Chapter 255
ATASHA’S POV
“You- “ I watched as his already pale face drained of color. “You”
The word barely left his mouth before his body betrayed him again.
Collin bent forward sharply, one hand flying to his chest as a harsh cough tore out of him. It sounded wet, wrong, like his lungs were scraping against something they could not clear. His shoulders shook as he struggled to breathe through it, every attempt pulling another broken sound from his throat.
I did not rush to him.
I simply watched.
“Don’t worry,” I said calmly as he gasped and coughed again. “You won’t die.”
His eyes snapped toward me, bloodshot and furious even as his body refused to cooperate.
“I made sure of that,” I continued. “What you’re feeling now is just the remnant of the poison in your lungs. I didn’t remove all of it.”
He coughed harder at that, like my words alone had lodged themselves in his chest.
I stepped away from the window and walked toward him at an unhurried pace. Rainwater dripped from the edge of my cloak onto the stone floor, each drop echoing softly in the room. I stopped just short of the table, close enough for him to see my face clearly, far enough that he could not reach me even if he tried.
“That’s why you can breathe,” I said. “And why you can’t stop coughing.”
Collin dragged in a ragged breath, his hand gripping the edge of the table as if it was the only thing keeping him upright. His face twisted, not just with pain, but with something darker.
“You- you betrayed Nightfall,” he rasped.
I tilted my head slightly. “I didn’t.”
His eyes burned. “You brought the North into my house.”
“I did,” I agreed. “But betrayal implies loyalty.”
I met his gaze without blinking. “I was never one of you in the first place.”
Something ugly flashed across his face.
He opened his mouth to speak again, but another coughing fit cut him off, harsher than the last. Blood flecked his lips. His breath came in broken pulls, his control slipping further with every second.
When it finally eased, I reached into my sleeve and pulled out a dagger.
Collin stiffened immediately.
I did not raise it toward him.
Instead, I turned my palm upward and sliced cleanly across it.
Blood welled instantly, dark and vivid against my skin.
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Chapter 255
Collin stared.
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I held my hand up between us, letting him see it clearly, then closed my fingers slowly. The skin knit itself together under his eyes. The blood vanished. The wound sealed as if it had never been there.
His throat worked.
“…Witch,” he muttered.
I smiled faintly. “That word again.”
I flexed my healed hand once, then lowered it. “Everyone in Nightfall knew about my ability. Some of them whispered it behind my back. Others said it to my face.”
My eyes stayed on him. “Just like you.”
He sneered, even as his body trembled. “You said it was a gift from the North.”
I remembered that moment clearly. When he first woke up. When the room was filled with questions and panic, there were more urgent things than correcting him. To keep things short, I lied and told him that this was a gift from the north, a gift from Cassian.
I let out a small breath.
“I glossed over it,” I admitted. “There were more important matters at the time.”
My lips curved slightly. “What would you do if I told you… this was not from the north? Father?”
Collin frowned deeply, his confusion sharpening into anger. “Witch,” he spat again.
I did not react the way he wanted.
Instead, I smiled and said gently, “As my father, you should know that I’m not one, shouldn’t you?”
His face twisted violently.
“I have no daughter that is a witch,” he snapped. “I have no daughter like you.”
The words were full of heat, full of rejection, full of everything he had always felt but never said out loud.
“I am not your father,” he continued hoarsely. “Do you hear me?
am not.”
I let my expression soften, just a little.
“That’s disappointing,” I said. “I expected more from you.”
He glared at me. “Stay away from me.”
“You’re not my daughter,” he repeated. “And you already know that.”
“I do,” I said calmly. “But the least you could do is pretend.”
I gestured lightly toward him. “Especially since I saved your life.
La
He laughed bitterly, then coughed again, clutching his chest. “How unfortunate,” he sneered when it passed.
His eyes narrowed. “Are you here to find out where you came from?”
“I guess you are not that stupid after all.” I raised an eyebrow. “But would you be so generous?”
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Chapter 255
I took a step closer. “The Collin I knew never gave anything away for free.”
His gaze flicked, calculating even now. “Heal Celeste.”
I smiled. I knew this was coming.
“How lucky she is,” I said softly. “To have a father willing to trade secrets for her sake.”
I paced slowly in front of him as I spoke, my voice measured. “But then again, that makes sense. She’s your heir, the carries your blood.”
I stopped in front of him. “As long as she’s alive, Nightfall still exists.” I couldn’t help but wonder what his reaction would be if he knew that Celeste was not his daughter. But my words seemed to made him realize something else.
His breathing hitched.
“Do not kill her,” he said urgently. “I will tell you everything. Everything you want to know. Just save Celeste.”
Inside, I noted the shift.
He was no longer bargaining from strength. He was clinging to her. To the idea that Celeste’s survival meant his future still had shape. That she could still be useful. That Nightfall could still be claimed through her.
I smiled at him.
“I will,” I said.
Suspicion flickered across his face. “I don’t trust you.”
I leaned in slightly, my voice dropping just enough to make him listen.
“I know,” I smiled. Sadly, you don’t have a choice, do you?”
“Well… I could give you one,” I added. “It’s either, you trust me, or I torture you. I cut you into pieces. I heal you. And then I do it again until you tell me everything.”
His eyes widened.
I straightened and looked down at him calmly. “So… how about that father? What will you choose?”
AD
