Avalyn couldn't move. She sat on the edge of her bed, the words Rey had just spoken looping endlessly in her mind.
Her life… her soul… tied to him. And yet, she couldn't stop staring at him, standing there in the dim light of her room, as if he owned the shadows themselves.
"I need you to understand something," Rey said, his voice low, intimate, drawing her in like gravity.
"Your soul… the fragment you gave me… it's not just a tether. It's power. Without it, I cannot challenge my father. You are the key, Avalyn. And I need you."
She swallowed hard, shaking her head. "You make it sound so simple. I… I'm not a weapon, Rey. I'm just… me."
He stepped closer, and heat radiated off him in a way that made her pulse spike.
"No," he murmured, his eyes glittering silver. "You're more than you realize. That fragment of your soul makes you… extraordinary. And it makes me… alive."
Her heart stuttered. Alive? The word felt heavy, wrong, and yet… entirely too right.
"I don't know if I can do this," she whispered. "I don't even know what this is…"
Rey smiled, slow, teasing, like he had all the time in the world — but the electricity in the air suggested otherwise.
He knelt slightly, coming closer until she could feel the warmth of his body. "You are this," he said, brushing a loose strand of her black hair behind her ear. His fingers lingered just a moment too long.
"And denying it… denying us… will only make it worse."
Avalyn's chest rose and fell rapidly. She wanted to pull away, wanted to slap him for being so impossibly… intoxicating.
But she didn't. Her fingers twitched against the sheets, drawn to him despite every logical thought screaming at her.
"I don't… I don't know if I trust you," she said, her voice trembling, yet with an edge of defiance. "I don't even know if I like you."
His silver eyes darkened, the faintest glimmer of amusement there.
"Do you feel it, then?" he asked, stepping closer, until the warmth of his body was impossible to ignore. "The pull? The bond?"
She couldn't deny it. A fluttering in her chest, a shiver racing down her spine, told her she felt it — him, inside her, her, inside him. It was wrong. Forbidden. Dangerous. And yet it was undeniable.
Rey reached out slowly, letting his fingers brush against her jaw. Avalyn's breath hitched.
"The bargain," he said softly. "It's not just life or death. It's us. Tied together. And every heartbeat you take… I feel. Every moment you're near… it changes me."
She pressed her palms to her thighs, trying to ground herself. "You… you're impossible."
He smiled again, closer now, until the tip of his nose brushed hers. "And yet… you can't resist me," he whispered.
Avalyn's heart slammed against her ribs. She wanted to step back, but her body betrayed her.
Her lips parted slightly, almost instinctively, and for the briefest moment, the world narrowed to just the heat between them, the scent of him, the pull she could not fight.
"I… I should call someone," she said, voice trembling, fumbling for her phone.
Rey's hand moved, gently covering hers on the device. "Don't," he murmured, the warmth of his touch searing through her.
"Not yet. Not until you understand. You're alive because of me, and you'll only be safe if you stay close. And I… I'm not leaving you. Not now. Not ever."
Her chest heaved. She wanted to argue, to fight, to run. But when his hand lightly brushed the side of her face, lingering just a second too long, she realized… she couldn't.
And then, almost imperceptibly, she felt it: a heartbeat, not her own. A pulse, strong and steady, flowing into her, around her, as if he were inside her, touching her soul itself.
Her lips parted, a small gasp escaping, and he leaned ever closer, silver eyes glinting, his breath brushing her cheek.
"This… connection," he whispered, voice husky, "it's more than a bargain. It's us. And it will only get stronger."
Avalyn's knees weakened, her body trembling with desire, fear, and something she couldn't name. She wanted to resist. She wanted to run. And yet, every instinct in her screamed to stay.
Because Rey wasn't just a stranger, a danger, or a temptation. He was the reason she had lived. The reason she could feel, breathe, exist. And she hated… and wanted it, all at once.
The room seemed to shrink around them, the air thick with tension, heat, and inevitability. The bargain was no longer just a contract. It was a promise. And whether she wanted it or not… it was already theirs.
The room seemed to shrink around them, the air thick with tension, heat, and inevitability. The bargain was no longer just a contract. It was a promise. And whether she wanted it or not… it was already theirs.
Avalyn's breath came in shallow gasps. Her heart pounded—not just from fear, not just from desire, but from the dizzying reality of it all. She was alive because of him. Bound to him. And… somehow, that wasn't terrifying anymore.
She let her gaze drop to their clasped hands, feeling the warmth of his touch seep into her. Slowly, she relaxed, leaning slightly into him. "I… I don't know if I can do this," she whispered, voice barely audible.
"You can," he said softly, his thumb brushing over the back of her hand. "You're stronger than you think. And you're not alone. Not anymore."
She swallowed, meeting his silver eyes. There was no malice there, no manipulation—just an intensity that made her chest ache. She let herself believe him, just a little.
"I… I trust you," she admitted, voice trembling but steadying. "Not completely, not yet… but I will. I have to."
Rey's lips curved into a slow, satisfied smile. "Good," he murmured, stepping closer. "Because from this moment on… we face everything together. The bargain, the danger… even me."
She let out a shaky laugh, half in disbelief, half in relief. "Even you?"
He leaned down slightly, so close she could feel his breath, warm against her skin. "Especially me," he whispered.