All Chapters of THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL HEIR : Chapter 31
- Chapter 40
57 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
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
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
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
Chapter 35 – The Vanishing
Jeffrey’s scream ripped through the ruins. “CAMILLA!”The silence that answered was more terrifying than any battlefield. His flames roared outward, searching the shadows, burning through the smoke, clawing for even the faintest trace of her. But there was nothing.No heartbeat, No breath, No blood trail. Gone. His chest heaved, his vision blurring red. His fists cracked stone as he slammed them into the ground, fury spilling like lava.“WHERE ARE YOU?!”His voice echoed across the corpses of the men he’d slaughtered, across the scorched earth still steaming from his fire. But the ruins gave no answer.Only Jonathan’s laughter lingered, soft, ghostlike, seeping into the cracks of Jeffrey’s mind. Jeffrey stumbled to his knees, choking on rage.He dug his hands into the dirt, clawing through rubble as if Camilla might still be buried beneath. Nothing. He turned, wild-eyed, searching for the white cloak that had trailed behind his mother.The ghost of her silver eyes still burned in his
Chapter 36 – The Face of Betrayal
Pain. That was the first thing Jeffrey knew. His lungs burned as though fire had been ripped out of him. His throat was raw, scraped by invisible claws. His wrists ached with iron that bit deeper the more he struggled.When his vision steadied, he found himself suspended, chained upright in the heart of a cavern lit with black flame.The air was thick, metallic, humming with voices. Dozens of hooded figures circled him, chanting in a tongue so old even his flames quivered at the sound.Their masks were carved like ravens’ skulls, eyes hollow, mouths jagged. But it wasn’t the circle that made his blood run cold.It was the woman standing at the altar directly across from him. Silver eyes. Pale skin. A cloak of white that glowed faintly against the black fire. His mother. Or the thing that wore her face.Jeffrey thrashed against the chains, fury roaring in his chest. “What trick is this?!”The woman tilted her head, her silver eyes catching the flames like glass. Her lips curved into a
Chapter 37 – Fire in the Raven’s Nest
The blade gleamed against Camilla’s throat. Jeffrey’s world narrowed to that single edge of shadow, pressing just deep enough to draw a bead of blood.Her wide eyes, filled with both terror and trust, locked on his. Every chain, every hooded figure, every lie the Ravens had spoken blurred into nothing but that image.And then, Jeffrey roared. The sound wasn’t human. It was the sound of fire tearing through steel, the howl of an inferno that could reduce kingdoms to ash.The cavern trembled. The hooded chorus faltered, their chant crumbling beneath the weight of raw fury.The chains binding him cracked again. One final surge of fire exploded from Jeffrey’s chest, and the iron shattered, melting into molten slag that hissed across the floor. He was free.The circle of Ravens recoiled as Jeffrey hit the ground, fire rippling across his body like a living armor. His fist clenched, the flames shaping into claws sharper than blades.The hooded figure holding Camilla flinched, tightening the
Chapter 38 – The Abyss Below
The fall was endless. Wind tore at Jeffrey’s face, Camilla’s scream piercing the void as they plunged into blackness.The last shards of firelight from the collapsing cavern vanished above them, swallowed by the abyss. Jeffrey’s arms locked around her, pulling her against his chest.His fire surged to life, wrapping them both in a cocoon of golden flame. It slowed their fall, burning against the walls of the chasm, sparks scattering into the void like dying stars.But the abyss didn’t end. It kept yawning deeper, swallowing them whole. Jeffrey’s mind raced. The earth itself felt alive, shifting, dragging them further from the surface. And beneath it, something stirred. Something vast. Something waiting.At last, stone rushed up at them. Jeffrey twisted midair, fire flaring outward like wings. He hit the ground with a force that split the stone, rolling to shield Camilla.The cavern floor cracked beneath him, his fire dimming as the shockwave spread through the underground chamber.Pai
Chapter 39 – Fire and Chains
The giant’s hand crushed around Jeffrey like a living mountain. Stone fingers clamped down, heat searing his skin where molten cracks split through the colossus’s palm.The world narrowed to fire and stone and suffocating weight. His ribs groaned, breath torn from his lungs. But he did not scream. Instead, Jeffrey let his fire answer.Golden flames erupted from his body, surging against the stone grip, pouring into the cracks. For a moment, the world blazed. Heat split the air, sparks showering down as the giant’s hand shuddered under the assault.Camilla’s voice pierced the chaos, raw with terror. “Jeffrey!”Her scream anchored him, dragging his mind from the edge of blackness. He wasn’t going to die here. Not like this.The giant lifted him higher, golden eyes burning like suns. “Return the fire,” it thundered again, voice shaking the cavern to its roots.Jeffrey snarled through clenched teeth. “It’s mine.”The giant’s fingers tightened. Bone threatened to snap. But Jeffrey roared b
Chapter 40 – The Fire That Devours
The giant’s mouth opened, and the cavern turned into the throat of a volcano. Flame poured forward in a tidal wave of molten light, engulfing Jeffrey before he could even draw breath.Heat roared over him, drowning him in fire hotter than anything he had ever summoned. His body convulsed, every nerve screaming.But something inside him refused to break. Instead of burning away, the fire poured into him. Every ember. Every molten shard. Every inferno. It didn’t devour him. It fused with him.Jeffrey’s scream turned into a roar. His flames, golden, sharp, wild, rose to meet the titan’s molten torrent. Where they collided, the cavern split with light brighter than lightning.Camilla shielded her face, tears burning her eyes from the sheer force. The giant staggered, its fire faltering. Its golden eyes widened in disbelief. “You… are not supposed to…”Jeffrey stood in the center of the inferno, untouched. Flames wrapped him like armor, white-hot at the edges, golden veins crackling throug