Chapter 6 up
The pulse screamed, rejecting the distance.
It clawed at my chest, at my spine, at the invisible thread that refused to loosen no matter how many steps I took away from him. My knees weakened. I caught myself against the wall, breath shuddering like I had run too far, too fast.
Aethern turned his back to me.
That alone was an act of restraint.
“You don’t understand what you’re provoking,” he said, voice low, controlled—too controlled. “This bond isn’t passive. It’s predatory. It was never meant to exist halfway.”
“Neither was I,” I replied before I could stop myself.
He froze.
Slowly, he turned. His gaze cut through me, sharp enough to draw blood without touching skin. “Do not twist this into martyrdom.”
“I’m not,” I said, forcing my voice to steady. “I’m stating a fact. You keep talking about control, about consequences—but you never say who is allowed to survive them.”
Silence stretched between us, thick and dangerous.
The talismans along the walls flickered again, reacting not to magic this time, but to emotion—raw, unfiltered. The room felt smaller, as if the stone itself leaned in to listen.
“You think I don’t see it?” I continued, quieter now. “Every time you step in front of me. Every order you give that’s really a shield. You’re not protecting the kingdom from me.”
His jaw tightened.
“You’re protecting me from the kingdom,” I finished. “And yourself.”
“That is enough,” he snapped.
I flinched—not from fear, but from the way the pulse flared at his anger, responding like a creature eager for command. My fingers curled instinctively, nails biting into my palm.
“I didn’t ask for this bond,” I said. “But neither did you. So stop pretending I’m the only risk in this room.”
Aethern exhaled slowly, like a man standing at the edge of a blade.
“The Council will not stop,” he said at last. “What you felt today was a test. Next time, it will be an execution.”
“Then why am I still alive?” I challenged. “Why didn’t you let them take me?”
His eyes darkened. “Because they wouldn’t have killed you.”
The words landed heavier than any threat.
“They would have broken you,” he continued. “Stripped the bond apart piece by piece until whatever remained was… manageable.”
Cold crept up my spine. “And you find that unacceptable.”
“I find it unforgivable.”
The pulse surged again—this time not violent, but aching. Longing threaded through it, sharp and unwanted. I hated that my body understood him faster than my mind ever could.
“Then tell me the truth,” I said. “Not as a king. Not as an Alpha. As the man who just bled for me.”
Aethern laughed once, bitter and humorless. “That man is exactly who you should fear.”
He stepped closer.
One step.
The air shifted, thickening, charged with something ancient and territorial. My instincts screamed at me to bow, to submit, to acknowledge the force in front of me.
I didn’t.
“If this bond completes,” he said quietly, “it won’t be gentle. It will rewrite you. It will rewrite me. And the world will notice.”
“Let it,” I whispered.
His hand shot out, gripping the wall beside my head instead of my throat. Stone cracked under the pressure.
“You don’t know what you’re offering,” he growled.
“I know exactly what I’m risking,” I said, meeting his gaze. “I’ve been risking my life since the moment my family handed me over. This would just be the first time it was my choice.”
The pulse roared in agreement, burning hot and undeniable.
For a heartbeat—just one—I thought he might give in.
Then the alarms rang.
Low. Resonant. Ancient bells embedded deep within the palace walls, vibrating through bone and blood alike.
Aethern pulled back instantly, every trace of emotion locked away behind iron discipline.
“They’ve crossed the inner threshold,” he said. “This is no longer covert.”
“How many?” I asked.
“Enough,” he replied, already moving. “Stay here.”
“No.”
He turned sharply. “This is not a debate.”
“Then stop treating me like a liability,” I shot back. “I can feel them too.”
That gave him pause.
“…Where?” he asked.
I closed my eyes, following the pull—not the bond this time, but the echo of it. “East corridor. Two above. One below us.”
Aethern’s expression shifted—not fear, not doubt—but something close to grim approval.
“Stay close,” he said at last. “If you fall behind, I will not turn back.”
“I wouldn’t expect you to,” I replied.
We moved together, shadows slipping through reinforced halls, danger tightening around us with every step. Steel sang as his sword cleared its sheath again. Magic hummed beneath my skin, restless and awake.
For the first time, I understood the truth the Council feared.
This bond wasn’t weakening him.
It was sharpening us both.
And if it ever completed—
The kingdom would never be the same.