Chapter 78: BLOOD AND BROTHERHOOD
Chapter 78: Blood and Brotherhood
Kael and Jace spoke together, their words cutting through the morning air like two blades of steel. "We choose—" "—to break the blood bond!" Lyra felt like she was being hit by words.
Her beautiful face turned red with shock and then anger. "You can’t!" "You’re my sons!" "We’re brothers first," Kael said, his voice steady despite the pain.
He grabbed Jace’s hand and their fingers touched. "And we won’t let Rowan die for your madness." Jace agreed, but tears were running down his face. "Sorry, Mother.
When you put power over love, though, you quit being our family. They started to talk together in the old language, which had been illegal for hundreds of years.
The ancient rite of blood severance—a magic so dangerous it could kill the caster. "No!" Lyra shrieked, abandoning her attack on Liana to rush toward her boys. "You don’t understand what you’re doing!" But she was too late. The brothers’ combined voices rose in harmony, each word sparkling with silver light.
The magic built between them, sparking with power that made the air itself burn. On the ground, Rowan’s breathing became stronger, color returning to his pale face. "Sanguis divisus, anima liberata," they chanted, their voices getting louder. "We sever the ties that bind us to thee."
The magic reached its peak. A brilliant flash of light erupted from the joined hands of the brothers, shooting high like a silver spear.
The shockwave that followed shattered the old stones of the ritual circle, sending the watching Alphas stumbling backward. Lyra screamed as her magical link to her sons was ripped away.