The fire oath still burned on Elena's skin. Hours had passed since she had spoken the words, yet the mark Damian pressed upon her wrist glowed faintly, like embers refusing to die. Every movement reminded her of the choice that had been forced upon her by destiny.
She sat at the edge of the broken window in Ember Hall, the storm's howl creeping through cracks in the stone, carrying whispers from the forest beyond. Those whispers were different now - less chaotic, more insistent, as if the shadows themselves had realized she was no longer just prey but tethered to something that made her both dangerous and necessary.
Her thoughts tanged until the sound of heavy footsteps drew her attention. Damian approached with the controlled gait of someone who carried fire in his veins but walked carefully to avoid burning those around him. His eyes glowed faintly, even in the dark.
"You haven't slept," he said softly, leaning against the doorway.`
Elena let out a bitter laugh. "Hard to sleep when your blood feels like it's carrying coals instead of veins."
His lips twitched, not quite a smile. "It will fade. The first night is always the worst. After that, the fire becomes part of you."
She turned to face him, her eyes sharp. "Part of me? Or part of you?"
The question hung heavy between them. Damian stepped closer, the firelight ripping across his face. "Both," he admitted, his voice low. "The bond is not a chain, Elena. It's... a sharing. What you carry, I feel. What I endure, you will sense. Our lives are no longer separate."
The weight of his words settled into her bones, frightening in its intimacy. "So if I bleed, you bleed?" she asked, testing him.
Damian's gaze flickered with something unreadable. "Yes. And if I fall, so will you."
A tremor ran through her. She looked away quickly, her jaw tight. This is madness. Binding myself to a stranger with fire and shadows. Yet when she glanced back, his presence steadied her in a way she hated to admit.
"Why me?" she whispered. "There are hundreds of others the shadows could have chosen. Why did they whisper my name?"
For the first time since she met him, Damian looked uncertain. He moved closer until the warmth of his fire mingled with her chill. His hand hovered near her wrist but did not touch. "Because you are not like the others. You're not just hunted, Elena. You're the key."
Her stomach dropped. "Key to what?"
He hesitated and in that hesitation, she sensed the truth he wasn't ready to voice. The fire in his veins flared faintly, betraying his struggle. "To survival," he finally said, though his tone hinted at a much darker answer.
Before she could press him further, the hall shuddered. A cold wind swept through the chamber, extinguishing the torches lining the walls. The whispers that had been faint before now screamed, rushing into every corner.
Elena gripped the stone window frame, her heart racing. "They're here.
Damian's head snapped toward the door. His eyes blazed brighter, the flames crawling up his arms. "Stay behind me."
But the shadows didn't wait for permission. They poured through the cracks in the stone, writhing like serpents of smoke, forming vague figures with hollow faces. The air grew heavy, crushing, filled with a suffocating dread that clawed at Elena's lungs. One shadow lunged toward her, its form twisting into something almost human, its hand stretched out as though it knew her. She staggered back, the mark on her wrist igniting with sudden heat.
Pain shot through her arm. The fire oath pulsed not like her own blood, but like Damian's. She gasped as his power surged into her veins. Flames burst from her fingertips, wild and uncontrolled, slashing through the shadow before it could touch her.
The creature shrieked as it dissolved into smoke. Elena stared at her hand in disbelief. Fire still danced across her skin, golden-orange, searing yet not consuming her flesh.
"I can't" she stammered, panic rising.
"You can," Damian barked, stepping into the fight. "The fire answers you now. Don't fear it use it."
The shadows circled them, dozens now, each one whispering her name. The storm outside roared in response, as though the world itself leaned closer to watch.
Elena clenched her fists, fire spilling from her palms. "If this is your gift, Damian, then it feels more like a curse!"
Damian slashed his hand through the air, a whip of fire scattering three shadows at once. His voice was fierce, commanding but not unkind. "A curse is only a gift you've not yet mastered. Control it, Elena, or it will consume you."
She closed her eyes, feeling the bond his heartbeat pulsing with hers, his fire colliding with her shadows. When she opened them again, her fear had shifted into something sharper. Determination.
The next shadow lunged. This time she did not stumble back. She raised her hand, fire blazing brighter, and struck forward with a scream that came from the depths of her being. The creature burst apart, and the firelight clung to the stone floor like dawn breaking into night.
Damian spared her a glance not of surprise, but of recognition, as if he had always known she could do this. Yet in his eyes burned something else too: fear. Not of the shadows, but of her.
The battle raged until the last of the creatures dissolved into smoke. The hall was scorched, torches shattered, air thick with ash. Elena collapsed to her knees, chest heaving, the fire fading from her hands.
Damian approached cautiously, though he was the one bleeding from a deep cut along his arm. Elena gasped when she saw the wound, only to feel the same sharp pain slice across her own flesh. She cried out, clutching her arm.
"It's the bond," Damian said through gritted teeth. "We bleed together now."
Her eyes widened with terror. "Then if one of us dies"
"We both do," he finished grimly.
The weight of their bond pressed harder than the storm outside. Elena's throat tightened. "Then tell me the truth, Damian. What are we bound to fight? What are the shadows?"
He looked at her, the fire dimming in his eyes, leaving only exhaustion. His silence dragged until finally, he whispered, "They are not just shadows. They are pieces of what's coming. And if we fail, there will be no dawn left for either of us."
The storm howled louder, almost as if it agreed. Elena pressed her burning wrist to her chest, staring into the firelight still flickering around Damian. For the first time, she understood the cost of the bond she had taken.
It wasn't just survival.
It was war.