The air between us grew heavy. His voice dropped lower. "Do you fear death, Evelyn?"
"No," I whispered. "I fear nothing."
He stepped closer. So close I could feel the heat coming from his skin. "Then it doesn't mean anything. Mean everything."
I didn't understand what he meant yet. But I saw the truth in his eyes.
Kael was not a monster. He was a man who had become one.
And I was the girl who was fated to kill or save him.
"Your blood glows when it binds," he said suddenly, almost to himself. "You're not like the others."
"The others?"
He paused. "Forget them."
I shook my head. "I won't."
He smiled again, this time with real danger. "Then you'll regret it."
"Maybe," I said. "But I'll remember, even if you burn me for it."
Something in him flickered the smallest spark of amusement, or awe.
"Brave little scholar," he whispered. "Let's see how long that bravery lasts."
His gaze fell to my wrist.
"May I?" he asked, though it wasn't really a question.
Before I could answer, he took my hand in his. His touch was burning. The moment his fingers brushed the place where I'd signed, the mark beneath my skin blazed red-hot.
I gasped, pain shooting through me.
"Stop"
"It's the bond," he said, his voice low and tight. "It seals when I touch it."
"It hurts!"
"It should," he mumbled. "You're mine now."
The burn increased. I felt it crawl through my blood, old, alive, binding.
Then suddenly, the pain vanished.
Kael's expression changed. His eyes widened slightly, as if he hadn't expected what he saw.
"What is it?" I whispered.
He didn't answer. He lifted my wrist closer, his thumb brushing over the mark now glowing, pulsing softly like a heartbeat.
"It shouldn't look like this," he mumbled.
"What does it mean?"
His gaze lifted to mine. "It means you're not what I thought you were."
My pulse raced. "Then what am I?"
Kael's voice dropped to a whisper. "Something far more dangerous."
Before I could ask him further, the air trembled a faraway roar echoed from beyond the castle walls.
Kael's head snapped toward the sound.
"They've found us," he said grimly.
"Who?"
He met my eyes. "Those who don't want you to live long enough to find out what you are."
The mark on my wrist flared again, brighter this time burning crimson.
I gasped, holding it as the light burned upward, wrapping around my arm like fire made flesh.
Kael stepped back, eyes wide. "No… it's waking too soon"
"Kael, what's happening to me?"
He didn't answer.
He just reached for me and the world burst into red light.
My blood burned like liquid fire, the mark on my wrist burning brighter than the sun.
Kael's voice was the last thing I heard before everything went dark.
"The Heart of Flame has awakened."
The first thing I felt was heat. Not warmth. Not sunlight. Heat.
It pressed against my skin like unseen fire, pulsing through the air with every breath I took.
My eyes fluttered open to find myself lying on a stone floor. My body shook, but not from fear. From something greater. Something burning from within.
I gasped, holding my wrist. The mark still glowed dimly, alive beneath my skin.
Then I heard him. That voice. Smooth, deep, cut like a blade.
"You survived."
I turned. Kael stood a few steps away, tall and motionless, his golden eyes fixed on me like I was something dangerous. Or rare. I couldn't tell which.
"Survived?" My voice cracked. "What happened to me?"
He didn't move. "Your blood called to mine. The mark is bound faster than it should have."
I pushed myself up, my legs weak. "You said it was a bond, not a death sentence."
His eyes darkened. "For some, it's both."
My heart thudded. "And which am I?"
He stared at me for a long moment. Then he said quietly, "I don't know yet."
I calmed my breath, trying to hide the fear squeezing my chest. "Where are we?"
"Valenmoor," he said. "My castle. Your prison."
My stomach twisted. "You mean my home."
His eyes flicked to mine, sharp as lightning. "You are not my wife, Evelyn. You are my contract."
The words hit harder than any physical blow. "You made it sound like I'd have a choice."
"You did." His tone was quiet, cruelly calm. "You chose to sign."
I glared at him. "I chose to save my people. That's not the same."
"No?" he asked. "You gave your life away. You made the deal. It's done."
"You make it sound so easy," I said angrily. "Like I should thank you for owning me."
Something sparked in his eyes amusement, maybe. Or pain. "Thank me? No. Fear me, yes."
"I don't fear you."
"Then you're lying to yourself."
For a moment, we just stared at each other. His presence filled the room heavily, magnetically. His every word, every action felt like a test.
"You don't even know me," I said.
He gave a low laugh. "I don't need to know you. I've seen hundreds like you desperate, brave, foolish."
"I'm not like them."
He stepped closer, and I felt the heat rise around him. "Then prove it."
My throat tightened. "How?"
"Stay alive."
He turned away, his back broad and scarred. The burn marks that crawled over his skin caught my eye faint, old, but still there.
"What happened to you?" I asked quietly.
He paused but didn't look back. "I forgot what mercy feels like."
"That's not an answer."
He finally turned, eyes burning gold. "No. It's a warning."
I followed him, even when I told myself I wouldn't. There was something about him that pulled me closer, even when I knew it was dangerous.
"Why bring me here if you hate the bond so much?" I asked. "Why not just let me die?"
He stopped at the base of a wide staircase, his shoulders rigid. "Because your death would unbind the prophecy."
I frowned. "What prophecy?"
"The Heart of Flame," he said grimly. "The one who can destroy me."
My breath caught. "Destroy you?"
"Or redeem me," he added, turning his head just slightly. "I haven't decided which yet."
"And you think I'm her?"
His eyes burned through me. "The mark thinks so."
The quiet that followed felt smothering.
He walked forward, and I followed without meaning to. The hallway stretched forever.
"Why does it feel so hot?" I muttered. "There's no fire."
"There's always fire here," he said. "You just haven't seen it yet."
"Do you live alone?" I asked.
His voice dropped low. "No one lives here. They endure."
Something in the way he said it made my stomach tighten. "And I'll be one of them?"
"If you're lucky," he said. "If not, you'll be another ghost that haunts these halls."
I stopped walking. "You think you scare me?"
He turned back, face unreadable. "Do I?"
I swallowed hard. "You want me to fear you so I won't see you're lonely."
His jaw tightened. "Lonely?"
"Yes." I stepped closer. "You push people away because you're afraid you'll burn them. Isn't that what the envoy said?"
For a moment, his face went blank too. Then, in a voice that almost sounded like a growl, he said, "Don't speak of what you don't understand."
"Then explain it to me."
His hand moved before I saw it. He caught my wrist, his grip strong but not cruel. "You don't want to understand me."
"Maybe I do," I whispered.
His eyes met mine, fire and shadow clashing. "Then you'll regret it."