“I felt the bond snap into place,” he says quietly. “I don’t know how it happened. But suddenly you were just… there. In my head. I couldn’t stop thinking about you.”
I swallow.Okay. That’s—
“And then…” He stops. Like he’s forcing himself to continue. “And then it happened.”
My stomach drops. “What happened?”
“I felt you.” His voice cracks. “Not like the bond. More than that.Throughthe bond. I didn’t know what was happening. Feelings… sensations…” He looks away. Mumbles, “A climax.”
Oh gods—he felt that.I want to crawl into a corner and die.
Heat floods my face.
“Darian, I didn’t—I wasn’t thinking—I didn’tknow—”
“Don’t apologize for wanting,” he says quietly.
I stare at him.
“I wasn’t meant to feel it,” he continues. “But I did.”
Great. That’s just perfect.
“I—” The words catch in my throat. My shadows shift, uneasy.
“That was the moment everything shifted,” he says.
Darian takes a step closer.
Why is he closer?
“I couldn’t stay away after that,” he admits. “Every instinct. Every piece of magic in me pulled toward you.”
I should step back. I don’t.
Why aren’t I moving?
Our shadows drift toward each other. Bob’s edges soften. Patricia’s notebook stops flickering. Mouse’s ears flick forward.
Finnick does one cautious flip.
Testing things, I guess.
And then Walter bobs through—unbothered as always, pulsing faintly. He circles us once—slow, deliberate. Observing. Then drifts away.
What the hell does that mean?
“I didn’t know I needed you, Kaia,” Darian says. Raw. Honest. “But I do. And I wouldn’t want this any other way.”
My breath catches.
Don’t cry. Do not cry.
“No matter how long it takes,” he continues. “I’m here.”
My shadows tighten around me—not possessive. Something softer. Bob’s posture shifts. Linda stops hovering so close.
They’re letting him closer.
