "No. I want ruin." Then she kissed him. It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t sweet. It was the kind of kiss that rewrote memories. That made you question every kiss before it. The kind that promised pleasure and punishment in the same breath. When they broke apart, Astra’s dagger was already at his throat. Not tight—just resting there. "Still want me to stop?" she whispered. "No," he said, breathless. She grinned. "Good boy." Flashback Fragment: A temple drenched in moonlight. Astra, bleeding and laughing. "Let them chase you, Kai. But remember... I’m the one who caught you first." Her lips on his, blood-slick and burning. The beginning of obsession. Back in the present, the sky cracked above them—magical thunder rolling across the ruins. The threads of prophecy growing unstable. "I missed this," Astra murmured, tracing his collarbone with the edge of her dagger. "You. Trusting me enough to bleed." "I’m not bleeding." "Yet," she smiled. "But emotionally? You’re a geyser." Kai laughed. It wasn’t kind. Down below, Yuri appeared beside Liora. "I’m ready," she said, expression unreadable. Liora handed her a silver vial. "Slip this into Kai’s drink. It won’t kill him. But it will show you his worst memory." Yuri hesitated. "Why?" "To see if you still want to protect him after." Back in the steeple, Astra tucked her legs beneath her and laid her head on Kai’s lap like a lover, even as her blade drew a thin line of blood from his wrist. "Who’s next, you think?" she asked. Kai looked at her, surprised. "To betray me?" "To kiss you," she corrected. "Same difference." He sighed. "Maybe Yuri." "She’s overdue," Astra agreed. "Too much quiet rage in that one. When she breaks, she’s going to shatter." [System Update: Astra Rin – Lust Thread Intensifying] Sub-Trait Gained: Emotional Parasite Effect: Astra gains temporary stat buffs after intimacy Risk: Lingering Emotional Drain – Kai loses +1 Stability per interaction ???? Warning: Permanent psychological damage possible if bond exceeds 85% without purification. He looked down at her. "What happens when I believe you again?" Astra kissed the pulse point on his neck. "Then you’ll finally break in all the right places." Suddenly, Kai flinched. A sharp jolt behind his eyes. A memory injected forcibly— A scream. A betrayal. Liora, holding Nyx’s broken body. Yuri standing above Kai with her sword. "You should’ve let us go." He gasped. Astra’s eyes widened. "What did you just see?" Kai touched his temple. "Someone’s leaking the end of the story into me." Astra’s grin returned, wicked and thrilled. "Oh good. That means we’re getting close." End of Chapter 47 (Extended Version) ???? He touched her heart. She hid a knife behind her back. ???? Another moment, another mask removed—or added? ???? Add this book to your library and fall deeper. ???? Was that love... or manipulation? Drop your theories. ???? Power Stones = more kisses and more consequences. Chapter 48 Yuri sat alone in the war chamber, though there was no war—yet. The others had scattered after the failed ambush in the Screaming Garden. Kai was healing. Astra was licking his wounds and making them worse. Liora was scheming, and Seris... Seris had vanished. Yuri remained. Still. Silent. But her silence wasn’t calm. It was stormlight before the thunder. She reached into her cloak and pulled out the silver vial Liora had given her. It glinted under the flickering runes, the contents sloshing like mercury. "This will show you his worst memory." "Then you’ll know if he’s worth protecting... or killing." Yuri didn’t like games. But this wasn’t a game anymore. Two Hours Earlier Liora had met her beneath the broken moon bridge, the place where Kai first saved Yuri from a feral wraith pack. Where he’d bled for her without thinking. Without asking. She remembered his hand, outstretched. "I’ve got you." Liora’s voice snapped the memory in half. "He lied to you," she said. Yuri’s jaw tightened. "You don’t know that." "I do," Liora said coolly, holding out the vial. "This is the memory Kai buried. The one that changed him. See it. Then decide." Yuri hadn’t taken it at first. Now, she couldn’t stop staring at it. Back in the war chamber, the candlelight flared. The