The Forgotten Pulse of the Bond-Chapter 55: THE TRAITOR AMONG US

"You’re lying."

Lucien’s voice cut through the council chamber like a blade. Cold. Controlled. But the rage beneath it simmered, barely contained.

"I’m not," the guard replied, jaw clenched. "I saw her myself. Near the east wing fire post. She wasn’t supposed to be there."

"And you didn’t think to report it?" Rhett demanded, stepping forward, eyes blazing.

"She said she was delivering scrolls," the guard stammered. "She wore Camille’s old insignia. No one stopped her."

Savannah folded her arms, eyes narrowed. "Camille hasn’t worn that seal in months."

Lucien turned back to the table, where the stolen communication sat unrolled, ink still fresh. It had been intercepted less than an hour ago, buried in the servant quarters under a floorboard. A coded message. Written in wolf-tongue runes, hidden inside what looked like a supply log.

The translation was damning.

"Relay complete. Phase two initiated. Camille’s extraction successful. Bone chamber unlocked. Luna unstable. Await further orders."

Savannah broke the silence first. "They never intended to keep her. She was a key. A test."

Rhett nodded grimly. "And someone inside this house helped them use her."

Lucien stared at the guard, unreadable. "Name every servant assigned to the second-floor west corridor in the last seventy-two hours."

The guard hesitated.

Lucien’s voice dropped. "Now."

"Tannis. Riva. Meira. Calen. And..."

He paused.

Rhett’s hand twitched near his dagger. "And?"

The guard swallowed. "Lira."

Silence fell like a dropped stone.

Savannah’s voice came soft but sharp. "Lira’s been Camille’s shadow since she returned."

Rhett turned, already striding from the chamber. "Find her."

They found Lira in the greenhouse.

Her hands were deep in the soil, planting lavender with slow, delicate care, as if the walls weren’t cracking around her. Her dark hair was tied back in a loose braid, her gray apron dusted with pollen and crushed petals.

She didn’t flinch when they approached.

"I wondered how long it would take," she said without turning.

"Get up," Rhett ordered, voice like steel.

She sighed and stood, brushing dirt from her palms. "So I suppose this is where you accuse me."

"We have your seal on the intercepted message."

"And what makes you think it was mine?"

Savannah stepped closer, eyes locked on hers. "Because it was written in your hand. I know it. I used to read your letters to Camille."

Lira didn’t respond.

Rhett circled behind her. "Tell me who you’re working for."

"You already know."

"Hollowfang?"

She smiled faintly. "Not all of them. Just the ones who remember."

Lucien stepped forward. "Remember what?"

"That the bloodline was never meant to be diluted. That the pact was never meant to save us, but to tame us. Muzzle the old wolves. Chain our power beneath politics and Luna crowns. Camille was their rebellion, not their victim."

"You sold her," Savannah said.

"I gave her purpose."

Rhett grabbed her by the back of the neck and slammed her against the ivy-covered table. Not hard. Just enough to make her listen.

"You endangered everyone in this house. You let Beckett bleed. You lured Camille into the hands of monsters."

"She walked willingly."

"She didn’t understand what they were."

"She understood enough to leave you behind."

Rhett’s hand tightened.

Magnolia entered then, her presence slicing through the room like a second storm.

"Let her go."

Rhett stepped back, his jaw clenched so tight it was a miracle he didn’t shatter teeth.

Magnolia approached Lira slowly, carefully.

"I trusted you," she said. "You braided Camille’s hair. You brought her honey when she couldn’t sleep. You told me you loved her."

"I did," Lira whispered. "I still do."

"Then why this?"

"Because I knew she’d never be safe under you."

Magnolia blinked. "What does that mean?"

"She was always the shadow, Magnolia. Always the spare. The whisper behind your name. She needed something that was hers. Something you couldn’t take. And Hollowfang gave it to her."

Magnolia’s expression didn’t change. But something in her eyes broke.

"She’s not a weapon."

"She wasn’t. Not until you made her bleed."

That landed.

Magnolia stepped back.

Rhett stepped in. "What did you unlock in the Bone Chamber?"

Lira didn’t answer.

So he reached down and pulled her sleeve back.

A brand.

Still healing.

Three claw marks inside a broken circle.

The Hollowfang initiate mark.

"You’re not a servant," he said. "You’re one of them."

"Was," she corrected. "They banished me the day I failed to bring Camille back."

"Then why help them now?"

"Because this isn’t about helping," she said. "It’s about cleansing."

Savannah narrowed her eyes. "Cleansing what?"

"The bond."

They dragged her back to the war chamber.

And this time, they locked the doors.

She sat at the center of the map table, bound to the iron chair with silver-threaded rope. Around her stood Rhett, Magnolia, Lucien, Savannah, and two trusted guards, neither of whom said a word.

Lira stared at the map.

"Your lines are wrong," she said calmly.

"No one asked," Lucien muttered.

"She’s not there anymore. Camille. You think she’s resting? Hiding? You’re wrong. She’s shedding. Molting the girl you remember."

Magnolia paced slowly around the table. "Where is she?"

"You wouldn’t reach her even if I told you."

"Try me."

"She’s in the Hollowdeep. Beneath the forest’s spine. Where wolves were born. Where the first blood was spilled to summon moonlight."

Lucien frowned. "That place is a myth."

Lira smiled. "All the best ones are."

Savannah stepped forward. "Why send the message? Why warn your superiors if you’re banished?"

Lira looked at her, strangely soft. "Because I thought she might survive it. I thought if I could delay them long enough, you’d come. And take her back before she finished the change."

"Finished?" Rhett echoed.

"They’re trying to awaken something dormant in her," Lira whispered. "Something older than Hollowfang. Older than your houses. Your bloodlines. An echo. A god, some say. A monster, others."

Magnolia leaned closer. "And she’s the vessel."

"She’s the door," Lira corrected. "You’re the key."

"What happens if she opens?" Lucien asked.

Lira didn’t answer.

Instead, she began to hum.

A low tune.

Familiar.

Magnolia froze.

"That song..."

Camille used to hum it. As a child. While painting. While trying not to cry.

Magnolia reached for her dagger.

"What does it mean?" she asked.

Lira kept humming. free𝑤ebnovel.com

Rhett stepped forward. "Enough."

Still humming.

Lucien motioned to the guards. "Sedate her."

But just before they could move,

Lira’s eyes rolled back.

And she whispered,

"She’s waiting for the last fracture."

Then her head dropped.

Her breath stopped.

Rhett checked her pulse.

Gone.

Savannah stepped back. "She bit a spell capsule."

Lucien cursed. "Poison laced with binding. Old Hollowfang execution rite."

Magnolia stared down at her.

Then picked up the map again.

Her fingers trembled.

"She wasn’t bluffing," she whispered.

Rhett moved to her side. "What did she say to you before she died?"

"She didn’t."

"But, "

"She hummed Camille’s song."

And then, for the first time in weeks,

Magnolia broke.

Just a crack.

Her hand reached for Rhett’s, her fingers cold.

"We need to go. Tonight."

Rhett nodded. "We will."

Lucien stepped closer. "To Hollowdeep?"

"To whatever’s waiting beneath it," Magnolia answered.

"And what if she’s gone?" Savannah asked quietly.

"She’s not," Magnolia said.

Her voice was a whisper of war.

"She’s just not all Camille anymore."