Blood Bind (Feitan x Reader)

Chapter 11

You hadn't slept. Feitan's strange confession made you toss and turn until you had to get up and move. After wandering the halls as the nighttime lamps illuminated; after dragging your hands across old vases and the gilt frames of ornate paintings; after deep breaths to take in the crisp evening air; after counting your steps like they were sheep in the hopes it would make you sleep; after listening to the cracks and creaks of the house settling; after counting the ceiling tiles, you finally ventured back to your room. But only after turning to wave at the shadow that had been following you silently through the house.

The shadow didn't follow you into your room. And somehow, his silent, darkened presence evened you. It could be the bond, but it felt more like the knowledge he was here, he was staying. The weight of everything that had happened calmed, like you were home again.

Your modest bag of belongings sat on the table in the room and you were certain you hadn't placed it there. Someone, perhaps your shadow, left it for you while you'd been away.

To pass the time, you looked through some of the books you had kind of stolen from the library at this point. But you'd give them back eventually.

Sitting on the bed, you fanned out the books, scanning through the titles for something that sounded interesting. Emmett had said you 'could do more.' That wasn't specific, but it was evocative enough that he'd wanted you to die over the fact. Scientific books seemed wrong in this situation. If there was science behind what Emmett had said, why hadn't you found it over the hours you'd spent reading when you had no idea what else to do? Why weren't soulmates doing crazy shit all the time because they'd found their person? You'd definitely have heard of it if they were. Fiction was likely out, and mostly avoided in your research. So all that was left was history and legend. (Which felt more in line with an unscientific, cultish belief system).

You pulled an old book; purple leather covered, worn with age. Scanning through the index you found a few chapters on old legends and history about soulmates. Existence in a time when they were less accepted, and sometimes executed. Shivers cut your spine at the resemblance to TPI; rogue groups acting as judge, jury, and executioner. Maybe TPI had modeled themselves off of these old kinds of groups. But God, that was ages ago; hundreds to thousands of years.

It was all gibberish. Strange blood rituals, sacrifices, dismemberment, and dissection. People like you were play things for people in power. Did Feitan know this? Was that why he was so possessive, so unrelenting in his punishment of Emmett and others who would dare harm you?

You swallowed and pushed the book away. There was real precedent for what TPI was doing. And you wondered if they were using history as a north star.

Tossing the book in your travel bag, you pushed it to the bottom so you wouldn't accidentally find it again. But when the pain wasn't so raw, maybe you'd look through it. Once you had more information about TPI, you might be able to guess what they'd do based on these strange histories.

But for now, it hurt too deeply.

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Sore muscles stretched as you ambled through the halls once the sun had fully set and the moon had risen high enough that you should have been sleeping. The dizziness hadn't returned and you felt livelier than you had in days.

The mansion was loud when you made it downstairs, and you knew who was making the noise. Mai was in the kitchen with their hands busy, prepping food while Phinks hovered no more than an arm's length away. A sentry watching their charge.

The kitchen was splashed with white cabinetry and golden fixtures. Bakery smells wafted from the ovens and pots bubbled on the stove. A skylight hung over the island in the center, welcoming the twinkling stars into the room in place of harsh ceiling lights. The kinds of constellations you could only see this far out in the world when city light was sparse and the expanse of land was wide. Where entire worlds and stories were crafted into the sky if you dared look.