My Sister Stole My Mate And I Let Her (Seraphina) novel Chapter 256

Chapter 256: Chapter 256 TOO STUBBORN TO DIE

SERAPHINA’S POV

Agony had a sound.

A blinding, deafening crack that split the world open and swallowed everything.

When the light finally receded, when the pain tapered from an all-consuming inferno to a dull, distant tremor, I resurfaced into my body like something dragged up from the depths of a frozen lake.

My eyes snapped open. A ragged gasp tore from my throat as I lurched upright—

Only to immediately collapse back against something soft.

My vision spun as I blinked furiously. Sweat slicked every inch of my skin, plastering my damp clothes and hair to my body and forehead.

My limbs were heavy as stone, rattling with aftershock. My heartbeat thundered, as if it were still chasing the remnants of terror.

I didn’t stop blinking until the room settled into focus.

Not the Starlight Hallway.

Not the star-forged realm that had torn me apart and stitched me back together in ways I couldn’t even begin to comprehend.

This was...wood. Walls of weathered timber. A cramped space. A single lantern flickering faintly.

The oddly soothing scent of sage and wood varnish lingered in the air.

Elias’ cabin.

I knew it instantly, though everything felt slightly distorted.

No, that wasn’t the word.

Magnified—yes, that was it.

As if I were seeing through newly polished glass. Colors blazed brighter. Shadows stretched deeper. The world itself rang louder.

My senses thrummed with a clarity so sharp it caught my breath.

I’d never felt this awake.

Or this hollowed out. Like...like my insides had been scraped clean.

Yet deep in my chest, beneath the exhaustion and the fading echoes of agony, something pulsed—steady, luminous, whole.

Where my body felt emptied out, my spirit felt...full.

Alina stirred within me, stretching languidly, as if rousing from a centuries-long slumber. Her presence radiated warmth, a dense, comforting weight pressed against my ribs.

‘I can feel it,’ she murmured. ‘Something opened. Something realigned.’

A tremulous breath slipped from my lips.

“What...what happened?” I whispered.

A throaty laugh answered from somewhere to my right.

“You happened,” Elias said, tone dry as sun-bleached bone.

I turned my head—too quickly. The motion sent a sharp stab of pain lancing behind my eyes. I winced, clutching my temple.

When the fog of pain cleared, my gaze settled on Elias where he sat beside a small table, sipping from a wooden cup as if we were simply sharing afternoon tea.

Wait...

The slight chill in the air. The song of the birds.

It was morning.

I’d been inside the Origin Archives—or at least unconscious—for a full day and night.

Elias’ expression teetered between annoyance, disbelief, and reluctant amusement.

“You really are Edward’s daughter,” he said. “Charging headfirst into death like a newborn calf who’s never met a tiger.”

I shot him a feeble glare and tried to sit up; nausea churned in my gut, forcing me back down. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”

He snorted. “It’s supposed to be an observation. And a warning.” He gestured loosely toward me. “That thing you did—the cleansing, the restoration—it kills a great many Alphas. Incinerates them. And you just...did it.”

I pressed a trembling hand to my chest. Each breath sent a ripple of heat down my spine. My muscles felt alien, over-sensitized, too alive, as if my body was reshaping itself to fit someone new.

“What did I unlock?” I breathed. “What changed?”

I needed to know. I needed to understand what that star—my star—had shown me. What part of me had been missing all this time.

And most importantly...

Had the...whatever anguish I’d gone through worked?

I reached for the moment the light devoured me, for the memory that had begun to surface—but a spike of pain pierced my skull, so fierce my vision flashed white.

My back arched on the bed as a raw groan ripped from my throat.

“Ah-ah.” Elias lifted a finger. “Don’t try to reach beyond your limits. Not unless you’re a glutton for pain.”

I collapsed back, moaning into the pillow Elias had wedged beneath my head.

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