SOULBOUND: THE ABYSS WITHIN

Chapter 73: Refusal

The golden hour sun filtered into the grand reading chamber of the Hawthorne Estate. Heavy velvet curtains were drawn halfway, casting long shadows across the deep blue carpet. Shelves lined with centuries of books stood silent. It was in this quiet that Michelle Hawthorne stood—arms folded, back straight, gaze sharp.

Across from her, lounging against a cushioned settee in dark Soul Academy robes, sat Mira Hawthorne—shoulders relaxed but eyes distant, unreadable.

"I've handled the diplomatic fallout," Michelle said without warmth. "You're suspended from the Soul Board for the next quarter, and an official apology will be expected of you at the Academy. You will issue it."

Mira tilted her head, expression faintly amused. "No."

Michelle's gaze sharpened like a blade drawn from its sheath. "This isn't a request."

"I know it's not," Mira said, standing. "But I'm still not doing it."

Michelle stepped forward, voice low. "You humiliated yourself. You disgraced our name. And you antagonized an Ikemba—in their own territory. You're lucky Muna didn't incinerate half the estate."

"I'm not afraid of Muna Ikemba," Mira said flatly.

Michelle's eyes narrowed.

"She's a loudmouth with too much muscle and not enough elegance. And that daughter of hers..." Mira's lips curled into something between a sneer and a smirk. "Cassandra is mine. She just doesn't know it yet."

Michelle took a breath, slow and deliberate. "You are treading on dangerous ground. This is not a game of courtships. You are involving yourself with the heirs of the Progenitor."

"I know exactly who she is," Mira whispered, voice now softer but tinged with fixation. "That's why I want her."

Michelle's composure flickered for a moment. "You will end this. Withdraw. Focus on the Rankings, on your future as a Grand Council heir."

"No," Mira said. "I will climb those Rankings... and I will take Cassandra as mine. She'll come around."

"You speak like a deluded child."

"Better than a coward behind politics." Mira turned to walk away, then paused by the door. "You said once that I lacked conviction. Now I have it. Cassandra will be my conviction."

Then she left.

Michelle stood in silence, her hands clasped behind her back. The storm Muna brought was still thundering in echoes—but now Michelle saw the greater danger wasn't external.

It was Mira.

Obsession.

Unchecked. Growing.

And one step away from unleashing chaos far worse than an angry Ikemba.