shadows writhed as if whispering secrets. Yuri popped the cork. The potion smelled of frost and iron. Memory magic always did. She drank it in one long pull, no hesitation. The world tilted. Memory Realm – Kai’s Mind It was dark. Not the comforting dark of sleep. The dark of closed doors and locked screams. A young boy—Kai, no older than twelve—stood in a stone chamber soaked in red light. Chains dangled from the ceiling. A ritual circle burned beneath his feet. He was crying. A man stood above him, eyes glowing gold. "Power has a price, Kai." Then he slit the girl’s throat. A girl Yuri recognized. Nyx. Younger. Laughing. Innocent. Dead. Kai screamed as the magic sealed itself to his blood. The man vanished. Kai stood alone, blood on his hands. Yuri choked as she tore herself out of the memory. The silver vial shattered in her hand. She was crying. She hadn’t cried in years. She didn’t hear Kai enter. He leaned on the doorframe, still bandaged, still bleeding from Astra’s tender violence. His eyes found her and held. "You saw it," he said simply. Yuri said nothing. Kai stepped forward. Slowly. Carefully. He knelt in front of her, even though his wounds pulled tight and bled anew. "I didn’t want you to see that." Yuri’s hands clenched. "You killed her." Kai didn’t flinch. "Yes." "Why?" "Because if I didn’t... they would’ve taken you instead." Yuri froze. She wanted to scream. She wanted to believe it was a lie. But Kai never lied with his eyes. Not like that. He knelt there, bleeding, exhausted, vulnerable—and still trying to shield her. "You’ve always protected me," she whispered. "Not always," he said. "That’s the part that breaks me." The silence that followed wasn’t empty. It was full—of choices, of hurt, of years between them that suddenly rewrote themselves. Yuri leaned in. Kai didn’t move. Her fingers brushed his jaw. "Do you want me to kill you now?" she asked softly. "No." "Why not?" "Because I’m still trying to protect you." She kissed him. It wasn’t Astra’s kiss—wild, burning, possessive. It was soft. Like a blade sliding in clean between ribs. When she pulled back, her eyes glowed faintly. "Kai," she whispered. "Yes?" "I still don’t know if I’ll let you live." "I know." They stayed like that—her hand on his chest, feeling the broken rhythm of his heart. [Affection Status – Yuri Volari]: 74% Alignment: Conflicted Devotion Trait: Silent Flame – Strength increases with emotional suppression ❤️ Hidden Trait Unlocked: "Lethal Mercy" ???? Trust Equilibrium: Critical Range Elsewhere, Liora smiled. She watched through a scrying shard, eyes reflecting every betrayal. "She kissed him," she whispered. "Good." Behind her, a shadow moved. "She’s breaking." "Yes," Liora said. "And when she does, the entire harem falls apart." The shadow stepped closer. "And you’ll be there to pick up the pieces?" Liora turned, eyes blazing. "No. I’ll be there to burn the pieces and salt the ashes." Later that night... Yuri stood on the battlement overlooking the Ashwind Wastes. Her blade was in her hand, clean and sharp. Kai joined her without speaking. For a moment, they just stood. "Do you hate me?" he asked. "No." "Do you love me?" "I don’t know." "Would you kill me?" "Only if you ask me to." Kai looked over the edge, into the endless dark. "I might." Yuri gripped her sword tighter. "I’ll be ready." [System Alert – Yuri’s Loyalty Thread is Splitting] ❗ 50/50 — Love or Death Final alignment choice approaching. ❗ Next betrayal will finalize her path. Flashback Fragment: Yuri’s first kill. A man three times her size. Kai behind her, shielding her from the spray of blood. "Don’t look at what you did," he said. "Look at why you did it." She never forgot. But now she wasn’t sure if she agreed. Kai turned to her. "We can still walk away from all this." Yuri shook her head. "No, Kai. We’ve come too far." "Then what’s left?" She sheathed her sword. "Only endings." End of Chapter 48 ???? She kissed him with mercy. She may kill him with love. ???? Add this book to your library to never miss the fall. ???? Is Yuri truly on his side—or the most dangerous traitor of all? ???? Vote with Power Stones if you want her path to darken further. Let’s set the battlefield for heartbreak... together. ????