The first one lunged. I gripped his face in both hands and whispered a curse that turned his blood toshadow. He dropped. Another tried to blindside me — blade raised — but I ducked low and slammed him into the brick wall. His spine cracked.
I could have made it out. Ialmostmade it out. But then I smelled her. Hidden above. Silent. Watching.
She whispered a rite I didn’t recognize. Something deep. Forbidden.
And the moment I felt it twist my blood, Iknew.
This wasn’t a hunt.
This was a sacrifice.
--------???--------
I wake to the scent of rosemary ash and holy salt.
The shrine hums like a wound that won't close. The cuffs bite into my wrists — iron laced with silver, runes carved into my bones. My arms are strung above me, chained to a pillar older than the city. My shirt’s torn. My shadows curl weakly, repelled by the warded floor.
And still…I’m smiling.
Because Ifeelher. Moments later, she enters.
Seori.
Dagger on her hip. Rage in her stride. But it’s not anger that tightens her mouth — it’s fear. The kind you only feel when something you care about is bleeding in front of you.
“Why didn’t you fight?”
“I did.”
“Not good enough, I can’t let them see this. I can't let them know about our bond.”
She tells me looking shocked and desperate. She stands in front of me, shoulders rigid. Her aura lashes against mine — bright, righteous, terrified.
“Why are you smiling?” she snaps.
“Because you came.”
She steps closer, dragging the dagger across my collarbone, slicing the remains of my shirt away. Her touch is clinical — at first.
Until her fingers brush the mark. It glows.
So does hers.
"This body is yours to break, Hunter," I say, voice low and steady, "or to learn."
She freezes. Her jaw clenches. Her hand trembles. And in that instant, I see it— The way she’s barely holding herself together.
Her breathing quickens. Her magic flares. The bondpulls.Then she does the unthinkable—
She kisses me.
Her lips crash into mine with bruising force. Not a question. Not an apology. She kisses like she’s drowning and I’m the last gasp of air. Her tongue slides against mine. I groan, pulling against the chains, desperate to feel more of her—chest to chest, bone to bone.
She fists my hair. Bites my bottom lip.
Every pulse of the bond surges like lightning beneath our skin, and Ineedher in a way that terrifies me. When she pulls away, panting, her eyes wide with horror and hunger, I don’t let her pretend.
“There’s no going back now, Hunter,” I whisper. “You kissed me like you already made your choice.”
