Bloodbound: The Alliance
Chapter 85 - 87

Chapter 85: Chapter 87

Avara POV

The world tilts as the pieces start to fit together. My voice is barely above a whisper. "An attempt that we survived? The only ordeal I’ve ever experienced was a car crash. The day my mother—"

My gaze snaps to Botan, who finally meets it. His eyes are heavy, not with guilt but with resignation.

"It wasn’t an accident," he states. "I made the call. Your father was a threat, and Haru refused to see it. He was blinded by the brotherhood he thought he shared with Alden. So I acted in his best interest, even if it was against his wishes."

My stomach churns violently. "You killed my mother," I whisper, my voice trembling with rage and grief.

"We didn’t know you would be with him," Botan admits. "The team on-ground didn’t convey the revised report. We knew he was heading out of town, but what we didn’t know—I didn’t know his family went with him. I tried to call it off, but by then I was already informed of the collision. Three survivors. One fatality."

The words hit like a physical blow, and I lurch to my feet, the chair scraping loudly against the floor. Every head in the room turns, but I don’t care.

"Akio, escort her out," Haru commands, his tone cool and detached.

I don’t wait. I storm toward the elevator, my legs trembling as Botan follows closely, his pleas falling on deaf ears. Inside the cramped elevator, the tension is suffocating. As it swivels and the doors open, I shove past, desperate for air.

Botan grabs my wrist, but I rip free, pounding my fists against his chest in a futile barrage. He doesn’t flinch, standing like stone as two guards emerge to flank Akio in the short distance. My fury burns, uncontainable, as my world crumbles around me.

"Avara, I’m sorry—"

"You’re sorry?" I spit back.

"I was young," Botan begins, his voice trembling, shadowed by regret. "A stupid kid trying to prove myself to Haru. I never wanted this—I never wanted to hurt you or your mother."

My laugh cuts through the space, jagged and bitter, tearing through the feeble apology. "Should I thank you for that? Oh, thank goodness—you were after my father and not my mother. My mother," I choke, and the dam breaks, tears spilling over uncontrollably.

He reaches for my face, his hands trembling, but I slap them away, stumbling backward.

"Don’t," I hiss.

"I tried," he says, his voice hollow, a shell of a confession. "When I heard... I tried to make things right, but nothing—nothing—could ever repay what I took from you."

"Make things right?" I echo, my voice sharp, cutting through his excuses. My mind latches onto a memory, a realization blooming like a poisonous flower. "The palace..." I murmur. "It must’ve taken years to build. A grand monument, wasn’t it? A palace that represented not only my childhood obsession, but something I shared with my mother alone. My god..." My voice falters as I take a step back, every memory of that place suddenly sour with betrayal. "It wasn’t a gift—it was a bribe. You thought you could blind me with it, hide the truth behind its walls. You never planned to tell me, did you?"

"I feared losing you," he whispers, the words fragile, teetering on the edge of despair dwarfed by my own.

"You already have."

I turn to leave, but in a flash, he’s before me. His knees crash to the ground as if the weight of his sins has finally buckled him. He clings to my hips with desperate hands, his fingers digging in as though I am the only anchor in his collapsing world.

"Please," he begs, his voice cracking, reverberating with anguish. "Please, don’t hate me."

Tears stream down my face, hot and endless, as I wrestle against his hold. His grip is unyielding, a prison forged of desperation.

"Let me go!" I demand, my voice breaking under the strain of grief and rage.

His arms tighten, his face pressing against my stomach like a sinner clinging to the altar of his god. "Never," he breathes, the word both a vow and a curse.

"Akio!" I scream helplessly.

Akio’s voice rings out in sharp commands, the foreign syllables biting through the air. The guards rush in, their hands locking onto his arms to relinquish his hold as they drag him back to half height. Even weakened, Botan should have been formidable, but it is as if his heavy spirit has drained his strength. He sags between them, his head bowed in defeat as Akio steps forward, whispering a warning that keeps Botan’s resistance at bay.

I don’t look back again. My legs carry me away, out into the cold embrace of the night. The moonlight gleams on the row of cars, but I can’t move. My body freezes, my chest heaving with the weight of a loss that feels freshly inflicted. I’m paralysed on the spot as comprehension registers anew and it feels like I lost my mom again, but now the loss is greater, magnified by the loss of another.

Akio approaches, his footsteps cautious, his expression uncertain. He halts a few steps away, watching me crumble as sobs wrack my body, each one tearing through me like a jagged blade. My hand flies to my mouth, futile against the onslaught.

Without a word, Akio closes the distance. His hand moves with deliberate care, cradling the back of my head as he draws me against his shoulder. I collapse into him, my forehead pressed to his chest as my cries become an unrelenting torrent.

He holds me as I unravel, his silence offering the solace words could never provide. One hand rests gently on my head, the other wrapping around me, grounding my grief so it doesn’t overtake me entirely. When my sobs finally fade to shuddering breaths, he guides me to the car, opening the door with quiet understanding.

I sink into the seat, hollow and spent, as he takes his place beside me in the driver’s seat. Shortly, the car pulls away and most of the drive is in silence.

"When we get back... can you wait for me?"

"I want to get my things before Botan gets back. And I want you to please take me to the airport. I have to get the first flight out of here, even if I sleep there to wait."