Chapter 955: Blood
Chapter 955 – Blood
The table froze.
Mira immediately lifted her head. "Uh... why did it suddenly go straight to blood?"
Fiera’s tails flicked. "That did escalate quickly."
Naomi gave Lux a measured look. "Lux."
He raised one hand. "Not like that."
Sira leaned back, completely unbothered. "Most ancient artifacts from the demon world need to be claimed by blood."
Mira looked at her.
Sira shrugged. "Or soul. Or name. Or vow. Or sacrifice. Blood is honestly one of the cleaner options."
Gula nodded while eating pudding. "Blood has good symbolic density."
Lux looked at her.
Gula smiled. "Gluttony education."
"Concerning."
Ely touched her fingers lightly to her own wrist. "So you think this is the same?"
"Possibly," Lux said. "Most old artifacts are locked to bloodline so others can’t claim them. Especially if they contain memory, authority, inheritance, or shame."
Ely’s gaze dropped to the table. "But there are a lot of elf families now."
"Yes." Lux leaned forward slightly. "And you are one of them."
Ely looked up.
The candlelight caught in her pale eyes.
Lux continued, voice quieter now. "And based on how fast you were able to get that book, I believe it might belong to your family."
Ely went still.
The table went quiet again, but this time it was different.
Personal.
Fiera’s teasing expression faded.
Naomi watched Ely with gentle concern.
Rava’s gaze softened.
Mira crossed her arms, but her eyes stayed sharp, protective in a dragon-pride sort of way.
Ely’s lips parted slightly. "My family...?"
Lux nodded once. "You found it quickly. It was not buried in a random market, not hidden in some abyssal vault, not locked beneath a temple."
"It was in one of our older storage estates," Ely whispered. "A place most of my family doesn’t visit. I requested records tied to ancient elven migration and forgotten branch texts. My assistant found the container listed under ceremonial remnants."
Lux’s eyes narrowed. "Ceremonial remnants."
Ely nodded slowly. "It was mislabeled."
"No," Lux said quietly. "It was hidden under a boring label."
Sira clicked her tongue. "Classic."
Lux looked at Ely.
"Someone wanted it preserved but not noticed."
Yue added softly, "That often means the family inherited it without understanding it."
Ely’s face became more complicated.
Not fear exactly.
Something heavier.
"I don’t know if I’m connected to that first elf."
"You don’t need to be directly," Lux said. "Bloodline seals don’t always require direct descent from the central figure. Sometimes branch families carry enough resonance. Sometimes the artifact only needs a related blood pattern, not the exact heir."
Gula raised her spoon. "Like flavor notes."
Lux turned to her.
Gula looked proud.
Ely swallowed. "What would happen if I used my blood?"
Lux did not answer immediately.
That alone made the table colder.
Naomi’s eyes sharpened.
Rava leaned forward.
Sira stopped smiling.
Mira’s expression hardened.
Fiera’s ears lowered slightly.
"I don’t know," Lux said honestly.
Ely’s fingers curled around her napkin.
"The book may open. It may reject you. It may show another memory. It may mark you temporarily. It may try to compare you to its original bloodline. It may do nothing."
Naomi said, "Or it could hurt her."
Lux’s gaze moved to Naomi. "Yes."
No lie.
Naomi nodded, appreciating the honesty even if she hated the answer.
Lux continued, "Which is why we don’t do it without containment."
Sira pointed at him with her fork. "That sounded responsible."
Lux looked offended. "I am frequently responsible."
Mira snorted softly.
Fiera smiled.
Lux looked back at Ely. "When we test it, I’ll set up the Sovereign Event Horizon Ring. Controlled pocket. Barriers. Yue present. Sira present if she promises not to cause commentary damage."
Sira smiled sweetly. "I promise nothing."
"Then silent barrier."
"Cruel."
Lux continued, "Mira too, because draconic authority may help stabilize ancient pressure."
Ely took a slow breath. "So my blood may unlock the next part."
"Maybe."
"And if it belongs to my family..."
Lux’s gaze softened again. "Then this might not just be about Kaelmor."
Ely’s voice quieted. "It might be about me and my family."
"Yes."
The table settled into silence.
The kind of silence that arrived when history stopped being old and became personal.
Ely looked down at her hands.
For a moment, Lux could almost see the thoughts moving through her.
Then Ely looked back up. Her voice was soft, but steady. "I’ll help."
Lux did not smile.
Not immediately.
He looked at her like he was weighing the cost.
Because he was.
Then he nodded.
"Tell me when you are ready."
Ely looked down at her hands.
For a second, everyone thought she would choose tomorrow.
Honestly, that would have been the sane choice.
Dinner had just turned from warm household chaos into ancient bloodline investigation with potential demonic debt enslavement attached. Any normal person would ask for sleep. Or wine. Or three days of denial and a spa treatment.
Ely was not normal.
She was soft, yes.
Gentle, yes.
The kind of high elf who spoke carefully and worried about everyone else before herself.
But there was a spine beneath that softness. Quiet. Flexible. Hard to see unless you tried to bend it.
She lifted her gaze to Lux.
"Tonight."
Lux’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Ely continued before he could argue.
"After this."
"Ely."
"Before shower," she added, with oddly firm dignity, "since I don’t like sleeping dirty."
The table went silent.
Sira blinked.
Gula looked impressed.
Mira slowly nodded, as if respecting the logic.
Lullaby mumbled, "Clean sleep."
Yue’s lips curved faintly.
Lux stared at Ely for a moment longer.
Then exhaled.
"Fine."
Ely’s shoulders loosened, but only a little. "After this, then."
Lux leaned back in his chair and pointed his fork at her gently. "But relax. We take it slow. No rushing. No heroic nonsense."
Sira lifted her hand. "Does that rule apply to you too?"
"No."
"Hypocrite."
Naomi gave him a look.
Lux sighed. "...Fine. Minimal heroic nonsense."
Rava smiled softly. "That’s the best we’ll get."
Ely nodded. "I’ll be careful."
Lux looked at her, then at the rest of the table. "Everyone eats first."
Gula immediately brightened. "Correct decision."
Comments