All Chapters of THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL HEIR : Chapter 31
- Chapter 34
34 chapters
Chapter 31 – A Flame Without Fire
Camilla woke to screaming. Not her own, though the echo of her pain lingered in her bones. The screaming came from the abyss itself, its thousand voices twisting in fury as if someone had dared to wound it.Her chest heaved, air tearing into her lungs as though she hadn’t breathed in years. The shadows that had once filled her veins hissed, evaporating in curls of smoke. The crushing weight inside her skull was gone.She was free. But freedom had a price.Her body lay cradled against Jeffrey’s. His arms were wrapped around her like he had refused to let her go even in death. Blood streaked his face, his clothes burned and shredded, and, worst of all, his fire was gone.The warmth she had always felt from him, that blazing inferno that burned brighter than the world around him… it was gone.“Jeffrey?” Her voice cracked, frantic, as she shook him. “Jeffrey, wake up. Don’t you dare, don’t you dare leave me now.”His eyelids fluttered, barely. His lips parted, but no words came. The heat
Last Updated : 2025-08-31
Chapter 32 – The Fall Between Worlds
Camilla’s scream ripped the air apart as the abyss shattered around them. They were falling.Not through earth, not through air, through something else entirely. The fragments of the abyss spun in every direction like shards of obsidian glass, dissolving into ash as they fell beside her.She clutched Jeffrey’s limp body against her chest, the fire inside her flaring and flickering with every heartbeat.But she could feel it, that wound in her side. The spear of shadow had pierced clean through her, leaving a hole that no fire could cauterize. The heat pouring from her veins sputtered, dimming with each second.Her vision blurred, the edges of the world warping into streaks of light and dark. She tried to breathe, but every gasp tore like knives through her lungs.Not now, she thought, clenching her teeth, holding Jeffrey tighter. Not when I finally saved him. Not when we’re so close.The abyss’s laughter still lingered in the air, though its body had shattered. It hadn’t died. It had
Last Updated : 2025-08-31
Chapter 33 – Blood Oath
Camilla collapsed into Jeffrey’s arms.Her body felt weightless, too light, like smoke drifting from a dying fire. Her blood poured hot across his hands, searing his skin not with heat but with the finality of it, thick, unstoppable, real.“Camilla, no. Stay with me!” Jeffrey’s voice cracked, desperate, raw. He pressed his hands against the wound, but the blood kept spilling through his fingers.The fire that once raged inside her was now a dim flicker, guttering like a candle in the wind. Her lips moved. No sound came out. Jeffrey leaned closer, shaking, choking. “What? Tell me, tell me what to do!”Her eyes fluttered open just enough to meet his. And even as life slipped away, there was defiance in them. “Burn them,” she rasped. Barely a whisper.And then her head lolled against his chest. The shadow soldiers surged closer, circling, their blades dripping black mist. Dozens, maybe hundreds, their crimson eyes glowing like embers in the dark.And Jeffrey, broken, battered, blood in h
Last Updated : 2025-08-31
Chapter 34 – The Ghost’s Bargain
Jeffrey’s heart stopped. There she was. The woman whose face he had memorized as a child, the only softness in a world that had been nothing but sharpened blades.The woman whose grave he had stood over with clenched fists, swearing he would never forgive fate for ripping her away. His mother, Alive. Or something wearing her skin.“Mother…” His voice was a ragged whisper, half prayer, half curse.The woman stepped forward, her white cloak trailing across the scorched earth. Not a hair was out of place. Her silver eyes shone as if reflecting some light he couldn’t see. She looked untouched by the flames that had reduced hundreds of soldiers to ash.“You’ve grown,” she said softly. Her voice, God, it was hers. The exact cadence, the exact warmth that used to soothe him on nights when Father’s anger had left him trembling.Jeffrey’s knees nearly gave out. But instinct screamed louder than grief.“This is a trick,” he spat, his flames flickering violently across his skin. “You’re dead. I
Last Updated : 2025-08-31