CHAPTER 326: BLEEDING

"It’s fine! She suspects because of my voice, but there’s no way she’s a hundred percent sure," Violet said, her voice calmer now, though her expression still held tension. She shifted her attention back to the matter they had been deliberating on, pushing the moment with Sarah aside for now.

"To be honest, Uva... I don’t think I can accept Lady June’s price," she finally breathed, her voice softer, heavier. Cain’s hatred for witches was already a storm waiting to explode—but telling him she was planning to leave for the Coven for a few years? That would be enough to send him spiraling into madness.

"Then we can figure something else out," Uva replied, her tone carefully neutral. She wasn’t saying much, but she understood. Dealing with Lady June—widely known as the strongest and most dangerous witch alive—was like reaching into open flame with bare hands.

"But as long as you’re aware that without a High Coven member, you also won’t be able to awaken your magic," Uva pointed out, her voice laced with warning just as they stepped back into the mansion.

Violet gave a quiet nod, her mind clearly burdened, as she walked through the large double doors and up the stairs, each step slower than the last.

Uva turned away, not hesitating to return to her room, while Violet continued up toward Cain’s chambers. She moved quickly now, her hand reaching for the doorknob the moment she arrived. She pushed the door open without knocking, stepping inside.

She wasn’t expecting to see him—not like this. Her breath caught the second she entered and closed the door behind her. Her body froze.

Cain was slumped over his desk, face down on the papers. Blood had soaked through them, dripping off the table in thick rivulets. Crimson streamed from his nostrils and mouth, enough to pool on the floor around him and stain his clothes. The image was horrifying.

Her heart hammered in her chest, panic thundering through her as realization set in.

She rushed forward, shoving the chair aside and pulling Cain up, horror rising as she took in the full extent of the blood. Without wasting another second, she turned and bolted to the door, flinging it open with shaking hands.

"Call Uva! Get Uva here now!" she screamed at the guards standing outside, her voice breaking with urgency and fear.

She rushed back to Cain’s side, kneeling beside him as she gently held him up against her body, her hands trembling. Her eyes scanned his face—so pale—and leaned close enough to feel the faintest whisper of breath against her cheek. He was still breathing, but it was shallow, weak... not nearly enough.

"Cain! Cain!" she called out, her voice breaking as she held him tighter, her panic barely contained. He wasn’t responding, and the sheer amount of blood terrified her. Just before she left, he had been fine—busy with work, as usual—and now this?

"What the—" she gasped, struggling to make sense of it. His condition had clearly worsened drastically in an impossibly short amount of time. He was slipping away from her.

Violet was spiraling—her thoughts frantic—when Uva stormed in, flanked by the guards. Her expression was irritated, ready to reprimand Violet for the outburst, but the moment her eyes landed on Cain, she froze in her tracks.

"Was he attacked?" Uva asked sharply, stepping forward and blinking at the blood. Her voice carried confusion and disbelief—how could there be so much?

But before Violet could even respond, she let out a full-throated scream, her voice ragged with desperation and tears flowing freely down her cheeks.

"Uva! Help! Help him!" she sobbed, her voice cracking, "There’s something wrong!" Her eyes pleaded with Uva, the rawness of her panic evident in every word.

Uva stepped forward, her jaw tight as she began mumbling under her breath. Her hands hovered over Cain’s chest, lips moving in rhythm with the spell forming quietly behind her clenched teeth. She hated this—hated that the limited magic she had been gathering was now going to be drained. Still, she forced herself to concentrate, her eyes glowing faintly as her fingers brushed against his skin.

Only a few seconds passed before Uva’s breath hitched and she staggered back, her hands falling away as a deeply worried expression took over her face.

She stood frozen, eyes wide. And that stillness—her sudden lack of action—shattered Violet’s last thread of patience.

"Uva!" Violet snapped, practically shouting, her eyes blazing with anguish. "Do something!"

Uva blinked, then, without a word, she dug into her pocket and pulled out a small black vial. Violet’s eyes went wide the second she saw it.

Her heart dropped.

"You’re not—!" she cried out in horror, recognizing it instantly. She lunged forward, grabbing at Uva’s wrist before she could uncork the vial.

"Are you out of your mind?" Violet screamed, her voice rising in pitch. "How did you even get that? It was destroyed!"

But Uva didn’t flinch. Her expression was cold, grim, her voice cutting like steel.

"Unless you want him dead at this very moment, you will move," she growled, her eyes locking with Violet’s.

The threat, the certainty in her voice—it was enough to make Violet freeze.

Uva didn’t wait for another word. She stepped past Violet and tilted Cain’s head gently, pouring a single drop of the dark liquid into his mouth before stepping back.

She tried to appear calm on the surface, but her hands were shaking. Her heart pounded in her chest as the silence in the room stretched unbearably long. She couldn’t understand how his condition had spiraled this badly. And so fast. Something wasn’t right.

Seconds passed. Nothing happened.

Violet didn’t say a word, but the frustration etched into her face was unmistakable. Her hands were clenched into fists. Her eyes darted from Cain’s unmoving form to Uva, fury rising behind the terror.

"Maybe the hospital!" Violet burst out. "Maybe they can—"

"They can do nothing!" Uva snapped, cutting her off with a frown that deepened by the second. "Worse—the last thing we want is for them to discover that something really wrong has happened to him!"

Her voice lowered as she stepped back again, speaking more to herself now than to Violet.

"Whatever you saw the Council members do the last time they came was just the icing on the cake," she murmured. "If it becomes public knowledge that he’s seriously ill, they might even start sending assassins."

Her gaze dropped to the floor as she stood in thought, mind racing, panic pushing against her better judgment.

’And I’m still in this house...’ she thought darkly. ’It’s only a matter of time before someone finds out about a witch hiding here—when everyone’s trying to save their lives.’

Her hands trembled slightly as she dragged them through her hair.

’How did I go from a peaceful youth to this cursed mess of problems?’ she thought bitterly, stealing a quick glance at Violet, whose face was still tight with fear.