Chapter 26: Shackled, To Him

When Catherine came out, the table was empty.

She flagged down the waiter, only to be told the bill had already been paid.

“The professor also asked me to give this to you,” he added, holding out an umbrella.

Catherine took it slowly and stared at it.

What was he doing?

She exhaled, long and quiet. Whatever his reasons, he had kept his promise.

And, surprisingly, the food looked far more appetizing now that Maximilian was no longer in front of her, even with the rain pouring outside.

Across the street, Maximilian watched her from beneath the shadow of a storefront.

She looked more relaxed. More… normal.

When she was with him, she looked as though she were constantly holding back a heart attack. He rubbed his chest, the dull ache there refusing to fade.

She really doesn’t like me…

Catherine finished her meal and wiped her mouth. The downpour had eased into a light shower. She handed the umbrella back to the waiter.

“Please return this to the professor who offered it,” she said.

She didn’t want to keep anything that belonged to him.

When she stepped outside, the sky was still heavy with clouds. The sidewalk gleamed with rain, the city washed in gray. Catherine pulled her coat tighter as a cold wind slipped beneath the fabric.

The city had begun to chill.

It would probably snow in a week or two.

She stopped beneath a tree and looked up at the low, swollen clouds.

Elyndra, her homeland, had never known snow for more than a week. Dravencourt, however, wore all four seasons with pride.

Once, Maximilian had promised to bring her there, to his homeland, to let her watch the first snowfall from the hill overlooking the palace he had built for her.

A wry smile curved her lips.

Before she could think, her eyes burned.

“He did promise a lot of things…” she murmured.

She looked down. Dry leaves clung to the wet pavement. Drawing a shaky breath, she began to walk.

At first, she felt nothing.

Then… there was warmth. Unnatural warmth. Her steps slowed as she realized the heat was spreading, blooming beneath her skin. Her gaze dropped to her wrist.

The bracelet.

Her fingers fumbled with the clasp as she continued walking. She didn’t want anything on her that reminded her of him.

Three steps.

That was all it took.

A sudden, searing heat tore through her arm.

Catherine gasped.

It felt as if her veins had caught fire, with liquid flame racing beneath her skin, and then the heat surged inward, clawing straight toward her heart. Her legs gave out. She couldn’t take even a single step forward.

The bracelet constricted around her wrist.

There was no denying it now.

It was the source.

Her entire body burned. Not just warmth, painful scorch. White-hot, merciless. She collapsed to her knees, breath shattering in her throat as if her flesh were being torn from her bones, as if something inside her were trying to rip free.

Then slowly…

The fire receded.

The pain ebbed, leaving her trembling, damp with cold sweat, as though nothing had happened at all. As if her body hadn’t been screaming just seconds ago.

“Are you okay?”

Catherine flinched at the sound of his voice.

She looked up.

Maximilian stood a few steps away, one hand extended toward her, his expression stripped bare, his eyes tight with what looked unmistakably like concern.

“I’m fine,” she said sharply.

She ignored his hand, pushed herself upright, and walked past him.

Three steps.

Four.

That same warmth crept up her arm again, insidious and familiar.

Her jaw clenched. She forced herself forward, willing to move forward, even when the previous experience remembered in her body didn’t allow her to do so.

And the burning returned and it was worse this time.

She staggered to a halt and turned back. Maximilian hadn’t moved. He was still standing where he’d been before.

Heart pounding, Catherine took another step away from him.

Agony exploded through her body. She bit back a cry, forcing herself onward through sheer will…and then… the pain vanished, as if a switch had been flipped.

Finally!

She sucked in a breath and looked over her shoulder. Maximilian was walking toward her now, closing the distance between them. As he drew nearer, the pain faded completely.

And in that moment, after enduring the fire, the restraint, the invisible leash… Catherine understood the truth.

She couldn’t move more than ten meters away from Maximilian.

Not without burning for it.

The realization hollowed her out.

She wanted to test it again, to be certain, but the memory of that pain still clawed at her nerves. Her body recoiled at the thought. Instead, she looked at him, momentarily forgetting where she was, the city, the watching eyes.

“What did you do?” she demanded.

For some reason, she knew.

It had to be him.

The source was the bracelet, the same bracelet he had fastened around her wrist. There was no other explanation.

“What did you do?” She rushed toward him and thrust her hand out. “The bracelet… remove it. Take it off!” Her voice broke into a scream, raw and panicked, as if she were still burning.

And in a way, she was.

“Is something wrong?” Maximilian asked, startled. “Are you allergic to the metal?”

“Take it away.” She shoved her wrist closer to his face, her hand shaking violently, not just from pain, but from the implications crashing down on her.

How am I supposed to stay this close to you?

Her heart burned, white-hot with hatred, with an almost feral need to break free.

Maximilian reached for the clasp.

The moment his fingers closed around it, he stiffened.

His breath hitched. His brows drew sharply together as he clutched his chest with his free hand. Beads of sweat broke across his forehead despite the cold wind biting at them.

“My chest…” he murmured, voice strained. “It feels like… like someone’s twisting a knife.”

Catherine didn’t care.

“Get to it,” she snapped.

He looked at her then, really looked at the fury, the terror, and the hatred blazing in her eyes. With his jaw clenched, he forced himself to try again.

The bracelet wouldn’t budge.

Instead… It sizzled.

Maximilian hissed and jerked his hand back, stumbling a step as he blew on his fingers. Angry red blisters were already forming on his skin.

Catherine stared at the bracelet, blood draining from her face.

No.

No way.

Just… no way.

“What did you do?” she grabbed his collar, forgetting where she was. “What did you do to me?”

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